Barclays

• Stocks sour as Apple results leave bitter aftertaste (Reuters)
• Awkward Alliance Running Germany Exposed by Greek Crisis (BBG)
• Apple Faces Old Question of What’s Next After Record Profit (BBG)
• Lawmakers, White House Explore Tax Revamp for U.S. Firms Overseas (WSJ)
• Digital Misfits Link JPMorgan Hack to Pump-and-Dump Fraud (BBG)
• More Debt Traders at Risk as European Banks Report Results (BBG)
• Iran rejects sanctions extension beyond 10 years (Reuters)

With the mainstream media onslaught against precious metals climaxing this weekend as WSJ's Jason Zweig proclaimed gold "like a pet rock," describing owning gold as "an act of faith," we thought it worthwhile looking back at the last time 'everyone' was slamming gold and entirely enthused by the omnipotence of central bankers... May 4th, 1999 - "Who Needs Gold When We Have Greenspan?"

• Gold claws back ground, European assets lose Greek tarnish (Reuters)
• Greece's Euro Exit Back on the Agenda Next Year, Economists Say (BBG)
• Greece submits bill needed to start rescue talks (Reuters)
• Wall Street Lenders Growing Impatient With U.S. Shale Revolution (BBG)
• Overtime Rules Send Bosses Scrambling (WSJ)
• As Markets Swing, Beijing Steadies Yuan (WSJ)
• Tennessee rampage suspect went to Qatar in 2014 (Reuters)
• Kathryn Dominguez to Be Nominated for Fed Governor (WSJ)

Yesterday, the London Times reported Barclays plans to cut 30,000 jobs within two years as part of an effort to cut costs after the recent firing of CEO, Antony Jenkins. An unidentified source went on to claim that the bank has set no new targets to cut jobs beyond the 19,000 (7,000 at Barclay’s investment bank) announced in May of 2014. If implemented, however, the cuts could reduce the bank’s global workforce to below 100,000. Barclays cut 14,000 jobs last year and is expected to axe 5,000 more staffers by the end of 2016.

• Gold Plunges to Lowest Since 2010 (BBG)
• In Greek crisis, one big unhappy EU family (Reuters)
• Greek Banks Reopen Their Doors (WSJ)
• Greek reshuffle hints at autumn election (FT)
• Angela Merkel signals conditions for Greek debt talks (FT)
• Dollar hits three-month high on rate view, pans gold (Reuters)
• History Shows Iran Could Surprise the Oil Market (BBG)
• ‘Charlie Hebdo’ Will Cease Publishing Cartoons of Prophet Muhammad (Newsweek)

How the intersection of Fed policy, the post-crisis regulatory regime, and illiquid markets turned ETFs into the new financial weapons of mass destruction.

The WSJ has released yet another gold hit piece calling it a "pet rock' and gold bugs "subjects of a laboratory experiment on the psychology of cognitive dissonance" just one day after the PBOC reveals it has added the biggest amount of gold in history in order to "ensure security." But the biggest irony is that none other than Citigroup made a far bolder case that it is not the ownership of gold but of stocks that is the ultimate act of faith: "investors remain united in their faith in the central banks – if not for their ability to create growth, then at least in their ability to push up asset prices. And yet the limits of that faith are increasingly on display." So who is right?

One senior UK bank director said: “The problem with Martin was that he made so many enemies, partly for good reason because banks did rightly need firm treatment after the crisis. But he seemed to have a mindset that all bankers were evil.”

It’s not even “Too Big to Jail” any longer. It’s now, “Too Big to Lose Profits.” After all #banklivesmatter

On Wednesday, Carl Icahn and Larry Fink engaged in an epic debate about the role ETFs play in perpetuating systemic risk. Icahn, taking a page from the Tyler Durden playbook, talks phantom liquidity before calling BlackRock "a dangerous company", and opining that Fink and Janet Yellen are "pushing the damn thing off a cliff."

Mario Draghi should remain "largely on message" in Thursday's ECB presser, with the deal struck in Brussels last weekend having spared him the inconvenience of convening a tense discussion about imminent Grexit. Expect the ECB to reiterate the central bank's commitment to implement PSPP in full and the market will no doubt be looking for any color the ECB cares to add about the event risks surrounding the implementation of a third Greek program and the recent turmoil in Chinese equity markets.

• Greece licks wounds after bailout vote, ECB move expected (Reuters)
• Lose-Lose: Pushing Greece Out of Euro Is Costlier Than Write-Off (BBG)
• EMU brutality in Greece has destroyed the trust of Europe's Left (Telegraph)
• Schaeuble Shrugs Off Greek Vote Saying Euro Exit Is Best (BBG)
• Merkel’s tough tactics prompt criticism in Germany and abroad (FT)
• Investors Get Caught in Oil’s Slippery Wake (WSJ)
• Obama Girds for Battle With Congress on Iran Deal (WSJ)

It appears that Ryan Coonerty, the Supervisor of the Third District of Santa Cruz County, wrote a letter back in June to the rest of the Board of Supervisors, in which he bravely pleaded the county cease business operations with five of the TBTF Wall Street Mega Banks. Why you ask? Well, because they are criminal felons. Considering Eric Holder refused to punish them, someone has to take a stand...“There seems to be no limit to the greed in some our nation’s largest banks. I believe it is critical that the County only work with the most trustworthy institutions as we invest and protect the public’s tax dollars. Santa Cruz County should not be involved with those who rigged the world’s biggest financial markets."

The UK has frozen the bank account of Russia's Rossiya Segodnya news agency without any explanation. "To close the account of one of the world’s leading news agencies is censorship, the direct obstruction of journalists’ work," Dmitry Kiselyov, head of the news agency, exclaimed, asking "what kind of press freedom and democracy can Britain claim to have if it prevents one of the world's largest news agencies from working in the country?" As RT reports, while no official justification for the move has been offered, RT reports a source in the banking sector told the agency the Exchequer has put Dmitry Kiselyov on an anti-Russian sanctions list. With David Cameron in full tyrannical 1984-mode, this latest move is perhaps not entirely surprising (though we await the boomerang from Putin).