1. Argentina Asks U.S. Judge to Put Debt Payment Order On Hold — Reuters, ahead of a July 30 deadline to reach a deal or face a new default, Argentina filed papers asking a New York federal judge to stay a ruling that it pay the holdout investors $1.33 billion plus interest. Argentina is stressing that if it pays the holdouts, it would open the door to further liability and additional claims. The country has just about a week to avoid a default.
2. Apple (AAPL) Readies a Big Bet on Big Screen Phones — WSJ, Apple has placed orders for 70M-80M 4.7″ and 5.5″ iPhone 6 units – a sizable increase from the 50M-60M iPhone 5S/5C units Apple initially ordered last year.
3. U.S. Sells First Condensate to Asia in at Least 40 years — Reuters, South Korea and Japan have purchased the first condensate, or ultra-light oil, from the United States since the easing of a 40-year-old ban on U.S. crude oil exports. The U.S. has recently softened a total ban on crude oil exports in place since the Arab oil embargo of the 1970s, allowing energy companies to export a variety of ultra-light oil if it has been minimally refined. Refined products, such as gasoline and diesel, are not restricted.
4. Banks Set to Sign $7.5 Billion Loan for U.S. Cameron LNG Project — About 30 banks are set to sign a $7.5 billion loan early next month for a U.S. shale gas project that could offer Japan imports from fracking. Japan’s three biggest lenders are among banks that will supply $5 billion to the Hackberry, Louisiana-based Cameron liquefied natural gas development. The Cameron LNG project may give Asia’s second-largest economy an alternative source for fuel after a nuclear industry shutdown following the 2011 Fukushima disaster forced it to boost energy imports, resulting in a record run of trade deficits.
5. High Yield Spreads Widen, Trend Divergence — courtesy of BIG, over the last four weeks,there have been a divergence between high yield spreads (red line) and the S&P 500 (blue line). Whereas the S&P 500 has kept rallying, high yield spreads have been widening (in the chart below spreads are shown on an inverted basis). High yield debt is far out on the risk spectrum of fixed income, so it tends to have a closer correlation to equities. Therefore, when stocks are rising, we typically see spreads on high yield debt tighten as investors have a bigger risk appetite. Conversely, when equities decline you see spreads on high yield debt normally widen as investors demand more in the way of yield to compensate for the added risk.

The week ahead — Economic data from Econoday.com: