July, 2009
Those cheery US housing numbers, reconsidered
A debate is brewing between über housing blogger Calculated Risk and the equally anonymous Free exchange blog. The crux of the debate is whether the May numbers for US house prices, as represented by the Case Shiller index,
Lex: Santander
Santander has done well in turning around its Brazilian bank, but is it time to cash out?
Santander’s decision to issue new shares equivalent to a 15 per cent stake in its Brazilian bank has therefore fuelled concerns that Spain’s biggest bank may secretly need more capital.One explanation is that Santander’s chairman,
CDS report: Worries about asset quality hit Spanish banks
This CDS report was written by Markit’s Gavan Nolan
European credit markets struggled for the second consecutive session, paying little heed to rallying stick markets. The Markit iTraxx Europe index was trading around 94.7bp,
Ice-y tactics in commodities
We just spotted Intercontinental Exchange CEO Jeffrey Sprecher’s view on ETFs in the commodity space:
Changes to Exchange Traded Commodity Funds May be Required
A recent phenomenon has been the emergence and growth of Exchange Traded Funds (“ETFs”) that invest in commodity futures.
A European LBO legacy
It’s a €120bn-high mountain of maturing debt in Western Europe.
That chart is from Standard & Poor’s. Here’s a bit of background, also from the ratings agency:
Approximately 90% of financing transactions in the European leveraged finance market consist of LBO deals,
‘Teflon’ Mac Bank sails on
Regardless of all those doomsayers who never seem to give up hope that they’ll see Macquarie Group come a cropper, Australia’s so-called “millionaires factory”, though slightly worse for wear, has shown yet again that it’s doing fine,
Lunch Wrap
On FT Alphaville Wednesday morning,
- Just 5 out of 10 SWF asset managers said…
- Non-performing loan zones.
- Presenting the ‘physical loophole.’
- When is an SWF not an SWF?
- Country-style inflation in Further reading.
When is an SWF not an SWF?
For a secretive kind of outfit, Temasek is certainly generating a lot of publicity these days. Following the storm of media interest last week over news of the sudden departure of its chief executive-designate Chip Goodyear,
Non-performing loan zones
Yesterday both Deutsche Bank and BBVA experienced the wrath of the NPLs — that is non-performing loans.
This was the relevant bit of Deutsche’s second-quarter statement:
Provision for credit losses was EUR 1.0 billion,
Markets live transcript 29 Jul 2009
Markets live chat transcript for the chat ending at 12:11 on 29 Jul 2009. Participants in this chat were: Paul Murphy (PM) Neil Hume, FT (NH) PM:Okay PM:It’s 11.04 i think
Just 5 out of 10 SWF asset managers said…
… “Verifiable” governance standards were crucial to keeping politics separate from investment decisions.
That’s table 35 from a new study by Gordon Clark of Oxford University and Ashby Monk of Boston College,
Presenting, the ‘physical loophole’
First there was the London loophole. Now, it appears, the development of another entirely new loophole is underway. Let’s call it the physical loophole.
From Intercontinental Exchange CEO Jeffrey Sprecher’s Tuesday testimony to the CFTC on the matter of position limits and the influence of speculators on the price of commodities:
Further reading
Elsewhere on Wednesday,
- The great preventer.
- Krugman on irresponsible punditry.
- The simple math of Chinese Chinese growth.
- The limited alchemy of options.
- The technical recession is almost over – but does that matter?
- Paul Tudor Jones strikes back on YouTube.
Pink picks
Comment, analysis and other offerings from Wednesday’s FT,
Asia rising, but don’t lump China in with India
There is really only one new economic giant in town, and that is China, writes Shankar Acharya,
Snap news
Not-so-breaking market news on Wednesday,
- Santander Q2 net attributable profit down 4 per cent at €4.52bn — statement.
- Abbey National H1 PBT up over 30 per cent — statement.
- Rexam to raise £350.7m via rights issue — statement.
Shake-up at UKFI stuns City
Top City of London bankers were stunned on Tuesday by news of a shakeup in the team that runs the UK taxpayer’s stake in the banking industry, raising fears of a “massive hole” in the management of a portfolio that could eventually be sold for more than £100bn.
China State Construction soars on debut
China State Construction Engineering Corp soared on its first trading day in Shanghai after the builder sold stock in the world’s largest IPO in 16 months, reports Bloomberg. Shares of Beijing-based State Construction,
Microsoft and Yahoo near deal
Microsoft and Yahoo are on the brink of sealing an online alliance that could create a more formidable rival to Google in the search business. The deal had yet to be formally concluded late on Tuesday but the major terms had been agreed in principle,
Santander to spin off Brazil arm in IPO
Banco Santander has appointed advisers to spin off its Brazilian business in an IPO that could raise at least $3bn and create one of Brazil’s largest publicly listed banks. Santander, which reports Q2 earnings on Wednesday,
KKR plans Dollar General IPO
KKR is in advanced preparations for an IPO of stock in houseware and food retailer Dollar General, as the US buyout firm tries to solidify its reputation ahead of its own trip to the public markets, reports the WSJ.
Deutsche Bank hit by loan fears
Shares in Deutsche Bank tumbled 11% on Tuesday amid renewed fears over its exposure to the economic crisis and increased provisions against bad loans. The concerns overshadowed a second successive quarter in which profits from investment banking helped Deutsche earn net income of more than €1bn.
Draft EU hedge fund rules to be revised
Controversial draft regulations for hedge funds will be substantially amended, according to Sharon Bowles, new head of the European parliament’s economic and monetary affairs committee. The draft directive on alternative investment funds has drawn the ire of hedge funds and financial centres around the globe .
US official urges curbs on energy speculators
The key US regulator of commodity markets said Tuesday that the government should “seriously consider” strict limits on trades by purely financial investors in the futures markets for oil, natural gas and other energy products,
GE addresses investor concerns
General Electric predicted its finance arm would remain profitable next year, even as loan-loss provisions climbed, and reassured investors the unit would not need more capital from its parent until at least early 2011.
BBVA results fall on loan provisions
Shares in BBVA surged 4% on Tuesday after Spain’s second-largest bank beat forecasts with a 10% year-on-year decline in first-half net profits. The bank said profits for the half to end-June were €2.8bn ($3.9bn),
High-frequency trading under scrutiny
The lightning fast world of high-frequency equity trading is being scrutinised by the US SEC, amid concerns that this computer-dominated scene is placing less tech-savvy investors at a disadvantage. Volumes of trading generated by computers placing super-fast orders has rocketed in recent years. HFT accounts for as much as 73% of US daily equity volume,
Tui lines up funds for Hapag-Lloyd
Tui, the German tourism group, is to provide more than two-thirds of the short-term financing needed by Hapag-Lloyd after many of the container shipping line’s other shareholders refused to take part in a rescue deal.
Bharti Airtel reassures over MTN
India’s Bharti Airtel and South Africa’s MTN will operate as separate companies, even after they seal a proposed merger. In an attempt to ease concerns over a deal to create a regional telecoms powerhouse,
SEC takes hard line on UAE citizen
The US SEC has named a citizen of the United Arab Emirates in connection with alleged insider dealing, the second such charge of a Gulf national in the past week. The SEC complaint, filed Monday, accuses Khaled Mohammed Sharif Al Sayed Al Hashemi of buying 120,000 shares in petrochemical producer Nova Chemicals in February,
Architect of Lehman sale quits Nomura
The chief architect of the sale of Lehman Brothers’ Asian business to Nomura is to quit the combined operation, a move expected to reignite concerns over its successful integration. Jasjit “Jesse” Bhattal,