May, 2009
Germany set for record deficit
The German government will record its biggest post-war budget deficit this year as the economic crisis sends tax revenues plummeting, Peer Steinbrück, finance minister, said on Thursday. The federal deficit would exceed €50bn in 2009 and rise to €90bn next year,
Opec may not cut output
Opec’s resolve to cut production to boost prices is weakening after production cuts helped boost oil prices back to about $60 a barrel, up from their $32-low in February, says the International Energy Agency.
Target’s rebels win proxy support
Target, the US discount retailer, has suffered a setback in its efforts to fight off a challenge to its board by activist investor Bill Ackman, after a key proxy advisory service endorsed two of the dissident candidates.
Madoff case trustee expects settlements
The trustee in charge of recovering assets from Bernie Madoff’s fraudulent investment scheme expects to reach financial settlements in coming weeks with a handful of investors who reaped profits. Irving Picard,
Insider trading probe within SEC
Two US Securities and Exchange Commission employees are under investigation by federal criminal authorities for allegedly using insider information to trade stocks, reports Reuters. A report by the SEC’s internal watchdog alleges that the two SEC lawyers traded in stock of a large financial services company despite being told by another SEC employee of ongoing investigations of that company,
Overnight markets: Up
Asian stocks climbed on Friday, paring the MSCI Asia Pacific Index’s first weekly decline in three, after Sony Corp. forecast a smaller loss than analysts expected and bank borrowing costs plunged. Futures on the S&P500 Index added 0.1% after the benchmark rose 1% on Thursday,
Wikishoots
Presented without comment. Click to enlarge.
Related links:
Green shoots – Wikipedia
Irish student hoaxes world’s media – AP
Roubini: the renminbi will replace the dollar
THE 19th century was dominated by the British Empire, the 20th century by the United States. We may now be entering the Asian century, dominated by a rising China and its currency. While the dollar’s status as the major reserve currency will not vanish overnight,
Clouseau-esque market-moving commentary, IEA edition
On Thursday the International Energy Agency (IEA) issued its latest monthly oil report, and in case you weren’t aware, the market was awaiting the forecast more than usual.
This was largely on account of expectations the IEA would finally put an end to its eight-month run of global demand cuts and in so doing confirm ‘green-shoot’ hopes that the economic crisis may be easing.
Shareholder activism – a challenge
At Fortis, the Belgians threw shoes and sang the Marseillaise.
At ArcelorMittal the French stormed the building and threw smoke bombs.
And at AIB yesterday, the Irish were chucking eggs.
CDS update: Markets volatile as data continue to disappoint
This CDS report was written by Markit’s Gavan Nolan
European credit markets were relatively volatile today with investors in an uncertain mood. The conventional wisdom – at least among market participants – that the global economy is set to rebound has been challenged this week by disappointing economic data.
The moving Target
Herein the latest volly in what is already being widely billed as the “most expensive proxy fight of all time”.
That is, Target Corp v. Pershing Square.
Smarting from Pershing Square’s widely publicised “town hall meeting”
Financial comet hits FT Alphaville!!!
Okay, okay, we mis-judged the tendency of some in the financial markets to act on information before finding out what the information actually is.
We are happy to confirm that, to our knowledge,
Egg on one’s face
It’s art hour here on FT Alphaville.
The Celebration series is comprised of an ambitious body of sixteen paintings and over twenty stainless steel sculptures focusing on toys, presents, and other small childhood objects,
Strange deviations at the UNG ETF
We’re not sure what to make of this, and perhaps the data is misleading. But there have been some very strange things going on in the world of NAV/closing price deviations at the United States Natural Gas (UNG) ETF of late.
BHP to underwrite Rio cash call?
UBS seems to think it could happen.
Our report of 29 April 2009 looked at what alternatives we believe are available for RIO shareholders to consider in lieu of the Chinalco deal. In this report, we look specifically at what BHP Billiton could do in response to the proposed Chinalco deal,
Quote du jour, China’s fake recovery edition
On the matter of China’s rampant April commodity purchases, interpreted by some as a recovery signal, Shan Shanghua, secretary general of the China Iron and Steel Association told Chinese media on Wednesday:
Sony — the more things stay the same, the more things change
Things couldn’t have looked worse at Sony some months ago. But in a potent reminder of how radically the mood can shift in a relatively short space of time, Sony on Thursday became the latest Japanese electronics company to forecast a recovery,
CDS report: No victory for V
European credit spreads continued to widen on Thursday, as appetite for risk sunk on the back of negative retail data from the US which dented hopes of a recovery in the economy.
Having moved as low as 740 basis points earlier this month,
Lunch Wrap
On FT Alphaville this morning,
- Top analysts awards.
- Bankers discover the year of “sorry”.
- The epic MSCI reshuffle.
- BT, pensions and the NHS.
- QE exit strategies.
- Goldman sachs and tipp-ex.
Bankers discover the year of ‘sorry’
“Sorry” was not really a word that figured prominently in a big banker’s lexicon — unless, that is, it was merely to express regret for missing a deal or an important client. How times change. Since early last year,
Markets live transcript 14 May 2009
Markets live chat transcript for the chat ending at 12:09 on 14 May 2009. Participants in this chat were: Paul Murphy, FT (PM) Neil Hume, FT (NH) PM:Welcome NH:This is Markets Live
Goldman “if only we had some Tipp-ex” Sachs
Can we have $25bn, err.. sorry, actually we mean $10bn from the Tarp please? And no we’re not plucking these figures arbitrarily from our heads.
H/T to Clusterstock for pointing out the schoolboy error.
BT, pensions and the NHS
Preliminary results from BT were out on Thursday and proved to be pretty much in line with (low-ball) expectations. But a couple of points are worth picking up on.
Although there is no official valuation of the pension fund deficit yet beyond the IAS 19 reading,
All about exit strategies now
Policymakers would rather we didn’t worry about the longer-term inflationary consequences of their unconventional monetary policies. Yet we do. What’s more, a growing number of voices out there appear to be looking at long-term yields and worrying too.
FT/StarMine Top Analysts Awards
It’s important, this stuff. Helps with pay negotiations and/or can secure a new job.
Anyway, full details of the FT/StarMine World’s Top Analysts Awards for equity analysts and brokerages,
MSCI reshuffle time
The quarterly reviews of the FTSE indices usually prove to be something of an anti-climax. Traders usually have a pretty good idea of what companies will be leaving or entering an index because the methodology used by FTSE is relatively straight forward.
Further reading
Elsewhere on Thursday,
- JPMorgan stiffs the delivery men and cab drivers.
- Battle of the Bears (Bear Stearns books).
- What’s wrong with bankruptcy anyway?
- Crouching tigers could recover first.
Pink picks
Comment, analysis and other offerings from Thursday’s FT,
John Gapper: Find the right buyer for your newspaper
Two astute wheeler-dealers – Carlos Slim, the Mexican media mogul and David Geffen, founder of Asylum Records and Hollywood big shot – have their eyes on The New York Times.
Snap news
Breaking pre-market news on Thursday,
- Credit Agricole profit down 77 per cent on loan provisions – statement.
- Sony sees second straight loss as TV prices fall – statement.
- Corporate: Axel Springer,