Good morning,
The color of markets heading into the weekends could be called optimism. Greece appears to have accceded to most of the demands of creditors and is asking for a three-year $59-billion-dollar bailout. Legendary Mark Mobius says that China has reached the point of capitulation. European markets are rejoicinig, with the Stoxx Europe 600 is up 1.8%; Germany’s Dax 2%, and the FTSE 100 1.2%. U.S. futures are set to open more than 1% higher as well. At noon ET, Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen is set to speak in Cleveland and Boston Fed President Eric Rosengren speaks at 11:30.
Greece largely submits to bailout pressures. But, wait. The Greek parliament debates the plan on Friday. The proposal would lift the value-added tax, eventually raise the retirement age to 67, and eliminate a tax break for Greek islands, among other concessions. One analyst says the details are practially identical to a plan submitted by Jean-Claude Juncker, President of the European Commission. Yields on Greek bonds dropped, the market version of “yay!” New York Times (paywall)
China shares post biggest two-day rise since 2008 and experts say the worst is over. Goldman Sachs. Fidelity Investments. Even Mark Mobius say it’s safe to take off the flak jackets. The Shanghai Composite Index rose 4.5% on Friday’s close, extending the previous session’s 5.8% gain. The Nikkei ended the day down 0.4%, while the Hang Seng Index was last seen up more than 2%. Bloomberg/CNBC
Calling all bargain-hunters. After being dragged down by the downturn in Chinese equities, nearly half of the Hang Seng Index including HSBC are trading below their book value. Despite Thursday’s rebound, Hong Kong stocks are still around 33% cheaper than Shanghai Composite Index, which also rose yesterday. Bloomberg
WSJ, The Guardian share a free excerpt of Harper Lee’s second novel “Go Set a Watchman.” No paywall for the much anticipated novel by the author of “To Kill a Mockingbird.” Let us know what you think of the writing. Did Lee’s lawyer take unfair advantage of the 89-year-old writer? Should this work have seen the light of day?
Facebook stepping on YouTube’s toes? The social media juggernaut is reportedly in talks with record labels to license videos that would appear in user feeds. New York Times (paywall)
It’s Serena Williams vs Garbine Muguruza at Wimbeldon on Saturday. Muguruza shocked everyone in 2014 at the French Open, defeating Williams handily. Some other facts you might not know about the Spanish player. USA Today
Photo by Tim Green via Flickr