Commodities
Fall to 6-Month Low as Gain for Year Paring - (www.bloomberg.com) Commodities
erased gains for the year as oil and grains declined on signs of ample supplies
as economic growth halted in Europe and factory output slowed in China, the biggest consumer of industrial metals and
energy. The Bloomberg Commodity Index of 22 raw materials dropped 0.5 percent
to 125.593 by 5:11 p.m. in London, for a 0.1 percent decline this year. Lean
hogs, Brent crude and gasoline fell at least 2 percent today. Lean hogs, Brent
crude and aluminum fell at least 1.6 percent today. Cotton, grains and oilseeds
are the worst-performing commodities this year in the Bloomberg index. Soybeans
dropped 20 percent and corn lost 12 percent on record U.S. harvests. Brent is
heading for a second monthly decline, the longest streak since May 2013, as
shale fracking allowed the U.S. to pump the most oil in 27 years even as
fighting in the Middle East threatened to disrupt supplies.
China
Probes Called Intimidation as Europeans Cry Foul - (www.bloomberg.com) Tensions
in China’s foreign business community escalated to new highs after European
companies protested that local authorities involved in an antitrust crackdown
are abusing their power through intimidation tactics. Chinese investigators are
picking on foreign companies, pressuring them into accepting punishments and
depriving them of full hearings, the European Union Chamber of Commerce said yesterday in a statement, without
naming anyone. Representatives at the chamber, which has about 1,800 members in
the country, declined to elaborate on any specifics beyond the statement.
France
Risks EU Deficit Clash After Scrapping Targets - (www.bloomberg.com) The
French government abandoned its 2014 deficit targets after the economy
unexpectedly failed to grow for a second straight quarter, risking a clash with
European partners striving to meet their own fiscal goals. Finance Minister
Michel Sapin said that European policy is partly to blame for the lack of
expansion in the region’s second-biggest economy. French gross domestic product stagnated in the three months through
June, national statistics office Insee said today in Paris. Economists forecast
a 0.1 percent gain, a Bloomberg survey showed.
Puerto Rico's power authority likely to get
credit reprieve: Source - (www.cnbc.com) Puerto
Rico's electric
power authority PREPA is likely to receive an extension of vital lines of
credit it uses to buy oil, a financial industry executive familiar with the
situation said, giving breathing space to the island's debt-stricken utility. The
country's restructuring experts and its Government Development Bank are in
talks with banks to extend PREPA's loans of $671 million to March 2015, with an
option to shorten the extension to the year end, said the source, who is in
contact with the negotiating parties. Another option would be a short term
extension similar to a recent two-week reprieve, said the source, who declined
to be identified because the discussions are confidential. Talks are continuing
and still may fail to produce a deal.
Ukraine
Passes Russian Sanctions Law: Gas Transit Halt Seems Imminent - (www.zerohedge.com) The
Ukrainian parliament approved a law on Thursday to impose sanctions on Russian
companies and individuals "for financing terrorism." As Reuters reports, Prime Minister Arseny Yatseniuk told
parliament that "by approving the law on sanctions, we showed that the
country is able to protect itself." The first 'threat' though - that
European energy companies would have to agree major contract revisions when purchasing
Russian natural gas, potentially disrupting supplies in the coming winter
months - seems suicidal... and EU leaders are not happy. Slovak Premier
Robert Fico asked rhetorically,"Isn't it strange that a country, which has
signed an association agreement, a country, which we are all trying to help, is
taking steps that jeopardize the interests of individual EU members?"
Euro-Area
Pickup Stalls as Big Economies Fail to Grow - (www.bloomberg.com)
BOK Cuts Rate for 1st Time Since May 2013 to Boost Growth - (www.bloomberg.com)
BOK Cuts Rate for 1st Time Since May 2013 to Boost Growth - (www.bloomberg.com)
St.
Louis County Police to Be Removed From Ferguson, Says Missouri Congressman - (www.bloomberg.com)
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