“Short term volatility is greatest at turning points and diminishes as a trend becomes established.” – George Soros.

1. U.S. opens criminal probe in Libor scandal — The U.S. Justice Department is building a criminal case against big banks and individuals who manipulated a key global interest rate. Barclays, other banks including Citigroup Inc. (C), J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM), the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and Deutsche Bank AG (DB) have said they also are being probed.
2. Saudi Arabia, UAE bypass the Strait of Hormuz — Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have opened new pipelines bypassing the Strait of Hormuz, the shipping lane that Iran has repeatedly threatened to close, in a move that will reduce Tehran’s power over oil markets.
3. Moody cuts rating of 13 Italian Banks — Moody’s has cut the ratings of 13 Italian banks, citing the weakening of the Italian government’s credit profile. The move followed the downgrade of Italy to Baa2 from A3 last week.
4. Libor probe now focuses on links between banks — the FT reported regulators are focusing on HSBC (HBC), Deutsche Bank (DB), Societe Generale (SCGLY.PK) and Credit Agricole (CRARY.PK) in their Libor investigation, the FT reports.
5. U.S. Post Office Might Miss Retirees’ Payment on August 1 — WSJ reported While many are counting on Congress to avert the “fiscal cliff” in January 2013, The Postal Service stated that without congressional action, it will default—a first in its long history, a spokesman said—on a legally required annual $5.5 billion payment, due Aug. 1, into a health-benefits fund for future retirees.
6. Eurogroup approves Spain bank bailout — Euro-zone finance ministers formally approved an agreement with Spain that will allow the country’s government to borrow as much as 100 billion euros ($123 billion) from the euro zone’s rescue funds to recapitalize its ailing banking sector.

The Bespoke Invt. Group posted a list of high yielders:

The week ahead — Economic data from Econoday.com: