September, 2009
Telstra: Now for something completely different
For anybody (and there are plenty out there) who has not followed the ins and outs of the multi-year saga of privatisation and subsequent progress of Australian telecoms giant Telstra, the latest news adds another layer of complexity.
Further reading
Elsewhere on Tuesday,
- Obama’s speech: First, the good news.
- But what was he really saying to Wall Street?
- A vote for bonds over US stocks.
- Rosenberg, this is your last chance.
- Leveraged ETFs — interest declines along with volatility.
Pink picks
Comment, analysis and other offerings from Tuesday’s FT,
Niall Ferguson: Why a Lehman deal would not have saved us
If only. If only Lehman had been saved, there would have been no credit crunch. No near-Depression.
Snap news
Breaking pre-market news on Tuesday,
- BG Group announces new offshore oil discovery in Santos Basin – statement.
- Sydbank issues $182m-worth of shares at market price in private placement – statement.
Citi explores bid to cut US stake
Citigroup, eager to reduce the US government’s 34% stake, is devising plans for a possible multibillion-dollar stock offering in which the group would issue new shares to the public while the US Treasury would sell at least a portion of its Citi holdings,
Court rejects SEC-BofA settlement
A US federal judge on Monday issued a sharp rebuke to the SEC by throwing out a $33m settlement between the regulator and Bank of America, calling the agreement “cynical” and setting the stage for a trial next year,
UK to force ‘living wills’ on banks’
UK chancellor Alistair Darling is planning legislation this autumn to force British banks to draw up “living wills” so that they can be dismantled more easily in any future financial crisis. The proposal to set a timetable for banks to simplify their corporate structures and plan for dissolution will be included in a financial services bill in the Queen’s speech in November.
Moody’s sees more UK bank woes
The troubles of UK banks are far from over, Moody’s warned on Monday, as the rating agency forecast further losses of £130bn in the next few years as bad debts rise and pressure builds on profitability.
Australia to force Telstra split
Telstra Corp, Australia’s largest phone operator, should split its retail and wholesale businesses or face legislation that would prevent the company from upgrading its internet operations, the government said Tuesday,
Wienerberger plans €336m rights issue
Wienerberger, the world’s biggest brickmaker, on Monday announced a rights issue to stabilise its balance sheet and allow a Libyan sovereign wealth fund to acquire up to 10% of its shares. The deal follows mounting problems for the formerly high-growth group amid rising energy costs and falling demand in its main markets.
Avaya to buy Nortel unit
Avaya, a US-based manufacturer of corporate phone systems and software, is to acquire Nortel Networks‘ corporate networking business for $915m in cash – almost double its initial $475m “stalking horse” offer.
Resurgent CLSA scraps pay cuts
CLSA, the Asia-focused brokerage arm of Credit Agricole, has scrapped a controversial scheme that slashed staff pay, in a sign of the dramatic revival in the fortunes of financial groups operating in the region.
Brussels to examine Magna deal
The European Commission is to scrutinise German backing for the takeover of GM’s European operations amid concern that planned job cuts could be influenced by political factors. Signalling a hard line on the issue,
Germany issues foreign bond
Germany on Monday issued only its second foreign currency bond since the second world war as it responded to intense competition for funds in Europe. Germany raised $4bn, following Spain and Belgium, which issued $3.5bn in dollar-denominated paper last week,
StanChart hangs shirt on Liverpool
Standard Chartered Bank on Monday joined the list of companies paying large sums to put their names on the shirts of top European football clubs by agreeing a four-year sponsorship deal with Liverpool Football Club worth up to £80m.
Overnight markets: Mostly up
Asian stocks mostly rose on Tuesday, helping the MSCI Asia Pacific Index rebound from its biggest drop in a month, as a slightly weaker yen boosted Japanese exporters. Futures on the S&P500 lost 0.1% after the gauge advanced 0.6% on Monday to its highest close since Oct.
Financial crisis may claim Philadelphia’s public libraries
Not quite what you might expect from an FT Alphaville post, but the following report from the LA Times on the imminent closure of Philadelphia’s libraries illustrates some of the oft-overlooked human consequences of the fiscal crises faced by many US states and municipalities (see,
CMBS loan delinquencies tick ever upward
Moody’s released the latest stats from its CMBS “delinquency tracker” on Monday, and according to the rating agency, the average rate of delinquencies on US CMBS conduit and fusion loans rose by 21 basis points in August to 3.23 per cent.
Judge 3, SEC 0 in Bank of America/Merrill case
As Reuters reported on Monday, Judge Jed Rakoff has rejected the proposed settlement between Bank of America and the US Securities and Exchange Commission over the bonuses paid to employees of Merrill Lynch.
Even more hot chocolate
The battle for Kradbury is hotting up.
Over the weekend, the confectioner’s chairman Roger Carr said the prospect of being absorbed by a “low growth, conglomerate business” was an “unappealing” and “unattractive prospect.”
Reasons to be cheerful (MOST edition)
Gordon Secker, Morgan Stanley’s well-regarded UK-watcher, reckons a steady improvement in the economic newsflow will continue to support stock prices.
The bank’s forecast for EPS growth next year has been bumped up to 23 per cent,
Natgas shoots up 11%
Natural gas took on a sudden life of its own on Monday, shooting up more than 11 per cent in London afternoon trade:
Here’s how that move looks over a longer duration:
As can be seen that follows a 15 per cent move higher on Thursday and a 9 per cent correction lower on Friday — all in all making for some pretty volatile trade in natural gas of late:
Iceland’s crisis “just like Madoff”, judge says
In an interview with the Sunday Times, Eva Joly – the judge working with the Icelandic government on the investigation into the collapse of the country’s financial system – compared the implosion of the island’s banks with Bernard Madoff’s Ponzi scheme.
Not everything has rallied
European equity markets may be 40-50 per cent off their March lows, but what about private equity assets. Have they bounced? The answer from would appear to be no, judging by Monday’s news from 3i.
The listed private equity group has sold a portfolio of 29 stakes in European start-up companies for £130m to a consortium of investors made up Coller Capital,
Inflating expectations
So much for the UK managing inflation expectations.
That’s from the excellent fixed income team at Deutsche, who note that despite the Bank of England having done quite well in terms of keeping actual inflation close to its 2 per cent target since 1997,
Whatever happened to Deutsche’s ETN liquidation?
Petromatrix’s Olivier Jakob evaluates CFTC weekly trader data on a regular basis, and one thing he was quite looking forward to analysing was the liquidation of Deutsche Bank’s exchange-traded-note — the PowerShares DB Crude Oil Double Long (DXO).
Shorting the rally
From Data Explorers – a chart showing short interest in the SPDR S&P 500 ETF vs its price per share.
The amount of the fund’s shares on loan, a useful proxy for wider US short interest, has increased by 24 per cent since September 7th.