After
port fraud, China's vast warehouse sector under scrutiny - (www.reuters.com) Shaken
by a fraud investigation into metal financing in the world's seventh-busiest
port, banks and trading houses have been made painfully aware of the risks they
face storing commodities in
China's sprawling warehouse sector. The probe at Qingdao port centers around a
private metals trading firm suspected of duplicating warehouse certificates in
order to use a metal cargo multiple times to raise financing. Some banks have
asked clients to shift metal, used as collateral for loans, to more regulated
London Metal Exchange (LME) warehouses outside China or those owned and
operated by a single warehouse firm to limit their exposure. "The banks
still haven't looked under the hood," said an executive at a bank involved
in commodity financing
in China, referring to China's warehousing sector.
Dubai
Stocks Extend Rout With Biggest Decline Since 2008 - (www.bloomberg.com) Dubai
stocks dropped the most in 10 months as top-level dismissals at Arabtec Holding Co. (ARTC), the United Arab Emirates’ largest-listed builder, stoked a selloff in a
market that almost quadrupled in less than two years. The DFM General Index
fell 6.7 percent, the most since August, to 4,009.01 at the close in the
emirate as 12 stocks lost more than 9 percent, amid speculation leveraged
traders liquidated positions as the index fell 25 percent from its May peak.
Arabtec dropped 9.8 percent to
the lowest since January after the company confirmed it cut staff. People
familiar with the matter said yesterday the chief operating officer, chief
information officer and chief risk officer were fired. The declines underlined
deepening concern that five years after the global financial crisis the
real-estate recovery in the Middle East business hub has become overblown.
Shares in the emirate soared more than 250 percent since June 2012, led by
property and construction companies. Every stock market in the six-nation Gulf
Cooperation Council fell today, with Abu Dhabi's index (DFMGI) losing
3.3 percent and Qatar dropping 0.9 percent.
Venezuela
confronts volatile fuel dilemma - (www.ft.com) Oscar
Velasco, a Caracas bus driver from the Carpinteros slum, still remembers the
shock rise in gasoline prices 25 years ago that sparked violent riots, called
the Caracazo, in which hundreds died and which resulted in two coup attempts. Today,
filling up his battered bus with subsidised gasoline that costs less than 5 US
cents a gallon, Mr Velasco is not alone in wondering if another shock price
rise is about to happen as the socialist government of President Nicolas Maduro
tries to right Venezuela’s listing economy. “Gasoline here is regalada, a
gift,” says Mr Velasco. “But adjusting the price is too sensitive an issue.
Things could turn nasty again if they don’t do it right.” Nevertheless, Mr
Maduro, a former bus driver himself, may have no choice. Street riots this
year that have left over 40 dead, plus over 60 per cent inflation and
scarcities of basic goods have seen his approval ratings drop to 39 per cent,
according to a late May poll by the Caracas-based Datanálisis, which also found
that eight out of 10 Venezuelans believe the country’s situation is “bad”.
[Reuters]
Exclusive: EU to consider tax on financial industry to fund supervision - (www.reuters.com) The
European Union's markets,
banking and insurance watchdogs could be funded by a levy on the organisations
they supervise, in an attempt by the bloc's executive body to save taxpayers'
money. The European Commission has been reviewing the three watchdogs it
launched in 2011 to make supervision of banks, markets and
insurers more consistent across its 28 member countries after the 2007-09
financial crisis highlighted failings in the way regulations were enforced. The
European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), the European Banking
Authority (EBA) and the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority
(EIOPA) currently receive 60 percent of their funding from national supervisors
and 40 percent from the central EU budget. "Given EU and national
budgetary constraints, the Commission considers that a revision of the existing
funding model should therefore be envisaged, ideally abolishing EU and national
contributions," a draft European Commission report seen by Reuters said.
New
York Passes Bill To Outlaw Tattooing Pets - (www.npr.com) Our
government officials, hard at work addressing priorities…. If you live in New
York, you might want to cancel that appointment to get your dog tattooed: On
Wednesday, a bill prohibiting pet tattooing passed the state Legislature. Gov.
Andrew Cuomo is expected to ink it. The soon-to-be-law, which gained bipartisan support and was endorsed by the Humane Society of
New York, prohibits "unnecessary body modification" of animals but
includes an exemption for piercings or tattoos for the purpose of medical
identification. Democratic Assemblywoman Linda Rosenthal introduced the measure in 2011 after noticing "gothic kittens"
with tattoos and piercings for sale online. "Companion animals ... will no
longer be subject to the selfish whims of their owners," Rosenthal said
after the bill cleared the assembly.
Arrow
or Dart? Japan's Abe unveils latest reform plan - (www.reuters.com)
Merkel Said to Ready Summit for Full Sanctions on Russia - (www.bloomberg.com)
Merkel Said to Ready Summit for Full Sanctions on Russia - (www.bloomberg.com)
ECB's
Weidmann calls for stronger euro debt rules - (www.marketwatch.com)
German Ifo Business Index Declines as Growth Seen Slowing - (www.bloomberg.com)
German Ifo Business Index Declines as Growth Seen Slowing - (www.bloomberg.com)
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