January, 2009
Oil to Russia’s rescue
With news of Russia’s economic woes it’s good to see that Prime Minister Vladimir Putin is contributing to the country’s oil sales – albeit of the oil-painting variety.
The Associated Press reports Monday a painting by Putin has sold for a record million dollars at a charity auction in his hometown of St.
Markets live transcript 19 Jan 2009
Markets live chat transcript for the chat ending at 12:16 on 19 Jan 2009. Participants in this chat were: Paul Murphy, FT (PM) Neil Hume, FT (NH) PM:Okay – welcome everyone PM:This is Markets Live,
Ireland needs help
Things are bad in Ireland we know, but could they be getting worse?
Prolific eurozone doomsayer and Telegraph business editor Ambrose Evans-Pritchard cites this warning from economist and former Irish Central bank official David McWilliams as to the degree of stress facing the single currency (our emphasis):
IB salary data point of the day
Want to know what your (less discreet) investment banking peers are making in these troubled times?
Fashion meets Finance, the social service that aims to match attractive but relatively poor women with relatively unattractive but rich finance professionals correct gender imbalances between New York bar scenes,
Managing UK economy: Childsplay
The Citizenship Foundation, in partnership with Norwich Union and The Times, has relaunched Chance to be Chancellor: a competition for politicians 14-19 year olds (Key Stage 3/4 and Post-16 students) which will put students in the driving seat of Public Spending – by being the Chancellor!
See here.
To twist a Treasury
While the UK’s Treasury tries to force-feed liquidity into the system by literally making banks lend and snapping up asset-backed securities, the Fed is still busy buying up $600bn of the mortgage-backed stuff.
The strange case of Citi’s Nikko Cordial operations
Among many other murky developments on Monday came the contradictory stories about the fate of Citigroup’s Japanese retail brokerage operations, Nikko Cordial Securities, formed just a year ago after a long and costly negotiation with Nikko Securities.
Her Majesty’s AIG
Metaphorically speaking of course. Better perhaps: Her Majesty’s version of AIG.
Or, as they are calling it, the government asset protection scheme.
Details of which have just been released by statement (emphasis ours):
UniCredit’s Eastern Exposure
Moody’s Market Implied Ratings group has an interesting – and bearish – note out on UniCredit, highlighting concerns about the bank’s exposure to Central and Eastern Europe.
The note, written by analyst Lisa Hintz,
BoE becomes the bad bank?
In case the full Treasury statement is a bit much, here are some highlights of ‘ UK bailout 2′ (our emphasis):
- UK GOVT SAYS TO OFFER PROTECTION TO UK INCORPORATED AUTHORISED
DEPOSIT-TAKERS (INCLUDING
HMT actions summary
From HMT:
With the global economic downturn intensifying in the past two months, the Government is today announcing a comprehensive package designed to reinforce the stability of the financial system,
HMT on RBS
Treasury statement on plans for RBS (emphasis ours):
With continuing instability in the global financial markets, expected to be demonstrated by a run of poor financial results from the industry, the Government is today taking action,
Pink picks
Comment, analysis and other offerings from Monday’s FT,
Clive Crook: Four fixes for America’s fiscal fiasco
The US economy’s perilous condition calls for extreme fiscal activism. The new administration’s stimulus plans are by no means over the top.
Further reading
Elsewhere on Monday:
- Wall Street Voodoo or, why bad banks won’t work
- How to profit from the credit crisis
- Write your own Steve Jobs health story, in a few easy steps!
- Why China will continue buying US Treasuries
- UK bank bail-out Part II:
UK readies fresh bank bail-out plan
Britain’s beleaguered banks were on Sunday night preparing to accept a new bail-out as the government finalised a plan designed to end uncertainty about future losses and boost credit flows, reports the FT.
RBS to report UK’s biggest loss
Royal Bank of Scotland is on Monday expected to announce a £20bn full-year loss – the biggest loss in British corporate history -as the state-controlled lender unveils further damage resulting from the credit crunch.
Obama puts priority on bank lending
President-elect Barack Obama will demand that banks receiving public support boost lending, advisers said Sunday, as they promised to put a priority on restoring credit flows. Among other key advisers,
Backing grows for US ‘bad bank’ plan
Speculation that the Obama administration could announce fresh plans to clean up US banks within days of taking office next week grew on the weekend after a top regulator called for a special bank to be set up to unblock the system.
Citi denies reports of Japanese brokerage sale
Citigroup on Monday said it is “committed” to its Japanese brokerage unit Nikko Cordial Securities, rebuffing that the division is up for sale as Citi splits in two to rebuild capital, reports Bloomberg.
BBVA calls for single bank regulator
Francisco González, chairman of Spanish bank BBVA, has called for a single European financial regulator to manage the risks of cross-border banking and criticised greedy executives for focusing on their bonuses rather than the long-term future of their institutions.
Wedgwood family plans ‘all or nothing’ bid
A consortium led by Thomas R. Wedgwood, a direct descendant of the 18th-century industrialist who founded the ceramics maker, is mounting an “all or nothing” bid to buy back the family company, reports The Times.
Alibaba plans global expansion
Alibaba, the world’s largest online platform for trade between businesses, is moving to take advantage of the global financial crisis as an opportunity to transform itself from a China-focused e-commerce provider into a global web marketplace,
Slim to raise NYT stake
Carlos Slim Helú, the Mexican billionaire, is near a deal to invest about $250m in The New York Times Company as it struggles with finances, reports the NYT. The company’s board is expected to meet Monday to approve the deal and an announcement could be made as early as Tuesday.
CVC to buy stake in Royal Mail
Private equity group CVC Capital Partners is drawing up plans to buy a stake in Royal Mail, reports the Daily Telegraph. CVC’s interest is at an early stage and the firm is believed to be worried about the reputational risk of any deal because the part-privatisation of Royal Mail is so politically sensitive.
Satyam to appoint investment banks
The new, government-appointed board of fraud-hit Satyam Computer Services is looking to appoint up to three investment banks to find a possible buyer for the Indian outsourcer, reports Reuters, citing the Economic Times of India.
Fidelity to rank independent researchers
Independent research firms will come under pressure in coming months as the agreement requiring Wall Street companies to offer third-party research expires. As the end of the regulatory settlement nears,
Samurai bond market revives
Japan’s samurai bond market is poised to revive after a virtual shut-down since the September collapse of Lehman Brothers, as credit markets show signs of stabilising thanks partly to government guarantees on bond issues.
European companies in record bond sales
European companies have sold record volumes of bonds so far this year, capitalising on renewed investor demand as corporations seek to refinance debt. Non-financial European companies sold $15.2bn of bonds last week,