Pershing Square

• European Bond Yields Go Negative (WSJ)
• Traveler from Liberia is first Ebola patient diagnosed in U.S. (Reuters)
• Hong Kong Protesters Step up Pressure on Leung to Quit (BBG)
• JPMorgan to face U.S. class action in $10 billion MBS case (Reuters)
• Turkey mulls military action against Islamic State (Reuters)
• Singapore Home Prices Fall for Fourth Straight Quarter on Curbs (BBG)
• Italy's Economic Woes Highlight Dilemma for European Central Bank (WSJ)
• Advanced iOS virus targeting Hong Kong protestors (Reuters)
• Fed Scrutiny of Leveraged Loans Grows Along With Bubble Concern (BBG)
•  Mosquito Virus That Walloped Caribbean Spreads in U.S. (BBG)

• Thank you market Chief Risk Officer Bernanke/Yellen: Calpers to Exit Hedge Funds, Divest $4 Billion Stake (BBG)
• World stocks hit one-month low, caution ahead of Fed (Reuters)
• U.S. Efforts to Build Coalition Against Islamic State in Iraq, Syria Are Hampered by Sectarian Divide (WSJ)
• Time to throw away some more good money: Sears Borrows $400 Million From Lampert’s ESL Investments (BBG)
• Wildfires rage in California drought, hundreds forced to flee (Reuters)
• United Offers $100,000 Buyouts to Flight Attendants (BBG)
• Biggest Banks Said to Overhaul FX Trading After Scandals (BBG)
• You mean you have to pay? Administration threatens to cut off ObamaCare subsidies to 360,000 (The Hill)
• RBS Said to Dismiss Most of Team Overseeing Central Europe Debt (BBG) they will be hired by the ECB

• Snow is coming: OECD Cuts Economic Growth Forecasts (WSJ)
• World waits for white smoke from U.S. Fed (Reuters) - Understandable error: they meant "green"
• Scots Breakaway at 45% Odds as Economists Warn of Capital Flight (BBG)
• Ukraine President Poroshenko Faces Backlash Over EU Trade Deal Delay (WSJ)
• German Anti-Euro Party Advances in Merkel Homeland Voting (BBG)
• Clinton Hints at 2016 Run as Super-PAC Packs Iowa Steak Fry (BBG)
• Air France, Lufthansa Hit by Strikes in Fight for Future (BBG)
• U.S. sees Middle East help fighting IS, Britain cautious after beheading (Reuters)
• Ex-Billionaire Charged by Brazil With Financial Crimes (BBG)

• British PM begs Scots: Don't rip apart our UK 'family of nations' (Reuters)
• Obama has become Bush: Obama’s Task: Rally U.S. Public, Allies in Terror Fight (BBG)
• Alibaba's record IPO covered after first few roadshow meetings (Reuters)
• Ferrari chairman Luca Di Montezemolo to quit after 23 years (BBC)
• Combat Reversals Pressure Assad (WSJ)
• Top LBO Fund Investors Pile on Leverage to Boost Returns (BBG)
• BOJ's Iwata upbeat on economy, unfazed by post-tax hike slump (Reuters)
• Carney Can’t Escape Housing as Debt Colors BOE Policy (BBG)
• Detroit Clears Crucial Hurdle on Bankruptcy (NYT)

Superficially, there are two amusing observations to make about a New Normal in which the S&P, courtesy of its Chief Risk Officers Yellen, Draghi and Kuroda, continues to vastly outperform virtually all hedge funds for a 6th year running: the first is that one of the very few funds in our universe which is doing better than the broader market is named Tulip Trend Fund, which in itself speaks volumes, while the other fund that is creating outsized "alpha" is Bill Ackman's Pershing Square, which has made the bulk of its gains on the back of the Allergan deal where he frontran the investing public, knowing full well Valeant would make a hostile bid, a transaction which the SEC better strike as illegal or else the farce of a market will get even more farcical.

• Islamic State executes soldiers, takes hostages at Syria base (Reuters)
• Buffett Burger King Funds Flip Obama’s Inversion Calculus (BBG)
• Equities Reach Record $66 Trillion as S&P 500 Hits 2,000 (BBG)
• Central Banks Playing Own Version of Plaza-opoly With FX (BBG)
• Russia court closes McDonald's branch for 90 days (Reuters)
• Finland Says NATO an Option After Russia ‘Violates’ Border Laws (BBG)
• Netanyahu Hit With Domestic Criticism Over Gaza Truce (BBG)
• Biggest Danish Fund Readies for Rate Shock as Exit Narrows (BBG)
• Nonprofit Hospitals' Profits Fall (WSJ)

It remains to be seen if frontrunning the general public on collusive, material, non-public information that a strategic would be about to announce a bid for Allergan is indeed "completely lawful", however we do have a question: now that the SEC is formally investigating Ackman for what may be a massive frontrunning scam, is it also looking at all the other hedge funds which reported brand new stakes (some of which also entirely in the form of calls) in Allergan in the second quarter?

• Barack Obama's 'vacation from hell' (Politico)
• Russian aid convoy checked; military vehicles mass near Ukraine (Reuters)
• Ukraine Says APCs Entered From Russia to Aid Insurgents (BBG)
• Islamic State Said to Challenge Al-Qaeda for Leadership (BBG)
• Missouri protests calmer after governor puts black police captain in charge (Reuters)
• Finally someone will prove the US is a pyramid scheme (in a 1000 page presentation): Ackman’s Pershing Square Sues U.S. Over Fannie, Freddie (BBG)
• Banks, Financial Firms Load Up on Cheap Debt (WSJ)
• Putin to Meet Finnish President as Threat of Cold War Grows (BBG)

Curious what (long) positions hedge funds bought, sold, initiated or liquidated in the second quarter? Then the following summary, courtesy of RanSquawk is for you. And while these 13F reports are far less relevant than they used to be when central-planning wasn't the rule of the land, keep a close eye on these most frequently mentioned stocks: AAPL, DG, AAL, MNK, FB, PCLN, GM, VZ, AGN, AIG, DTV, CMCSA, WMB, QCOM, APC, and CBS.

Now that everyone is finally focusing on the strategy of bloating any available company with massive leverage in order to use the proceeds to either buyback stock or engage in "synergy-creating" M&A (leading to countless pink slips), which is affectionately known as "activism", here is Bill Ackman's latest, Q2, letter with his take on this topic of how massive leverage which is great for shareholders now, but a disaster waiting to happen for employees and bondholders in the future as soon as rates rise, is the greatest thing since sliced bread.

• Obama says Missouri shooting death tragic, reflection needed (Reuters)
• U.S. Weighs Iraq Rescue Mission to Save Yazidis (WSJ)
• Maliki says Abadi's appointment as Iraqi PM 'has no value' (Reuters)
• Iran Joins U.S. in Backing Replacement for Iraq’s Maliki (BBG)
• Kurds Push Attack in North Iraq as Maliki Clings to Power (BBG)
• Obama Donors Embrace Corporate Inversions He Criticizes (BBG)
• Syrian Forces Advance on Aleppo, Rebels Fear Another Siege (WSJ)
• Israel, Palestinians pursue Gaza deal with ceasefire clock ticking (Reuters)
• Ebola Drug’s Success Bolsters Approach for Other Diseases (BBG)
• With Natural Gas Byproduct, Iran Sidesteps Sanctions (NYT)
• Kazakhs to Hoard Food as Putin Sanctions Rattle Alliance (BBG)

• So that's what Obama meant by "costs" - Italy Recession, German Orders Signal Euro-Area Struggle (BBG)
• Russia worries, weak German data weigh on Europe (Reuters)
• Hedge Funds Betting Against Banco Espírito Santo in Line for Big Gains (WSJ)
• Bankers Called Up for Ukraine War as Rolls-Royce for Sale (BBG)
• Double Punch for 'Inversion' Deals (WSJ)
• Statist Strongmen Putin-Xi See History’s Capitalism Clash (BBG)
• China bans beards, veils from Xinjiang city's buses (Reuters)
• BATS to Settle High-Speed Trading Case (WSJ)
• Second Ebola patient wheeled into Atlanta hospital for treatment (Reuters)

After an incredible day in Herbalife - its best performance ever - following Bill Ackman's "death blow," none other than Whitney Tilson (who oddly has not been seen on CNBC for many months) has penned a letter to his investors explaining "why I am more confident of my Herbalife short position." As a gentle reminder, Mr. Tilson entered his Herbalife short in December 2012 in the low $20s (shortly after Ackman's initial pitch) and recently made it one of his firm's largest short positions. It appears there are now two ways by which Herbalife shares implode - Ackman buys a 'minority stake' and 'fixes it' or Whitney Tilson gets on TV and shifts to a long position...

• Snowden: 'no relationship' with Russian government (Reuters)
• Bond Surge Worldwide Drives Index Yield to One-Year Low (BBG)
• Shares flirt with record highs on ECB easing bets (Reuters)
• Goldman Shuns Bonds Pimco’s Gross Favors in ‘New Neutral’  (BBG)
• Porn may be messing with your head (Reuters)
• Dish to Become Largest Company to Accept Bitcoin (AP)
• To Make a Killing on Wall Street, Start Meditating (BBG)
• Apple to get Beats, music mogul Iovine for $3 billion (Reuters)
• Fink Says Leveraged ETFs May ‘Blow Up’ Industry  (BBG)

• More than 20 dead, doctor says, as anti-China riots spread in Vietnam (Reuters)
• Russia's Gazprom plans Singapore stock exchange listing (Reuters)
• Inside Europe’s Plan Z (FT)
• Ukraine slides deeper toward war as Russia warns to vote (BBG)
• Fast-Food Protests Spread Overseas (NYT)
• BOJ Beat, Officials Could Upgrade Outlook for Capex (WSJ)
• Euro-Zone Economy Shows Weaker-Than -Expected Expansion (WSJ)
• Yahoo to YouTube Ads Spreading Viruses Rile Lawmakers (BBG)
• New York Times Ousts Jill Abramson as Executive Editor, Names Dean Baquet (BBG)
• NYT Publisher Said to Always Have Clashed With Abramson (BBG)
• Google gets take-down requests after European court ruling - source (Reuters)