Bloomberg - Evening Briefing - Wall Street falls short

Wall Street’s giants aren’t ready to disappear. Four of the biggest banks must improve their blueprints for a hypothetical wind-down after top US regulators found weaknesses in their preparations for cataclysm. The Federal Reserve and Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. wrote Friday that the so-called living wills of JPMorgan, Bank of America, Goldman Sachs and Citigroup all needed some work. “For the four banks with an identified shortcoming, the letters describe the specific weaknesses resulting in the shortcoming and the remedial actions required,” the agencies said. —David E. Rovella 

The US Justice Department told families of the victims of two 737 Max crashes that it still hasn’t decided whether to pursue criminal charges against Boeing. The government determined last month that the company had breached a 2021 agreement tied to the disasters. The families of the 346 killed in the two Boeing planes have asked the Justice Department to seek a $25 billion fine against Boeing and to prosecute the company.

As much as Arizona is identified with one of the great natural wonders, the Grand Canyon state most recently is a marvel of human endeavor: Its gross domestic product expanded 32% since 2021, marking the first time that growth has surpassed the rest of the US when measured on an annual basis, Matthew Winkler writes in Bloomberg Opinion. But this economic superlative isn’t in any print, digital or broadcast media, which is why any appreciation of the Arizona boom doesn’t appear in polls showing Joe Biden a few points behind Donald Trump in this critical state, Winkler writes.

One person was killed and dozens more injured in a police crackdown on Kenyan protests against proposed tax hikes, as the country braces for more marches next week when lawmakers take a final vote on the controversial levies. The death was “allegedly as a result of police shooting” on Thursday, the Independent Policing Oversight Authority said. About 39 people were injured in the protests, which took place in a dozen cities across Kenya on Tuesday and Thursday.

French President Emmanuel Macron spent much of his tenure persuading bankers and fund managers to flock to Paris after Brexit. His decision to call snap elections may give some in the industry pause. Global firms such as JPMorgan and Bank of America have moved billions of dollars in assets and hundreds of staffers to Paris over the past years, in a wager that the French capital could become a European financial hub. With the far right ascendant across Europe and in France, that might change. “The uncertainty linked to the elections has put the financial community in a wait-and-see mode,” said Francesco Galietti, co-founder of Rome-based political risk consultancy Policy Sonar. Yet even if Marine “Le Pen’s right-wing party were to win, it would be difficult for people to find a safe haven elsewhere, given that even more extreme right-wing parties are rising in several core European countries.”

A measure of foreign direct investment in China declined for the 12th straight month, underscoring Beijing’s struggle to improve its appeal to overseas investors to boost growth. Inbound FDI in China dropped 28.2% in the first five months of 2024 from the same period last year, according to data released by the Chinese Ministry of Commerce on Friday. The figure was worse than the 27.9% drop in April and extended a streak since June 2023.

China is said to be pushing for Visa and Mastercard to lower their bank card transaction fees in the country, part of an effort to facilitate payments for foreign visitors. China’s retailers are increasingly digitized and cashless, but most merchants are reluctant to accept foreign bank cards because of the high processing fees. China is seeking to reduce the fees to make payment more convenient.

Along the cobblestones of Nantucket Town, the whaling port immortalized in Moby Dick, Rich Handler and his team from Jefferies Financial Group were hoping to land a catch of their own. For two days, they courted top executives from Walmart, Macy’s, Hilton and consumer companies weighing going public. Money managers from firms including Wellington Capital Management, Fidelity Investments and T. Rowe Price Group grilled CEOs and CFOs about their margins and back-to-school projections in a Wall Street blowout like no other.

Rich Handler’s Night Howl in Nantucket harbor Photographer: Katherine Doherty/Bloomberg

• Apple won’t roll out AI tech in EU market over regulatory concerns.
• Car dealers reel from cyberattack on their $1.2 trillion market.
• Bloomberg Opinion: AI could even the odds in the South China Sea.
• Bloomberg Opinion: Hey China, that ship you’re ramming is American.
• Elite Hong Kong club crashes market for $256,000 memberships.
• Rumors dry up as video-game leakers face a reckoning.
• Bloomberg Podcasts: Can lacrosse become the next big pro sport?

Chilled pink wine on a hot summer night is still the Instagram symbol of summer—and winemakers in every region of the planet are launching new ones to fill your glass. Yes, France’s Provence has long been at the center of rosé’s glamorous image, championed this spring in The Book of Rosé: The Provencal Vineyard that Revolutionized Rosé. But not so fast. While little more than one in four rosés listed by Wine.com hail from Provence, look where the rest come from.

Source: Vendors

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