On FT Alphaville this morning,
- Monoline flatline: the downgrading of MBIA and Ambac.
- And some thoughts on its impact on Barcap and RBS.
- The BoE’s crunch quango.
- Destructive, irrational and poor value: the worst received M&A detail in recent times.
- The FDIC readies itself for bigger bank failures.
- A Man for all seasons. The hedge fund group moves into weather derivatives.
- The Lehman debate, in Further Reading
- And in Markets Live: miners, Google, and of course, London financials.
On FT.com,
- As the oil price jumps 4.5% overnight, Asian shares receive a boost, with the yen at its weakest against the dollar in three months.
- Energy stocks lift European bourses: Midmorning, the Eurofirst 300 up 0.8%, Dax up 0.7% and the CAC up 1.2%
- While the FTSE stayed flat, anticipating US payroll data due later this afternoon (BST)
- BHP files Rio bid with Australian competition regulator.
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