The Chinese central bank is in a dilemma. After a series of rate cuts, borrowing costs remain high, lending remains soft and cash is flowing to the stock market instead of into the real economy. Now, the PBOC is looking for new ways to encourage banks to lower rates and channel more funds for lending and investment. Taking a breather from the Greek debt drama, Asian shares may bounce back on Wednesday, thanks to the rise in U.S. stocks overnight.
PBOC wants easy monetary policy to fund economic growth. The central bank is searching for other means to bring down the costs of borrowing so that funds that are pumped into the financial system through looser monetary policy will be used to boost the real economy rather than on betting in the stock market. Reuters
Asian shares may follow Wall Street higher. Reversing losses from the previous sessions due to the Greek debt drama, Asian shares may recover a bit on Wednesday, though the mood will remain subdued ahead of the Fed’s post meeting policy statement. The Nikkei may rise after the Osaka and Chicago futures both traded higher than it’s 20,257 closing on Tuesday. CNBC
Online video, the latest arena where Chinese internet firms are competing. Alibaba, Baidu are now beefing up their video content to attract more paid subscribers. Baidu’s subsidiary, iQiyi, plans to acquire 1,000 movies from Hollywood and make seven films in China and one in the U.S. this year. South China Morning Post (paywall)
Wife bonuses heads to big screen. MGM has acquired the film rights to “Primates of Park Avenue,” the controversial memoir profiling life on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. Warner Bros., Netflix, and Amazon were also bidding for the rights. New York Post
Gap closing a fourth of stores. Malls just aren’t what they used to be, says apparel chain Gap. The company will be closing about a quarter of its stores in North America, the second round of huge cuts in the last four years. Wall Street Journal
Balcony collapse leaves six dead. Six people died and seven others were seriously injured when a Berkeley, Cali. balcony collapsed early in the morning Tuesday. At least five of the dead are young people from Ireland. It is believed that the 13 people were on the balcony celebrating a 21st birthday when the fourth floor balcony fell to the level below. BBC
Billionaire investor Kirk Kerkorian dies. The 98-year-old Kerkorkian was an active investor until recently, building Las Vegas hotels, and buying and selling the MGM three times. His investment company, Tracinda Corp., announced his death Monday night. MarketWatch
Fredbird pecks into Astros’ computers. Federal investigators are looking at allegations that the St. Louis Cardinals hacked the Houston Astros’ front-office computers. Secret Astros’ information includes internal trade talks, stats, and scouting reports. Bloomberg
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