- Chinese shares tumble 8.5 percent in biggest one-day drop since 2007 (Reuters [24])
- Japan’s Economy Shrank Last Quarter, Top Forecaster Says (BBG [25])
- Creditor teams in Athens to work on third bailout (AFP [26])
- Tsipras’s Paradox Is Six Months of Pain and Enduring Popularity (BBG [27])
- Goldman-Backed Instant Messaging Company Seeks New Investment (WSJ [28])
- Best Buy will sell the Apple Watch on August 7th (Engadget [29]) - when is it coming to Dollar General?
- Senate votes to revive Ex-Im (Hill [30])
- U.S.-Turkey Deal Paves Way to Set Up Buffer Zone in Northern Syria (WSJ [31])
- Banks revolt over plan to kill $17B Fed payout (Hill [32])
- Governors Would Take Almost Any Highway Measure Congress Offers (BBG [33])
- Teva to Buy Allergan Generics for $40.5 Billion (WSJ [34])
- Goldman-Backed Instant Messaging Company Seeks New Investment (AFP [35])
- Fiat Chrysler’s Record Fine Shows Trust Eroding in Carmakers (BBG [36])
- Facebook, Twitter to Show Whether Ad Investments Are Paying Off (BBG [37])
- Foreign insurers taking cautious look at Iran after nuclear deal (Reuters [38])
- UBS Profit Rises 53% on Lower Costs, Jump in Equity Trading (BBG [39])
- Draghi’s ‘Whatever It Takes’ Marks Three Years Proving Enough (BBG [40])
- Meanwhile... Obama working with Ethiopia on human rights, talks on security (Reuters [41])
Overnight Media Digest
WSJ
* Federal regulators hit Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV with a record $105 million fine for recall lapses covering millions of vehicles, adding to mounting scrutiny of the auto maker's safety practices. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration also assigned an independent monitor to audit the company's recall processes for up to four years. (http://on.wsj.com/1Ipg71f [42])
* Verizon Communications Inc workers in nine states have voted to go on strike if necessary over a dispute about a new contract, a union official said at a rally on Saturday. (http://on.wsj.com/1Ipgadi [43])
* Pearson Plc on Saturday moved to swiftly complete its transformation into an education specialist after confirming it is in talks over the potential sale of its 50 percent stake in the Economist Group. (http://on.wsj.com/1IpgatY [44])
* More than a dozen U.S. companies on Monday will pledge to invest more than $140 billion in efforts to cut carbon emissions as part of a new Obama administration initiative leading up to the United Nations climate-change summit later this year. (http://on.wsj.com/1IpgjgW [45])
* Symphony Communication Services LLC, the instant-messaging software company backed by many of Wall Street's biggest firms, is seeking another investment round that may value the startup at as much as $1 billion, according to people familiar with the matter. (http://on.wsj.com/1Ipglp3 [28])
FT
Steve Webb, who oversaw some of the biggest reforms to pensions in a century in the coalition government before he lost his parliamentary seat in May, is poised to join Royal London, the UK's biggest mutual life and retirement group, which once criticised him for making "headline grabbing" policy.
Italian defence group Finmeccanica is no longer looking to sell DRS Technologies, the U.S. electronics business it acquired for $5.2 billion in 2008, due to the improved performance of the unit.
Pearson Plc is in talks to sell its 50 percent stake in The Economist Group, publisher of The Economist magazine, to the other shareholders in the group, with one, Italy's Agnelli family, confirming it wants to increase its stake.
NYT
* Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd is in advanced talks to buy the generic drug division of Allergan Plc for about $45 billion, a person briefed on the matter said on Saturday. A deal could be announced as soon as Monday, the person said, though talks are continuing and could still fall apart. (http://nyti.ms/1MR28B2 [46])
* Economists working for a group of hedge funds and other firms with major investments in Puerto Rican bonds said Sunday night that the government could solve its debt crisis largely by stepping up tax collections and obtaining additional financing over the next two years. (http://nyti.ms/1MR2l7g [47])
* In their most aggressive crackdown yet on auto safety, federal regulators on Sunday levied a record penalty of $105 million against Fiat Chrysler Automobiles for failing to complete 23 safety recalls covering more than 11 million vehicles. (http://nyti.ms/1U1xyZx [48])
* Podcast networks like Gimlet Media and Panoply are increasingly relying on a funding model that asks reporters and hosts to help create ads or endorse advertisers' products. (http://nyti.ms/1KsMg7o [49])
Canada
THE GLOBE AND MAIL
** Insolvent Target Canada's sale of its store leases and other properties fetched far less than the amount the retailer spent initially acquiring its leases - a reflection of the softening retail real estate market in the wake of the U.S. discounter's exit from Canada. (http://bit.ly/1Ktfu64 [50])
** The newest judge on Ontario's top court, who is part of Prime Minister Stephen Harper's vanguard on the bench, has an explanation for the Conservative government's well-known losing streak at the Supreme Court of Canada: The court's reasoning process is unfair, making it almost impossible for the federal government to defend its laws, such as those involving assisted suicide, prostitution and the war on drugs. (http://bit.ly/1GTPKem [51])
** Quebec is moving steadfastly ahead on its Plan Nord project to open up the vast resource-rich northern reaches of the province. But there is one activity notably absent from the to-do list in the 20-year mining-forestry-energy action plan: uranium mining. (http://bit.ly/1OKjDnY [52])
NATIONAL POST
** Conservative defector Eve Adams failed on Sunday in her bid to run as a Liberal candidate in the looming federal election. The sitting member of Parliament, welcomed personally into the fold by Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau, was handily beaten for the party's nomination in the Toronto riding of Eglinton-Lawrence by lawyer Marco Mendicino. (http://bit.ly/1DHRzLh [53])
** The imminent federal election campaign will see more money splashed around than ever before in Canada and the deep-pocketed Conservatives can claim a decided advantage - an edge that increases exponentially if Prime Minister Stephen Harper opts for a longer campaign than usual, new number-crunching shows. (http://bit.ly/1KtghUO [54])
Hong Kong
SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST
- Hong Kong's pan-democrats agreed there was a need to communicate with Beijing during their first meeting since the government's reform plan for the 2017 chief executive election was voted down last month. That was the clear consensus reached by the informal grouping of 23 out of 27 pan-democratic lawmakers during eight hours of talks. (bit.ly/1SJa1Kp)
- Hong Kong customs has launched a computer system to trace counterfeit transactions on online social media networks. By scanning social networks and talking to target dealers with artificial intelligence, the Customs and Excise Department and the University of Hong Kong jointly developed system can identify illegal sellers, who can then be traced by customs officers. (bit.ly/1KsBbDz)
THE STANDARD
- Hui Xian Real Estate Investment Trust says the mainland hotel business has already bottomed out and hopes to acquire more commercial complexes in first- and second-tier cities. (bit.ly/1fygQSg)
- Hong Kong Airlines is still pursuing an initial public offering and potential investors find it more attractive amid weak oil prices, insiders said. As the six-month deadline has passed, the listing may be held later this year, according to market sources. (bit.ly/1HTziij)
HONG KONG ECONOMIC TIMES
- Emperor Watch & Jewellery's chairwoman Cindy Yeung said the company has been focusing on offering deeper discount and promoting affordable luxury products in a weak retail market, and said the company might look to streamline its sales network.
Britain
The Times
HEDGE FUNDS LINE UP CO-OP'S BANK STAKE
Several American hedge funds are understood to be considering making an offer for the Co-operative Bank as they explore a potential future sale or merger of the business with one of Britain's growing band of challenger banks.
WALL ST RAIDER PILES INTO 1 BLN STG BATTLE FOR BWIN
GVC Holdings Plc, an online gambling company listed on AIM, the junior London stock market, is understood to have joined forces with Cerberus Capital Management to launch a new offer for Bwin, the owner of Foxy Bingo. (http://thetim.es/1DHQNxZ [55])
The Guardian
SCOTLAND YARD TO BECOME LUXURY HOTEL IN 110M STG DEVELOPMENT
The original Scotland Yard police station is to be turned into a new five-star luxury London hotel with rooms costing up to 10,000 pounds ($15,521.00) a night under a 110-million-pound ($170.73-million) deal involving Galliard Homes and Dubai-based developer Yusuffali Kader. (http://bit.ly/1DHPU8G [56])
MORRISONS BUYERS DEMANDED ONE-OFF PAYMENTS FROM SUPPLIERS
Buyers at WM Morrison Supermarkets Plc have attempted to secure one-off payments from about 20 suppliers in a potential breach of a government-backed code, with only "a handful" blocked by the supermarket's legal team. (http://bit.ly/1DHR582 [57])
The Telegraph
TESCO ABANDONS THREE TIMES AS MANY SUPERMARKETS AS ITS RIVALS
Tesco Plc has abandoned three times as many new supermarket sites as all of its rivals put together over the last five years in a fresh sign that the "space race" is over, according to figures complied by Barbour ABI exclusively for The Telegraph. (http://bit.ly/1DHQqDu [58])
Sky News
APAX, GMG TO HIT JACKPOT WITH TOP RIGHT SALE
Sky News has learnt that Apax Partners, the private equity firm which acquired control of Top Right Group in 2008, has asked investment banks to pitch for the mandate to advise on options for offloading the company. (http://bit.ly/1gXzh3R [59])
1.8 BLN STG 'WASTED' ON NHS REDUNDANCY PAYMENTS
The Department of Health has been accused of "spending money like confetti" on NHS redundancy payments. Figures reveal redundancy payoffs amounted to nearly 2 billion pounds ($3.10 billion) during the Government's restructuring programme over the last five years. (http://bit.ly/1DHRl72 [60])
The Independent
GREECE DEBT CRISIS: HUMBLED ATHENS STARTS TALKS ON BAILOUT WITH HATED 'TROIKA'
Greece will begin delayed negotiations on a third bailout totalling 85 billion euros ($93.22 billion) on Tuesday, months after its left-wing leadership swore not to deal with the hated "troika" of its international creditors. (http://ind.pn/1DHRJCw [61])