Hedge Funds Hit by China Markets Selloff - (online.wsj.com) Hedge
funds investing in China have seen this year’s big gains eroded by the recent
market selloff, highlighting the downside of investing in an environment where
managing risks is difficult and government actions are unpredictable. Chinese shares in Shanghai and
Hong Kong were
hit by selling again Tuesday, following a three-day rebound. The benchmark
Shanghai Composite Index fell 1.2% and is down 24% from its 7½-year high hit on
June 12. Several hedge funds, operating in a market still dominated by
mom-and-pop investors and with scant opportunity to make money when markets are
falling, have suffered steep losses. “Up until the end of last month, most
people thought it was a healthy correction,” said Richard Johnston, Asia
head for alternative-investments consultancy Albourne Partners Ltd. “I think it
went a lot further than many people thought.”
Richmond:
Mayor's properties prompt calls to sit out vote on rent control - (www.contracostatimes.com) As
Richmond hashes out whether to pass rent control or at least create a rent
mediation board to consider unreasonable rent increases -- a battle that has
stretched out for months -- a new wrinkle has surfaced: Should the mayor, a
landlord with multiple properties, recuse himself from the impending decision? It
depends on whom you ask. The advocacy group Alliance of Californians for
Community Empowerment that has regularly organized tenants to show up at city
council meetings with signs pushing for rent control, says yes. So does Tenants
Together, a tenants' rights group based in San Francisco that has also spoken
at Richmond meetings. Mayor Tom Butt has refused to acquiesce to the demands,
saying his interest is indistinguishable from hundreds of other property owners
in the city and therefore does not constitute a conflict of interest. Butt owns
one single-family rental home, one duplex, six commercial units in Point
Richmond and is a partner at Baltic Development Associates, a commercial real
estate company. None of his properties would be subject to rent control, which
exempts single-family homes and all commercial properties.
Investors
in China not allowed to jump - (www.ft.com) Zhu
Rongji, when mayor of Shanghai, apparently once complained about the retail investors who
would sometimes protest outside city hall when the value of their portfolios
collapsed. In a perhaps apocryphal quip, Mr Zhu — who went on to become Chinese
premier — claimed it would have been easier to be mayor in the city’s
pre-revolutionary 1920s and 30s heyday, when angry investors were more likely
to jump out of windows. It has been 12 long years since Mr Zhu retired, denying
journalists the pleasure of his acerbic wit. But his observation about those so-called ‘mom and pop’ investors still resonates as the ruling Chinese
Communist party attempts to rescue the country’s stock markets from their worst crisis since the Shanghai exchange was
reconstituted in 1990. At issue is the nature of China Inc’s relationship with
the markets — and Mr Zhu’s complaint cuts to the heart of this. Because when
one of the party’s favourite slogans, wei renmin fuwu (serve the
people), morphs into wei gumin fuwu (serve the investors), it has
important implications for listed companies and their shareholders.
Puerto Rico Faces Its Creditors in Early Debt
Resolution Talks - (www.nytimes.com) If a meeting on Monday between Puerto Rico and
its creditors is any indication, restructuring the island’s $72 billion in debt
could be a long process. At that meeting, the commonwealth’s finance team said
it had not yet determined how it would seek to revamp the island’s obligations.
The roughly 350 creditors, such as hedge funds and money managers, that had
packed into a Park Avenue auditorium on Monday afternoon were told they would
have to wait several more weeks until a working group made up of Puerto Rico
political leaders came up with formal recommendations for ending the island’s
fiscal crisis. “I ask for your patience while we develop a credible plan that
meets all of our stakeholders’ objectives,” Melba Acosta Febo, the president of
the Government Development Bank for Puerto Rico, told the creditors gathered at
Citigroup’s executive headquarters.
Greece’s Banks Are Next in Line for a European
Bailout - (www.nytimes.com) Eurozone
leaders acknowledged on Monday what has become increasingly obvious to everyday
Athenians: Greek banks need a bailout, too. Among its many proposed measures,
the new accord between Greece and its European creditors calls for an
overhaul of Greece’s rickety banking system, including money to
replenish capital and, if needed, to close insolvent lenders. Despite the
tentative deal, the European
Central Bank,
which has been keeping Greek banks propped up for months with emergency loans,
declined on Monday to provide additional cash. The central bank’s governing
council is waiting for the Greek Parliament to ratify the deal before taking on
any more risk from Athens. Parliament must approve at least some of the
measures by Wednesday for the deal to move forward.
Exclusive: Greece needs debt relief far beyond EU plans - Secret IMF report - (www.reuters.com)
Greek lawmakers split over bailout as vote looms - (www.reuters.com)
Greece Faces ECB Cliffhanger Monday as EU Engineers Bridge Funds - (www.bloomberg.com)
Greece crisis: Osborne seeks to block use of British-backed fund in bailout - (www.theguardian.com)
The Latest: Germany says Greece needs 1st loan by next week - (finance.yahoo.com)
Some in German Government Preferred Temporary Grexit: Schaeuble - (www.reuters.com)
Greek Reforms Would Face Political, Legal Backlash in Germany - (online.wsj.com)
China’s Credit Expands in June as Stimulus Efforts Kick In - (www.bloomberg.com)
China Said to Consider Extra 1 Trillion Yuan Debt-Swap Quota - (www.bloomberg.com)
Hedge Funds Hit by China Markets Selloff - (online.wsj.com)
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