- This headline needs updating: Creditors set bailout ultimatum for defiant Greeks (Reuters [23])
- Greece’s Fragile Banks Leave Alexis Tsipras Few Options in Bailout Talks (WSJ [24])
- Dueling Greece Plans Presented as Ministers Race for Aid Deal (BBG [25])
- Icahn Cashes In His Netflix Chips (WSJ [26])
- Meet the Health-Law Holdouts: Americans Who Prefer to Go Uninsured (WSJ [27])
- ECB holds Athens lifeline unchanged as Bundesbank protests (Reuters [28])
- Supreme Court Guide: Six Big Decisions Remain (WSJ [29])
- The Rise of the Compliance Guru—and Banker Ire (BBG [30])
- To Many Iraqis, U.S. Isn’t Really Seeking to Defeat Islamic State (WSJ [31])
- Boston bomber apologizes, admits guilt for deadly 2013 attack (Reuters [32])
- We’re Working More Hours—and Watching More TV (WSJ [33])
- Greek Math Whiz at Irish Hedge Fund Tells the Tale of Two Crises (BBG [34])
- Second New York prison worker charged in breakout: police (Reuters [35])
- America’s New Bond Underwriters Have Arrived in Search of Alpha (BBG [36])
- Options Bears Take Fresh Stab at Biotech Amid Rally Topping 500% (BBG [37])
Overnight Media Digest
WSJ
* The White House and Republican leaders notched a significant victory Wednesday with the Senate's passage of divisive trade legislation, but the win kicks off a grueling, monthslong process to complete a Pacific trade pact that still faces domestic opposition and must win final congressional approval. (http://on.wsj.com/1Lw4PdB [38])
* Billionaire investor Carl Icahn sold his remaining stake in Netflix Inc, banking more than $2 billion in profits, according to securities filings, in part because he is worried that financial markets are "extremely overheated" and destined for a fall.(http://on.wsj.com/1Lw56NO [26])
* JPMorgan Chase & Co is in talks with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to settle a probe into whether the bank inappropriately steered private-banking clients to its own investment products, people familiar with the matter said. (http://on.wsj.com/1Lw5snv [39])
* The Obama administration for more than a week avoided disclosing the severity of an intrusion into federal computers by defining it as two breaches but divulging just one, said people familiar with the matter. The U.S. suspects China was behind the Office of Personnel Management breach. (http://on.wsj.com/1GrUwke [40])
FT
London mayor Boris Johnson has floated a 10 billion pound ($15.70 billion) fund to help compete the City with New York's booming biotech and life sciences sector.
Silicon Valley's secretive artificial intelligence company Palantir is in talks with investors to raise hundreds of millions of dollars, valuing the company at about $20 billion, according to people familiar with the matter.
Executives from oil companies Royal Dutch Shell plc and Eni have met Iranian officials in Tehran to make potential investments in the country's energy industry. Iran possesses the world's third largest reserves for oil and gas.
British bank Barclays plc has ended its four-year relationship with Credit Suisse and appointed JPMorgan as it corporate broker. JP Morgan will assume the responsibilities along with Barclays' incumbent joint-broker Deutsche Bank.
NYT
* The Senate on Wednesday gave final approval to legislation granting President Barack Obama enhanced power to negotiate major trade agreements with Asia and Europe, sending the president's biggest end-of-term legislative priority to the White House for his signature. (http://nyti.ms/1NdnjNy [41])
* The merger agreement between the Dutch supermarket operator Ahold and the Delhaize Group of Belgium on Wednesday reflected yet another sign of the malaise hanging over the grocery business in the United States. (http://nyti.ms/1NdlSP9 [42])
* The New York Department of Consumer Affairs accused Whole Foods Market Inc on Wednesday of overstating the weight of some prepackaged products sold in the company's stores in the city. (http://nyti.ms/1Hj5RqL [43])
Hong Kong
SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST
-- Hong Kong's anti-graft agency is cementing greater ties with China as Beijing continues its unprecedented crackdown on corruption. Latest figures on cross-border cooperation involving the Independent Commission Against Corruption and its mainland counterparts reveal a steady rise in investigations by agents on each other's patch. (bit.ly/1FC88YH)
-- Rural patriarch and pro-establishment lawmaker Lau Wong-fat denied he was set to quit the Legislative Council. Rumours emerged that the Business and Professionals Alliance lawmaker would resign due to poor health. He was at the centre of a controversial walkout among pro-establishment lawmakers during last week's Legco vote on electoral reform. (bit.ly/1BNvaRr)
THE STANDARD
-- The Performing Industry Association suggests an indoor stadium with at least 35,000 seats be built at Kai Tak to meet the needs of performance tourism that could generate HK$5.20 billion ($670.76 million) income for Hong Kong. The suggestion comes ahead of funding approval by the Legislative Council's Finance Committee for pre-construction work at the proposed Kai Tak Sports Complex. (bit.ly/1KdKdXo)
-- Hong Kongers are going greener, but have yet to learn which seafoods are abundant and which are unsustainable, according to WWF Hong Kong's latest fish tank index study. (bit.ly/1LpnbvR)
-- More than 7,000 items sent overseas by airmail were lost last year, resulting in compensation claims worth more than HK$2 million. Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Gregory So revealed 7,357 airmail items were lost last year, some 58 percent fewer than the 17,588 lost items in 2013 which cost nearly HK$5 million. (bit.ly/1dhe96b)
HONG KONG ECONOMIC JOURNAL
-- Hong Kong, which is set to lose out to Shanghai in IPO race in the first half, is expected to surpass Shanghai as well as New York and London for the whole year to be the top IPO fund raising venue, tapping about HK$280 billion ($36.12 billion), according to accounting firm Deloitte.
Britain
The Times
Britain's first digital-only bank, Atom Bank, has been granted a banking licence by the Bank of England. It will open to customers this year and will be available only through an online app, which customers can use on smartphones or tablets. (http://thetim.es/1e4ejia [44])
James Ward-Lilley, a top executive at AstraZeneca, has quit to become the chief executive of Vectura Group, a developer of respiratory drugs, in the second high-profile departure from the pharmaceuticals group in a fortnight. (http://thetim.es/1J6td28 [45])
The Guardian
Ikea Group, the world's largest furniture retailer, said it plans to try a small-format store in Britain. The privately owned Swedish company intends to test "order and collection points", starting in Norwich in the autumn, in an attempt to extend is reach across the UK. (http://bit.ly/1eHzhUO [46])
The Financial Conduct Authority has launched an investigation into the accounts of Quindell, the chaotic insurance claims handler that was once an investor favourite. (http://bit.ly/1NioPyy [47])
The Telegraph
BT Group is calling on the communications watchdog to let it scrap the traditional telephone network, as part of a campaign to loosen regulations that it says will help telecom companies compete better with U.S. internet companies. (http://bit.ly/1KaYD9b [48])
ITV has bought 75 percent of Twofour Group, the independent producer behind programmes including "Educating Yorkshire", for 55 million stg ($86.37 million) up front. The remaining stake will be subject to a put and call option to be exercised at the end of 2017, or between 2019 and 2021. The price will depend on meeting profitability thresholds. (http://bit.ly/1IeIpMa [49])
Sky News
Dallas-based Lone Star Funds has asked bankers at Rothschild to conduct a strategic review of the assets with an eye on a possible exit next year. (http://bit.ly/1RxiKyN [50])
The owner of the Miami Dolphins football team is reportedly joining forces with Qatar Sports Investments to buy a controlling stake in Formula One. The deal is estimated to be worth around 5 billion stg. (http://bit.ly/1TNwVDO [51])
The Independent
Two massive European grocery chains, Royal Ahold and Delhaize Group, have reached a deal to merge, creating the sixth largest food retailer in the U.S. and the biggest in parts of Europe. (http://ind.pn/1NchFev [52])