- Once-Unthinkable Criminal Pleas by U.S. Banks Get Investor ‘Meh’ (BBG)
- The E-Mail That Helped Catch Barclays: ‘ISDAfix Is Manipulated’ (BBG)
- ECB scraps embargoed media speeches in wake of hedge fund storm (Reuters)
- CFTC Said Preparing ISDAfix Probe Talks in Weeks: Credit Markets (BBG)
- Islamic State takes control of Syria's Palmyra in westward advance (Reuters)
- Tensions High as Greece Gets Smallest Aid Rise Yet (BBG)
- The Rise of the $50,000 Rental (BBG)
- U.S. says South China Sea reclamations stoke instability (Reuters)
- First Hanergy Now Goldin: Hong Kong Stocks Drop Like Stones (BBG)
- New History Dispute Splits U.S. Allies in Asia (WSJ)
- About 120 guns found at scene of deadly Texas gang fight (Reuters)
- At Zappos, Banishing the Bosses Brings Confusion (WSJ)
- Legal Battle Brews Over Gadhafi’s Millions (WSJ)
- Hedge Fund Vultures to the Rescue in Puerto Rico (BBG)
- H-P to Sell 51% of Chinese Data-Networking Unit to Tsinghua Holdings (WSJ)
Bulletin Headline Summary
FT
Six global banks including Barclays and Royal Bank of Scotland have been fined a combined sum of more than $5.6 billion to settle charges of rigging foreign exchange markets between Dec 2007 and Jan 2013.
U.S. Department of Financial Services' (DFS) top banking regulator Benjamin Lawsky has quit government services to start his own law and consulting firm. Lawsky will leave DFS in late June, according to people familiar with his plans.
Stockholm-based music streaming service Spotify has revamped its platform and inked partnerships with content providers to offer video and podcasts, Chief Executive Daniel Ek said. The revamp comes weeks before Apple Inc readies to launch its own streaming service to compete with Spotify and others.
Jeff Immelt, chief executive of GE, while speaking at a conference in Florida, said that the company was willing to sell intellectual property around a product to allay fears of the European Commission that an acquisition deal between GE and Alstom would harm competition in the gas and turbine market.
NYT
* Benjamin Lawsky, known as the Sheriff of Wall Street, is said to be stepping down as New York's top financial regulator in June to start his own legal and consulting firm.(http://nyti.ms/1ILJFap)
* CareFirst, a Blue Cross Blue Shield plan, on Wednesday became the third major health insurer in the United States to disclose this year that hackers had breached its computer systems and potentially compromised some customer information. The attack could affect as many as 1.1 million of its customers.
* With its $9.1 billion acquisition of Suddenlink Communications on Wednesday, European company Altice established a small foothold in the United States cable market. But the deal may have set the stage for Altice to go after an even larger and more tantalizing target: Time Warner Cable Inc . (http://nyti.ms/1Lns5aT)
* Spotify, which has come to dominate the world of subscription streaming music, announced a series of changes to its mobile app on Wednesday, moving into new realms of media distribution just ahead of the expected arrival of a competing service from Apple Inc. (http://nyti.ms/1IQCJar)
* A London judge on Wednesday denied an appeal by Navinder Singh Sarao, the futures trader accused of playing a major role in causing the "flash crash" of 2010, to reduce his bail after the United States government froze his assets worldwide. (http://nyti.ms/1IMpIAj)
Hong Kong
SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST
-- Businessman Lew Mon-hung walked free from the High Court on Wednesday after an eight-man jury unanimously acquitted him of all charges of deceiving Hong Kong's stock market regulator and potential investors while raising funds for a $225 million oil field project. (bit.ly/1EYRT7Z)
-- Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd Chief Executive Charles Li said on Wednesday the Shanghai-Hong Kong stock connect quota will increase "very soon" while he hopes to establish a link with commodity exchanges in mainland China and set up a network of domestic warehouses for physical metal deliveries in three to five years. (bit.ly/1R4RKbI)
-- Hong Kong and mainland authorities have yet to agree on allowing mainland immigration officials to work at the cross-border high-speed railway terminus in West Kowloon, but believe the matter can be resolved by the end of 2017, the city's justice minister said. (bit.ly/1JBiQF5)
-- Hundreds of Cathay Pacific flight attendants started a "marathon sit-in" at a passenger terminal of the Chek Lap Kok airport on Wednesday, threatening to escalate their action to a work-to-rule or a strike if the airline did not meet three demands on pay and benefits. (bit.ly/1LcXThX)
THE STANDARD
-- Shareholders heaped hot words on the management of MTR Corporation Limited over a golden handshake given to former chief executive Jay Walder and a massive cost overrun due to delayed construction of a cross-border express rail link. (bit.ly/1R4Tqlp)
-- Commissioner of Police Stephen Lo on Wednesday met the secretary of the Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission, the first time a new police chief has met with a high-ranking official during a duty visit. (bit.ly/1EkGnTQ)
-- There is no way a proposed "none of the above" option on ballot papers for the 2017 chief executive election can be allowed, a Beijing official said. (bit.ly/1egL3oC)
HONG KONG ECONOMIC JOURNAL
-- Hong Kong's securities watchdog has requested brokerages to provide trading records in the past two months on China Rundong Auto Group due to its share price volatility after state-backed developer Greenland Group acquired it, sources said.
China
CHINA SECURITIES JOURNAL
- The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) plans to invest around 215 billion yuan ($34.69 billion) in rail projects in the cities of Hohhot, Nanchang and Nanjing between 2015-2021, according to an NDRC document on Wednesday.
SECURITIES TIMES
- China is ready to expand cooperation with Latin American countries in the fields of steel, machinery, textiles and construction materials, China's top economic planner said during a conference on Wednesday.
CHINA DAILY
- The number of smokers in Beijing has fallen 4 percentage points to 23.4 percent over the last six years, a report by the Beijing Center for Disease Control and Prevention showed. The country has been trying to ramp up tobacco control measures.
- Police in Hubei province have arrested 10 members of a gang who raked in over 50 million yuan ($8.06 million) by deleting online posts to help cover up corrupt behavior by government officials, local police said.
Britain
The Times
BARCLAYS FINED RECORD $2.4 BLN OVER FOREX FIX
Six of the world's largest investment banks, including Barclays Plc and Royal Bank of Scotland, have been fined about $5.7 billion by U.S. regulators in the second and final major settlement with the industry over the foreign exchange markets manipulation scandal. (http://thetim.es/1egFHKc)
JUDGE REJECTS BAIL PLEA FROM LONDON'S 'FLASH CRASH' TRADER
The British trader blamed for helping to wipe hundreds of billions of dollars off the value of U.S. shares five years ago is facing a fifth week behind bars after a judge rejected his appeal against a 5 million pounds ($7.77 million) bail condition. (http://thetim.es/1egGFpH)
The Guardian
SCORES OF ALLEGED PHONE-HACKING VICTIMS PREPARE TO SUE MIRROR PUBLISHER
Trinity Mirror Plc is facing a soaring legal bill after dozens of alleged phone-hacking victims, including senior Labour party figures, scores of TV stars and David Beckham's father, prepare to sue the Daily Mirror publisher. A number of journalists at the Daily Mirror, Sunday Mirror and the People were accused at the trial of carrying out "industrial-scale phone hacking" between mid-1999 and 2009. (http://bit.ly/1egIfb2)
DAVID CAMERON WARNED HE COULD LOSE MINISTERS OVER EU REFERENDUM CAMPAIGN
David Cameron is being warned that a number of ministers will resign unless he allows cabinet members to follow their conscience and campaign for a no vote in the EU referendum. (http://bit.ly/1egIt29)
The Telegraph
GEORGE OSBORNE TO PRIVATISE 23 BLN STG OF TAXPAYER ASSETS
George Osborne has pledged to privatise 23 billion pounds ($35.72 billion) of government assets by the end of the next year in an attempt to bolster public finances and increase productivity. (http://bit.ly/1egJuqL)
AIRBUS CHIEF SAYS FUTURE INVESTMENT AT RISK IF UK LEAVES EUROPE
The head of Airbus in the UK, Paul Kahn, has said the aerospace and defence giant would reconsider future investment in the United Kingdom were it to leave the European Union. (http://bit.ly/1egJK9o)
Sky News
HG TO BUY EFFECTS FIRM THE FOUNDRY FOR $310.60 mln
The Foundry, which offers post-production and other services to film and television studios, is being bought by Hg Capital, a London-based private equity firm. (http://bit.ly/1egEYsn)
BOOKER TO BUY LONDIS AND BUDGENS CHAINS
Food wholesaler Booker is to buy the Londis and Budgens chains in England, Scotland and Wales in a deal that will strengthen its status as an independent grocery retailer. (http://bit.ly/1K2RSUJ)
The Independent
VODAFONE HEAD JOINS DEUTSCHE BANK IN WARNING OVER EU EXIT
The battle over Britain's membership of the European Union intensified as two of the country's largest employers warned that an exit would be damaging to the economy. (http://ind.pn/1egIG5m)
WAGES PAID TO ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS WILL BE CONFISCATED BY THE POLICE, SAYS DAVID CAMERON
The wages paid to illegal migrants working in the shadow economy will be confiscated by police as part of a fresh drive by David Cameron to push down immigration. (http://ind.pn/1egJ6IS)