Good morning,
The world is enjoying a kumbaya moment. Iran and the U.S. with five other nations have signed a deal to limit the Islamic Republic’s nukes, and Greeks are hoping the EU will supply badly needed funds to re-open banks. Enjoy the moment. The U.S. Congress is not expected to rubber stamp the Iran pact and many Greeks are up in arms over the deal Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras inked over the weekend. Meanwhile, HarperCollins has printed 2 million copies of Harper Lee’s novel “Go Set a Watchman,” which hit the stores Tuesday. Not everyone is convinced that Lee really wanted the novel released, and it doesn’t help that her lawyer keeps changing the story (paywall) on how she came to find the novel Lee wrote before “To Kill a Mockingbird.”
U.S. negotiators reach a historic deal on limiting Iran’s nuclear program. U.S. along with the European Union and United Nations will lift economic sanctions against Iran as a result. Congress could reject the deal, but if President Obama vetoes the action, the U.S. lawmakers would need to cobble together a two-thirds majority to over ride the president, meaning Democrats will need to cross the aisle. Reuters
Oil prices drop sharply on prospects of Iranian oil exports. Iran won’t be ramping up oil production overnight. But traders anticipate the economically stressed company will make oil exports a priority. West Texa Intermediate slipped 2.16%, the lowest in three months. Brent crude dropped nearly 2%. MarketWatch
Earnings season hits its stride. J.P. Morgan already reported this morning better-than-expected 2Q earnings of $1.54/share up from $1.46/share a year earlier and well above the Estimize call of $1.48/share. Wells Fargo disappointed with $1.03/share up from $1.01 a year earlier but below the consensus on Estimize of $1.06/share; revenues came in at $21.3 billion, less than $21.7 billion estimates. Also on board today: Yum! Brands, Johnson & Johnson, and CSX Corp.
Natural gas is No. 1!! Coal is now No. 2 when it comes to supplying electricity in the U.S. thanks to shale fracking techniques that has helped to lower gas prices. Also in the mix: new regulations that make coal less attractive. The result: natural gas now accounts for 31% of electricity vs 30% for goal. ABC
Chinese shares snap three days of gains. The Shanghai Composite Index ended the day 1% lower, dragging along the Hang Seng Index last seen down nearly 1%. The Nikkei closed up 1.5%, its second straight rise. CNBC
Singapore GDP shrinks deeper than forecast. The second-quarter GDP fell by an annualized 4.6% from January-March, worse than economists’ forecasts for a 1.5% contraction. Manufacturing, which shrank 14% during the period, was largely to blame for the economic contraction. Some analysts warned of a technical recession ahead. Bloomberg/Reuters
Chinese government-owned chipmaker bids $23 billion for Micron Technology. Tsinghua Unigroup will pay $21 a share for the U.S.-based memory chip maker. At its bid price, Tsinghua will pay a 19.3% premium over Micron’s closing price on Monday. The Wall Street Journal (paywall)
Chinese foreign currency hoard falls at a slower pace. The forex reserves were $40 billion lower in the second quarter, the smallest drop since 2013, to reach $3.69 trillion. In the first three months of 2015, a record $113 billion was slashed from the forex reserves. The slower pace of decline suggests that the amount of funds flowing out of the country has eased. Bloomberg
The U.S. military to allow openly transgender people to serve. This would eliminate one of the “last barriers” to serving the nation. New York Times (paywall)
NASA prepares a Pluto flyby on Tuesday. Even if it’s not a full-fledged planet anymore, the mission is very cool. “The ashes of Clyde Tombaugh, who discovered Pluto in 1930 and died in 1997, are aboard.” Quartz
Photo credit: iSTock @Edstock