FT markets round-up:”Oil prices swung in a 2 per cent range, as traders reacted to developments in the Middle East and to signs of tighter supply in the US. The announcement of a ceasefire to end a week of violence between Hamas and the Israelis briefly interrupted the commodity’s upward trajectory, but by late in the day Brent crude was back up 1.1 per cent at $110.99 a barrel. WTI, the US benchmark, was also 1.1 per cent higher at $87.66 a barrel. Traders were also surprised by data showing a decline in inventories in the US, where signs of an improving economy suggest higher fuel demand in the near-term. The Energy Department said oil inventories decreased by 1.5m barrels last week to 374.5m barrels, the first decline in three weeks. The wider markets shrugged off a failure to agree the latest bailout for Greece, though trading was light ahead of the US Thanksgiving holiday. The FTSE All-World equity index was just 0.2 per cent higher at 213.69, recovering losses from earlier in the session, following the release of some encouraging US data.” Read more
Does US-listed Pacific Drilling look like a credible takeover target? We think it probably does, 0n balance, and we’d very much like to find out more. Read more
Some interesting stuff on corporate balance sheets from SocGen’s Albert Edwards on Wednesday.
Edwards observes, for example, that corporate leverage is finally recovering after a temporary retraction:
Read more
“A judgmental structure of supervision that emphasises the big issues has to be matched by proper transparency . . . or it won’t work.” Andrew Bailey, head of prudential regulation at the Financial Services Authority, told that to parliamentarians on Monday.
Too bad there’s seemingly no tradition of transparent supervision in the UK, especially when it comes to banks. Read more
Live markets commentary from FT.com
The turkeys would be HP/Autonomy — and anything else we care to talk about on pre-Thanksgiving US Markets Live this Wednesday at 10am New York, 3pm London, with Cardiff and Joseph. See you there! Read more
Live markets commentary from FT.com
Glencore-Xtrata merger to win EU clearance || Japan posts biggest China trade deficit || Cohen linked to $276m insider trading scheme || Bernanke bearish on fiscal cliff || Adoboli jailed for UK’s biggest bank fraud || Markets update || The ‘technical’ issues that broke up the Eurogroup meeting || Meg and the HP Lynchmob || JPM’s Zames on impact of new regs || The personalised pricing revolution || The definitive guide to the RBA’s ‘passive intervention’ in the AUD || Muddy Waters vs Olam: from New Zealand, with fudge Read more
In Marrakesh, there is no such thing as a fixed vendor price.
The price you pay is determined by who you are, how well you barter, and the supply and demand fundamentals of the product you’re trying to buy on that on that specific day. Read more
We’re developing a soft spot for that Keith Horowitz at Citi. Ne’er did a man express so much joy at an interest rate sensitivity disclosure. That’s our kinda cute.
This time Horowitz has gone to meet Matt Zames, JPMorgan’s new co-chief operating officer and operating committee member. They talked pendulums: Read more
About that meeting of eurozone finance ministers, ECB and IMF officials that collapsed in the early hours of this morning (at least, until Monday) for ‘further technical work’…
First: looks like our bold call was correct. Um, yay?
Second, Reuters says it has the document prepared for the meeting and circulated among the ministers. Read more
Elsewhere on Wednesday,
- Greece talks fail, but it was all for naught anyway.
- Cue a slide in the euro.
- Twinkies face an uncertain future. Read more
European finance ministers failed to agree on a debt-reduction package for Greece after battling with the IMF over how to cut the country’s debt. However the Eurogroup meeting in Brussels was interrupted “to allow for further technical work on some elements of this package” and will reconvene on Monday. (Bloomberg)(Statement)
“US officials have linked Steven Cohen, founder of SAC Capital, one of Wall Street’s most powerful hedge funds, to an insider-trading scheme that prosecutors called the most lucrative case of its kind.” The criminal and civil charges, filed by US prosecutors in Manhattan and the SEC against Mathew Martoma, a former portfolio manager at CR Intrinsic, a SAC Capital fund, do not accuse Cohen of any wrongdoing. (Financial Times) Read more
