- Pope urges Putin to make 'sincere, great effort' for Ukraine peace (Reuters)
- Merkel Tells Tsipras It’s Time to Back Talk With Policy Action (BBG)
- 'Greek tragedy' needs happy ending now: EU's Moscovici (Reuters)
- Germany against third aid program for Greece under any circumstances, says daily (Reuters)
- Biggest OPEC Members Pump Record Oil With Rally in Jeopardy (BBG)
- Vulture Funds Circle Greece Targeting Europe’s Best Trading Bet (BBG)
- Greek ruling reversing pension cuts will cost state 1 to 1.5 bln euros (Kathimerini)
- China’s Former Security Chief Zhou Yongkang Sentenced to Life in Prison (WSJ)
- MSCI backs itself into corner on China share inclusion (Reuters)
- Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Wins Duel Over GE Capital Lending Unit (WSJ)
- China urges end to 'microphone diplomacy' over U.S. differences (Reuters)
- Iceland: The economy that came in from the cold? (Independent)
- South Korea City Hit Hard by MERS Seeks Return to Normal (WSJ)
- China May industrial output up 6.1% year-on-year (AFP)
- The Dating Business: Love on the Rocks (WSJ)
- Texas officer in video let 'emotions get the better of him': lawyer (Reuters)
- Spy Virus Linked to Israel Targeted Hotels Used for Iran Nuclear Talks (WSJ)
- Manhunt for escaped New York inmates expands to Vermont (Reuters)
Overnight Media Digest
WSJ
* Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, which invests for 18 million Canadians, won the bidding for General Electric Co's private-equity lending business, agreeing to pay $12 billion. (http://on.wsj.com/1QNnTCD)
* Royal Dutch Shell, Marathon Oil Corp, ConocoPhillips, Irving Oil Ltd and others have quietly agreed to pay tens of millions of dollars into a compensation fund for victims of the deadly 2013 oil-train blast in Quebec, though the industry has maintained it was not responsible for the disaster. (http://on.wsj.com/1F9LiqV)
* The UK government will start selling shares in Royal Bank of Scotland Group within months in a long-anticipated but highly symbolic move to show the country has moved on from the financial crisis. (http://on.wsj.com/1S6hbKp)
* With a young, increasingly busy and mobile audience, the allure of the dating app business can be intoxicating - and the market is big. But companies face challenges. (http://on.wsj.com/1e4n2Bu)
* Cybersecurity firm Kaspersky Lab found malware believed to be used by Israeli spies that targeted three hotels that hosted nuclear talks between Iran and world powers. (http://on.wsj.com/1Iv89lL)
FT
Britain will start selling its 32 billion-pound stake in Royal Bank of Scotland in the coming months, Finance Minister George Osborne said on Wednesday, giving up on his previous intention to only sell the shares for a profit.
According to oil major BP's report Chinese energy consumption grew at its slowest since the 1990s. The report said low growth levels in energy-thirsty sectors of its economy helped drive down growth in consumption to 2.6 percent, or less than half its average rate in the past decade.
The British government plans to significantly reduce immigration from outside the European Union, Prime Minister David Cameron said on Wednesday, teeing up a confrontation with business groups who fret their supply of skilled workers will be cut.
Bayer has agreed to sell its diabetes Care business to Panasonic Healthcare Holdings, backed by KKR and Panasonic Corp 6752.T, for 1.02 billion euros ($1.15 billion), the company said on Wednesday.
NYT
* The Obama administration said on Wednesday that it would take the first step toward regulating greenhouse gas emissions from airplanes, but it acknowledged it would most likely take years before stringent standards are enacted. (http://nyti.ms/1KrnPsi)
* Johnson Controls Inc, a giant industrial parts conglomerate based in Milwaukee, said on Wednesday that it was considering spinning off or selling its auto parts business to focus on other divisions like its air-conditioning operations. (http://nyti.ms/1HtMuLV)
* A newly leaked Trans-Pacific Trade Partnership annex dated December 2014 reveals the Obama administration is no longer demanding protection for pharmaceutical prices. Public health professionals, generic-drug makers and activists opposed to the trade deal, which is still being negotiated, contend that it will empower big pharmaceutical firms to command higher reimbursement rates in the United States and abroad, at the expense of consumers. (http://nyti.ms/1KWYwwr)
* New York law enforcement officials wrote the companies' general counsels this week that the new policy, allowing phone calls for polls or marketing, "raises issues" under consumer protection laws. (http://nyti.ms/1GzDS7A)
* Investigators say that the Chinese hackers who attacked the databases of the Office of Personnel Management may have obtained the names of Chinese relatives, friends and frequent associates of American diplomats and other government officials, information that Beijing could use for blackmail or retaliation. (http://nyti.ms/1e4uahb)
Canada
THE GLOBE AND MAIL
** Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd says it bears no responsibility for the Lac-Megantic oil train explosion, and will not pay into a fund that compensates families of the victims of the 2013 disaster. (http://bit.ly/1MKWVef)
** Many companies have shown bare "technical compliance" with new gender-diversity reporting rules introduced this year and it is "simply not good enough," Ontario Securities Commission chair Howard Wetston says. (http://bit.ly/1S79kw0)
** More than half of the current and former senators who have not repaid funds the Auditor-General says they misspent or inappropriately claimed as expenses will challenge those findings to keep the money they say they do not owe to the public purse. (http://bit.ly/1FUmuUA)
NATIONAL POST
** Light oil producer Enerplus Corp is bucking an industry trend by increasing its spending, announcing Wednesday it will begin working through its backlog of unfinished oil wells in North Dakota. (http://bit.ly/1B8nUiz)
** A group of 100 Canadian and U.S. scientists has issued an urgent call for governments to place a moratorium on new oilsands projects. (http://bit.ly/1GA7HFk)
** The number of voluntary disclosures of offshore income and assets to Canada's tax authority nearly doubled in the year ended March 31 from the previous 12 months, the first time such figures have been gathered since the Canada Revenue Agency put in a whistleblower reward system to root out tax cheats. (http://bit.ly/1KYBcy8)
China
CHINA SECURITIES JOURNAL
- The latest earnings by China's leading real estate companies, including China Vanke Co Ltd, Poly Real Estate and China Merchants Property, show a strong pick-up in sales in May, thanks to policy stimulus measures by the central government.
SHANGHAI SECURITIES NEWS
- China's National Energy Administration plans to simplify approval procedures for national-level energy projects, it said in a statement.
- Last week saw a record net inflow of 907.8 billion yuan ($146.29 billion) into Chinese investors' securities accounts, according to data published by China Securities Investor Protection Funds.
SHANGHAI DAILY
- China's Ministry of Public Security has recently eased rules for foreigners to obtain green cards and simplified visa application procedures. The new rules are expected to be put into effect on July 1.
Britain
The Times
Greece is on the brink of default and exit from the euro after the European Commission, Germany, Finland and Austria rejected new Greek debt and reform proposals. (http://thetim.es/1cMhAS7)
The Governor of the Bank of England will this evening declare the age of City irresponsibility over as he unveils plans to jail market abusers and insider dealers for an extra three years. (http://thetim.es/1FT0zND)
The Guardian
BP Plc has threatened to widen a rift between European and U.S. oil companies over how to respond to global warming by urging political leaders to deliver a "substantial" deal at international climate change talks later this year. (http://bit.ly/1Kr1WcJ)
George Osborne signalled on Wednesday night he was ready to start selling off Royal Bank of Scotland, seven years after it was rescued from collapse by the taxpayer. The chancellor said the timing was right for British business and taxpayers to start selling off part of the 79 percent stake in the Edinburgh-based bank, even though the shares are worth 13 billion stg less than the state paid for them during the financial crisis. (http://bit.ly/1I2zXv0)
The Telegraph
Britain's economic growth picked up pace in the three months to May, recovering from a weak first quarter, the National Institute for Economic and Social Research has revealed. (http://bit.ly/1FIY7Kr)
Sky News
Swiss authorities have seized computer equipment from FIFA President Sepp Blatter's offices as part of an investigation into corruption in football's governing body. (http://bit.ly/1QN5MN4)
Postal giant Whistl has decided to end its letter delivery service in the UK, in a move which puts at risk up to 1,800 jobs. (http://bit.ly/1KqWR4e)
The Independent
Labour is preparing to join with Tory Eurosceptic MPs to inflict an embarrassing defeat on the Government over its EU Referendum Bill. (http://ind.pn/1F9wmcu)