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THURSDAY, JUNE 25, 2015
TODAY'S TOP HEADLINES
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BY DEALBOOK
GREECE AND CREDITORS AT AN IMPASSE OVER TAXES After the eurozone finance ministers abruptly ended their meeting on the Greek debt crisis on Wednesday, they were set to meet again at 1 p.m. in Brussels on Thursday (7 a.m. E.D.T.), James Kanter writes in The New York Times. That makes it likely that the Greek debt crisis will dominate a summit meeting of all 28 European Union leaders that will begin later on Thursday afternoon.
Creditors said a key sticking point was that the latest Greek proposals, which included pension cuts and tax increases, did not go far enough, Mr. Kanter writes. The Greek proposals could save about 8 billion euros, or $9 billion, in part by levying more taxes on higher earners and companies. But Greece has a spotty record of collecting taxes, and creditors are worried that the plan could hurt economic growth. In reply to Greece's proposals, creditors sought deeper pension cuts and an increase in annual revenue equal to 1 percent of gross domestic product from changes to the value-added tax system, compared with the figure of 0.74 percent of G.D.P. that Greece had offered. Mr. Tsipras and his top advisers said those revisions were unacceptable.
The International Monetary Fund, in particular, is upset that its demands for spending reductions have been ignored, Landon Thomas Jr. writes in DealBook. The new Greek proposals include a one-time 12 percent tax for companies making more than €500,000, an increase in corporate and value-added taxes and a requirement that corporations increase their contributions to pension plans.
Greek business owners, like Thanos Tziritis, the chief executive of Isomat, Greece's largest building materials company, are worried about shouldering the extra burden, Mr. Thomas writes. "Instead of the government making reductions in the public sector, it expects the private sector to pick up the bill," said Mr. Tziritis. "Companies will move overseas, more people will be laid off and, of course, there will be no growth in the Greek economy."
IS GREECE LIKE LEHMAN BROTHERS OR RADIOSHACK? With Greece's €1.6 billion debt payment to the International Fund due in less than a week, Neil Irwin of The Upshot looks at whether Greece is more like RadioShack, or more like Lehman Brothers. "Sometimes, as when the retailer RadioShack filed for bankruptcy protection earlier this year, thewidespread reaction is not shock, but rather, 'Wait, weren't they bankrupt already?' " he writes. By contrast, in the Lehman Brothers case, "the world was utterly unprepared for the idea that a major investment bank could default on its obligations."
Over the past five years, European and Greek leaders have been acting as if Greece could be the next Lehman Brothers, with a Greek default on its debts causing catastrophic ripples through Europe. Those fears helped Greece and its creditors reach bailout agreements at the last minute. Mr. Irwin writes. But in 2015, everyone is fed up, and now more people argue that a Greek default would be more like a RadioShack bankruptcy. "Greek debt is now overwhelmingly held by European governments and its central bank, not private banks, so a default is unlikely to trigger a continentwide banking collapse," Mr. Irwin writes. Also, the European Central Bank has pledged to do "whatever it takes" to prevent a crisis of confidence in other euro members' debts.
This doesn't mean that Greece's exit from the eurozone would be painless for the rest of Europe, Mr. Irwin says. "We may not know exactly what a collapse in the Greek talks would mean, but the bad outcomes are just bad enough to make muddling along look pretty darn good," he writes.
ON THE AGENDA Reports on personal spending for May andweekly jobless claims are out at 8:30 a.m. Companies reporting earnings today include Accenture, Barnes & Noble, Nike and Micron Technology. Daniel K. Tarullo, a Federal Reserve governor, discusses the economy at a Council on Foreign Relations event in New York at 8 a.m. Another Fed governor, Jerome H. Powell, speaks about payments security in Kansas City, Mo., at 8:45 a.m. (9:45 a.m. E.D.T.). Mary JoWhite, chairwoman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, speaks at the Society of Corporate Secretaries and Governance Professionals' National Conference in Chicago at 9 a.m. (10 a.m. E.D.T.). A class-action suit against Petrobras, the Brazilian oil giant facing accusations of widespread corruption, will begin in Manhattan. Maurice R. Greenberg, the former chief executive of the American International Group, is on Bloomberg Television at 12:30 p.m.
On the Hill: A Senate Banking subcommittee will hold a hearing titled "Economic Crisis: The Global Impact of a Greek Default" at 1:30 p.m. AHouse financial services subcommittee will hold a hearing titled "Examining Continuing Allegations of Discrimination and Retaliation at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau" at 10 a.m.
AHOLD-DELHAIZE MERGER REFLECTS FLAT GROWTH IN GROCERY MARKET The merger of the Dutch supermarket operator Ahold and the Delhaize Group of Belgium is a reflection of the malaise hanging over the grocery business in the United States, Stephanie Strom and Chad Bray write in DealBook. Ahold owns the Stop & Shop and Giant chains in the United States, and Delhaize owns the Food Lion and Hannaford chains there. The deal is the latest in a series of mergers among grocery stores as companies try to compete with warehouse stores like Costco and retailers like Walmart that have added a broader product mix. "All this activity is a product of what is just a very flat business in terms of sales growth," said Kurt Jetta, chief executive of the consumer analytics firm TABS. "If you can't grow the top line, you need to find synergies and efficiencies that will help the bottom line."
For Ahold and Delhaize, combining their operations will save them money through shared advertising and promotions, andconsolidated distribution and warehousing, Ms. Strom and Mr. Bray write. In a research note on Wednesday, Bruno Monteyne, an analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein, said the potential cost savings were "sensible" but expressed concerns about the potential execution risk because similar large-scale mergers in the food sector have not succeeded.
Deal-Making Activity Hits $2.19 Trillion in First Half of 2015 The value of global mergers and acquisitions reached $2.19 trillion so far this year, the second-best first half since 2007, according to preliminary figures from the data provider Dealogic, The Financial Times reports.
Breakingviews: Halt on US Foods Deal Sours Outlook for Mergers A judge ruled that a merger of Sysco and US Foods would probably harm competition. A similar argument threatens Staples' offer for Office Depot.
JPMorgan Chase Said to Be in Talks With S.E.C. Over Product Steering JPMorgan Chase is in talks with the Securities and Exchange Commission to settle an investigation into whether the bank inappropriately guided private banking clients to its own investment products, The Wall Street Journal reports, citing people familiar with the matter.
China to Remove Cap on Banks' Loan-to-Deposit Ratios China is scrapping a 75 percent cap on banks' loan-to-deposit ratios, which should actually make the banks safer, even while modestly increasing lending, The Wall Street Journal reports.
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Carlyle and K.K.R. Said to Bid for Tesco's South Korea UnitTesco, the biggest supermarket chain in Britain, has received first-round offers from private equity firms including the Carlyle Group and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts for its South Korean business, Bloomberg News reports, citing people familiar with the matter.
Hedge Funds Seek Meeting With Puerto Rico on Oil-Tax Bonds A group of hedge funds headed by Fir Tree Partners is seeking a meeting with Alejandro Garcia Padilla, Puerto Rico's governor, and senior officials at the Government Development Bank for Puerto Rico to discuss the potential sale of $2.9 billion in oil-tax bonds, Bloomberg News reports.
Icahn Made at Least $1.6 Billion From Netflix Shares Carl C. Icahn made a total of at least $1.6 billion in profit over three years after selling his last shares of Netflix on Wednesday, according to Bloomberg News calculations.
TransUnion Valued at $4 Billion in I.P.O. The credit reporting agency's stock was priced at $22.50 a share, near the upper end of its expected pricing range of $21 to $23 a share.
Hon Hai Says It's Considering Chinese I.P.O.s for Mainland Units Hon Hai Precision Industry, the primary assembler of Apple's products, is considering Chinese listings for its mainland-based units over the next three to five years, The Wall Street Journal reports.
WeWork Valued at $10 Billion After $400 Million FundraisingWeWork Companies, provider of shared office space to small companies, said Fidelity Management & Research and existing investors injected $400 million in new capital, valuing the company at roughly $10 billion, The Wall Street Journal reports.
Molycorp Files for Bankruptcy Molycorp, the producer of rare earths, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and has reached an agreement with major creditors to restructure its $1.7 billion debt load, The Wall Street Journal reports.
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THINKPROGRESS | Center for American Progress Action Fund
1333 H Street NW, 10th Floor | Washington, DC 20005
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REPUBLIC CROATIA, TOWN SPLIT
Split is the second largest city in Croatia, with just over 200,000 inhabitants, and is the largest city on the Adriatic coast. Coupled with its strong history – it emerged from a settlement around a palace built by Roman emperor Diocletian, and the city was also important within Yugoslavia – this lively city sure is worth a visit, however brief. Seeing as it’s something of a transport hub – with great air, bus and ferry links (and even some train services) – you’re bound to end up here at some point on your travels in Croatia.
To get a feel for the city, why not watch the clip below? It is from a BBC programme called Francesco’s Meditteranean Voyage (broadcast in 2008) in which Venetian Francesdo da Mosta spent two months sailing through this sea. Here, Francesco visits Split and goes to see a local man who has a part of an ancient temple within this flat, before going to play the famous local game of picigin in the sea....https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xtKWgOZO4Ug
"...a vast overreach of federal power..." |
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"...a vast overreach of federal power..."
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