FURTHER FURTHER READING
- The case for fewer, better, measures of bank regulatory risk.
- Piling on the Winklevoss Bitcoin ETF, part one, part two, part three.
- What's a true asset class?
- We're sold on the Risk Parity 3+30 Fund, anyway.
- "A tax on BS reduces its supply" -- MargRev vs MargRev.
- China's increasingly rent-free malls.
- The army returns to the fore in Egypt... so do its "huge economic interests".
ROUND-UP
Failing to close above its 50-day moving average, again. The S&P 500 closed almost flat at 1,614.08. The 50-day DMA is 1,623.94 (Reuters).
Pimco's Total Return fund suffered the largest outflows in its history in June. Bond investors pulled some $9.9bn out of the Bill Gross flagship amid last month's heavy sell-off in US Treasuries. Including losses, assets in the mutual fund, the world's largest, dropped from $285bn at the end of May to $268bn in June (Financial Times).
The Fed is "very close" to agreeing a tougher leverage cap for US banks, even after approving Basel III capital rules for them on Thursday. Fed governor Daniel Tarullo outlined proposals to raise capital charges for the banks most exposed to short-term wholesale funding, presenting them as firm policy goals for the first time (Financial Times). Plans to adjust risk-weightings for mortgages were abandoned in the Fed board's approval of the Basel III regime (Wall Street Journal).
S&P cut its credit ratings for Barclays, Deutsche Bank and Credit Suisse, citing 'the increasing risks that Europe's large banking groups active in investment banking face'. The four banks' long-term ratings were cut from A+ to A. S&P affirmed its ratings for UBS. (Standard & Poor's release).
Portugal's government came to the brink of collapse. Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho said he would stay on despite the resignations of his finance and foreign ministers. Opposition parties have called for general elections to be held two years early as the ruling coalition fractures. Paulo Portas, the now ex-foreign minister, leads a junior coalition partner (Financial Times).
The Egyptian army prepared to push Mohamed Morsi out of office, 24 hours before the end of an ultimatum to solve the country's political impasse. President Morsi said he rejected the deadline, which expires at 1630 GMT on Wednesday (BBC News). The military leaked details of its 'roadmap' earlier on Tuesday, including plans to suspend the constitution (Reuters).
The Obama administration is set to delay its healthcare law's employer mandate until 2015. The Affordable Care Act penalises businessess who fail to provide a minimum standard of health insurance, but regulatory guidance this week is likely to delay the measure following complaints over reporting requirements (Bloomberg).
