REUTERS/Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
Andrew Wiggins (Kansas) walks off the stage after being selected as the number one overall pick to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2014 NBA Draft at the Barclays Center.
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French Bank Mega-Settlement Coming. "BNP Paribas is set to plead guilty to criminal charges and pay an $8.9 billion penalty to state and federal authorities, according to people briefed on the case," report DealBook's Ben Protess and Jessica Silver-Greenberg. "The move would be the culmination of a widespread investigation into the French bank for transferring billions of dollars on behalf of Sudan and other countries blacklisted by the United States. The plea deal, which authorities hope to announce on Monday, will include a statement of facts that outlines how France’s largest bank hid the names of Sudanese clients when processing transactions through its American operations, according to the people briefed on the case who spoke on condition of anonymity."
Barclays Is Losing Business. The British banking giant is feeling the aftermath of the NY Attorney General's lawsuit against it and its dark pool. "Investors and brokers cut ties with the stock-trading venue run by Barclays PLC, disconnecting from one of Wall Street's biggest so-called dark pools as the firm battles allegations of fraud and misleading its customers," report the WSJ's Bradley Hope and Scott Patterson. "Broker-dealers, including Credit Suisse Group AG, Deutsche Bank AG, Royal Bank of Canada, Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. and Investment Technology Group Inc. removed connections to the dark pool, called Barclays LX, from their routing systems on Thursday, according to people familiar with the decisions."
Japanese Households Slammed By Abe Tax Hike. Japan's household spending plunged by 8.0% in May as a new consumption tax hike went into effect. This was much worse than the 2.3% decline expected by economists. Meanwhile, Japan's unemployment rate declined to a 16-year low of 3.5%.
France Is Miserable. GDP was unchanged or 0.0% year-over-year in Q1. "In one line: Miserable first quarter in France," said Pantheon Macroeconomics' Claus Vistesen. "The only real positive aspect in the report is that household income is growing steadily, but this is mainly driven by lower taxes which cannot provide lasting support to income growth."
Eurozone Sentiment Is Deteriorating. The Eurozone's economic confidence index unexpectedly fell to 102.0 in June from 102.7 in May. Economists were expecting an increase to 103.0. "The drop in the June sentiment reading from the European Commission was notable relative to the consensus, but it was not completely unexpected if we factor in the poor survey releases this week from France and Germany," said Vistesen. "All the sub-components of the EC survey weakened in June with especially business climate and industrial confidence weakening noticeably, but the services sector remained a bright spot, though, increasing above the consensus forecast."