June, 2009
Markets live transcript 23 Jun 2009
Markets live chat transcript for the chat ending at 12:07 on 23 Jun 2009. Participants in this chat were: Paul Murphy, FT (PM) Neil Hume, FT (NH) PM:Hello PM:Welcome to Markets Live
Sell the rouble
Interesting note on Russia from Barclays Capital on Tuesday (emphasis FT Alphaville’s):
Our understanding of the flows story has been that the massive run-up in the stock market was onshore driven – data show very limited participation on the part of foreign investors.
News from 1930
A great new blog, this: News from 1930 – a daily summary of events from the corresponding day in 1930 (taken – ahem – from clippings of the WSJ, but we’ll let that pass). H/T PK.A selection of market commentary from 22nd June,
A nice, green, $3.4bn day for GCL-Poly
GCL-Poly Energy, a Hong Kong-traded power plant operator, is proving that some of China’s savvier dealmakers are waking up to the potential of green power – not to mention the ramifications of Bejing’s recent “buy China”
Negative equity hot spots
Inspired by Tuesday’s report on prime RMBS from Fitch.
Click to get the enlarged FT.com version.
Related links:
Fitch report highlights negative equity woe – FT
Latvia’s Achilles heel: deposits
A very interesting analysis on the Latvia situation is brought to us by Eduardo Levy-Yeyati, Director and Head of Emerging Markets Strategy at Barclays Capital on Monday via the VoxEu.org platform.
The author argues the country’s best bet for economic salvation will be through contained devaluation,
Further reading
Elsewhere on Tuesday,
- “The debt intensity of corporate profitability was huge. At the top in 2006 it took an additional $1.3 trillion in household debt to generate an additional $300 billion in profits.”
Pink picks
Comment, analysis and other offerings from Tuesday’s FT,
Interactive graphic: The state of Britain
UK government expenditure will soon account for almost half of the UK economy, write the FT’s Chris Giles and Simon Briscoe.
Snap news
Breaking pre-market news on Tuesday,
- Debenhams share offer receives 30.3% take-up – statement.
- Hansteen seeks £200.9m through share placing – statement.
- Drax Group seeks £100m through share placing – statement.
Executives cash out as markets slide
Growing pessimism about prospects for a global economic recovery sent stock and commodity prices tumbling on Monday while data showed that top US executives were cashing out of share holdings, reports the FT.
Anglo rejects Xstrata merger offer
Anglo American, the global miner, on Monday night flatly rejected Xstrata’s proposed all-share “merger of equals”, putting itself at odds with several big investors as it labelled the offer from its Anglo-Swiss rival “totally unacceptable”.
Lufthansa wins control of BMI
Lufthansa has reached an out-of-court settlement in its legal battle over ownership of BMI British Midland, in a deal that makes the German carrier the majority owner of BMI and the second-largest airline at London Heathrow airport after British Airways.
Gome soars on Bain investment
The share price of Gome Electrical Appliances nearly doubled on Tuesday as it resumed trading after US buyout group Bain Capital confirmed its investment in the Chinese retailer. The stock jumped 95% to HK$2.18 after a seven-month suspension.
Buffett adviser raises $2bn
Byron Trott, the former Goldman Sachs banker and frequent financial adviser to Warren Buffett, has raised more than $2bn in capital for his fledging investment firm. The early fundraising successes highlight the cachet accompanying Trott’s role as Buffett’s favourite investment banker.
Nokia falls on Nortel news
Investors reacted negatively to the weekend’s news that Nokia Siemens Networks will spend $650m to buy the core operations of Nortel,the Canadian telecoms equipment manufacturer now under bankruptcy court protection.
Pamplona takes stake in Chaucer
Pamplona Capital Management, a UK -based private equity group financed by Russia’s Alfa Bank, has acquired a stake in Chaucer and announced its intention to purchase a third of the outstanding shares in the Lloyd’s of London insurer.
UK’s Rose surrenders £1m in shares
Sir Stuart Rose, executive chairman of Marks and Spencer, has given up more than £1m of shares in the retailer in an effort to avert a showdown with some of its top shareholders in the run-up to its annual meeting.
GE’s Immelt would oppose split
General Electric opposes any regulation that would force it to split off its hefty finance business, Jeff Immelt, GE’s chief executive, said in a memo to staff on Monday, reports Reuters. Some analysts have said the Obama administration’s proposed regulatory revamp could force GE to sell or exit its diversified GE Capital unit.
Segro agrees heavily discounted offer
Segro has agreed an all-share takeover for Brixton that values its industrial property rival at almost 40% below its market price on Friday. Segro confirmed on Monday it had made a lower-than-expected bid for its rival,
Insurers hit by board-protection suits
The financial crisis could cost insurers $6bn on policies protecting US companies and directors from legal costs, consultants have warned. Disgruntled investors have filed a spate of lawsuits against companies and their executives since 2007,
Venezuela seizures imperil Japan loans
Japan may cancel a planned $1.5bn loan for Venezuela’s El Palito and Puerto La Cruz oil refineries after the South American nation seized Japanese company assets, reports Bloomberg. The Japan Bank for International Cooperation is reviewing loans for the upgrades after Venezuela seized Japanese iron and chemicals assets and fell behind on payments to oil-service contractors.
SEC files suit against Madoff broker
The US SEC on Monday launched its first action against the big “feeders’’ that channelled billions of dollars to Bernard Madoff, accusing a New York broker dealer and four individuals of enabling his Ponzi scheme to continue for decades.
Steve Jobs quietly returns to Apple
Steve Jobs has returned to Apple as its active chief executive a few days ahead of the scheduled end of his medical leave, Apple indicated on Monday. It was the first time Jobs had been heard from in his official capacity since January,
Overnight markets: Sliding
Asian stocks fell on Tuesday, sending the MSCI Asia Pacific Index down by the most in almost six weeks, as concerns about global economic recovery dragged commodity prices lower and spurred demand for the yen as a haven.
LEX: Xstrata/Anglo American; kickstarting CMBS
Anglo’s response has been typically grumpy – and it’s not clear that Xstrata can pay enough to win it over.
If overlapping businesses were combined, logistics shared and Anglo’s bloated head office subsumed into Xstrata’s mergers and acquisitions boutique,
Down, down, down
CNBC’s front markets page is looking decidedly redish on Monday:
Comodities and non-dollar currencies: down.
Bonds yields: down.
European equities: down.
US equities: down.
But the Vix….
Three (deadly) Russian bears
This is a bear bear, reputedly Russian…
Here’s a stock market bear – the MICEX index – which is definitely Russian…
And here are some body building pills where “the super formula is also boosted with anabolic vitamins and minerals,
The Lord is my central banker, I shall not want…
Via Alea:
The Bank (of England) finds itself in a position rather like that of a church whose congregation attends weddings and burials but ignores the sermons in between. Like the church, we cannot promise that bad things won’t happen to our flock – the prevention of all financial crises is in neither our nor anyone else’s power,