ROUND-UP
US stocks edged down for a second day. The S&P 500 closed down 0.3 per cent at 1,457.15. Read more
GOLDMAN SACHS HAS A SECRET PROPRIETARY-TRADING UNIT THAT IS RISKING THE BANK’S OWN CAPITAL BY MAKING INVESTMENTS AND CEO LLOYD BLANKFEIN SAID GOLDMAN WASN’T PROP-TRADING ANYMORE AND THAT IS WRONG AND HE LIED AND HE SHOULD BE HOG-TIED WITH HIS OWN BLACKBERRY CHARGER.
That’s a typical reaction to this Bloomberg piece on Goldman’s “secret” prop-trading team for you. Read more
Oh look, it’s the Abe effect. How exciting. From Reuters:
RTRS – BOJ TO MULL SETTING 2 PCT INFLATION TARGET AT JAN 21-22 MEETING, DOUBLE CURRENT PRICE GOAL – SOURCES
A lot of people seem to be talking past each other about the Trillion Dollar Coin idea. That sometimes happens on Twitter and the blogosphere, where much of the debate has taken place.
But one place to start a reasonable discussion is to note again that nobody really disagrees with this: Read more
Greece has had a break from the headlines recently, but how long can it last? With a banking system that’s soon going to need shoring up again, probably not long. Read more
We’re still getting over Mervyn King saying the following when announcing changes to the liquidity coverage ratio, as Kate reported on Monday (emphasis ours):
Since we attach great importance to try to make sure that banks can indeed finance a recovery, it does not make sense to impose a requirement on banks that might damage the recovery…
Massive kudos to Societe Generale for attempting to answer a question we’ve long wondered (but figured would be insanely difficult to estimate).
The question is: if China does have a ‘hard landing‘ — or anything significantly below the consensus — how will that affect assets x, y, and z? Read more
Live markets commentary from FT.com
You really do wonder how long this trend can be allowed to continue. From Eurostat on Tuesday…
Nowadays, the idea of not having an independent central bank is seen as being a bit backward. One could even say that central bank independence is widely accepted as the optimum set-up for any country’s monetary system, a reflection of its developmental status.
“Independent central bank? Check.”
“This country must be civilised. ”
Yet, can we really be so absolute about the matter? Read more
Banks reach mortgage settlements || HSBC’s exit from Ping An in jeopardy || Samsung profits reach record || Japan to buy ESM bonds from FX reserves || Dreamliner fire probed || Anglo names Cutifani as chief executive || SEC investigates E&Y || India to curb technology imports || Japan executives worry about weak yen || Read more
Fresh from its latest heart-warming ad campaign AIG is probably considering how to put together its next one, which our non-existent sources suggest will showcase Robert Benmosche, its chief executive, both having a cake and eating it too.
From Dealbook:
The board of A.I.G. will meet on Wednesday to consider joining a $25 billion shareholder lawsuit against the government, court records show.
This post is not about another Chinese shadow financing innovation, or the possible or actual blowing up of said innovative products. Nope. Something even worse…
Although the new Chinese leadership seems so far unenthused about major reforms, a few strategists have detected signs in the past couple of weeks that the country’s authorities are preparing to crack down, somehow, on shadow financing. Read more
Asian markets fall || US banks reach $20bn mortgage settlement || Japan to buy ESM bonds from FX fund || Samsung announces record Q4 profits || HTC misses expectations || Dreamliner fire investigated || Japan pension fund to double gold holdings Read more
1Bernanke weighs in on robot wars; brings Keynes for backup
2Alphachat: Lee Buchheit edition, featuring Lee Buchheit
3"This is Lake Wobegone upside-down"
4Further reading
5The risk of a Japanese VaR shock
Show more6A Kazakh muddle
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