MPs step up campaign for break-up of RBS: "MPs are stepping up their campaign for a break-up of Royal Bank of Scotland amid suspicions in Westminster that RBS and Treasury officials will try to scupper a good bank-bad bank split. In a letter in Tuesday's Financial Times, the influential Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards has said it is "important for all the options for [RBS's] future structure to be examined as a matter of urgency"." (Financial Times)
UK markets supervisor rejects EU regulatory guidance: "The new UK markets supervisor has for the first time rejected formal EU guidance on financial regulations this summer, adopting alternative rules that favour bankers and brokers. The Financial Conduct Authority, which opened in April, has broken publicly with the formal EU interpretation of two different rules in the past three months, in moves which City experts have linked to the government's recent tougher stance on Europe." (Financial Times)
Ackman puts JC Penney stake up for sale: "Bill Ackman has put his stake in JC Penney up for sale as the hedge fund manager prepares to end three years as the biggest shareholder in the department store where he has lost at least 40 per cent of his original investment. Mr Ackman's Pershing Square hedge fund will sell its 17.7 per cent stake via Citigroup, which will act as bookrunner, as the mid-market retailer struggles to recover from the impact of a chief executive Mr Ackman installed." (Financial Times)
BATS and Direct Edge merger creates second-largest US exchange: "US stock trading is set to be dominated by three companies after BATS Global Markets and Direct Edge agreed a merger that will make the combined exchange operator a rival to the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq. Financial terms of the tie-up announced on Monday were not disclosed but the merger will create the second-largest US stock exchange operator by volume and a potential challenger in the highly profitable listings and market data businesses." (Financial Times)
Blavatnik wins $50m in JPMorgan lawsuit: "Len Blavatnik, the billionaire investor, has won a claim for breach of contract in a lawsuit against JPMorgan Chase, delivering a fresh blow against a bank at the centre of a legal firestorm. A judge in New York State Supreme Court on Monday awarded Mr Blavatnik $50m in damages, finding that JPMorgan had breached its investment guidelines when it invested $1bn of his money, some of it in subprime mortgage-backed securities which later incurred substantial losses. He had claimed $100m." (Financial Times)
COMMENT AND CURIOS
-- The FT introduces a three-part series on China's debt. (Financial Times)
-- A review of Felipe Ossa's "The Ultimate Stimulus". (Frontier Psychiatrist)
-- Bill McBride updates the case for optimism about the US economy. (Calculated Risk)
-- The geography of success and the importance of supply-side policies. (James Hamilton)
-- Banks and macroeconomic models. (Interfluidity)
-- Do savers need to be saved? (Not Quite Noahpinion)
OVERNIGHT MARKETS: MIXED
Asian markets
Nikkei 225 up +16.55 (+0.12%) at 13,653
Topix up +0.25 (+0.02%) at 1,140
Hang Seng down -66.61 (-0.30%) at 21,939
US markets
S&P 500 down -6.72 (-0.40%) at 1,657
DJIA down -64.05 (-0.43%) at 14,946
Nasdaq down -0.22 (-0.01%) at 3,658
European markets
Eurofirst 300 down -0.13 (-0.01%) at 1,224
FTSE100 up +45.23 (+0.70%) at 6,492
CAC 40 down -2.34 (-0.06%) at 4,067
Dax up +18.16 (+0.22%) at 8,435
Currencies
€/$ 1.34 (1.34)
$/¥ 98.35 (98.50)
£/$ 1.56 (1.56)
Commodities ($)
Brent Crude (ICE) up +0.43 at 111.16
Light Crude (Nymex) up +0.35 at 106.27
100 Oz Gold (Comex) up +5.70 at 1,399
Copper (Comex) unchanged 0.00 at 3.32
10-year government bond yields (%)
US 2.81%
UK 2.71%
Germany 1.90%
Sources: FT, Bloomberg, Markit
