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Frontrunning: June 5

  • Saudis, U.A.E., Bahrain and Egypt Cut Ties With Qatar (WSJ)
  • Saudi-Led Alliance Cuts Ties With Qatar (BBG)
  • Saudi, Egypt lead Arab states cutting Qatar ties, Iran blames Trump (Reuters); Qatar asks citizens to leave UAE within 14 days: embassy (Reuters)
  • London Fortifies Bridges to Protect Pedestrians From Attack (BBG)
  • Bank at Center of U.S. Inquiry Projects Russian ‘Soft Power’ (NYT)
  • Democrat Questions Russia Link as Comey Heads to Hill (WSJ)
  • Chats by Metals Trader Reveal Spoofing ‘Tricks from the Master’ (BBG)
  • Draghi Seen Taking Slowest Possible Path Out of ECB Stimulus (BBG)
  • Kushners Hunt for a Loan to Pay Back Chinese Investors (BBG)
  • 'Pink Slime' case against ABC a challenge to press in era of 'fake news' (Reuters)
  • Dems to Clinton: Stay out of the spotlight (The Hill)
  • Iraqi Forces Disrupt ISIS Supply Route (WSJ)
  • California Localities Primed for Legal Recreational Cannabis Use (BBG)
  • What can $75,560 get you in California? A prison cell (AP)
  • Deutsche Bank asks for more time for U.S. query on Trump, Russia (Reuters)
  • Why Aren’t American Teenagers Working Anymore? (BBG)
  • John Paulson Goes From Hot to Not as Most Client Money Vanishes (BBG)
  • Trump’s London Tweets Shock U.K. But Can’t Distract From Comey (BBG)
  • Mexican Peso Rebounds as Ruling Party Win Eases Political Risk (BBG)

 

Overnight Media Digest

WSJ

- General Motors Co Chief Executive Mary Barra faces shareholders this week, under pressure from a hedge-fund investor and fresh scrutiny following the ouster of her counterpart at a crosstown rival. on.wsj.com/2qWyNzA

- Three Persian Gulf countries - Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and UAE - cut off diplomatic ties with Qatar, accusing their neighbor of meddling in their internal affairs and backing terrorism. on.wsj.com/2qWsVGV

- Toyota Motor Corp sold its stake in Tesla Inc some time last year, the company said, formally ending a partnership between the car makers. on.wsj.com/2qWxVuV

- Germany's third-largest shipping firm filed for insolvency after it was cut loose by one of the country's biggest shipping lenders, a sign Germany's long-simmering shipping crisis has reached a boiling point. on.wsj.com/2qWccmQ

- Three influential House Republicans have proposed shaking up federal oversight of burgeoning commercial space activities by putting the Commerce Department squarely in charge of regulating such endeavors. on.wsj.com/2qWtpwz

 

FT

- U.S. grain trader Bunge that is fending off takeover interest from Switzerland’s Glencore is working with JPMorgan Chase and law firm Shearman & Sterling as it seeks to remain independent.

- Rosneft, Russia’s largest oil company, served notice that it will ramp up production if there is a sudden end to the agreement among major crude producers to curb output to prop up prices.

- World Bank said that long-term growth prospects of the world’s developing economies are being undermined by weak investment. Economists at the bank predicted the global economy would grow by 2.7 percent in 2017, the best growth in global trade seen in years.

- According to a new survey by fund manager Invesco, Sovereign wealth funds see the UK as a less attractive location for investment following its vote to leave the EU whereas Germany's desirability has increased.

 

NYT

- Steve Mosko, the former chairman of Sony Pictures Television, is in discussions with Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc about a senior management position, according to two people briefed on the conversations. nyti.ms/2rrorv8

- Declaring "enough is enough," Prime Minister Theresa May vowed on Sunday to conduct a sweeping review of Britain's counterterrorism strategy after three knife-wielding assailants unleashed an assault late Saturday night, the third major terrorist attack in the country in three months. nyti.ms/2rrBGfe

- Investigators of possible collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign are looking at Jared Kushner's meeting with the head of VEB, a bank owned by the Russian state. nyti.ms/2rrm2AS

 

Canada

THE GLOBE AND MAIL

** As the federal government seeks advice from Canadians on the country's approach to renegotiating the North American free-trade agreement, players in the auto sector disagree on how a key feature of automotive trade should be treated. (tgam.ca/2sHVfhj)

** Executives at Tim Hortons's parent company face shareholders at its annual meeting on Monday amid secret talks with disgruntled franchisees and mounting criticism of the chain's cost-cutting efforts. (tgam.ca/2s939Ub)

** Enbridge Inc is mulling expansion of a major export pipeline, in the first sign of how the company plans to use its scale after a C$37 billion ($28 billion) merger with Spectra Energy Corp. (tgam.ca/2svdirC)

NATIONAL POST

** Christine "Chrissy" Archibald, a British Columbia native who went to university in Calgary before moving to Europe to be with her fiance was identified Sunday as the lone Canadian victim in a terrorist attack in London. (bit.ly/2sF5PWy)

** Sales of existing homes across the Greater Toronto Area dropped a 20.3 percent in May from a year ago, while the average home price in the region fell about 6 percent from April, results based on the first full month of data following a major initiative by the Ontario government to cool Canada's biggest housing market. (bit.ly/2rsExEX)

 

Britain

The Times

- The City's top fund managers are attempting to torpedo Saudi Arabia's attempts to list its $2 trillion state oil company Saudi Aramco IPO-ARMO.SE on the London Stock Exchange . In a letter to the Financial Conduct Authority, Chris Cummings, chief executive of the Investment Association (IA), said they would not tolerate any listing that did not adhere to the market’s rules and standards. bit.ly/2qVOzep

- Philip Green has called in management consultants as he tries to turn around his struggling Arcadia Group. McKinsey & Co is said to be helping Green grapple with the shift to online shopping, which has particularly hit sales at Topshop, the most successful part of his empire. bit.ly/2qVqsfy

The Guardian

- Philip Green's fashion empire suffered a 16 percent fall in profits last year as the billionaire's Topshop-to-Miss Selfridge group struggled with difficult trading on the high street. bit.ly/2qVEiPj

- HSBC is offering its employees cash bonuses of up to 2,500 pounds ($3,216.75) if they can convince a colleague to move from London to the bank's new British headquarters in Birmingham. The bank has created a special bonus scheme to encourage staff to "help us find the right people for Birmingham". bit.ly/2qVXcp8

The Telegraph

- The airline BMI Regional is looking to replace up to a quarter of its fleet with larger aircraft as it seeks to double down on its most popular routes. bit.ly/2qW68uI

- The World Bank has upgraded its forecasts for UK growth over the next three years against a stronger global backdrop that will boost the British economy despite its weak start to the year. Economists at the Bank expect the UK economy to grow by 1.7pc this year. bit.ly/2qVW2tA

Sky News

- A meeting between Ross McEwan, RBS's chief executive, and directors of the RBoS Shareholder Action Group took place on Friday. The talks concluded without an agreement after McEwan declined to increase a financial offer to the remaining claimants. bit.ly/2qVr4So

- Stensrud family, which owns the Norwegian asset manager Skagen, has agreed to invest millions of pounds in British provider of auto-enrolment pensions, Smart Pension. bit.ly/2qVFySn

The Independent

- Uber has been criticised for being too slow to turn off its “surge pricing” feature after Saturday night’s deadly terror attacks in London. App users took to social media to complain saying that Uber should have reduced prices immediately as people tried to make their way home in the aftermath of the attack. ind.pn/2qVGshy