Fed finds deficiencies in Santander Holding risk management, oversight

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — The Federal Reserve announced Tuesday it has identified “deficiencies” in the internal operations of the U.S. unit of Spanish banking giant Banco Santander’s and said its board has entered into a written agreement to rectify the problems. Santander Holdings USA Inc., based in Boston, has several subsidiaries including Santander Consumer USA . The Fed said Santander’s board has agreed to submit written plans acceptable to the U.S. central bank to strengthen the oversight of the management of the consolidated organization, bolster the firmwide risk management program, and improve capital planning and liquidity risk management. Earlier this year, Santander Holdings was one of two banks to fail to meet the Fed’s standards during its annual “stress test.”

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Dijsselbloem: Greece will request rescue program on Wednesday

Eurogroup President Jeroen Dijsselbloem said on Tuesday afternoon that debt-laden Greece will submit a request for financial assistance through the European Stability Mechanism as soon as Wednesday. The ESM is the eurozone’s bailout fund and has so far only provided loans to Spain and Cyprus. Greece’s previous bailout program that expired at the end of June was partly granted through the temporary crisis mechanism, the European Financial Stability Facility. Dijsselbloem said the eurozone finance ministers will hold a conference call on Wednesday to discuss Greece’s request for ESM assistance. The Eurogroup president also confirmed that Greece didn’t submit any new reform proposal at the meeting on Tuesday.

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Moody’s upgrades Univision rating by a notch on $1.125 billion debt reduction

Moody’s Investors Service on Tuesday upgraded Spanish-language broadcaster Univision Communications Inc.’s credit rating to B2 from B3, citing the reduction in the company’s debt that will come once Televisa converts $1.125 billon of debt to warrants that can be exchanged for common stock. Univision filed for an initial public offering last week. “Univision’s B2 Corporate Family Rating incorporates its high financial leverage (albeit improving), event risk related to ownership by financial sponsors, leading market positions in Spanish-language media within the U.S., an increasing percentage of revenue coming from recurring retransmission fees, improved EBITDA margins, and good growth prospects over the next two years,” the rating agency said in a statement. The B2 rating is still a full five notches into junk territory. The note conversion will reduce the company’s debt-to-EBITDA ratio to 7.8 times from 9.0 times, said Moody’s. See also: Five things to know about Univision ahead of its IPO

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Life insurance industry a risk to U.S. stability, IMF says

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) – The U.S. life insurance industry has “substantial long-term stability risks” according to a stress test conducted by the International Monetary Fund staff. In a report released Tuesday, the IMF said that prolonged low interest rates “pose a slow burning solvency risk” for life insurers. If low rate stay until 2018, 11 out of 18 life insurance groups would report negative shareholder equity, the IMF said. The industry also faces risk of a sharp spike in interest rates. In addition, rising rates could lead to an increase in policy surrenders as policyholders seek higher yields, leaving the sector vulnerable to liquidity drain. The IMF said it was “imperative” for Congress to set up an independent agency to oversee the industry, an idea opposed by insurance firms, who are now regulated at the state level.

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Fed should wait to hike until ‘clear signs’ of inflation emerge: IMF

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) – The Federal Reserve should hold off raising interest rates until there are “clear signs of wage and price inflation,” the International Monetary Fund said Tuesday. In an assessment of the U.S. outlook, the IMF added more detail to its call that the Fed hold steady until the first half of 2016. A first move could tighten conditions so much and stall the economy, the IMF warned. A sudden outbreak in inflation appears “unlikely,” as prices are declining at the moment, the IMF said. An important risk to growth is a further appreciation to the dollar, which is already slightly overvalued, the agency said.

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Job openings rise to record high of 5.36 million in May

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — Job openings at U.S. workplaces rose to a record high of 5.36 million in May (data go back to the end of 2000) from 5.33 million in April, the U.S. Department of Labor reported Tuesday. Compared with same period in the prior year, May’s job openings rose 16%, as private-sector openings increased 16% to 4.85 million, and government positions rose to 511,000 from 430,000. With 8.67 million unemployed people in May, there were about 1.6 potential job seekers per opening, matching April’s ratio. In May 2014, there were about 2.1 potential seekers per opening. When the recession began in December 2007, there were about 1.8 potential job seekers per opening. The number of separations, such as quits and layoffs, dropped to 4.74 million in May from 4.9 million in April. Meanwhile, the total number of hires declined to 5 million from 5.03 million. The level of hires was about 5.04 million when the recession began.

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Design Happens Interviews: Dan Faires

By Farima Alavi

We’re big fans of Dan Faires here at HGTV.com. (You may recognize him from season 5 of HGTV Design Star or from his HGTV web series DanMade.) Dan has an eye and the skills to show our fans how to transform scrap pieces of wood and other budget-friendly materials into eye-catching, custom furnishings. Can you believe the midcentury modern table below is made with PVC pipes and wooden dowels? Get the full instructions here>>

DanMade Project

Since we love Dan so much, we wanted to get to know him a little better. See his answers — and amazing drawing — to our questionnaire below, and don’t forget to check out his easy how-tos on DanMade.

Dan Faires Interview

Who should we interview next? Tell us in the comments below.

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From:: HGTV

Greece arrives at Eurogroup meeting without proposal: FT

Greece’s negotiators didn’t bring a new set of reform proposals to Tuesday’s Eurogroup meeting and will instead present a new plan on Wednesday, the Financial Times reported. Greek officials in Brussels, including new Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos, were expected to discuss a range of economic overhauls with eurozone finance ministers after the “no” vote in Sunday’s referendum. Eurogroup President Jeroen said ahead of the meeting that Athens’ new reform package must be “credible” in order for the lenders to release more bailout aid.

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U.S. stocks open little changed as Greece debt talks resume

U.S. stocks opened virtually unchanged on Tuesday as investors remained cautious while Greece and its international creditors hold meetings that could determine the country’s future in the eurozone. The S&P 500 was up less than a point at 2,070. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 6 points, or 0.1%, to 17,699. The Nasdaq Composite began the day off by 2 at 4,988.

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Tesla downgraded on valuation concerns

Tesla Motors Inc. was downgraded to hold from buy at Deutsche Bank on Tuesday on valuation concerns. The brokerage remains bullish on the company’s long-term plans to leverage its scale and battery systems in stationary storage, a project the company announced in April, but said Tesla’s shares at this point appear to already reflect the opportunity. “Investors have been relatively optimistic on the market opportunity,” said analyst Rod Lache. Despite the downgrade, Deutsche Bank said in believes stationary storage growth “will be very substantial” a few years down the road, and estimated that it could add around $2.20 to Tesla’s earnings per share. To that tune, the brokerage raised its 2020 EPS estimate to $22.20 from $20 previously. Shares of Tesla fell 1.5% to $275.60 in premarket trade. As of Monday’s close, they had risen 25.7% year-to-date, outperforming the broader S&P 500, up 0.5%.

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