>>> Greece : Reportedly Finland parliament will refuse to accept any new rescue

Reportedly Finland parliament will refuse to accept any new rescue package for Greece and will push for a Grexit 
- Finland press Parliamentary spokesmen declined to comment on the report which indicates that the current govt has agreed to this stance after the legislature's second largest party, the Finns Party (eurosceptics), threatened to topple the government if it supports a third bailout deal for Greece.

Finland is one of at least eight EMU countries that will require its national parliament to approve any new bailout arrangement with Greece.

>>> Barrons Saturday summary: positive on GRMN and AER Cover story: Bonds, once

Barrons Saturday summary: positive on GRMN and AER 

Cover story: Bonds, once seen as a way to preserve wealth, provide cash flow, and offer price appreciation don't offer much income these days, and some investors are likely to lose money on them; Investors who hold individual bonds to maturity are insulated, but bond mutual funds and ETFs, which don't do so, may end up selling into a declining market; Investors withdrew a net $17B in June from taxable and municipal-bond funds, which could hint at a larger exit to come and a fall in bond funds.

Features: 1) Positive on GRMN: Company is moving beyond its car-navigation devices into wearables, and its ability to innovate could help lift the stock 35% or more during the next 12 months; 2) Positive on AER: Chief Aengus Kelly is shareholder focused, and the shares look undervalued as company continues to benefit from its acquisition of AIG's air-leasing business; 3) Barron's reports that 73 of its bullish stock picks this year rose an average of 3.7% in the first half, compared with a 1.1% decline for the S&P 500; 4) Positive on Fidelity, Citadel: Fidelity Brokerage Services averaged the best pricing among brokers who voluntarily reported performance measures to the SEC, while Citadel Securities had the best pricing among wholesale market makers.

Tech Trader: Problems in China may have an impact on the tech sector, but "there are already enough reasons to sit out this market and wait for the dust to settle," says Tiernan Ray, including high valuations; A slump in Chinese consumption isn't likely to be material to the long-term outlook for companies such as AAPL and SWKS.

Trader: "It's unlikely that earnings will do anything to trip up stocks, since analysts have already reduced expectations"; Cautious on WTW: Company's shrinking user base means less word-of-mouth on social media, while a recovery would mean spending more on paid advertising, which it can't afford-but a strategic buyer could build on the brand and the user base; Growth stocks such as AMZN and NFLX outperformed value stocks in the first half of this year, but that won't likely continue in the second half of the year.

Small Caps: Positive on EQC: Sam Zell's office-property real estate investment trust, which owns 100 buildings in major cities, trades well below net-asset value and plans to boost its balance sheet by selling its least desirable properties.

Mutual Fund Quarterly: Interview with Pat Dorsey of Dorsey Asset Management, which invests for foundations, endowments, and wealthy individuals and looks for assets outside the U.S.; Positive on JNS: After a decade of problems, firm has begun to thrive under the leadership of chief executive Dick Weil, who took the reins in 2010; The Morningstar/Barron's ninth annual Alternative Investment Survey found that many advisors still use hedge fund-like investments, especially long/short and multistrategy approaches; Positive on EV: Pending approval, firm will offer a new kind of fund that promises to cut investor costs while protecting fund managers from predatory trading; International and European funds outperformed U.S. stock funds during the second quarter, while rate-sensitive funds stumbled.

Follow-Up: Barron's editors say that "long-term investors counting on the eventual liberalization of China's stock market are better off focusing on the H shares of Chinese companies than the A shares"; Positive on Barnes & Noble Education ("BNED"): BKS' college-bookstore spinoff "could be an enticing growth story as it adds stores and broadens its product offerings," and success will benefit Barnes & Noble shareholders. 

European Trader: Greek leaders seem prepared to take the steps necessary for the country to remain part of the eurozone, but their proposals may not be sufficient to lead to another bailout.

Asian Trader: Positive on BIDU, Tencent, BABA, JD: Chinese Internet stocks are holding their value despite market turmoil in China because of the fact their shares are held by global investors who value their large market caps, growth, and margins.

Emerging Markets: The $100B New Development Bank founded by Brics countries should be lending soon be lending money, but it remains to be seen how the five countries will share power and choose projects.

Commodities: If natural gas storage runs out as autumn brings mild weather and low demand for gas-fired electricity and heat, there could be a glut with no buyers.

Streetwise: "Forget Greece. The big issue for global financial markets is the Chinese stock-market crash and the frenzied efforts by Beijing to quell the crisis," and the damage is likely to spread if the government can't stop the bleeding.

Reuters : Germany trying to humiliate Greece, senior Syriza figure says

Germany trying to humiliate Greece, senior Syriza figure says


ATHENS (Reuters) - Germany is trying to humiliate Greece by bringing new demands for a bailout deal, Dimitrios Papadimoulis, Vice-President of the European Parliament and member of Greece's ruling Syriza party, said on Sunday.

Highlighting the depth of reluctance to grant another rescue to Greece, Germany's finance ministry put forward a paper on Saturday demanding stronger Greek measures or a five-year "time-out" from the euro zone that looked like a disguised expulsion.

"What is at play here is an attempt to humiliate Greece and Greeks, or to overthrow the (Prime Minister Alexis) Tsipras government," Papadimoulis told Mega TV.

(BFW) Dombrovskis: Unlikely EU Commission to Get Greek Mandate Sunday


BFW 07/12 07:56 Schelling Says ‘We Have Lost Much Time’ in Greek Talks
BN 07/12 08:00 *DOMBROVSKIS: UNLIKELY EU COMMISSION TO GET GREEK MANDATE TODAY
BN 07/12 07:58 *STUBB SAYS `WE'RE BETWEEN 3 AND 4' ON SCALE OF 1 TO 10
BN 07/12 07:58 *STUBB SAYS `WE'RE VERY FAR AWAY' ON GREEK CONDITIONALITY
BN 07/12 07:57 *STUBB SAYS GREEK CONDITIONALITY `NOT ENOUGH'
BN 07/12 07:47 *SCHELLING SAYS `WE HAVE LOST MUCH TIME' IN GREEK TALKS
BN 07/12 07:47 *SCHELLING SAYS GREEK TALKS GETTING MORE DIFFICULT
BN 07/12 07:46 *SCHELLING SAYS HE'S ALWAYS OPTIMISTIC ON GREECE
Dombrovskis: Unlikely EU Commission to Get Greek Mandate Sunday
2015-07-12 08:12:15.434 GMT


By Kevin Costelloe
(Bloomberg) -- European Commission Vice President Valdis
Dombrovskis tells reporters in Brussels that “I think it’s
relatively unlikely that European Commission will get a mandate
to start formal negotiations” for a third Greek program on
Sunday.

* Expects Eurogroup to prepare input for EU leaders


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(BFW) 888 to Meet With Bwin.party to Thwart GVC Bid, S. Times Reports


888 to Meet With Bwin.party to Thwart GVC Bid, S. Times Reports
2015-07-12 08:45:12.739 GMT


By Heather Burke
(Bloomberg) -- 888 Holdings will meet with Bwin.party to
try to secure a last-minute takeover agreement and counter GVC
Holdings’ 110p cash and stock offer for Bwin, Sunday Times
reported, citing unidentified people.

* GVC is preferred bidder; 888 would need to persuade
Bwin.party of benefits of the stock part of offer, after
being a bit short of GVC’s 110p valuation, according to
unidentified sources
* 888 probably won’t have a better cash bid and will focus on
the synergies between the 2 cos., especially overlap in
regulated gambling mkts: Sunday Times
* Bwin.party couldn’t be reached for comment in time for
publication; GVC, 888 declined comment: Sunday Times
* NOTE July 9: Bwin.Party said it received GVC takeover offer
and will work with the bidder to finalize offer
* NOTE May 18: 888 said its proposal to buy Bwin.party
includes cash and shrs


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Le Monde : L’inquiétant tableau de la situation économique et financière grecque


L’inquiétant tableau de la situation économique et financière grecque

L’Eurogroupe du samedi 11 juillet, une nouvelle fois crucial pour l’avenir de la Grèce dans la zone euro, s’éternisait alors que les ministres des finances de l’Eurozone examinaient la demande d’un troisième plan d’aide pour la Grèce. Certaines sources proches des discussions doutaient qu’un accord soit trouvé, et qu’il faille reconvoquer une réunion extraordinaire le lendemain, juste avant le sommet de la zone euro, convoqué à Bruxelles, lui aussi pour statuer sur la Grèce.


De fait, le document établi vendredi 10 juillet par la Commission européenne, en collaboration avec la BCE, précisément pour évaluer les besoins d’aide de la Grèce, dressait un tableau assez déprimant de la situation économique et financière du pays, alors que l’Eurozone doit décider si oui ou non, elle accorde un nouveau plan d’aide d’ampleur au pays, de près de 74 milliards d’euros, après déjà près de 240 milliards d’euros consacrés au pays depuis 2010.

AGGRAVATION DE LA FRAGILITÉ DES BANQUES
Le secteur bancaire par exemple. La commission rappelle qu’il a été recapitalisé deux fois, en 2013 et en 2014. Et fin 2014, il affichait des ratios de solvabilité corrects. Mais depuis leur situation s’est très sérieusement détériorée. Leur liquidité est maintenant « à un niveau critique » juge la commission. A la fin mai, 30 milliards d’euros avaient quitté les banques grecques depuis le début de l’année. Et la dépendance, pour se refinancer aux liquidités d’urgence de la BCE est passée de 0 fin 2014 à un plafond de 78 milliards fin mai. Avec le contrôle des capitaux qui a été introduit fin juin pour contenir les fuites des capitaux, la fragilité des banques s’est aggravée. Elles auront besoin d’être recapitalisées, à hauteur de 25 milliards d’euros, conclut la Commission, pour éviter des faillites en série.

Par ailleurs, même si l’économie grecque ne pèse que 1,77 % du total du PIB de la zone euro, Bruxelles prévient qu’une faillite généralisée des banques grecques aurait quand même des conséquences pour toute la zone euro. Même si, depuis la crise, un certain nombre de mécanismes, à commencer par le Mécanisme européen de stabilité et l’Union bancaire ont été mis en place. Les banques grecques disposent en effet de filiales à Chypre, en Bulgarie, en Roumanie, au Royaume-Uni, en Albanie, en Serbie, en Turquie. « Dans certains états membres, les filiales des banques grecques pèsent entre 15 % et 25 % du système bancaire local » assure la commission.


LA SITUATION DE LA DETTE EMPIRE
La dette ? Sa soutenabilité s’est considérablement détériorée comparée à la soutenabilité publiée dans un rapport d’avril 2014. A l’époque, le ratio dette sur PIB était évalué à 125 % en 2020, 112 % en 2022, et la dette considérée comme soutenable.

Mais depuis le début de cette année, le fait que l’ancien gouvernement, celui du conservateur Antonis Samaras, et le nouveau, d’Alexis Tsipras, aient stoppé le programme de réformes, a considérablement pesé sur ces chiffres. Fin juin, juste avant l’annonce du référendum en Grèce, les créanciers d’Athènes estimaient que le ratio dette/PIB risquait de grimper à 150 % en 2020.

Mais avec le défaut de paiement vis-à-vis du FMI, le 30 juin, la fin du deuxième plan d’aide faute d’accord avec les créanciers, le même jour, le contrôle des capitaux instauré fin juin, et un environnement totalement rédhibitoire pour les investissements, les perspectives de croissance se sont effondrées. Le PIB pourrait reculer de 2 % à 4 % en 2015, comparé à une prévision de 0,5 % de croissance, début 2015. Il risque aussi de reculer de 0,5 % à 1,75 % en 2016, même si un accord est trouvé avant, selon la Commission… Du coup, le ratio dette sur PIB grimpe encore : il pourrait rester encore à 165 % en 2020, à 150 % en 2022, et à 111 % en 2030…

74 MILLIARDS D’EUROS À TROUVER
Ce constat fait, la Commission en conclut que la Grèce a donc besoin d’une aide financière supplémentaire. Où trouver l’argent ? Bruxelles suggère que l’on pourrait utiliser les profits réalisés par la BCE sur ses achats d’obligations grecques. Pour 2014 et 2015, ces profits avoisinent 3,3 milliards d’euros. Ils pourraient être utilisés par Athènes pour rembourser l’institut de Francfort à qui le pays doit envoyer un chèque de 3,5 milliards d’euros le 20 juillet. Les profits de la BCE sur les obligations grecques pour 2016, 2017 et 2018 pourraient aussi, par avance, être versés à Athènes.

Mais tout cela sera largement insuffisant pour couvrir les 53,5 milliards d’euros que la Grèce doit rembourser dans les trois ans à ses créanciers… Au total, ce sont 74 milliards d’euros qui devraient être trouvés, donc, d’ici fin 2018. Le FMI considère même qu’il faudrait une rallonge de 4 milliards… Mais ne sera pas en mesure de participer tant qu’Athènes n’aura pas remboursé son arriéré d’environ 1,6 milliard d’euros, suite au nom paiement du Fonds, le 30 juin dernier.

(BN) Chateau Margaux Dating Back to 1900 to Go on Sale at Sotheby’s

Owner is Corinne Mentzelopoulos, sounds Greek to me...
Chateau Margaux Dating Back to 1900 to Go on Sale at Sotheby’s
2015-07-11 12:11:09.314 GMT


(For more on the wine market, see TOP WINE)

By Guy Collins
(Bloomberg) -- Wines from the cellars of Bordeaux first
growth Chateau Margaux dating back to 1900 will go on sale at
Sotheby’s New York in October in an auction estimated to fetch
as much as $1.4 million, according to a Sotheby’s e-mail.
The earliest bottle, from the 1900 vintage, is priced at up
to $15,000, while a bottle dating from 1945 is indicated at as
much as $4,000.
The sale is intended as a retrospective of the
Mentzelopoulos family’s ownership of the estate, which dates
back to the 1978 vintage. It comes amid signs prices for recent
top Bordeaux wines are beginning to revive after a price slump
since mid-2011.
“This is a truly historic sale,” Jamie Ritchie, chief
executive officer of Sotheby’s Wine, Americas & Asia, was cited
in the e-mail as saying. “It provides a complete picture of the
Mentzelopoulos era.”
Owner Corinne Mentzelopoulos has put together a sale that
includes a lot comprising one bottle from each of 35 vintages
made under her family’s stewardship between 1978 and 2012,
estimated at as much as $25,000.
There are also lots comprising bottles from each vintage of
the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s. The sale is scheduled for Oct. 17.


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(BN) Greece Talks Spill Into 2nd Day as Finance Chiefs Deadlock (1)


Greece Talks Spill Into 2nd Day as Finance Chiefs Deadlock (1)
2015-07-11 23:13:16.253 GMT


(Adds comment from Finland’s Stubb in seventh paragraph.
For more on the Greek crisis, click here.)

By Karl Stagno Navarra, Radoslav Tomek and Ott Ummelas
(Bloomberg) -- European finance ministers deadlocked over
how to keep Greece in the euro, forcing emergency talks to
continue Sunday and threatening to delay the infusion Prime
Minister Alexis Tsipras desperately needs.
With Greece running out of money and its banks shut for the
past two weeks, the hardline group led by Germany signaled that
the country’s debt was too great, Tsipras’s reform proposals
were inadequate and, in any event, the Greeks couldn’t be
trusted to keep their word. Finance ministry aides will work
through the night, allowing finance chiefs to reconvene at 11
a.m. in Brussels before a leaders’ summit.
“It’s still very difficult, but work is still in
progress,” Dutch Finance Minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem, the head
of the Eurogroup, told reporters after nine hours of talks that
ended at midnight. “The issue of credibility and trust was
discussed and also, of course, the financial issues.”
The skepticism expressed by the policy makers came hours
after Tsipras won overwhelming support in the Greek Parliament
for a package of spending cuts, pension savings and tax
increases intended to win financial aid of at least 74 billion
euros ($83 billion). Among its shortcomings, the proposals
failed to reflect the economic deterioration since talks
collapsed and capital controls were imposed two weeks ago,
according to Dijsselbloem.
Their concerns were reflected by the media back home.
Germany’s Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung reported a
finance ministry proposal to suspend Greece from the euro area
for five years. The idea was dismissed as illegal and nonsense
by a European Union official who asked not to be named because
the talks are private.
Finnish media reported the Helsinki government flatly
opposed the bailout.

Finland’s Opposition

“I don’t believe that we are at this point authorising any
kind of additional loan to Greece,” Finland’s Alexander Stubb
said. “About half of members had the same stance as us and
maybe a few had another view.”
Greece and its creditors are struggling for common ground
after Tsipras missed a payment to the International Monetary
Fund June 30 and allowed its second rescue package to lapse the
same day. A new bailout will be Greece’s third in five years.
The five-month standoff between the former communist
student leader, whose party translates to Coalition of the
Radical Left, and his creditors deepened the country’s economic
misery. Bank withdrawals are limited to 60 euros a day, pensions
have been rationed and commerce is grinding to a halt.

Economic Abyss

“The Greek economy is moving closer to the abyss,”
Slovakia’s Peter Kazimir said before the meeting began.
While Greek government bonds rallied on Friday on optimism
Tsipras’s package would lead to a deal, debt issued by its four
largest banks remained below 40 cents on the euro, according to
data complied by Bloomberg.
The prices suggest investors expect banks to restructure
debt after the country’s economic crisis spurred depositors to
withdraw about 40 billion euros between December and June.
The finance chiefs also rebuffed any talk of debt relief, a
step that the IMF has backed.
“Debt relief is impossible,” Germany’s Wolfgang Schaeuble
said on his way into Saturday’s meeting.
The country’s three creditor institutions -- the IMF, the
European Commission and the European Central Bank -- earlier
assessed the program positively as a basis for the bailout,
according to a euro-area official who spoke on condition of
anonymity.

Moscovici’s Hope

“There’s always hope,” European Union Economic Affairs
Commissioner Pierre Moscovici told reporters.
The schedule for the summits of both the euro-area and
European Union leaders will be determined by EU President Donald
Tusk after meeting Dijsselbloem Sunday morning.
The creditors still view the country’s reform proposals as
insufficient to meet fiscal targets, Frankfurter Allgemeine
Sonntagszeitung said, citing an assessment paper provided to
euro-area finance ministers.
Tsipras faces political antagonists not just in Berlin and
Brussels but within his own party. More than a dozen Syriza
members refused to back the plan, with some of them denouncing
the harsh measures it prescribes less than a week after Tsipras
won an anti-austerity referendum. The prime minister said after
the vote that his priority would be to complete negotiations
with the creditors on a bailout deal.
“It could have been better,” Spain’s Luis de Guindos said
as he left the talks. “But it could have been worse.”

For Related News and Information:
Greece Bailout Optimism Sparks Slump in Europe’s Haven Bonds
Half-Century of European Integration at Stake in Greece Meeting
Euro Climbs Most in Two Years Versus Yen on Greece’s Bailout Bid
Top Stories: TOP <GO>
Most-read Greek news: MNI GRE 1W <GO>

--With assistance from Corina Ruhe, Jonathan Stearns, Esteban
Duarte, Patrick Donahue, Kevin Costelloe and Rebecca Christie in
Brussels and Nikos Chrysoloras and Marcus Bensasson in Athens.

To contact the reporters on this story:
Karl Stagno Navarra in Brussels at +39-645-206-300 or
ksnavarra@bloomberg.net;
Radoslav Tomek in Brussels at +421-2-5292-1227 or
rtomek@bloomberg.net;
Ott Ummelas in Brussels at +372-663-1128 or
oummelas@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story:
James Hertling at +44-20-3525-9330 or
jhertling@bloomberg.net
Richard Bravo

(BFW) Greek Capital Controls Could Stay 2 Months, Stathakis Says


BFW 07/11 18:04 Greek Banks Could Reopen in Coming Week With Agreement: Minister
BN 07/11 17:57 *GREEK CABINET RESHUFFLE WOULD BE `LOGICAL,' MINISTER SAYS
BN 07/11 17:53 *STATHAKIS: CAPITAL CONTROLS WOULD REMAIN AFTER BANKS OPENING
BN 07/11 17:52 *STATHAKIS: GREEK BANKS COULD OPEN IN COMING WEEK WITH AGREEMENT
BN 07/11 17:45 *STATHAKIS: GOVT DOESN'T HAVE MANDATE TO TAKE GREECE OUT OF EURO
BN 07/11 17:45 *STATHAKIS: GREEK LAWMAKERS NEED TO MAKE RESPONSIBLE DECISIONS
BN 07/11 17:44 *GREEK ECONOMY MINISTER STATHAKIS COMMENTS IN MEGA TV INTERVIEW
BN 07/11 17:44 *STATHAKIS: GREECE WANTS TO REACH AGREEMENT WITH CREDITORS
MORE: Greek Capital Controls Could Stay 2 Months, Stathakis Says
2015-07-11 20:57:21.223 GMT


By Marcus Bensasson
(Bloomberg) -- A deal between Greece and its creditors
would immediately release more Emergency Liquidity Assistance,
“which creates the preconditions for banks to open right
away,” Economy Minister George Stathakis says in interview on
Mega TV.

* “Obviously controls will remain for a period of time,”
estimated at two months
* Considers that there’s no danger to haircut on deposits
* NOTE: Earlier, Greek Banks Could Reopen in Coming Week With
Agreement: Minister
* NOTE: July 10, Tsipras’s Referendum Costs Greeks Dearly as
Growth Sputters


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(BFW) China Police Find Signs of Illegal Stock Trading: Xinhua


BN 07/12 05:30 *CHINA POLICE FIND CLUES OF ILLEGAL STOCK TRADING: XINHUA
China Police Find Signs of Illegal Stock Trading: Xinhua
2015-07-12 05:37:27.364 GMT


By Stanley James
(Bloomberg) -- A China police investigation team led by
Vice Minister of Public Security Meng Qingfeng found signs some
trading cos. may have manipulated stock futures, Xinhua
reported, without saying where it got the information.

* The team visited China Securities Regulatory Commission head
office Thursday morning to investigate what it called
“malicious short-selling of stocks and stock indices”:
Xinhua
* The team arrived in Shanghai Friday to continue the probe

Link to Statement:Link

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