8.5%

• FTW: Europe Stocks Rise as Data Signals Need for Stimulus (BBG)
• More de-escalation: Dozens die in Ukraine in street battles, Donetsk shelling (Reuters)
• Calm largely holds in Missouri after grand jury opens shooting investigation (Reuters)
• Attorney General Eric Holder Vows Thorough Probe of Ferguson Shooting (WSJ)
• World’s Biggest Wealth Fund Slows Emerging Market Investment (BBG)
• Market Chilly to Argentine Debt Proposal (WSJ)
• Israeli air strike kills three Hamas commanders in Gaza (Reuters)
• Retooled Hamas Bloodies Israel With Help From Hezbollah (BBG)
• Investors Pour Into Vanguard, Eschewing Stock Pickers (WSJ)
• Fed Debates Early Rate Increases (WSJ)

• Just how many rats are there? Steven Cohen's Firm Loses Another Top Executive (WSJ)
• Iceland Sees a Potential Volcanic Eruption, and Airlines Cower (Bloomberg)
• Iraqi forces battle to drive jihadists from Saddam's home town (Reuters)
• Israel, Palestinians Agree to Extend Gaza Truce for 24 Hours (BBG)
• Pimco now buying junk (BusinessWeek)
• Pakistan arrests 147 in Punjab towns as protests in capital continue (Reuters)
• Ex-Rabobank Employee Pleads Guilty in Libor-Rigging Probe (BBG)
• Ebola Orphans Targeted by Aid Groups as Newest Victims (BBG)
• Two California youths accused of plotting high school shooting spree (Reuters)
• Only Rich Know Wage Gains With No Raises for U.S Workers (BBG)

The failure to understand money is shared by all nations and transcends politics and parties. The destructive monetary expansion undertaken during the Democratic administration of Barack Obama by then Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke began in a Republican administration under Bernanke’s predecessor, Alan Greenspan. Republican Richard Nixon’s historic ending of the gold standard was a response to forces set in motion by the weak dollar policy of Democrat Lyndon Johnson. For more than 40 years, one policy mistake has followed the next.  Each one has made things worse. What they don’t understand is that money does not “create” economic activity.

It has been a deja vu session of that day nearly a month ago when the Banco Espirito Santo (BES) problems were first revealed, sending European stocks and US futures, however briefly, plunging. Since then things have only gotten worse for the insolvent Portuguese megabank, and overnight BES, all three of its holdco now bankrupt, reported an epic loss despite which it will not get a bailout but instead must raise capital on its own. The result has been a record drop in both the bonds (down some 20 points earlier) and the stock (despite a shorting ban instituted last night), which crashed as much as 40% before stabilizing at new all time lows around €0.25, in the process wiping out recent investments by such "smart money" as Baupost, Goldman and DE Shaw. The result is a European financial sector that is struggling in the red, while adding to its pain are some large cap names such as Adidas which also tumbled after issuing a profit warning relating to "developments" in Russia. Then there was European inflation which printed at 0.4%, below the expected 0.5%, and the lowest in pretty much ever, and certainly since the ECB commenced its latest fight with "deflation", which so far is not going well. The European cherry on top was Greece, whose dead cat bounce is now over, after May retail sales crashed 8.5%, after rising 3.8% in April.

• EU finalises Russian sanctions as BP warns of impact on business (FT)
• Geopolitical Risk Rises for Global Investors (BBG)
• Jaded Argentines brace for looming debt default (Reuters)
• In Argentina, Mix of Money and Politics Stirs Intrigue Around Kirchner (WSJ)
• Mom ‘Trusting God’ for Ebola-Infected U.S. Doctor’s Life (BBG)
• Thanks NSA: Tech Companies Reel as NSA's Spying Tarnishes Reputations (BBG)
• Goldman unit eyes foray into China amid metals financing scandal (Reuters)
• Cash out time: London’s Gherkin Tower Offered for Sale by Its Lenders (BBG)
• Apenomics strikes again: McDonald’s Japan axes profit guidance amid food safety scandal (FT)
• Do you see what happens Larry when you are the only USDJPY bid? Nomura Profit Falls More Than Estimated on Broking Slump (BBG)

Yesterday, in what was probably a case of moronic drivel penner's remorse, the same firm which just upgraded its S&P price target by 150 points two weeks ago, decided to... downgrade stocks. But only kinda, sorta and only for the next 3 months: Kostin is unwilling to go so far as to tell the whole truth so while he did downgrade stocks to Neutral through October, he is still Overweight equities over the next 12 months. In other words, sell in July but don't go away, and keep on buying over the next 12 months, or something. To wit: "We downgrade to neutral over 3 months as a sell-off in bonds could lead to a temporary sell-off in equities. This makes the near-term risk/ reward less attractive despite our strong conviction that equities are the best positioned asset class over 12 months, where we remain overweight."

Let's take a look at the amount of settlements/fines from various banks and financial institutions around the world since the crisis.

In an odd admission of the possible fallibility of a centrally-planned economy, none other than Chinese Premier Li recently noted, "we should never assume that we few at the top have more insight or power but should try to mobilize the intelligence and creativity of the many thousands of our people so as to create unrivaled value." Perhaps the Federal Reserve would do well to listen. However, Li did not excuse himself from the need to spin how well things were going. On the heels of our 11 awkward Chinese fact charts, Li explains "the Chinese market is booming, the economy strong [sic]. Enterprises are the mainstay of the market." However, as Diapason Commodities' Sean Corrigan, when trying to confirm this 'fact', "discrepancies abound."

With U.S. rates higher than those of major foreign markets, investors are provided with an additional reason to look favorably on increased investments in the long end of the U.S. treasury market. Additionally, with nominal growth slowing in response to low saving and higher debt we expect that over the next several years U.S. thirty-year bond yields could decline into the range of 1.7% to 2.3%, which is where the thirty-year yields in the Japanese and German economies, respectively, currently stand.

• Microsoft to announce biggest round of job cuts in 5 years (BBG)
• Palestinian rocket fire persists, Israel warns truce at risk (Reuters)
• China tells U.S. to stay out of South China Seas dispute (Reuters)
• Merkel Resists Sundering U.S. Ties Over Spying Affair (BBG)
• BES slide, tumbling German sentiment hit markets (Reuters)
• Top 1 Percent Is Even Richer Than Surveys Say, ECB Paper Finds (BBG)
• Puerto Rico Utility May Default on January Interest Payment (BBG)
• Can't Get a Job From an Algorithm, or So It Seems as Hot Resumes Go Nowhere Fast (BBG)
• Bank of China-CCTV drama may reveal power struggle in Beijing (SCMP)

BTFATH! That was the motto overnight, when despite a plethora of mixed final manufacturing data across the globe (weaker Japan, Europe; stronger China, UK) the USDJPY carry-trade has been a one-way street up and to the right, and saw its first overnight buying scramble in weeks (as opposed to the US daytime trading session, when the JPY is sold off to push carry-driven stocks higher). Low volumes have only facilitated the now usual buying at the all time highs: The last trading day of 1H14 failed to bring with it any volatility associated with month-end and half-end portfolio rebalancing - yesterday’s S&P 500 volumes were about half that compared to the last trading day of 1H13.

While New Zealand's stock market is the 3rd smallest among AsiaPac exchanges, it is not immune from the "glitches" even the largest exchanges have become used to in the new normal era of 'liquidity providers'. For the 2nd time this month, equities trading in New Zealand (the entire market) is halted after a "technical fault" at the operator of the exchange. As one trader noted understatedly, "there seems to be a reasonably regular occurrence of issues, which is a bit of concern."

When one thinks of millionaires and billionaires, the countries USA, China and UK usually come to mind. And while in terms of absolute numbers of millionaires and ultra high net worth individuals (those with more than $100 million in assets) this would be correct (and since these countries also have the greatest number of poor people too, it merely confirms the record gap between the rich and poor), a very different view emerges when observing the world's uber wealthy not on an absolute but relative basis. In that case, when ranked by millionaires as a proportion of the population, the top three nations are Qatar, Switzerland and Singapore where millionaires account for more than 10% of all households, while a ranking of the most UHNW individuals per 100,000 households gives Hong Kong, Switzerland and Austria in the top three spots.

Every now and again the apparatchiks who dutifully tend Washington’s statistical sausage factories accidently let loose a damning picture of what actually goes on inside. In that vein the BLS has just published the equivalent of a smoking gun. Namely, a study showing that in 2013—the year of 32% stock returns—the business sector of the US economy generated no more labor hours than it did way back in Bill Clinton’s blue dress period (1998) yet purportedly produced 42% more output in real terms... Stated different, the truth about the Fed’s dangerously misguided ZIRP policy is that it generates a ZIRP economy.

As reported yesterday, Former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer appears set to be the new owner of the LA Clippers, or Clippys as they are now known, paying the record-shattering price for a basketball team of $2 billion, which is the second largest price ever paid for a US team second only to the $2.1 billion paid for the Dodgers. Considering recently Forbes estimated the value of the same team at $575 million, Ballmer appears set to overpay massively, with a premium that matches any of the ridiculous social networking deals we have seen in recent months. But is this the first time that Ballmer, either as an individual or as a CEO, has overbid? Hell no. In fact, as the following list by WSJ's Paul Vigna shows, the only question when analyzing Ballmer's horrendous track record at estimating fair value of underperforming assets is "where does one begin."