07Jul2015 Market Close: Markets Close Higher On Greek Rumors And Liberal Doses Of Hopium

Fed Orders Santander’s U.S. Units to Improve Risk Management

The Federal Reserve is requiring Banco Santander SA to make sweeping risk management improvements at its U.S. subsidiaries, highlighting the bank’s repeated failure to address the regulator’s concerns.

Greece comes back to the table with skeptical creditors, but without clear proposals

BRUSSELS (AP) — Eurozone leaders met the beaming smile of Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras with anger and frustration Tuesday when it became clear the Greek leader came to their summit without a fresh written proposal on how to save his country from financial ruin.

With Greece’s banks just days away from a potential collapse that could drag the country out of the euro, Tsipras had been expected to offer up economic reforms in exchange for loans. Instead he came with only vague proposals and a commitment to back it up with real figures and a written plan on Wednesday. “You know, there was a promise for today.

Then, they’re promising for tomorrow,” said Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite. “For the Greek government it’s every time ‘manana.'” Tsipras came buoyed by a triumph in Sunday’s referendum, where an overwhelming majority of Greeks backed his call to reject the belt-tightening reforms that creditors had last proposed.

When Global Banking Standards Conflict With Local Needs

Central banks in the developing world are caught in a dilemma between adhering to international banking standards and serving potential customers who are unable to meet those standards, as greater access to banking services becomes a mainstream policy goal.

China Puts the Brakes on Commodities

China is once again at the center of the commodities story, but not in a good way this time. The country’s stock-market slump and concern over Greece’s economic crisis have helped send commodities toward multiyear lows.

Greece faces last chance to stay in euro as cash runs out

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras launched a desperate bid to win fresh aid from skeptical creditors at an emergency euro zone summit on Tuesday, before his country’s banks run out of money.

Ferrari to pick UBS to manage New York stock listing: Bloomberg

(Reuters) – Ferrari SpA, the luxury car unit being spun off by Fiat Chrysler Automobiles , has picked UBS Group AG to help manage its initial public offering in New York this year, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

Economic Scene: Germans Forget Debt Relief History Lesson in Greece Crisis

As policy makers know well — and Germany perhaps better than any — major debt overhangs are solved only by writing down the debt. And the longer the delay, the deeper the pain.

Carnival aims to start Cuba cruises in May after U.S. approval

MIAMI (Reuters) – Carnival Corp has won U.S. approval to operate cruises to Cuba and plans to start taking travelers there in May, joining a growing list of maritime companies hoping to profit from a thaw in relations between Washington and Havana.

Exclusive: Twinkies maker Hostess Brands shelves sale for IPO – sources

(Reuters) – Hostess Brands LLC, the U.S. bakery company whose snack cake brands include Twinkies and Ding Dongs, has pulled itself from the auction block because it believes it can command a higher valuation in an initial public offering (IPO), according to people familiar with the matter.

US Mint Runs Out Of Silver On Same Day Price Of Silver Plunges To 2015 Lows

In the aftermath of the latest breakout of the Greek crisis, Europeans across the continent, not just in Greece (even though with capital controls, potential deposit confiscation and currency devaluation they would have benefited by far the most), scrambled to buy physical gold and silver.

This is what the UK Royal Mint said a week ago, “During June, we experienced twice the expected demand for Sovereign bullion coins from our customers based in Greece.”

Other dealers had comparable experiences: “Most of our common gold coins are sold out,” Daniel Marburger, a director of Frankfurt-based CoinInvest.com, said by phone. “When people learned that the Greek banks will be closed, they started to think that it may not be such a bad idea to have some money in gold.”

GoldCore, which buys and sells bullion, reported coin and bar demand increased “significantly” on Monday. Sales to U.K. and Ireland today are about three times the average level for the past three Mondays, according to an e-mailed statement from the Dublin-based firm.

BullionVault, which operates the largest online physical gold trading platform, reported a jump in sales during the first half of this year, a sign of a broader increase.

Earlier today, we learned that the latest place that hit by the precious metal scramble was the US itself, when we learned that the US mint had suspended Silver Eagle sales as a result of a spike in demand, with our source advising that “all bullion distributors (like A-Mark, Dillon Gage, CNT, etc) were already raising premiums.”

And while the US Mint rarely issues press releases to confirm such adverse matters, moments ago this was confirmed by Bloomberg:

U.S. MINT SAYS 2015 AMERICAN EAGLE SILVER COINS SOLD OUT

AMD’s Chips Are Down Even Further

Advanced Micro Devices’ quarterly outlook may grow dimmer after it cut a more immediate forecast.

Where’s the Payoff? Not in Lending, Says Lending Startup

Wall Street’s infatuation with online lending is heating up, with startup Payoff raising up to $250 million in debt financing. But Payoff sees consumer loans as simply a starting point; its goal is wealth management.