EUROPEAN MIDDAY BRIEFING : Airline Stocks Rise as -2-

The online grocer and retail-technology specialist posted a pretax loss for the year ended May 31 of 23.6 million pounds ($32.7 million) compared with a loss of GBP40.6 million for the same period a year earlier.

Eurozone Retail Sales Rebounded in May Amid Reopening of Economy

Eurozone retail sales grew in May, reversing the losses registered in the previous month, signaling that the reopening of non-essential shops in several countries gave an impulse to the region's economic recovery.

The European Union's statistics agency said Tuesday that the volume of retail sales rose 4.6% in May compared with April, slightly more than the 4.2% rise expected by economists polled by The Wall Street Journal.

AngloGold Ashanti Names Alberto Calderon as Next CEO

AngloGold Ashanti Ltd. said Tuesday that its board has appointed Alberto Calderon as its new chief executive officer, effective from Sept. 1.

The South Africa-based gold miner said Mr. Calderon was CEO of explosives maker Orica Ltd. until March of this year, having previously held senior executive roles at BHP Group PLC.

Fund Manager Roundup: US-German Bond Yield Spread to Climb Towards 200 Bps, BNP Paribas AM Says

Treasury yields should rise gradually, paving the way for the spread between 10-year U.S. and German yields to widen towards 200 basis points later this year, said Daniel Morris, chief market strategist at BNP Paribas Asset Management, which had EUR609 billion of assets under management at the end of March 2021. The following is a selection of his comments.

US-German 10-Year Bond Yield Spread to Widen, May Approach 200 Bps in 2H: BNP Paribas AM

In OPEC Deadlock, U.A.E. Steps Out of Saudi Shadow

OPEC failed in its third attempt to resolve a deadlock over oil production after divisions between allies Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates spilled into public and into global financial markets.

The group called off a meeting scheduled for Monday with Russia-led oil producers after the U.A.E.-typically one of Riyadh's most dependable supporters in the group-refused to agree to a Saudi-backed deal to boost output, according to people familiar with the matter. The deal, tentatively approved by the rest of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and the Russia-led group, together known as OPEC+, calls for unleashing millions of barrels a day of bottled-up crude to help tame steadily rising oil prices.

GLOBAL NEWS

Beijing's Probes Into U.S.-Listed Tech Companies Jolt Investors

HONG KONG-China's regulatory probes into three technology companies shortly after their U.S. listings have caught global investors off guard, showing the risks of owning shares in fast-growing businesses that have come under Beijing's microscope.

In a span of four days, a unit of China's cybersecurity regulator said it launched data-security reviews into popular mobile apps operated by Didi Global Inc., Full Truck Alliance Co. and Kanzhun Ltd. The three raised close to $7 billion in total from U.S. initial public offerings in June, and their shares rose upon their trading debuts.

RBA Says QE Tapering to Start From September

SYDNEY-The Reserve Bank of Australia on Tuesday said it would begin to taper its government bond-buying program from September, making the move in response to a stronger-than-expected economic recovery and joining other major central banks in stepping back from ultra-easy policy settings.

The decision comes as markets have brought forward expectations of when the Federal Reserve will start its own taper, while the Reserve Bank of New Zealand, the Bank of Canada and the Bank of England now appear closer to raising interest rates.

Stocks Were Unusually Quiet in June. Traders Think That Is About to Change.

Traders are gearing up for a pickup in volatility following an unusually sleepy stretch for the stock market.

The gap between the S&P 500's daily peak and trough narrowed to 0.62 percentage point in June. That was down from 0.98 percentage point in May, marking the lowest level of intraday volatility within a month since December 2019, according to Howard Silverblatt, senior index analyst at S&P Dow Jones Indices.

U.S. Oil Prices Hit Six-Year High Amid OPEC Standoff

U.S. oil prices rose to six-year highs as an OPEC deadlock raised the prospect of a summer in which crude production fails to keep up with rebounding demand from the crush of drivers hitting the roads.

Futures for West Texas Intermediate, the main grade of U.S. crude, jumped 2.4% from Friday's close to $76.95 a barrel-their highest level since the energy-price crash of late 2014. Brent crude, the benchmark in global energy markets, rose 0.8% to $77.77 a barrel having rallied when the OPEC meeting was called off on Monday.

Cash Is Good for Green Energy but a Grid Authority Is Better

Power grids seem an obvious way to ride the renewable energy wave. Cash incentives announced on both sides of the Atlantic will help the companies involved, but the real breakthrough could be the Biden administration's plan for a new grid authority.

While wind farms get the most press, cleaning up electricity will require almost as much investment in the associated networks. Consulting firm BloombergNEF puts the global cost of greening grids at $14 trillion over the next three decades, compared with $15 trillion for power generation.

Israel's New Government Fails to Extend Law Barring Citizenship for Palestinians

JERUSALEM-Israel's new government lost a parliamentary vote early Tuesday to extend a temporary law that bars citizenship for Palestinians from the occupied West Bank and Gaza who are married to Israelis, an early setback for the fragile ruling coalition.

The vote ended in a tie following a long night of debate, requiring a simple majority for the law to be extended. Fifty-nine lawmakers voted for it and 59 against in the 120-member Knesset.

Deaths, Hospitalizations Surge as Delta Variant Deals Blow to Poor Countries

SINGAPORE-The fast-spreading Delta variant of the coronavirus is driving up infections in developing countries that are dangerously short on Covid-19 vaccines to battle deadly surges and whose healthcare systems are struggling to cope.

Indonesia, where Covid-19 cases have reached new highs, has reported about 500 deaths a day in the past week-almost triple the daily levels recorded in early June-data from its health ministry shows. Authorities are racing to add hospital beds as medical workers in parts of the country face shortages of ventilators and isolation rooms. Patients are traveling for hours for proper medical care, said the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, which runs a hospital in West Java province and recently set up emergency tents on-site to accommodate the flow.

Write to [e-mail]

Write to us at [e-mail]

We offer an enhanced version of this briefing that is optimized for viewing on mobile devices and sent directly to your email inbox. If you would like to sign up, please go to https://newsplus.wsj.com/subscriptions.

This article is a text version of a Wall Street Journal newsletter published earlier today.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

07-06-21 0628ET