January, 2009
Lunch Wrap
On FT Alphaville Wednesday morning,
- A shortage of shorts.
- Nationalisation Magnus Opus.
- Welcome to the dole queue.
- Binary banks.
- Nationalisation quote du jour.
- Why is the yen defying economic gravity?
- Lombard:
Markets live transcript 21 Jan 2009
Markets live chat transcript for the chat ending at 12:13 on 21 Jan 2009. Participants in this chat were: Neil Hume, FT (NH) Bryce Elder, FT (BE) NH:Good morning NH:This is Alphaville’s Markets Live
Why the yen is defying economic gravity
There are many explanations behind the curious strengths and weaknesses of various currencies in the forex markets right now.
As far as sterling goes, the logic behind its relentless dive is reasonably clear (just ask Jim “the-UK-is-finished” Rogers) although,
Nationalisation quote du jour
In some ways, it would be similar to a private equity investment… But unlike a private equity deal, the banks would go from being publicly listed to being publicly owned …
- “Let us have public ownership of Lloyds and RBS”
77,900: Welcome to the dole queue
Like yesterday’s inflation figure, the UK’s December unemployment data has also –slightly– surprised on the upside, coming in lower than expected.
* U.K. JOBLESS CLAIMS ROSE 77,900 IN DECEMBER; FORECAST 81,000
*U.K.
Nationalisation Magnus Opus
UBS’s senior economic adviser, George Magnus, has thrown his hat into the bank nationalisation ring.
Magnus, like many others, is starting to see an increasing likelihood of full-scale bank nationalisation.
Further reading
Elsewhere on Wednesday,
- UK banking sector: All civil servants soon.
- Bank nationalisation bonanza.
- A new batch of Goldman Sachs MDs.
- On Ken Lewis and John Thain.
- “Hedge funds are here to stay,
Pink picks
Comment, analysis and other offerings from Wednesday’s FT,
Rachman blog: Obama’s speech: Well, I’m sorry but that was a bit of an anti-climax.
Parts of it sounded like they were written by a 27-year-old sitting in Starbucks…
Snap news
Breaking pre-market news on Wednesday,
- Britannia and Co-operative recommend £70bn super-mutual merger – statement.
- RAB capital reports results: assets under management at $1.9bn (2007: $7.2bn) – statement.
Bank rout raises new fears
The new Obama administration on Tuesday came under immediate pressure to rescue the battered financial sector as bank stocks plunged amid growing fears over their capital needs, reports the FT. The S&P Financials index lost nearly 17%,
Sterling continues to tumble
Sterling continued its slide on currency markets on Tuesday, dropping 2.7% on a trade-weighted basis amid uncertainty about the terms of the government insurance for toxic assets held by banks and fears of creeping nationalisation of the sector.
Bank of England to buy up corporate bonds
The Bank of England will start to buy corporate bonds in large quantities within weeks to increase liquidity and reduce the spread of corporate bond yields over government bonds, Mervyn King, its governor,
Uneasy start for Lloyds Banking Group
Shares in the new Lloyds Banking Group, created on Monday through Lloyds’ takeover of mortgage lender HBOS, plunged 31% on Tuesday to close at 44.8p. The huge sell-off in UK bank stocks this week was triggered by news on Monday that Royal Bank of Scotland would announce a 2008 loss of up to £28bn.
Overseas lenders shun UK banks
Funding difficulties for UK companies are being made worse by a sharp reduction in lending to British banks by overseas institutions. Outstanding loans to UK banks by overseas institutions fell about 20% in the four months to November alone,
UK banks welcome FSA steps
Amid the blizzard of measures unveiled by the UK government and financial regulators this week, one of the least-noticed might turn out to be among the most significant in easing the pressure on Britain’s banking sector.
State Street stokes bank fears
State Street, one of the world’s biggest asset managers, deepened fears about the US financial sector on Tuesday as it reported a 71% in quarterly net profits and its share price halved. Investors were rattled by a surge in unrealised losses on State Street’s investments and concerns that the custody bank might have to raise more capital.
Chrysler hopes Fiat to boost aid bid
Chrysler declared its new alliance with Fiat would enhance its long-term viability in an apparent bid by the Detroit carmaker to strengthen its case for billions of extra dollars in US government aid. The partnership,
France taps US investors for funds
A French state-controlled agency is looking to US investors for the first time to help raise several billion dollars of bail-out funding for the country’s banks. Société de Financement de l’Economie
State aid for French car industry
The French government said Tuesday it would earmark up to €6bn ($7.8bn) for a rescue plan for its car industry hit by plunging demand and a decline in competitiveness. Much of the money is likely to come in the form of loan guarantees and soft loans – mainly for Renault and PSA Peugeot Citroën – for which France still needs the approval of the European Commission.
China braces for bleak data
Chinese leaders have called for rapid action to reverse the economic slowdown as Q4 GDP figures due Thursday are expected to record the slowest pace of growth in almost a decade. After years of rapid expansion,
Singapore’s ‘worst ever’ recession
Singapore’s economy shrank more than expected in the fourth quarter, prompting the government to declare the nation was in its worst ever recession and fanning expectations that the central bank will let its currency weaken,
BHP Billiton to axe 6,000 jobs
BHP Billiton, the world’s biggest mining group, on Wednesday said it would axe 6,000 employees and contractors from its global operations. The Anglo-Australian group added it would shelve operations at its Ravensthorpe nickel mine and cut production at its Mount Keith nickel mine,
Schapiro replaces Cox at SEC
Christopher Cox stepped down as US SEC chairman, leaving behind a demoralised agency that failed to spot Bernard Madoff’s alleged fraud and had its role diminished by the collapse of Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers,
SEC to review Apple disclosures on Jobs
US regulators are examining Apple ‘s disclosures about CEO Steve Jobs’s health problems to ensure investors weren’t misled, reports Bloomberg. A review by the SEC does not mean investigators have seen evidence of wrongdoing,
Overnight markets: Downward
Asian stocks continued their decline on Wednesday, led by financial companies and metals producers, on concern that mounting bank losses worldwide will deepen the global recession and squeeze demand for the region’s commodities.
The BoE talks QE
The most important bits from Mervyn King’s speech to the CBI on Tuesday night (emphasis ours)
For a decade inflation and Bank Rate were remarkably stable. But in only four months, the MPC has cut Bank Rate by 3½ percentage points to its lowest ever level of 1½%.
The 20 worst housing markets in the US
…are all in California, Nevada, Florida and Arizona, according to HousingWire.
Drawing from data provided by First American Core Logic, HousingWire has compiled a list of the 20 worst housing markets in the US.