- Most Germans Reject Ceding Sovereignty to EU, Stern Poll Shows (Bloomberg)
- How Stockton went broke: A 15-year spending binge (Reuters)
- Manchester United Shoots for $100 Million IPO (WSJ)... with 4x leverage and Jefferies as underwriter
- Iran says can destroy U.S. bases "minutes after attack" (Reuters)
- Poison claims spark call for Arafat exhumation (FT)
- Romania government moves to suspend, impeach president (Reuters)
- Diamond Would Be Catch for Investment, Private Equity (Bloomberg)
- Investors may shun big Libor lawsuit and go it alone (Reuters)
- New Particle Found, Consistent With Higgs Boson (WSJ)
- Chinese riot police clash with protesters (FT)
- Euro-Area June Manufacturing, Services Output Contracts (Bloomberg)
- Utilities Struggle to Restore Power in East (WSJ)
- Dark economic clouds gather anew over Obama campaign (Reuters)
- RIM chief rejects talk of ‘death spiral’ (FT)
Overnight Media Digest
WSJ
* A scandal over interest-rate manipulation reached the upper echelons of British banking and government, as the chief executive of Barclays Plc resigned and the bank released documents that threaten to drag Bank of England and U.K. government officials into the affair.
* Manchester United, the legendary English soccer club, filed plans to raise $100 million in an initial public offering in the United States.
* The auction for a potential sale of Getty Images Inc. has progressed to the second round, with several private-equity firms putting in initial bids of around $4 billion, people familiar with the matter said. Buyout firms KKR & Co and TPG are among at least five bidders that remain interested in privately-owned Getty, these people said.
* Nine of the world's biggest financial firms gave the public a peek at their "living wills," or the road maps that were requested by U.S. regulators to help with the banks' liquidation in a severe crisis.
* Two high-profile tech IPOs are planning to launch their IPO road shows next week, with online travel search engine Kayak Software Corp. and computer network security company Palo Alto Networks Inc. gearing up to market their stock to investors, said people close to the deals.
* California physician groups sued health insurer Aetna Inc Tuesday for a slate of business practices the doctors say limit patients' choices, the latest salvo in a classic standoff between managed-care and medical practices.
* Eastman Kodak Co received the go-ahead to auction off its valuable trove of digital patents in a contest that will take place behind closed doors and lacks a court-sanctioned lead bidder.
* Time Warner Inc has increased its stake in TV broadcaster Central European Media Enterprises to 49.9 percent from 40 percent, raising its bet on a still-struggling market.
FT
DIAMOND LETS LOOSE OVER LIBOR
Bob Diamond lobbed a political grenade at the leading candidate to run the Bank of England as well as the previous Labour government just hours after his forced departure as Barclays' chief executive on Tuesday over the Libor-rigging scandal.
POLICE SEARCH SARKOZY HOME AND OFFICES
French police on Tuesday raided the Paris home and offices of Nicolas Sarkozy, the former French president, in connection with a long-running investigation into allegations of illicit campaign funding.
TIMIS TO CEDE LEAD AFRICAN MINERALS ROLE
Frank Timis plans to step back from running African Minerals with the mining entrepreneur relinquishing the role of executive chairman of the iron ore business following the recruitment of a new chief executive.
VODAFONE AND HUTCHISON EYE IRISH TIE-UP
Vodafone is in advanced discussions with rival Hutchison Whampoa about merging their Irish telecoms infrastructure in the latest attempt by mobile operators to cut costs and improve coverage in the face of difficult business conditions.
CAMERON VOWS TO BAR GREEK INFLUX
Britain would be prepared to close its borders to immigrants from Greece if that country was ejected from the euro zone, David Cameron has said.
EU PROPOSES NEW FINANCIAL ADVICE RULES
Investment companies have repeatedly sold consumers financial products they do not properly understand, Brussels policy makers warned as they set out fresh standards for the industry.
JP MORGAN IN U.S. POWER MARKET PROBE
The U.S. electricity regulator has subpoenaed JP Morgan Chase twice in the past three months as it investigates whether the bank manipulated power markets in California and the Midwest region, court filings showed.
ARMY ON TENTERHOOKS OVER ITS FUTURE
When Philip Hammond, Britain's defence secretary, unveils a thorough overhaul of the British Army on Thursday, one item is certain to be the focus of attention for rank-and-file soldiers: the announcement that five battalions are to be scrapped.
NYT
- Barclays Plc's manipulation of key interest rates, which led to a $450 million penalty for the bank, claimed its biggest victims on Tuesday: Robert Diamond, the British bank's chief executive, and one of his top deputies, Jerry del Missier, the chief operating officer. The scrutiny is expected to grow on Wednesday, when Diamond appears before a British parliamentary committee.
- The auto industry surpassed expectations in June by reporting a 22 percent increase in sales, fueled in part by lower gas prices and a surge of interest in new car models. General Motors Co and Chrysler reported double-digit sales growth of new vehicles, while Ford Motor Co's sales rose 7 percent. Toyota Motor Corp's sales were up 60 percent.
- Federal regulators released so-called living wills on Tuesday for nine of the nation's largest banks - blueprints for how they could be dismantled in the event of a collapse - but some analysts and other banking experts warned that they were still too big to fail without sending shock waves through the financial system.
- Manchester United filed for an initial public offering in the United States on Tuesday, a move that would return the English soccer team to the public markets.
- The European Commission has said that the proposed purchase of EMI Music by Universal Music Group would significantly harm competition in the recording industry, indicating that Universal might have to make substantial concessions in order to win approval, according to several people briefed on the matter.
- Duke Energy Corp said it completed its $32 billion merger with Progress Energy, a few hours after South Carolina gave final approval. The move creates the largest electric utility in the United States, with 7.1 million customers in six states in the Southeast and Midwest.