August, 2009
Pink picks
Commentary, analysis and other offerings from Monday’s FT,
The Trading Room: In defence of high-frequency traders
After years of operating in obscurity, high-frequency traders have been thrust into the public spotlight – but much of this publicity has been riddled with errors and half-truths,
Wall Street profits from Fed trades
The Federal Reserve has emerged as one of Wall Street’s top customers of the financial crisis, buying massive amounts of securities to help stabilise the markets, reports the FT. In some cases, such as the market for mortgage-backed securities,
Buyout groups in $400bn of debt
The biggest private equity groups are sitting on a $400bn debt mountain that must be repaid over the next five years, casting doubt over the future of some of the largest buy-out deals. Buyout firms raised large amounts of bank debt to buy companies between 2005 and 2007.
Goldman’s image tarnished: survey
Goldman Sachs’ reputation among both the general public and financially sophisticated Americans has been damaged by the events of the past year, according to research conducted for the FT. In a survey of 17,000 Americans,
Phibro in talks to part with Citi
Andrew Hall, the star trader behind Phibro, the energy trading arm of beleaguered bank Citigroup, is pushing for a “quiet divorce” from his parent company and has had preliminary talks with one possible suitor,
China’s Everbright plans $1.6bn IPO
Everbright Securities plans to raise as much as Rmb 10.96bn yuan ($1.6bn) in the first IPO by a Chinese brokerage in almost seven years, reports Bloomberg. The unit of China’s largest state-owned investment group is taking advantage of a stock market rally and the resumption of IPOs in June under new rules designed to make IPO pricing more dependent on demand for a company’s stock.
Deutsche Bank spy scandal widens
Bernd Bühner, a detective at the center of the Deutsche Bank spying affair, says the bank’s effort to monitor its critics was more extensive than previously disclosed and involved a plan to target up to 20 people,
KKR raises ire with Avago IPO role
KKR is raising hackles on Wall Street as its capital markets unit participates in the IPO of Avago Technologies, a semiconductor company that the US buyout group bought with a partner in 2005. The move,
UBS to escape US fine: report
Switzerland’s UBS will not have to pay a fine as part of the settlement of a tax evasion dispute with the US, according to two Swiss newspapers, reports Reuters. Citing unnamed sources, the NZZ am
UK opposition grows to two-tier share plan
Opposition was growing on Sunday to radical proposals from Lord Myners, City minister, for a “two-tier” shareholder register that would see greater voting rights given to longstanding institutional investors.
SWFs return to the fray
Sovereign wealth funds are regaining their appetite for deals in western markets after making the lowest number of foreign investments in the first quarter since 2005. After disastrous bets in high-profile public companies,
Weekend catch-up
In case you missed these stories:
US and UBS strike deal on client identities
The US and Switzerland on Friday reached agreement on the closely watched dispute over whether UBS should be forced to reveal the identities of thousands of its US clients.
Overnight markets: Mostly up
Asian stocks climbed for a third trading day on Monday, helped by strong manufacturing numbers out of China and some positive earnings reports for banks. Futures on the S&P500 gained less than 0.1% after the gauge rose 0.1% on Friday as better-than-estimated US GDP figures spurred speculation about US economic recovery.