April, 2009
Express Scripts buys WellPoint unit
Express Scripts said on Monday that it would buy the pharmacy benefits management business of WellPoint for $4.68bn, in a deal that will make Express Scripts the second-largest US drug benefits manager in terms of prescriptions processed.
CLSA plans US expansion
Even as it cuts jobs in Asia, CLSA, the Asia-focused brokerage arm of Crédit Agricole, is planning an aggressive US push in expectation of demand for more independent and more international research. Jonathan Slone,
HSBC seeks buyers for offices
HSBC is looking for buyers for three of its largest offices in London, New York and Paris as part of a global asset sell-off in an effort to secure fresh funding. Only last week, the bank completed the UK’s biggest-ever rights issue,
Fannie Mae chief to head TARP
The Obama administration is expected to name Fannie Mae CEO Herb Allison to head the US government’s $700bn TARP financial rescue program, reports Reuters. The announcement is expected “in coming days,”
Easter catch-up
In case you missed these stories:
- Goldman to buy discounted private equity holdings
Goldman Sachs has raised $5.5bn for its Vintage V fund to buy discounted private equity holdings – the largest fund ever of this type – as investors anticipate a flood of forced sellers trying to offload private equity stakes.
Overnight Markets: Uncertain
Most Asian stocks fell on Tuesday as disappointing profit reports at Qantas and Sumitomo Realty offset Goldman Sachs’ better-than-estimated earnings. Futures on the S&P 500 slipped 0.5% after the gauge added 0.3% in New York on Monday.
An FT Alphaville Easter Egg Hunt
It’s Easter. Time to go egg hunting.
Rules: Name all the things and people contained in the eggs in the comments section below. First one to name all six correctly wins a hefty copy of Nomura’s ‘Encounters.’ Winner to be named By Neil Hume on Tuesday’s Markets Live.
Banks passing stress tests (but you’re not allowed to know about it)
US banks are on fire, posting double-digit gains in New York.
Financial firms including Citigroup, Bank of America, JP Morgan and now Wells Fargo, have all said they’ve had a profitable first-quarter.
A litigious Goldman Sachs
Zero Hedge points out that Goldman Sachs is on the legal warpath, issuing a cease and desist order against www.goldmansachs666.com.
The site is of the conspiratorial persuasion, with a host of memorable quotes such as:
Wells Fargo rallies after early, positive earnings guidance
Wells Fargo on Thursday boosted US markets after it said it expected record first quarter earnings of $3bn, or $0.55 per common share after preferred dividends. Consensus forecasts had been for first-quarter earnings of around 23 cents per share.
Lunch Wrap
On FT Alphaville this morning,
- BoE holds rates at 0.5 per cent.
- Banzai! A 15,400bn boost: Japan’s biggest stimulus package yet.
- The IB’s of March.
- Contrarian risk.
- … forget Green shoots.
CDS report: Conditions thin, but tighter
European credit markets tightened on Thursday on thin flows ahead of the Easter holidays.
Markit’s iTraxx Crossover index, which tracks 45 mostly-high yield names in Europe, tightened to 903 basis points from the 918bp close on Wednesday.
Bank of England holds interest rates at 0.5%
As expected. Yawn.
The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee today voted to maintain the official Bank Rate paid on commercial bank reserves at 0.5%. The Committee also voted to continue with the programme,
Markets live transcript 9 Apr 2009
Markets live chat transcript for the chat ending at 12:07 on 9 Apr 2009. Participants in this chat were: Paul Murphy, FT (PM) Bryce Elder (BE) Neil Hume, FT (NH) PM:Hi there PM:Welcome to Markets Live
The IBs of March
Last month:
After a meeting with President Barack Obama, JPMorgan Chase & Co’s (NYSE:JPM – News) Chief Executive Jamie Dimon said that March was “a little tough” in comments to CNBC. The bank’s shares fell nearly 5 percent.
That’s a strange statement considering equity markets rallied in March,
Contrarian risk
UBS’s equity strategy risk appetite indicator inched up this week for the fourth week in a row, rising to -1.5 from -1.7.
That’s out of the extremely risk-averse territory, which UBS defines as -3 and below.
Green shoots and escape chutes
It would be rude of Goldman Sachs’ Peter Oppenheimer not to give himself a little wriggle room. From Thursday’s portfolio strategy note to GS clients:
Our economists believe that we are past the low point in the economic cycle,
Banker of the year goes bye bye?
As rumours about the Bank of America CEO’s potential resignation swirl, Ken Lewis-bashers have taken to the internet.
That’s www.BACPROXYVOTE.com — a web site started by BofA investor Jerry Finger.
Berlin launches offer for Hypo Real Estate
By James Wilson in Frankfurt
Germany’s government on Thursday launched its first takeover offer for a bank stricken by the financial crisis, saying it wanted to acquire all of Hypo Real Estate through an offer to shareholders.
A 15,400,000,000,000 yen boost
This might be a stupid to ask, but when you are talking 14 figures to the left of the decimal point, how does a fiscal stimulus package arrive at 15.4 trillion – rather than 15 or 16?
No matter. Japan on Thursday came out with its biggest stimulus package yet,
Further reading
Elsewhere on Thursday,
- “Short sellers didn’t get people to buy homes with no money down…”
- The US banking system’s terrifying balance sheet.
- Is the market getting more or less short?
- The AIG CDS unwind investigation begins.
Pink picks
Comment, analysis and other offerings from Thursday’s FT,
The pendulum will swing back
Sir Martin Sorrell, chief executive of WPP, writes: Every era of financial or irrational exuberance ends with the shutters coming down.
Snap news
Breaking pre-market news on Thursday,
- German government launches €1.39-a-share offer for Hypo real Estate – Reuters.
- Barclays’ sale of iShares to CVC Partners expected on Thursday – WSJ.
- Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group looking to raise $8bn – Bloomberg.
De Beers braced for turnover to halve
De Beers, the world’s biggest diamond miner, is planning for its turnover to halve this year, it emerged on Wednesday, in the latest sign of how the once-mighty group is struggling to cope with a downturn in an industry it no longer controls,
BoE, Fed weigh case for forcing banks to split their operations
The Bank of England is examining whether Britain’s biggest banks should formally separate their investment banking and retail banking operations, The Times reported, adding that the US Federal Reserve is understood to be considering the feasibility of splitting up giant banking institutions to try to limit the systemic risk posed by the collapse of another large bank.
Corporate fundamentals are historically awful
The rally of the past month has been impressively broad, John Authers notes in his latest Short View column and video. More impressive still, it has been achieved in spite of a string of awful superlatives, According to Moody’s,
‘Botched’ forex hedging leaves UK Foreign Office with £150m hole
The Foreign Office is scrambling to plug a hole in its budget of up to £150m this year as the recent collapse in sterling threatens to cripple the spending power of its embassies, the FT reported. The budgetary troubles follow what the Conservatives have dubbed a “botched experiment”
Bank of England creates two-tier market
The Bank of England’s attempts at lowering corporate borrowing costs as part of its quantitative easing plans have created a two-tier market, with bonds of those companies it has bought sharply outperforming the rest,
Sharp casts doubt on Japan’s export status
Japan’s future as a leading exporter was thrown into doubt on Wednesday as Sharp, one of the country’s biggest manufacturers, warned it would have to shift core production offshore because of the cost of investment and the strength of the yen.