July, 2009
UK slams EU hedge fund rules
A draft European Union law that would subject hedge funds to new regulatory controls needs “major surgery” before Britain can support it, Lord Myners, a UK Treasury minister, said on Tuesday. The EU directive would require many hedge funds and private equity firms to register with regulators and disclose more about themselves and their investments.
Regulator considers US curbs on oil trading
New trading curbs to clamp down on speculation in oil and other commodities are being examined by US regulators in a signal of a tougher approach to oversight of these markets, the FT reported. The CFTC,
Libya invested at least $500m with Stanford
The Libyan government invested at least $500m with Sir Allen Stanford, the Texas businessman accused by the US government of operating a $7bn Ponzi scheme, the FT reported, citing court documents. FT Alphaville dubbed the matter – disclosed in a statement by Sir Allen’s girlfriend filed in Houston on Tuesday – the “St John’s-Tripoli nexus“.
AIG loses $4.3bn case against Greenberg
Hank Greenberg, the former chief executive of insurer AIG, prevailed in a high-profile legal battle with his former company after a federal jury ruled in his favour over claims related to a $4.3bn lawsuit,
Code theft could cost Goldman millions
The purported theft of a Goldman Sachs trading platform by Serge Aleynikov threatens to cost it millions of dollars, Reuters reported, citing a court hearing, but so far the bank has not reported damage to its business.
Pope condemns capitalism’s ‘failures’
Pope Benedict XVI on Tuesday condemned the “grave deviations and failures” of capitalism exposed by the financial crisis and issued a strong call for a “true world political authority” to oversee a return to ethics in the global economy,
Bertelsmann forms music duo with KKR
Bertelsmann, the German media group, has launched a new music publishing venture with Kohlberg Kravis Roberts to acquire catalogues of songs with about €250m of financing from the US private equity group,
Recession increases suicide and murder
Unemployment and recession add to the death toll from suicide, murder and heart attacks but cut the number killed in road accidents, according to a study conducted by researchers at Oxford University and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
Overnight markets: A global sell-off in the making
The yen strengthened to a six-week high against the euro and a five-week high against the dollar as Asian stocks fell and Japanese machinery orders unexpectedly declined, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday. The Nikkei declined for a sixth session and the Hang Seng suffered heavy losses,
[The Stanford Series] The Tripoli-St John’s Nexus
It sounds like the title of a Robert Ludlum novel, and though it’s not quite in the league of The Parsifal Mosaic, court documents filed on Tuesday suggest the Libyan government had invested some $500m with Sir Allen Stanford by the end of 2008.
“The notion that we had moved to Armageddon lows in equities does not seem to hold water”
Gluskin Sheff’s David Rosenberg is fattening up clients with a steady diet of economic commentary masquerading as breakfasts, lunches, brunches, coffees and the occasional pastry.
In a mid-morning missive on Tuesday – “Snack with Dave”
Lex: Vale/Anglo/Xstrata
As the Brazilian miner bolsters its reserves, it is time for Cynthia Carroll and Mick Davis to have a chat.
The well-heeled bankers who dine at the same Johannesburg restaurants Anglo and Xstrata frequent say that Anglo chief executive Cynthia Carroll should at least meet her counterpart,
The realpolitik of mining
From Reuters:
Global mining giant Rio Tinto said on Tuesday four of its employees in Shanghai had been detained by the Chinese authorities. “We aren’t confirming names … Rio Tinto is concerned about the employees’ wellbeing and is doing everything possible to help them and support their families,”
It’s like New Years Eve
If Monday was like Christmas Eve, then Tuesday feels like December 31st.
Once again we present the ‘most actives’ on the London Stock Exchange.
Roughly 927m shares have changed hands today on the LSE – less than half an average day’s trading volume.
Commodities correction
We like this chart from Goldman Sachs.
It shows their forecast that oil will rise to $85 a barrel by mid-January — and not a moment before!
In all seriousness, there’s been a step change in the commodities markets over the past week,
Lunch Wrap
On FT Alphaville Tuesday morning,
- This SIV shall come again.
- Top Ten Hedge Fund Wife Must-Hads.
- The Bank of Mike Ashley.
- Who is Serge Aleynikov?
- Deutsche Bank spies in Further reading.
Markets live transcript 7 Jul 2009
Markets live chat transcript for the chat ending at 12:07 on 7 Jul 2009. Participants in this chat were: Paul Murphy, FT (PM) Neil Hume, FT (NH) PM:hi there PM:Welcome to Markets Live
Top Ten Hedge Fund Wife Must-Hads
It’s come to this. FT Alphaville has been reading Hedge Fund Wives, Tatiana Boncompagni’s sickly novel about, err, hedge fund wives.
The WSJ have the first chapter serialised here, but you can actually get the first six cliché-drenched chapters here on the HarperCollins website.
The Bank of Mike Ashley
After days of press comment, JJB Sports has finally broken its silence on the extraordinary loan its executive chairman, Sir David Jones CBE, took from the owner of its biggest rival, Sports Direct’s Mike Ashley.
Who is Serge Aleynikov?
He is of course the former Goldman Sachs programmer, alleged to have stolen a batch of the bank’s proprietary trading code.
But he is also a man with a LinkedIn profile.
Some extracts:
Serge Aleynikov’s Summary
An IT/IS professional with over 15 years of experience in building robust,
Further reading
Elsewhere on Tuesday,
- Deutsche Bank goes spying.
- Quibbles with quants.
- “History moved on, but economists didn’t.”
- German companies = 44 per cent goodwill.
- “The dollar has an overhang problem.”
Pink picks
Comment, analysis and other offerings from Tuesday’s FT,
Analysis: Securitisation runs out of road
The FT’s Gillian Tett and Aline Van Duyn write: When the European Securitisation Forum held its annual meeting in June 2007,
Snap news
Breaking pre-market news on Tuesday,
- Treasury to delay overhaul of bank regulation — Telegraph.
- JJB Sports says Mike Ashley’s loan to Sir David Jones “does not give rise to any conflict of interest”
EU plans new push on bank reform
New European Union laws to drive banks to strengthen capital cushions will be unveiled in October, the FT said, citing a draft report expected to be backed by EU finance ministers in Brussels on Tuesday.
Fink warns on EU hedge fund rules
Stanley Fink, the former chief executive of Man Group known as the “godfather” of the British hedge fund industry, told the FT that the adoption of tough European restrictions on hedge funds would provoke a transatlantic regulatory war,
Treasury to delay bank overhaul
The centrepiece of the Government’s plan to overhaul financial regulation has been delayed, perhaps until after the election, the Telegraph said, without citing sources. The long-awaited White Paper on financial regulation,
FSA considers tripling fines
Penalties for financial wrongdoing would be tripled and fines for insider dealing and other market abuse set at a minimum of £100,000 under new proposals by the City regulator, the FT reported. The FSA proposed in a consultation paper that a company could be fined up to 20 per cent of its income from the product or business line related to the regulatory action.
House price slide hits recovery hopes
European house prices fell more quickly in the first three months of this year than even in the fourth quarter of 2008 when global recession struck, a trend that looks set to dim the region’s hopes for economic recovery.