Thursday's News Links

[Reuters] U.S. stocks higher on gains in energy shares, rate cut hopes

[Reuters] Oil surges after Gulf tanker attacks, stocks claw higher

[Reuters] Base metals fall amid trade uncertainty, weak China data

[Reuters] Oil tanker attacks in Gulf of Oman fuel security, oil supply fears

[Reuters] China says won't yield to any U.S. pressure over trade

[Reuters] China is capable of dealing with various challenges: Vice Premier

[Reuters] China's Vice Premier Liu calls for more measures to support economy

[CNBC] Hong Kong braces for protests as government shuts offices

[Reuters] Protesters scuffle with Hong Kong police, government offices shut

[Reuters] Race to replace British PM to narrow as Conservative lawmakers vote in first round

[AP] AP Explains: Mideast tensions threaten key global oil route

[Reuters] Putin says U.S.-Russia relations are getting 'worse and worse'

[Bloomberg] The Three Most Famous Words in Central Banking

[Bloomberg] Auto Demand Facing a ‘Sustained Downturn' in World’s Two Biggest Markets

[Bloomberg] Wall Street Is Lending Billions to China's Tech Unicorns

[NYT] Delattre: The World Grows More Dangerous by the Day

[NYT] Trump Isn’t Alone. These Millennials on the Left Want Low Interest Rates, Too.

[NYT] Social Security Is Staring at Its First Real Shortfall in Decades. Big Cuts Could Follow.

[FT] Hong Kong’s interbank lending rate soars to over 10-year high

[FT] Franco-German tension complicates race for EU’s top jobs

[FT] ECB frustrated as markets call bluff on stimulus signals

[FT] Italy’s warring coalition partners turn fire on Brussels

Wednesday Evening Links

[Reuters] Wall St. slips; banks fall with prospect of rate cut, energy drops

[Reuters] Oil slumps 4% on U.S. crude build, slowing demand fears

[Reuters] U.S. government posts $208 billion deficit in May

[CNS] Federal Spending Tops $3 Trillion Through May for First Time; Deficit Hits $738 Billion

[Reuters] Trump says he has no deadline for imposing further tariffs on China

[Reuters] Trump says he has a 'feeling' that U.S., China can strike trade deal

[Reuters] Trump considering sanctions over Russia's Nord Stream 2 natgas pipeline

[CNBC] The trade war is taking a big bite out of profits for Wall Street’s biggest names

[Reuters] Japan's Abe warns of armed conflict amid soaring U.S.-Iran tension

[Bloomberg] U.S. Budget Gap Balloons to $739 Billion With Four Months to Go

[WSJ] Hong Kong Protests Turn Violent in Standoff Over China’s Control

[WSJ] Sound and Fury Over Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac

[WSJ] Fix Mortgage Finance, Or We’ll Do It For You, Regulator Tells Congress

[WSJ] Falling Mortgage Rates Spur Application Frenzy

[FT] US-China trade war risks global technology split