October, 2009
Invesco to buy Morgan Stanley funds
Morgan Stanley has agreed to sell its retail asset management business, including Van Kampen Investments, to Invesco in a stock and cash deal valued at $1.5bn. The sale, expected to close in mid-2010, furthers Morgan Stanley’s push to focus on its institutional client base.
Icahn offers to underwrite CIT loan
Carl Icahn, the activist investor, on Monday offered to underwrite a $6bn loan for CIT Group, the troubled US lender, as he accused CIT of overpaying for a new loan from existing lenders to win support for its reorganisation plan.
US to charge 10 after Rajaratnam
US federal investigators plan to charge at least 10 securities professionals with insider trading, some linked to the criminal case against billionaire hedge-fund manager Raj Rajaratnam who was arrested last Friday,
Hilton trades led to Galleon bust
Unusual trading in shares of Hilton Hotels detected by the New York Stock Exchange in 2007 helped lead to the insider-trading charges made last week against billionaire investor Raj Rajaratnam and five others.
Aviva sets plan for Delta float
Aviva hopes to raise €1.2bn (£1.1bn) from the sale of 42% of Delta Lloyd, its Dutch subsidiary, in what will be Europe’s biggest IPO in at least 18 months, the UK’s second-largest insurer said. Aviva is selling more shares than expected at a lower-than-expected valuation.
Apple stock leaps on record profit
Apple profits jumped an annual 47% on surging iPhone and Macintosh computer sales in the third quarter, capping a remarkable boom year for the company. While Google and other tech companies have recently reported strong results or improved outlooks,
Japan Post to lend overseas
The Japanese government wants to use the assets of Japan Post, the world’s largest bank with deposits of Y170,000bn ($1,870bn), to spur domestic regional development and expand into overseas lending.
UK rules out bank bonus windfall-tax
UK banks that pay out excessive bonuses will be hit with heavy capital penalties rather than a windfall tax, officials said on Monday, in an attempt to allay City fears that Labour is planning a big pre-election cash grab.
Bernanke warns on imbalance risks
Ben Bernanke on Monday said it was “extraordinarily urgent” that the US and Asia adopt policies to prevent a revival of global economic imbalances. Speaking at a conference hosted by the San Francisco Fed,
DSB Bank faces bankruptcy
DSB Bank, a small Dutch lender, on Monday became the first western European bank to be allowed to fail since the onset of the financial crisis a year ago, in a sign that regulators feel sufficient stability has returned to financial markets to allow outright bankruptcies.
Stagecoach move revives NatEx
National Express, the debt-laden UK bus and rail operator, will decide on a merger proposal from rival Stagecoach within the next few days, after its board met on Monday. Stagecoach has proposed that NatEx take up to 40% of a merged group,
Cerberus plans IPO for gun maker
Cerberus is in advanced preparations for an IPO of Freedom Group, a little-known company that has become a dominant player in the rifle-and-ammunition business, reports the WSJ. Over a three-year span,
Hyatt sets IPO terms
Hyatt Hotels on Monday disclosed estimated terms of its planned IPO, selling at least 38m shares at $23-$26 each, reports the WSJ. The company projected in August that up to $1.15bn of stock would be sold.
Record fees for Lehman wind-up
The winding-up of Lehman Brothers’ European operations is heading into record territory for accountancy and legal fees in the region, as well as for the size of claims made against the overseas parent company.
Overnight markets: Up
Asian stocks rose on Tuesday, driving the MSCI Asia Pacific Index to the highest level in more than a year, as earnings reports boosted confidence in the global recovery. Futures on the S&P500 rose 0.4% after the gauge advanced 0.9% on Monday to its highest close since Oct 3 last year.
Chasing (and losing) insiders
Back in the early 1990s, soon after the authorities introduced the so-called ring of steel round the City of London (using plastic bollards) a rumour swept some of the City’s racier dealing rooms: all public pay-phones in the Square Mile were being monitored by anti-terror police.
The tech analysis party poopers
Step forward Ben Marshall, Rochester Cahan and Jared Cahan, from Massey University, New Zealand.
In the most polite and professional terms, these three academics have been telling people for some time now that using purely technical rules to trade does not add any value beyond what might be expected by chance.
The next wave of bank cash calls
Out of the parade of European banks to recently raise cash to repay their governments, Alpha Bank’s rights issue on Monday was never really likely to garner much attention outside of Greece.
In many ways the €986m call is merely a variation on a theme already carried forward by the likes of Unicredit,
The liquid and the not-so-liquid
Nomura publish a monthly global liquidity monitor, the latest edition of which has just found its way into the FT Alphaville inbox. We’re not quite sure what it’s for, other than to provide us with a selection of talking-point tables.
That carpe diem (property) rally
JP Morgan property analysts Harm Meijer and Osmaan Malik give good notes, and their latest piece of research is no exception.
The two are now even more convinced that UK property values are recovering,
Battle of the Banamex
Here’s the latest development in the peculiar saga that is the ongoing tussle over Citi’s Mexican subsidiary, Banamex.
From the FT:
Mexico’s Supreme Court is this week set to probe a case that could potentially force Citigroup,
Lunch Wrap
On FT Alphaville Monday morning,
- Rajaratnam alert: Be afraid, be very afraid?
- And Rajaratnam’s rap sheet — “put ya money on Galleon!”
- Still a long way back to normal.
- Latvia intervention watch.
Latvia intervention watch
FT Alphaville is (as ever) on Latvian currency intervention and devaluation watch, this Monday morning.
Last week, the Latvian government agreed to cut its budget deficit — to help stave off a full-blown currency devaluation,
Markets live transcript 19 Oct 2009
Markets live chat transcript for the chat ending at 12:13 on 19 Oct 2009. Participants in this chat were: Neil Hume, FT (NH) Miles Johnson, FT (MJ) Paul Murphy (PM)
NH:
Hi there
NH:
Asia’s booming bond markets
What did Pimco say last week?
You have to have a keen eye for the next big (bond-related) buck to keep up with the world’s largest bond fund manager, which is moving to set up an Asian bond fund just as the region is seeing a surge of activity in fixed-income markets — both in dollar-denominated and local currency debt.
[Galleon] “Put ya money on Galleon!” – Rajaratnam’s rap sheet
Few things in life can further pulverise an already bloodied reputation like a comedy rap song.
Several years before Raj Rajaratnam attracted the attention of the Feds, the billionaire hedge fund manager came up with the idea of commissioning a promotional hip hop ditty to lure in investors.
[Galleon] Rajaratnam alert: Be afraid, be very afraid?
Are we talking about mobsters or investors – or an Elmore Leonard potboiler?
Much was revealed over the weekend about the circumstances leading to Friday’s arrest of billionaire investor and founder of the Galleon Group,
It’s (still) a long way back to normal for the US, UK and Spain
Courtesy of Bernstein Research — a stark reminder for a Monday morning, click to enlarge:
Related link:
Charting Spain’s flujo de fondos – FT Alphaville
Further reading
Elsewhere on Monday,
- Cognitive dissonance and global macroeconomics.
- The banks are not alright.
- The ideologically loaded rhetoric of mainstream economics.
- Agitation Down Under: The best unknown activist investment of 2009.
Pink picks
Comment, analysis and other offerings from Monday’s FT,
Wolfgang Münchau: Countdown to the next crisis is already under way
We did not need to wait until the Dow Jones Industrial Average hit 10,000.