Copper, still in the pits - Izzy refers to a BNP Paribas note which is not optimistic about copper's prospects in the next year. The team says the market is still plagued by surplus issues and on a relative basis the metal continues to be over-valued. When money multipliers become divisors - The slow death of the money multiplier may be upon us in the US. Izzy considers to what degree this reflects the limits of what monetary policy can do, and to what extent a QE exit reflects an admission of defeat rather than triumph. Vodafone in early talks to buy Kabel Deutschland in €7bn deal: Vodafone has made a preliminary approach for Kabel Deutschland, the German cable group, in a €7bn deal that would strengthen the British mobile operator's bundled TV-to-telecoms business. Traders accused of manipulating currency rates: Traders at some of the world's biggest banks are said to have manipulated benchmark foreign-exchange rates used to set the value of trillions of dollars of investments, according to five dealers with knowledge of the practice cited by Bloomberg. Glencore picks former Morgan Stanley boss John Mack for board: Glencore Xstrata has appointed John Mack, former Morgan Stanley boss, as an independent director as it rebuilds the board of the enlarged mining and commodities trading house. (Financial Times) Separately, Bloomberg reports the commodity trader will raise a $17.3 bn loan after receiving more than $19bn in commitments from banks, according to four people with knowledge of the matter. Sir Roger Carr confirmed as BAE chair: BAE Systems has confirmed its widely rumoured selection of Sir Roger Carr as the FTSE 100 defence company's new chairman. Banks receive reprieve on new swaps rule: The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency said it has granted extensions to seven banks to comply with a rule requiring they move risky swap activities into separate affiliates. This gives them until July 2015 to comply with so-called "swaps push-out" rules required by the 2010 Dodd-Frank law. IEA predicts steeper-than-normal summer spike in crude demand: The oil market will endure a larger-than-usual rise in seasonal demand this summer with the opening of new refineries in the Middle East and Asia putting pressure on prices, the International Energy Agency has warned. Dimon pledges to fight "whale" suits: The JP Morgan CEO hit back against allegations that JPMorgan Chase executives misled investors over the bank's "London whale" trading losses, pledging to fight "to the end" against any lawsuits filed in the affair. Markets: Global markets paused for breath after two days of steep losses on the back of rising concerns over the prospect of central banks reining in their bond-buying programmes. The Nikkei 225 Average fell 0.2 per cent overnight, after a sharp 1.5 per cent fall in the previous session, but in Europe the FTSE Eurofirst 300 index rose 0.3 per cent. The FTSE All-World index was up 0.1 per cent to 239.17. Industrial commodity prices edged lower, with uncertainty about Chinese demand for raw materials creating a downbeat mood. Copper fell 0.4 per cent while Brent crude is down 0.6 per cent at $102.96 a barrel.