March, 2009
FSA finds its snarl
Remember this quote?
“PEOPLE SHOULD BE VERY FRIGHTENED OF THE FSA”.
Those words, uttered by FSA boss Hector Sants earlier this month, were the subject of much ridicule in London’s Square Mile.
But who is laughing now? (emphasis ours):
A touch of European refinancing
Here’s a relatively disconcerting statistic regarding the European companies tracked by rating agency Standard & Poor’s: €329.9bn of corporate debt is set to fall due in 2009, and another €235.3bn in 2010.
CDS update: Credit markets shrug off equity rally
This CDS report was written by Markit’s Gavan Nolan
European credit markets ignored a strong rally in the equity markets today, recognising it as the quarter-end driven phenomenon that it was. The Markit iTraxx Europe index was flat on the day,
Protest in the City
Bit of a mixed message below, but here’s the schedule for Wednesday’s protests. To avoid/join/observe as you will.
Whatever happened to frontier markets?
Merrill Lynch’s international investment strategist Michael Hartnett posed the question in a report released on Tuesday, in which he noted, inter alia:
For much of the decade Frontier markets were an uncorrelated,
Trillion fatigue
Do you find yourself feeling bloated or sluggish at the very thought of digesting yet another dollar bailout figure?
Does the mention of a few trillion dollars not even cause you to raise your eyebrows anymore?
You may not know it,
China: First Argentina, then the world
Here’s a rather curious event: China and Argentina have started a swap line worth $10bn of their own currencies.
That may be small change compared to other swap lines but it is significant considering it’s the first swap line the Asian country has initiated with a Latin American counterpart — and it comes at a time when China seems to be avoiding the dollar like a QE-ridden plague.
‘The Fed is pursuing an immoral course’
Or, the ethics of quantitative easing.
George Bragues, business professor at the University of Guelph-Humber, is taking central banks to task for immoral monetary policy in an academic paper.
Here’s the synopsis:
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Explosives found near bank of England?
The below email forwarded to us from an employee at a building in the vicinity.
Dear all,
Please be advised that a suspect vehicle is located within the Bank area, explosives within the vehicle have been identified.
Keeping an eye on sovereign CDS
Credit Derivatives Research, the independent credit research firm which last year launched the Counterparty Risk Index, on Tuesday introduced a new index that will track perceptions of sovereign credit risk.
Case-Shiller indices show continued falls in US house prices
House prices in 20 US cities fell 19 per cent in January compared with the same period a year ago, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller home price indices released on Tuesday. This is the fastest decline since record keeping for year-over-year declines began in 2001.
Euro bond auction failure about to begin?
This week sees a much denser than usual schedule for bond auctions in Europe. And with appetite waning for the paper of over indebted-states, results could be worth watching for signs of stress, especially from countries in the eurozone.
CDS report: Bouncing back
European credit-derivative indices bounced back on Tuesday along with equity markets, although some analysts said the move was predictable following Monday’s sell-off. The day, nevertheless, is expected to be relatively quiet.
Lunch Wrap
On FT Alphaville Tuesday morning,
- Baaaaaaafin: No surprises on Porsche/VW.
- More reaction on the Barclays/Treasury non-deal.
- The Bank of England’s gilty pension fund secret?
- China’s New Zealand spree heats up.
The Bank of England’s gilty secret: betting on inflation?
The Bank of England has a rather smart set of pension fund managers. Take the below snippets, from the BoE employees pension fund report, 2008.
Major changes during the Scheme year
2007-08 was a year of major structural change for the Fund:
Cramer calls a bottom (again)
By our count this is the outspoken CNBC host’s third bottom call in the past 15 months — at the very least.
- January 10, 2008 – Financials have hit rock bottom.
- August 12, 2008 – The bear market is dead.
To redeem or not to redeem, Mizuho’s question
First it was Deutsche Bank, then South Korea’s Woori Bank, Spain’s Banco Sabadell and now, Mizuho has become the first Japanese bank in recent years to decide not to repay a bond as expected.
Mizuho,
The rise and rise of China’s bond market
As other major states face pressure with their sovereign bond sales, one country appears to be defying the odds — not only in size of issuance but success — China. As Merrill Lynch Bank of America (MLBoA) highlights in a recent report,
Markets live transcript 31 Mar 2009
Markets live chat transcript for the chat ending at 12:13 on 31 Mar 2009. Participants in this chat were: Neil Hume, FT (NH) Bryce Elder (BE) NH:RTRS-BARCLAYS PLC ENTERS EXCLUSIVE TALKS WITH CVC
A model for the Rio/Chinalco deal
Perhaps Rio Tinto won’t have to resort to plan B after all:
(emphasis ours).
Australia approves China investment in Fortescue
Today I approve the application by Hunan Valin Iron and Steel Group for up to a 17.55 per cent shareholding in Fortescue Metals Group,
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Baaaaaaafin: No surprises here
GERMAN FINANCIAL WATCHDOG BAFIN SAYS HAS ENDED SHORT-SQUEEZE PROBE INTO VOLKSWAGEN SHARES NO EVIDENCE OF WRONG DOING.Indeed. Nothing unusual. At. All.
FRANKFURT, March 31 (Reuters) – Porsche landed a €6.8bn ($8.99bn) windfall from its share options in Volkswagen during the first half,
Further reading
Elsewhere on Tuesday,
- Why size matters.
- The safest job in America.
- Manning the barricades.
- The G20 and fudged language.
- Barack Obama as Herbert Hoover.
- Bear-bottoming.
- Time to pick up some hot brics.
Pink picks
Comment, analysis and other offerings from Tuesday’s FT,
Gideon Rachman: Europe spurns hero Obama
Europeans have long worshipped Barack Obama from afar. Now the beloved one is paying his first visit as US president to the old continent.
Snap news
Breaking pre-market news on Tuesday,
- VW hedges give Porsche €6.8bn windfall – statement.
- Fortis plunges to €28bn 2008 loss on banking – statement.
- Shire and GlaxoSmithKline enter agreement to co-promote Vyvanse – statement.
Fresh flight from risk hits global equities
Global equities tumbled on Monday after GM and Chrysler were refused fresh US government bail-out funds and Spain launched its first banking bail-out of the current financial crisis, providing up to €9bn ($11.9bn) to savings and loan CCM.