Forum Post: June 19th News Headlines

With big conditions, China Offers $43 Billion for IMF Crisis War Chest (Reuters)... US offers $0.00

Mexico is not Spain: Mexican Yields Drop to Record as Spain’s Borrowing Costs Soar (Bloomberg)

And live from Las Ventanas al Paraiso: G-20 Leaders Focus on Banks as Spain's Woes Challenge Merkel (Bloomberg)

German Constitutional Court Gives Victory to Opposition in ESM Suit (WSJ)

EU Europe’s Leaders Urged to Resolve Crisis (FT)

Backing Grows for One EU Bank Supervisor (FT)

Greek Leaders Close to Coalition, Aim to Ease Bailout (Reuters)

China Economy Improves in June, Commerce Minister Chen Says (Bloomberg)

China Looks for Loan Boost (WSJ)

Brics Swaps, FX Pooling Aims to Boost Confidence (WSJ)

((Overnight Media Digest))

WSJ

• The afterglow from Greece's vote to try to remain in the euro was quickly extinguished by bad news out of Spain that rattled investors' faith in the currency bloc's ability to support its most troubled members.

• For venture capitalists and other prominent investors in young companies, an initial public offering is supposed to be the big payoff for years of patience. It's not working out that way for some backers of newly public Internet companies.

• Oracle Corp said Monday that its fourth-quarter profit increased 7.5 percent, a surprise announcement three days ahead of schedule that appeared to be triggered by the departure of a top sales executive.

• JPMorgan Chase & Co trader Bruno Michel Iksil at times resisted sharing some details of his positions with superiors, while trading executive Achilles Macris had a history of clashing with co-workers, according to current and former colleagues.

• With prices for oil, its main export, sliding, Russia is already gearing up for economic troubles, laying plans for spending cuts and a weaker ruble if the global situation worsens further, according to First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov.

• Business-software company ServiceNow Inc plans this week to start pitching shares to large investors ahead of an initial public offering, people familiar with the matter said, in one of the first signs of life for U.S. IPOs since Facebook Inc went public in a botched offering a month ago.

• Facebook Inc agreed to acquire start-up Face.com, whose technology users of the social-networking site can deploy to recognize contacts in photos.

• A representative of activist investor Carl Icahn will join the board of embattled natural-gas giant Chesapeake Energy Corp , according to people familiar with the matter.

• The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is launching on Tuesday the first part of an online database of complaints from customers in the $2.05 trillion credit-card industry.

• Stanford Financial Group's top investment executive, Laura Pendergest-Holt, is expected to plead guilty to obstruction of justice Thursday for her alleged role in a $7 billion Ponzi scheme.

• Marriott International Inc plans to invest $2 billion to open new hotels over the next three years, even as the travel market faces headwinds in the U.S. and Europe.

FT

BACKING GROWS FOR ONE EU BANK SUPERVISOR

A push by EU leaders to create a single supervisor for Europe's largest banks is gaining momentum as support builds for giving the European Central Bank oversight powers in a big step toward "banking union".

CAMERON WARNS ON LASTING CRISIS

David Cameron put Britain on standby for a protracted eurozone crisis, using a speech at the G20 summit to plead with European leaders to seize a chance to stabilise the single currency.

HOHN DEMANDS LLOYDS REPLACE £10BN 'COCOS'

The Children's Investment Fund, an activist hedge fund manager known for its aggressive tactics, has turned its attention to Lloyds Banking Group by urging regulators to bolster the bank's capital reserves.

UK ECONOMY MANUFACTURES REBALANCING ACT

The much heralded "rebalancing" of the economy towards manufacturing is starting to happen, according to data showing the proportion of output accounted for by factory production has risen for the second successive year.

FACEBOOK BUYS FACIAL RECOGNITION GROUP

Facebook has acquired Face.com, an Israeli facial recognition group, which will provide the social network with technology to identify people from the millions of photos uploaded to its site.

RUSSIA EARMARKS $40BN TO BOLSTER ECONOMY

Russia is setting aside up to $40bn to shore up the economy in case the crisis in the eurozone spreads, and is dusting off a plan that would allow the government to recapitalise the country's banking system.

MAN GROUP APPOINTS NEW FINANCE DIRECTOR

Man Group has replaced its finance director as the world's second-largest hedge fund manager by assets seeks to remedy shareholder concerns about its performance.

NYT

• Elections eased fears about Greece's exit from the euro zone, but attention turned Monday to restoring economic health to Europe with Greece still in it.

• Federal Reserve officials will meet to decide whether the economy needs more help amid considerable uncertainty over domestic growth and the impact of Europe's debt crisis.

• In its biggest push ever into the hardware business, Microsoft unveiled a tablet computer called Surface that it intends to challenge Apple's iPad.

• Goldman Sachs must continue to pay Rajat Gupta's bills until the former board member's insider trading case is completely resolved, a process that could take a couple of years.

• Americans fortunate enough to have a job are often overqualified and find that wages and benefits are down, leaving many unable to meet their expenses.

• Bank regulators are casting new nets to catch excessive risk-taking in the financial system. But future London Whales may find plenty of ways to slip right through them.

• Jamie Dimon, the outspoken chief executive of JPMorgan , is returning to Washington to face another round of questions about his bank's multibillion-dollar trading loss.

• The No. 2 executive at J. C. Penney is out after only eight months on the job.

The executive, Michael Francis, who as president oversaw marketing and merchandising, is leaving the company immediately, the retailer said on Monday.

• Nelson Peltz's Trian Fund Management said on Monday that it now owns a 5.1 percent stake in Lazard, stressing that it believes the investment bank is undervalued but on the right track with its strategic plan.

• Even as Best Buy insists it can get out of its current predicament, competitors are circling, as everyone tries to prove one point: that electronics stores can thrive.

Canada

THE GLOBE AND MAIL

• The Harper government and the Obama administration are closing in on a deal that would see Washington support Canada's admission to major Pacific Rim free-trade talks, The Globe and Mail has learned.

Report in the business section:

• Officials at the Canada Revenue Agency were part of attempts to squeeze a $1-million kickback from an accounting firm in exchange for a promise to wipe out a massive tax bill, an RCMP search warrant alleges.

FINANCIAL POST

• Air Canada's largest union says it will support the airline's efforts to reduce its pension funding obligations through 2024 as part of new collective agreement reached through a final offer arbitration process this week

((European economic summary))

France Business Confidence Indicator 92 – in line with expectations. Consensus 92. Previous 93.

Sweden Unemployment Rate 8.1% – higher than expected. Consensus 7.8%. Previous 7.8%.

UK CPI 2.8% – lower than expected. Consensus 3.0%. Previous 3.0%.

UK RPI 3.1% – lower than expected. Consensus 3.3%. Previous 3.5%.

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/frontrunning-june-19