China’s central bank, the PBOC, seems inspired by the IMF’s recent assessment that its currency is undervalued no more as it proceeded to set the yuan at a a one-month low. Meanwhile, Asian equities are expected to perform well, thanks to the good performance of US shares overnight.
PBOC weakens yuan. Right after the IMF declared the yuan as “no longer undervalued” in its latest economic assessment, the Chinese central bank Wednesday set the midpoint level of the currency at a one-month low of 6.1198 to the dollar. South China Morning Post (paywall)
Hong Kong asks China to limit mutual fund deal with the former British colony for a while. Starting July 1, mutual funds domiciled in Hong Kong can sell their products to mainland investors, and vice-versa. But Hong Kong wants to enjoy this privilege for a while, and is requesting China not to forge similar deals with other countries in the meantime. South China Morning Post (paywall)
Alibaba wins approval to operate Internet bank. MYbank, which will have a capital of 4 billion yuan ($650 million), will offer financial products for deposits of less than 200,000 yuan and loans below 5 million yuan. The bank, funded by one of the firms owned by Alibaba founder Jack Ma and his associates, will only operate online and won’t have any physical branches. Xinhua
Asian shares set to start on an upbeat mood. Gains on Wall Street overnight are expected to boost sentiment on Asian equities, with the Nikkei seen rising for a 10th straight session. The Chicago and Osaka futures were both trading above the index’s close of 20,472 on Wednesday. CNBC
FIFA scandal is just beginning. The indictment of 14 FIFA officials for racketeering, wire fraud, and money laundering is only the tip of the iceberg, the U.S. promises. The U.S. has put FIFA on par with the Mafia and drug cartels, promising to rid the organization of corruption. New York Times (paywall)
Another Republican joins 2016 race. Rick Santorum is back and “ready to do this again.” The former GOP senator from Pennsylvania says he learned from his past campaign failures and is ready to join the other six declared candidates, and possible dozen more. ABC News
The Queen takes on the EU. Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II officially reopened Parliament Wednesday, announcing a list of bills the Conservative government will try to pass in the coming session. First up- an EU referendum bill to hold an in-out referendum on Britain’s membership in the EU. The Labour Party has said it will support the bill, which is due to be proposed Thursday. Wall Street Journal (paywall)
The Pentagon committed a big bio-hazard uh-oh. Live anthrax spores were accidentally shipped to at least nine laboratories. The labs were supposed to be getting dead anthrax for research purposes. Talking Points Memo
Chip maker M&A talks in progress. Avago Technologies is in talks to buy its rival Broadcom. Broadcom, whose parts are used in iPhones and other devices, was valued at $28.1 billion Tuesday. DealBook (paywall)
American photographer Mary Ellen Mark died Monday. The 75-year-old Mark was famous for her often gritty images of human life, and particularly children. She received a number of awards for her work, including the 2014 Lifetime Achievement in Photography Award from the George Eastman House. Washington Post
Photo credit: Aaron Goodman via Flickr