Top foreign stories
Bank of England deputy says Greek situation ‘very dangerous’, no contagion: Greece’s deepening debt crisis has become “very dangerous” but there is no sign yet of it spreading to other countries on the periphery of the eurozone, Bank of England deputy governor Jon Cunliffe said. “We’re not seeing signs of that at the moment. Financial markets are not showing there is contagion or spreading of those risks to the periphery,” he said in a BBC radio interview. — Reuters
China’s planning agency won’t allow enterprise bond defaults: The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) deputy head Lian Weiliang has given assurances that China’s primary economic planning policy agency will not allow any enterprise bonds to default, China Securities Daily reported. Although China’s onshore bond markets have seen defaults on corporate bonds and medium-term notes over the past two years, no firm has yet to publicly default on an enterprise bond – directly approved by NDRC and typically issued by large enterprises owned by the central government, rather than local governments. — Reuters
US hiring seen solid in June: US job growth likely cooled a bit in June after reaching a five-month high, but still-healthy hiring would suggest the labour market is strong enough to support a September interest rate increase by the Federal Reserve. A Reuters survey estimated that nonfarm payrolls rose 230,000 last month after May’s 280,000 jump, the largest gain since December. Even with a slowdown from the prior month, June’s increase would be well above the average for the first five months of the year. The jobless rate is forecast to fall one-tenth of a percentage point back to a seven-year low of 5.4%, not far from the 5% to 5.2% range most Fed officials consider consistent with full employment. — Reuters
Thai consumer outlook slips to one-year low as recovery stalls: Thai consumer confidence slipped to a more than one-year low in June dampened by economic uncertainty, falling exports, low commodity prices and drought, a university survey showed. The consumer confidence index of the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce fell to 74.4 in June from 75.6 the previous month, its sixth consecutive month of decline. The June reading was the lowest since May last year. — Reuters
Carlyle, MBK on bidders’ shortlist for Tesco S.Korea unit: Carlyle Group and MBK Partners are among the shortlisted bidders for Tesco Plc’s South Korea business which is valued at about US$6 billion, sources said. The sale could be the biggest ever private equity acquisition in Asia. Goldman Sachs’ private equity arm and Affinity Equity Partners were also on the list, the sources said. — Reuters
China relaxes margin rules as share prices fall: China’s securities regulator has relaxed rules on margin trading – borrowed funds that fuelled a spectacular stock market rally – after measures including an interest rate cut failed to stop equities falling. The China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) removed some limits on investors’ minimum deposit requirements, it said on its website. Margin investors only need to deposit a small proportion of the value of their trade, generating bigger profits for a given amount of money put down – but also bigger losses. — AFP
ArcelorMittal Mexico unit to slash 2,800 jobs: ArcelorMittal, the world’s largest producer of steel, will cut 2,800 jobs at its Mexico unit as global prices slump, it said in a joint statement with local competitors, while accusing Russia, China and Turkey of dumping steel on markets at levels below production costs. Altos Hornos de Mexico, DeAcero and ArcelorMittal warned in the statement that if Mexico continues to import steel products at what it called dumping prices, the number of job cuts will rise. — Reuters
Top local news
Interim audit on 1MDB completed on schedule, says Auditor-General: The interim report on 1Malaysia Development Bhd (IMDB) has been completed according to schedule on June 30. The Auditor-General’s office said in a statement today that the report will be handed over to the Public Accounts Committee at a briefing scheduled for July 9. — Bernama
Bintulu Port awards RM38mil machinery contract: Bintulu Port Holdings Bhd
unit has awarded a RM38mil contract to Senari Machinery Sdn Bhd for the supply of machinery and equipment. It said Samalaju Industrial Port Sdn Bhd had issued the letter of acceptance for the three units level luffing crane complete with hopper and conveyor belt feeder. — StarBiz
SC revokes remisier’s licence for improper business practice: The Securities Commission (SC) has revoked the Capital Market Services Representative’s Licence of Lim Chin Wat for improper business practices when trading in Magna Prima Bhd shares. The SC said on the revocation of the licence was effective May 28. - StarBiz
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