FINANCIAL SERVICES TOP STORIES 
 
GERMANY BLASTS CENTRAL BANKS, 'POWERS OF THE FED'

German Chancellor Angela Merkel suggests the European Central Bank and its counterparts in the U.S. and Britain have gone too far in fighting the financial crisis and may be laying the groundwork for another financial blowup.

 
BANKS' TELETHON IS NEARLY OVER

J.P. Morgan, Morgan Stanley, American Express and regional bank KeyCorp sold a combined $8.7 billion in common stock, pushing the total value of shares sold by the 19 financial firms that were stress-tested by the government to at least $65 billion.

 
SEC TO PROPOSE MORE PAY DISCLOSURES

The Securities and Exchange Commission plans to propose that companies disclose in general terms how they compensate lower-ranking employees, expanding disclosures for the first time beyond the executive suite.

 
INVESTMENT DILEMMA FOR INSURERS

While stock prices are rising, corporate credit is still being downgraded. And that spells trouble for insurers, which generally invest their premium income in bonds as well as stocks to protect their balance sheets from equity volatility, writes Goran Mijuk.

 
SICHUAN TENGZHONG TO BUY GM HUMMER

GM confirms that it has reached a preliminary agreement to sell its Hummer brand to Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery. Sources say the deal is expected to be under $500 million, and to close by the end of the third quarter.

 
AMERICAN EXPRESS, JPMORGAN PRICE STOCK DEALS

JPMorgan sells 142 million shares at $35.25 a share, raising $5 billion. American Express sells a 19.8 million-share deal, priced at $25.25 a share, raising $500 million. JPMorgan shares fall 4%; American Express is down 5%.

 
SECONDARY-OFFERING RALLIES FADE

Three large financial stocks decline on capital raises, in a twist from last month, which may indicate an inflection point for those looking to evaluate banking stocks, write Geoffrey Rogow and Jessica Papini.

 
HEDGE FUNDS SEEN REGAINING INVESTORS

Hedge funds are likely to get at least $50 billion of new allocations by year-end as investors return to the market now that the worst of the turmoil appears to be over, according to a report by Barclays Capital.

 
BOFA TO 'COMFORTABLY' TOP CAPITAL-RAISE TARGET

Bank of America says it will "comfortably" exceed the government's $33.9 billion capital-raising mandate, with the company putting its current total at $33 billion. Shares rise 1%.

 
MOODY'S MAY CUT RATINGS ON $17.7B IN DISCOVER'S ABS

Ratings firm warns it's considering lowering its ratings on $17.7 billion in asset-backed securities backed by Discover Financial Services' credit-card receivables amid deteriorating charge-offs and delinquencies.

 
PASSPORT CAPITAL FUND RISES ON MARKET BETS

John H. Burbank III's Passport Capital firm's $1.5 billion Global Strategy fund rises 24.3% last month and 32.9% for the year through May as bets in commodities and emerging markets pay off.

 
DEBT-COLLECTION FIRMS IN PRACTICES DEAL, NY AG SAYS

Creditors Interchange Receivable Management, Capital Management Services and Tri-Financial agree to pay $245,000 in penalties and costs and "substantially reform" their business practices, NY Attorney General Andrew Cuomo says.