September, 2009
BoA loses Lewis; no successor as yet
That’s what Charlie Gasparino said on CNBC late on Wednesday. Apparently, Bank of America has six internal candidates vying to take over the role of chief executive from Ken Lewis.
The names in the frame include Thomas Montag,
Why day traders will never win, Chicago PMI edition
Amid the rise and rise of retail-oriented sites like StockTwits, the declarations of legislators like Senator Ted Kaufman that markets ought to be fair and the continuing (inexplicable) influence of Jim Cramer,
What would a Goldman-Wachovia tie-up have looked like?
Vanity Fair is fast establishing itself a must-read for anyone interested in the back-room dealings of Wall Street and US regulators, and the upcoming November issue is no exception.
Consider the following press release,
CDS report: Mixed US data weigh on market
Gavan Nolan of Markit wrote this CDS report
The European credit markets took a turn for the worse this afternoon following another session of mixed US economic data. The Markit iTraxx Europe was trading around 88bp (3.5bp,
US consumers still not feeling confident. Housing data suggest why.
The data coming out of the US housing and mortgage market are, at best, mixed.
The Case/Schiller house price numbers for July, for instance, paint a relatively positive picture – at least on a second derivative basis.
Looking at European retail rentals
Commercial real-estate brokers Cushman & Wakefield have put out their September global retail rental market report and it makes for some interesting reading.
In particular, the writers observe some dramatic regional splits within Europe.
FDIC, the ‘D’ stands for…
Here’s an interesting thought — what with all the recent concern over FDIC funding. Could the organisation, responsible for insuring US bank deposits, start seizing securitised assets to help offset the cost of a multitude of failed financial institutions?
From Asset-Backed Alert:
ECB liquidity monster back in its cage, for now
Results from the ECB’s latest 1-year financing auction, held on Tuesday, revealed that the central bank allotted €75.24bn to eurozone financial institutions, much less than the €137.5bn analysts had expected.
Lunch Wrap
On FT Alphaville Wednesday morning,
- Mervyn calls the sterling tune.
- Don’t fear the inflation, Goldman says.
- Mrs Robo-Jones starts to make an FX impact.
- Spanish house prices fall in Q2.
Why are regulators afraid of the dark?
Dark pools, that is.
Craig Pirrong — a professor of finance at the University of Houston, but known round these parts as the Streetwise Professor — mounted an argument in defence of dark pools on Tuesday.
Presenting the Dutch RMBS Niet-oproep
The non-call risk which has haunted hybrid bonds, or subordinated debt, in recent months appears to have spread — all the way to Dutch RMBS.
Recall that a number of hybrid bonds have been downgraded recently,
Markets live transcript 30 Sep 2009
Markets live chat transcript for the chat ending at 12:05 on 30 Sep 2009. Participants in this chat were: Neil Hume, FT (NH) Bryce Elder (BE) NH:good morning NH:and welcome to another edition of Markets Live
Mervyn calls the tune
Presenting the bouncing pound:
(The graph for euro/sterling is similar).
The latest gains, of course, follow the economist get-together at Threadneedle Street on Tuesday. Bank of England directors (reportedly) told City economists that they had no immediate plans to change the rate paid to commercial banks on sums deposited overnight.
Spanish house prices fall 7.7 per cent in Q2
Spain’s National Statistics Institute reports on Wednesday that house prices fell a record 7.7 per cent in the second quarter, compared to a year earlier.
What’s interesting though, is the chart that accompanies the release:
Don’t fear the inflation, Goldman says
Goldman Sachs is putting an end to the deflation vs inflation debate, once and for all!
In a 30-page research note out on Wednesday, the bank comes down firmly on the side of (moderate) deflation in the near-term.
Mrs. Robo Jones starts to make an FX impact
We’ve written about the shifting dynamics in the world of retail forex trading before. In particular, the phasing out of ‘Mrs. Watanabe’ in favour of ‘Mrs. Robo Jones’ — the western-based punter seeking returns in a zero-rate environment,
Wynn punts on Asia’s great casino game
The fortunes of some of the biggest US casino operators – and Asia’s gambling hot spot, Macao – seem to be turning after a difficult first half.
Wynn Resorts on Wednesday priced the $1.6bn Hong Kong IPO of its Macao operations at the top end of an indicative range,
CMBStress resumes
And now a return to your normal programming — the ever-increasing amount of commercial mortgage-backed securities in delinquency…
July’s reduction in delinquent CMBS — the first monthly decrease since August 2008 — looks to have been a blip if Realpoint’s latest report on the sector is anything to go by.
When the facts change, change the measures (and hope for the best)
Sean Corrigan of Diapason Commodities — ever cautious on inflation – is unsurprisingly also a bit of a money-supply fiend. The issues of monetary base, M2, M4, and all other definitions thereof, frequently make a prominent appearance in his research notes.
Further reading
Elsewhere on Wednesday,
- What it’s like to go fraudulent – in 10,000 words.
- Matt Taibbi’s latest target: naked short-selling.
- The mysterious Susquehanna International.
- Risk culture returns,
Pink picks
Comment, analysis and other offerings from Wednesday’s FT,
Martin Wolf: Narrow banking alone is not the financial solution
Under the concept of “narrow banking” as defined by fellow-FT columnist, John Kay,
Snap news
Breaking pre-market news on Wednesday,
- International Power acquires Canadian wind farm developer — statement.
- Man Group says assets rise to $43.8bn — statement.
- Corporate: Travis Perkins,
Dimon shakes up JPMorgan
Jamie Dimon, chief executive of JPMorgan Chase, on Tuesday initiated a shake-up of his top management team, ousting Bill Winters, co-head of investment banking, and anointing Jes Staley as likely heir to the top job.
BNP Paribas in €4.3bn cash call
BNP Paribas on Tuesday launched a €4.3bn ($6.3bn) cash call in a move to repay its government bail-out. France’s biggest bank said it would use the funds to repay €5.1bn of non-voting stock issued to the French government this year in addition to a €226m interest payment.
CIT in last-ditch rescue bid
The fate of CIT Group was hanging in balance on Tuesday as the US commercial lender readied a plan to hand control to its bondholders, reports the WSJ. CIT is preparing a sweeping exchange offer to eliminate 30% to 40% of its $30bn-plus debt outstanding.
US banks could pay $45bn to FDIC
US banks will have to pay $45bn in up-front fees to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation under a plan presented on Tuesday to shore up the FDIC’s depleted deposit insurance fund. The agency warned it will run out of liquid funds early next year due to bank failures,
Brown: ‘City is ideologically bankrupt’
Gordon Brown declared the City “ideologically bankrupt” and promised Labour that bankers “will pay back the British people”, in a speech positioning his government firmly against London’s financial community ahead of a general election,
ICBC to buy Thailand’s ACL Bank
Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, the world’s largest bank by market value, is buying Thailand’s smallest lender ACL Bank for up to $545m, in a move to tap the fast-growing Thai economy and expand regional operations,
China gives insurers investment nod
Chinese insurance companies will be permitted to invest directly in commercial property for the first time under new regulations that are set to trigger an influx of cash – conservatively estimated at $34bn – into China’s high-end commercial property market.