WSJ City: Scarily Quiet Markets; ‘Safe’ Stocks Turn Risky; The Relentless Hunt For Yield

WSJ City UK View this email in a web browser By Rebecca Byrne Good morning from London. Here's essential reading today from WSJ City  An uneasy calm has descended on the stock market, and there is more going on than a summer lull. Bond proxies, or bond-like-stocks, have become a hot commodity. But beware of the risks. Here's how investors' relentless hunt for anything with yield might be distorting volatility levels. For some investors, even the brave ones, the global hunt for yield stops in Argentina. City Talk: Persimmon bullish, Jefferies turns more positive on miners, Cape profits slumps. A sale of bad loans by a little-known bank could provide the key to the great Italian debt clean-up. UK-based private equity investor Pantheon has unveiled a series of new hires globally. The US election could send shock waves through global markets if the outcome surprises, says Citi. Talk of oil producer co-operation to maintain prices is cheap. Don't hold your breath, says BNP Paribas. Nicolas Sarkozy announced on Twitter that he'll be running for president in France's 2017 election. A US court declined to rehear a decision that reversed a $1.27 billion fine against Bank of America. All major sponsors have dropped their endorsement deals with swimmer Ryan Lochte after his Rio controversy. For updates throughout the day, you can download WSJ City for iPhone here or Android here. You'll need to open this email on your mobile device to do this.  In The Papers China has become the biggest oil operator in the North Sea despite saying that it uses deep-water rigs as strategic weapons, in an exercise in soft-power. The Times (£) Pensioners could lose nearly a third of their retirement pot under radical plans being considered by the government to save companies being crippled by growing pension costs. The Telegraph The TUC has warned that stagnant wage growth is causing a debt crisis for more than 1 million low-paid workers in the UK. FT (£) HSBC believes the government could borrow an extra £50 billion to spend on infrastructure projects in a bid to boost the economy. The Telegraph Volkswagen said work hours would be cut for roughly 27,700 employees as a result of contract disputes with suppliers that have disrupted production at several plants in Germany. WSJ Sweden's prime minister has angered senior conservatives in the UK after he warned Theresa May that cutting corporation tax would complicate Brexit talks. The Times (£) Markets Today The FTSE 100 is likely to edge higher on Tuesday despite a slide in oil prices. US crude snapped a seven-session winning streak to close down 3% in New York, its biggest drop since Aug. 1. Losses were extended in Asia, as optimism for a production freeze faded amid reports that Iraq is preparing to ramp up exports and Nigeria could soon follow. Brent was down 0.7% at $48.78. Losses in the energy sector weighed on US stocks on Monday, with the major indexes closing just in the red. Most Asian markets followed suit on Tuesday. Overall, though, market moves were small and trade was thin. "There's still a sort of 'end of summer' trade of low volumes and low volatility and I think in general we are seeing a bit of that continuing," said Angus Nicholson, an analyst at IG. More broadly, markets are awaiting policy details from the Federal Reserve this week when its officials and bankers gather at Jackson Hole. Stocks to Watch: Persimmon 1H pretax profit £352.3m, sees forward sales 2% ahead at £1.75b; Grosvenor Casinos owner Rank Group posts fiscal 2016 earnings growth. Market Snap at 23/08/2016 6:54:45 GMT FTSE 100 Futures 0.52% GBP/USD 0.17% EUR/USD 0.1% Brent Crude Futures -0.63% Gold -0.02% 10-year Bund Yield -0.089% Advertisement Coming Up The CBI publishes its monthly snapshot of economic conditions in the manufacturing sector. Follow WSJ City Follow WSJ Unsubscribe• Newsletters & Alerts• Contact Us• Privacy Policy• Cookie Policy SUBSCRIBE FOR FULL ACCESS TO WSJ.COM SIGN UP FOR THIS NEWSLETTER You are currently subscribed as jasajuejejeje@gmail.com For further assistance, please contact Customer Service at support@wsj.com Copyright 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved.