Posts from Friday Aug 24 2012

The Weekender

| Aug 24 2012 20:13 | Comment |

This week on FT Alphaville,

- China’s economy is seeing uneven growth — and in all the wrong places. Read more

When ECB bond-buying meets collateral

Joseph joined FT Alphaville way back in March 2010. He likes all the politically and legally fiddly bits of finance. He also likes credit, rates, global macro, tail risk, and all that stuff. (You should email him story ideas. He’ll take anything.)

Learn more

| Subscribe to Joseph's posts
| Aug 24 2012 19:12 | Comment |

Click to enlarge.

A word of caution in advance: the optimal structure is deeply complex, which itself should raise concern in the minds of investors… Read more

Building castles on the ground

David joined the FT in 2011 as a Marjorie Deane fellow. He covered emerging markets, equities and currencies before making the jump over to FT Alphaville in May 2012.

Learn more

| Subscribe to David's posts
| Aug 24 2012 15:05 | Comment |

We noted our growing love for one John Mann MP before and it looks like his proposals are gaining some traction. From earlier in August:

Mann is suggesting that incentivising measures should include a suspension of all town centre car park fees up to Christmas, a reduction of Vat on DIY product, a crash programme of building pensioner bungalows and a re-introduction of green technology incentives such as solar panels. Read more

In ECB-time, “the coming weeks” might be more than 4

Lisa joined FT Alphaville in September 2011 after a tour of duty through the guts of the financial industry, having worked as an analyst at a bank and for a financial data company.

Learn more

| Subscribe to Lisa's posts
| Aug 24 2012 14:15 | Comment |

If only the ECB had a shared Google Calendar with Germany’s constitutional court, this would be so much easier. From Bloomberg on Friday:

European Central Bank President Mario Draghi may wait until Germany’s Constitutional Court rules on the legality of Europe’s permanent bailout fund before unveiling full details of his plan to buy government bonds, two central bank officials said. Read more

CDS end-users, a bit like unicorns

Lisa joined FT Alphaville in September 2011 after a tour of duty through the guts of the financial industry, having worked as an analyst at a bank and for a financial data company.

Learn more

| Subscribe to Lisa's posts
| Aug 24 2012 12:58 | Comment |

Whenever we come across a really real example of an actual client in the credit default swap market, it can be a little too exciting. Especially if they actually talk! They are ever so shy, you see.

But talk one did! To Nicholas Dunbar at Bloomberg. Read more

Markets Live transcript 24 Aug 2012

| Aug 24 2012 11:01 | Comment |
This is a Markets Live transcript. Read more

Live markets commentary from FT.com 

The (early) Lunch Wrap

Masa joined the FT in 2009 and has worked on a number of desks across the paper, including Companies, Markets and Comment. She spent much of 2010 in New York covering the US equity markets. But earlier this year she finally saw the light and moved to Alphaville.

She started her career in the investment banking division at Lehman Brothers in the summer of 2007, timing it perfectly with the beginning of the credit crunch.

She studied philosophy, politics and economics at Oxford University.

Learn more

Subscribe to Masa's posts
| Aug 24 2012 10:42 | Comment |

Good morning New York…

FT ALPHAVILLE Read more

Selling love and buying panic

Lisa joined FT Alphaville in September 2011 after a tour of duty through the guts of the financial industry, having worked as an analyst at a bank and for a financial data company.

Learn more

| Subscribe to Lisa's posts
| Aug 24 2012 10:17 | Comment |

If life seems jolly rotten, there’s something you’ve forgotten
And that’s to laugh and smile and dance and sing [and buy stocks]
When you’re feeling in the dumps, don’t be silly, chumps
Just purse your lips and whistle [and buy stocks], that’s the thing

– By Eric Idle Read more

Further reading

David joined the FT in 2011 as a Marjorie Deane fellow. He covered emerging markets, equities and currencies before making the jump over to FT Alphaville in May 2012.

Learn more

| Subscribe to David's posts
| Aug 24 2012 08:22 | Comment |

Elsewhere on Friday,

- On experiences versus possessions. Read more

The 6am Cut London

Kate is FT AV’s Asia Correspondent. She joined FT Alphaville in mid-2011 after carrying out various roles in the FT’s London office since 2005: interactive editor, companies reporter, and founding editor of the FT’s Energy Source blog.

Learn more

| Subscribe to Kate's posts
| Aug 24 2012 04:59 | Comment |

Asian stocks followed US markets downwards on concerns US easing may not materialise,  and on growth in Europe and China. The MSCI Asia Pacific was 1.1% to 120.52 as of 11:46am in Tokyo, erasing this week’s advance (Bloomberg).

Gold standard’s Republican revival: A “gold commission” to look at restoring the link between the dollar and gold and an audit of Fed policy is set to become part of official Republican party policy. A commission would have no power except to make recommendations, but the move shows how easy monetary policy – and the efforts of libertarian congressman Ron Paul – have made the once-fringe idea of returning to the gold standard a legitimate part of Republican debate (Financial Times). Read more

DANGER – Trap door (updated)

| Aug 24 2012 00:48 | Comment |

Remember the joke about the $120 iron ore price floor?

 Read more