U.S. traders return to work Monday after a three-day weekend. The markets aren’t looking pretty, with investors worried about Greece and higher rates as the American economy appears to strengthen. For those worried about a rate bump this year, Bloomberg reports U.S. bond traders are signalling no way. That weakness you saw in the economic data this year? That was no weather fluke. It’s economic weakness.
Charter Communications back at the altar with Time Warner Cable in $56.7 billion deal, which must still pass muster with the regulators. Last year, Comcast appeared to scuttle a Charter-Time Warner hook-up with a $45 billion hook-up. But the regulators killed the combo, fearing it would kill competition. This new proposed merger would create a somewhat smaller company. New York Times (paywall)
Dollar gains as Greece roils markets. Markets are worried that Greece won’t be able to make scheduled payments next month to the International Monetary Fund. Meanwhile, the Greek government is debating whether to meet creditors’ terms or default. After a long weekend, the euro fell 0.9% to $1.0885, a one-month low. The yen hit a 7-year low. Wall Street Journal, Financial Times (paywall)
China white paper charges U.S. with raising tensions in South China Sea where the communist country has been building islands on coral reefs. A spokesman for the People’s Libertation Army, Yang Yugun, said “outside powers” were creating “exaggerated tension.” This is only the eighth white paper published since 1998 and is a big “re-think” of the country’s defense. Financial Times (paywall)
Also in the news: Nobel prize winner John Nash, 86, and his wife, Alicia, 82, were killed in a car crash over the weekend. The schizophrenic math genius was the subject of the movie “A Beautiful Mind.” … Anne Meara, married to her comedic partner Jerry Stiller, died, at age 85. … A Washington Post reporter charged with spying in Iran appeared before a judge known as the “judge of death.”