- Who Needs the Euro When You Can Pay With Deutsche Marks? (WSJ [26])
- Now it's personal and ad hominem: Is German Economist Exacerbating Euro Crisis? (Spiegel [27])
- Bernanke Outlines Range Of Options For Additional Easing (Bloomberg [28])
- Italy's Monti says serious worry Sicily region may default (Reuters [29])
- Libor ‘structurally flawed’, says Fed (FT [30])
- Some Firms Opt to Bring Manufacturing Back to U.S. (WSJ [31])
- ECB Signals Support for Easing Irish Debt Terms (WSJ [32])
- China’s Wen Warns Of Severe Job Outlook As Growth Yet To Return (Bloomberg [33])
- Hollande scraps tax breaks on overtime (WSJ [34])
- China’s June Home Prices Rebound As Sentiment Improves (Bloomberg [35])
- China Raises Treasury Holdings First Time In Three Months (Bloomberg [36])
- Japanese, Korean Banks Face Scrutiny Over Interest Rates (Bloomberg [37])
Overnight Media Digest
WSJ
* Peregrine Financial Group Inc's founder said he spent most of the money allegedly embezzled from customers to cushion his trading firm's capital, fund a new corporate headquarters -- and even to pay regulatory fines and fees, according to previously undisclosed parts of letters left when he attempted suicide.
* Goldman Sachs Group Inc's profit shrank 11 percent in the second quarter, and the securities firm launched a new wave of cost cutting to offset chronically weak returns from trading and investment banking.
* David Bagley -- the top executive in charge of HSBC Holdings Plc's anti-money-laundering programs told lawmakers he is stepping down in the wake of a Senate investigation into risky practices at the global banking giant.
* The supervisory board of General Motors Co's Opel unit named Thomas Sedran as interim chief to restructure the European brand and stem hefty losses amid deteriorating regional demand for new cars.
* BlackRock Inc recently tested its new bond-trading platform without telling the Wall Street securities dealers that dominate that business, a move that miffed some traders at the banks in the latest sign of tension over who ultimately will control securities trading.
* The Bank of England and its governor, Mervyn King, came under fresh pressure Tuesday over their failure over several years to catch efforts by Barclays Plc to manipulate interest rates, further complicating the central bank's effort to find a successor for King.
* Vivendi SA is working with two investment banks to explore the sale of videogame giant Activision Blizzard Inc , in which the French conglomerate owns a majority stake, people familiar with the matter said.
* Intel Corp reported a 4 percent drop in second-quarter profit and lowered its financial guidance for the year, acknowledging weaker demand for personal computers that is affecting many companies in the technology sector.
FT
* Peregrine Financial Group Inc's founder said he spent most of the money allegedly embezzled from customers to cushion his trading firm's capital, fund a new corporate headquarters -- and even to pay regulatory fines and fees, according to previously undisclosed parts of letters left when he attempted suicide.
* Goldman Sachs Group Inc's profit shrank 11 percent in the second quarter, and the securities firm launched a new wave of cost cutting to offset chronically weak returns from trading and investment banking.
* David Bagley -- the top executive in charge of HSBC Holdings Plc's anti-money-laundering programs told lawmakers he is stepping down in the wake of a Senate investigation into risky practices at the global banking giant.
* The supervisory board of General Motors Co's Opel unit named Thomas Sedran as interim chief to restructure the European brand and stem hefty losses amid deteriorating regional demand for new cars.
* BlackRock Inc recently tested its new bond-trading platform without telling the Wall Street securities dealers that dominate that business, a move that miffed some traders at the banks in the latest sign of tension over who ultimately will control securities trading.
* The Bank of England and its governor, Mervyn King, came under fresh pressure Tuesday over their failure over several years to catch efforts by Barclays Plc to manipulate interest rates, further complicating the central bank's effort to find a successor for King.
* Vivendi SA is working with two investment banks to explore the sale of videogame giant Activision Blizzard Inc , in which the French conglomerate owns a majority stake, people familiar with the matter said.
* Intel Corp reported a 4 percent drop in second-quarter profit and lowered its financial guidance for the year, acknowledging weaker demand for personal computers that is affecting many companies in the technology sector.
NYT
* The Federal Reserve chairman, Ben Bernanke, said Tuesday that the Fed was seeking greater clarity about the health of the recovery, suggesting that officials were not ready to approve another round of stimulus.
* The fiscal crisis for states will persist long after the U.S. economy rebounds as they confront rising health care costs, underfunded pensions, ignored infrastructure needs, eroding revenues and expected federal budget cuts, according to a report issued on Tuesday by a task force of respected budget experts.
* Senate Democrats -- holding firm against extending tax cuts for the rich -- are proposing a novel way to circumvent the Republican pledge not to vote for any tax increase: Allow all the tax cuts to expire Jan. 1, then vote on a tax cut for the middle class shortly thereafter.
* In Congressional testimony, the chairman of the Federal Reserve and the head of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission expressed concern that banks had manipulated interest rates for their own gain. They also indicated that flaws in the system -- which were highlighted in a recent enforcement case against Barclays Plc persist.
* Bank of America Corp has agreed to pay $375 million to settle a lawsuit brought by Syncora Guarantee, a bond insurer, over toxic mortgage-backed securities at the center of the 2008 financial crisis.
* David Bagley -- the top compliance executive for global banking giant HSBC Holdings Plc announced during a Senate hearing on Tuesday, which examined the global bank's repeated failure to stop illegal foreign transactions, that he will step down from that role.
Canada
THE GLOBE AND MAIL
* An envelope addressed to Luka Rocco Magnotta, which was later found to contain a suspicious powder, prompted authorities to shut down one of Canada's biggest postal centres.
* Harry Winston Diamond Corp is grappling with rising diamond inventories and falling prices as the slack global economy prolongs a year-long slump.
NATIONAL POST
* Former Conservative MP Rahim Jaffer sought secret information about Canadian military satellite technology after meeting with state-owned Chinese technology companies in China in 2010, according to a document filed in an Ottawa courthouse by private investigator Derrick Snowdy.
FINANCIAL POST
* Sizzling hot markets in Toronto and Vancouver have fueled a lot of debate lately about whether Canada's housing market is overheated.
European Economic Update
- UK Bank of England MPC Minutes: 7-2 Vote to Increase Asset Purchases.
- UK Claimant Count Rate 4.9% – in line with expectations. Consensus 4.9%. Previous 4.9%.
- UK Jobless Claims Change 6.1K – higher than expected. Consensus 5.0K. Previous 8.1K. Revised 6.9K.
- UK ILO Unemployment Rate 8.1% – lower than expected. Consensus 8.2%. Previous 8.2%.
- Euro Area Construction Output 0.1% m/m -8.4% y/y. Previous -2.7% m/m -5.0% y/y. Revised -3.7% m/m -6.3% y/y.
- Italian Current Account (Mio Euro) -1199M. Previous -1138M.