1. Russian companies prepare to pay for trade in renminbi —ft, Russian companies are preparing to switch contracts to renminbi and other Asian currencies amid fears that western sanctions may freeze them out of the US dollar market. Its central bank is working to create a national payment system to reduce the country’s dependence on western companies such as Visa and MasterCard.
2. IEA Says China Natural Gas Demand to Nearly Double — WSJ, China’s natural gas demand to nearly double by 2019, offsetting slower growth in Europe and around the world. Global gas demand is expected to rise by 2.2% a year by the end of 2019. The demand growth for the gas is driven by the Asia-Pacific region – especially China, while supply growth is dominated by private-sector operators in Australia and North America.
3. Alibaba launches US-based online marketplace — CNBC, China’s largest e-commerce company is making its first appearance in the U.S. with the debut of 11Main.com, an invite-only online marketplace that showcases small business retailers. 11 Main is owned by Alibaba, the e-commerce giant in China that filed for an initial public offering in the U.S. in May. Bigger than Amazon and eBay combined, Alibaba had no U.S. e-commerce presence until now.
4. US retail sales rise less than expected in May — Reuters, the Commerce Department said on Thursday retail sales gained 0.3 percent last month. Retail sales, which account for a third of consumer spending, rose by a revised 0.5 percent in April. Excluding autos, sales were up 0.1 percent in May. Declines in receipts at sporting goods shops. Sales at electronics and appliances stores fell as did those at clothing retailers and restaurants and bars.
5. European Commission (EU) Probes Irish, Dutch Taxes — the EU will investigate the corporate tax codes of Ireland, the Netherlands and Luxembourg to see if the low tax rates paid by Apple (AAPL), Starbucks (SBUX) and other corporations amount to illegal state aid. The recent senate probe stated that Apple used a loophole to avoid Irish HQs.
6. US Mulls Irag Military Action — as the Al Qaida-linked group that overran Mosul and threatened to advance on Baghdad and 2 other cities, the White House said that airstrikes are possible through ground troops aren’t under consideration. The Kurdish troops took control of Kirkuk, the capital of an oil-rich northern provinces. Irag is one of the key oil suppliers in OPEC.

The week ahead — Economic data from Econoday.com:

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