Top Headlines

The Death of the Boozy Business Lunch – The Daily Telegraph

The glory days of boozy business lunches are long gone because of the time restraints and financial pressures placed on British workers, a new report has claimed.

Draghi Wants ECB Easing Solo Joined by Europe Reform Chorus – Bloomberg

If Mario Draghi criticizes euro-area governments on Thursday, he knows the world’s economic policy advisers support him even though the intended audience might not be listening.

Saudi Arabia Considers Surprise Deal to Mend OPEC Divisions – Bloomberg

Saudi Arabia is ready to consider a surprise deal with fellow OPEC members, attempting to mend divisions that had grown so wide many dubbed the group as good as dead.

BOJ Sato: Negative Rate Policy Has Tightening Effects – MNI

Bank of Japan board member Takehiro Sato Thursday repeated his warning about side-effects of the bank’s negative interest rate policy, saying the new easing tool may have dampened the already wobbly consumer sentiment.

Art disasters: Boy reduces £10,000 Lego Statue to Rubble – BBC

A giant figure of a fox called Nick from the film Zootopia was smashed to pieces by a four-year-old Chinese boy only hours after going on display.

Ex-Barclays Employees Tell Jury of ‘Humiliation’ and Pressure – FT (subscription)

Five former Barclays employees on trial for allegedly conspiring to rig interest rates have taken the stand in their own defence, with several telling the jury of the stress and pressure they felt while working at the UK bank.

Osborne Attacks ‘Uncosted and Unworkable’ Brexit Proposals – The Times (subscription)

The chancellor has accused Boris Johnson and Michael Gove of “making up” plans that would damage the economy.

Regulatory News

Deutsche Bank Sees Capital Hit as Basel Adds to Legal Woes – Bloomberg

Deutsche Bank AG, which has faced the highest legal bills among continental European lenders, will probably set aside even more capital or shrink businesses as global regulators tighten the rules for how lenders measure risk.

Brokerage Firm Charged With Anti-Money Laundering Failures

The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged a Wall Street-based brokerage firm with failing to sufficiently evaluate or monitor customers’ trading for suspicious activity as required under the federal securities laws.

CME Group Granted License to Clear Interest Rate Swaps in Japan

CFTC Issues Two Entities Orders of Foreign Board of Trade Registration to Permit Trading By Direct Access from the US

The CFTC today issued Orders of Registration to the following Foreign Boards of Trade (FBOT): BM&FBOVESPA S.A & Cleartrade Exchange Pte. Limited.

CFTC’s Division of Clearing and Risk Issues No-Action Letter for Shanghai Clearing House

Company News

Saudi Wealth Fund Takes $3.5bn Uber Stake – FT (subscription)

Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund is investing $3.5bn in Uber, marking the largest single investment ever made in a private company.

LSE-Deutsche Börse Plan 1,250 Job Cuts in Proposed Merger – FT (subscription)

The London Stock Exchange Group and Deutsche Börse plan to lay off 1,250 employees, or about 14 per cent of their combined workforce, as part of a €450m cost-savings initiative in their proposed merger.

Phillip Capital Forced to Shelve Retail FX Plans – Profit & Loss

Phillip Capital Inc (PCI) has been forced to shelve its nascent retail FX business after the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) prohibited any SEC registered broker-dealer from offering retail FX services to customers, effective July 31.

The Most Valuable Companies in the World – Daily Telegraph

Apple may have the highest market cap of any company in the world – at least for now – but that doesn’t make it the most valuable company in the world, according to Forbes.

Market Savvy

Getting Ahead of the Next Flash Crash – Profit & Loss

Although predicting when a flash event will occur can be extremely challenging, there are steps that firms can take to help to protect themselves from such events, according to panelists at Profit & Loss Forex Network London.

China Won’t Scare The Fed Away This Time – Forbes

China’s latest economic data is unlikely to scare the Federal Reserve away from a rate hike this year, including one possible in July.

US Economy Grows Modestly as Job Market Tightens, Fed Says – Bloomberg

The US economy expanded at a modest pace across most of the country since mid-April, causing the labor market to tighten as employers continued adding jobs and nudging wages higher, a Federal Reserve report showed.

Chinese Traders Can’t Get Enough Hong Kong Stocks as Yuan Falls – Bloomberg

China’s investors are piling into Hong Kong equities at the fastest rate in more than a year as they seek shelter against a weakening currency and a worsening economic outlook.