European Stock Futures Little Changed After Greek Aid Approval
July 4 (Bloomberg) -- Jean-Maurice Ladure, head of investment strategy for Europe at RBS Coutts Bank Ltd., discusses the Greek debt rollover plan and the investment appeal of Asian equities. He speaks with Mark Barton on Bloomberg Television's "Countdown." (Source: Bloomberg)
June 28 (Bloomberg) -- Komal Sri-Kumar, chief global strategist at TCW Group Inc., talks about the European debt crisis, the U.S. debt limit and fiscal deficit, and his defensive investment strategy. Sri-Kumar speaks with Carol Massar, Matt Miller, Sheila Dharmarajan and Adam Johnson on Bloomberg Television's "Street Smart." (Source: Bloomberg)
European stock-index futures were little changed after finance ministers approved an aid payment to Greece, while Standard & Poor’s said plans for banks to roll over the nation’s debt may lead to a “selective default.” Asian shares climbed and U.S. futures dropped.
Mobile-phone companies might move after a report that roaming data fees will be halved in Europe. Nestle SA (NESN) may be active after China’s Hsu Fu Chi International Ltd. said the Swiss company is assessing a takeover bid for China’s biggest confectioner by market value. London Stock Exchange Group Plc (LSE) might also move on a report the bourse is open to considering a merger with Nasdaq OMX Group Inc.
Futures on the Euro Stoxx 50 Index, a benchmark for the euro area, expiring in September rose 0.1 percent to 2,878 at 7:23 a.m. in London. Futures on the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index (UKX) were almost unchanged. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index jumped 1.3 percent and Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures dropped 0.2 percent. The U.S. market is closed for Independence Day.
The benchmark Stoxx Europe 600 Index surged 4.1 percent last week, snapping eight consecutive weeks of losses, after Greek lawmakers passed a five-year austerity package, qualifying the country for further aid. The gauge still slipped 1.1 percent in the second quarter on concern that Greece may default.
Greek Aid
The euro area approved its share of a 12 billion-euro ($17.4 billion) aid payment for Greece on July 2 and pledged to complete work in the coming weeks on a second rescue package for the cash-strapped nation. Finance ministers agreed to disburse 8.7 billion euros of loans under last year’s 110 billion-euro bailout, rewarding Greek Premier George Papandreou for pushing an extra austerity plan through parliament.
The spotlight now turns to a second bailout to which banks and insurers plan to contribute following German demands for taxpayer relief. Euro-area governments and investors will provide 70 percent of new aid that may total as much as 85 billion euros, with the IMF offering the rest, Thomas Wieser, an Austrian Finance Ministry official, said on June 30.
S&P said today that the goal of getting banks to roll over 30 billion euros of Greek bonds may put the country in “selective default.” The euro erased its gain against the dollar and the yen after the news.
Vodafone Group Plc (VOD) and Telefonica SA (TEF) might move after the Financial Times said European mobile-phone companies will see their roaming fees cut by more than half by European Union officials. The newspaper also reported that price caps on mobile-phone roaming within the EU will be extended to 2016.
Nestle, Hsu Fu
Nestle might move after Hsu Fu Chi said the world’s biggest food maker is among the parties in acquisition talks for what would be the largest overseas purchase of a Chinese company. Nestle is assessing a potential bid for Hsu Fu Chi and the two companies have been in talks on a partnership for a few years, Christine Sun, spokeswoman for the Dongguan, Guangdong-based company, said by phone today.
LSE might be active after the FT reported the U.K. bourse is open to considering a merger with Nasdaq OMX. Bob Greifeld, chief executive officer of the New York-based company, is considering an approach for LSE, though advisers are not yet formally involved, the newspaper said, citing people familiar with the matter.
RWE AG (RWE) may move after a person familiar with the matter said Germany’s second-largest utility is working with Goldman Sachs Group Inc. as the company considers a sale of its Npower unit in the U.K.
Diageo Plc (DGE) also might be active. The world’s largest liquor company has dropped plans to bid for Brazil’s Primo Schincariol Industria de Cervejas & Refrigerantes SA, according to two people familiar with the matter.
To contact the reporter on this story: Sarah Jones in London at sjones35@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Andrew Rummer at arummer@bloomberg.net
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