November, 2009
Mitsubishi Chemical bids $2.5bn for Rayon
Mitsubishi Chemical, Japan’s biggest chemical maker, offered Y228bn ($2.56bn) for Mitsubishi Rayon, reuniting with the synthetic- fiber maker almost 60 years after they split, reports Bloomberg. Mitsubishi Rayon investors will be offered Y380 a share,
MUFG to issue new shares
Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group plans to raise up to Y1,000bn ($11.2bn) in a sale of new shares and delay by two months the planned merger of its securities arm with Morgan Stanley’s Japanese brokerage unit,
Morgan Stanley, MUFG, delay Japan deal
Morgan Stanley will not fully integrate its Japanese operations with Mitsubishi UFJ Securities as originally planned in a deal agreed last year with MUFG, Japan’s biggest bank confirmed on Wednesday. Instead there will be two entities,
Wells Fargo settles ARS dispute
Wells Fargo has agreed to buy back about $1.4bn of auction-rate securities from investors as part of a settlement with regulators over the collapse of the ARS market. Wells Fargo Investments, a brokerage unit of the San Francisco-based bank,
Bidders eye Stanford University assets
Stanford University has received bids totalling more than $1bn for investments that it put up for sale last month, a figure at the high end of the school’s early expectations, reports the WSJ. But some of the bids feature tough conditions that could test how badly Stanford wants to raise cash.
Amex to buy Revolution Money
American Express on Wednesday said it would purchase Revolution Money, an online payments business set up by former AOL chief Steve Case. The $300m deal gives Amex, known as the premium credit card provider with the highest fees,
Hershey, Ferrero flag interest in Cadbury
Hershey and Ferrero on Wednesday revealed that they were weighing up whether to enter the bid battle for Cadbury, the rival UK confectionery company that is fighting off a £9.9bn hostile offer from Kraft Foods of the US.
S&P quits Australia’s retail market
Standard & Poor’s is to quit Australia’s retail market following a decision last week by ASIC, the nation’s securities regulator, to strengthen oversight of credit rating agencies by making them more accountable for the advice they provide.
Forex bankers warn on clearing plans
Foreign exchange bankers reacted with alarm on Wednesday to proposals from Barney Frank, chairman of the House financial services committee, that would require trades in currency derivatives to be processed through a centralised clearing system.
AIB lifts bad loans by €1bn
Bad loans at Allied Irish Banks this year will be €1bn ($1.5bn) more than previously estimated, it announced on Wednesday, although the lender said most of these bad loans were in a portfolio that is likely to be bought by the country’s “bad bank”,
CIC takes $710m stake in GCL-Poly
China Investment Corp has bought a HK$5.5bn ($710m) stake in a Hong Kong-based solar power component maker as the sovereign wealth fund invests in energy and commodities companies to hedge against inflation,
Former Deutsche chief faces charges
State prosecutors in Germany have levelled charges against Rolf Breuer, the former chief executive of Deutsche Bank, marking the latest phase of a protracted legal battle with Leo Kirch, the media entrepreneur.
‘Billion dollar man’ to head M&S
Marks and Spencer has filled one of the highest-profile jobs in UK retailing by poaching Marc Bolland, who revived Wm Morrison, the supermarket, as its new chief executive. The appointment ends the search for a successor to Sir Stuart Rose,
Hands warns governments on banks
Guy Hands, head of UK buy-out group Terra Firma, has warned that unless governments push banks to restructure $7,000bn of leveraged loans due to mature by 2014, the US and Europe could face the “Japanese problem” of zero growth.
Overnight markets: Down
Asian stocks fell on Wednesday, reports Bloomberg, dragging down the MSCI Asia Pacific Index for a third day, as share-sale plans at Japanese companies raised concern they wil erode the value of existing holdings.
CDS report: US data dent sentiment
Gavan Nolan of Markit wrote this CDS report
European credit indices tightened slightly today, a creditable performance given the volatility in equity markets. The Markit iTraxx Europe index was about 1bp tighter at 82bp,
Just rip ‘em off LLC
By way of a resuscitated campaign to have Ben Stein sacked from his various writing and promotion jobs, Felix Salmon at Reuters discusses a story about US consumers being deceived by dodgy online sign-up pitches and leads us to this: the relevant full blown staff report for Senate commerce committee chairman Jay Rockefeller.
Ambac stuns investors with good news
Ambac, the bond insurer which has warned that it faced possible bankruptcy, cheered its shell-shocked shareholders on Wednesday when it announced that its statutory capital remained well above the minimum set by regulators.
New-issue CMBSuccess under the Talf
Here’s something which hasn’t happened before.
The New York Fed received requests for federal loans to purchase new-issue CMBS in its latest Talf subscription:
This is likely down to the CMBS deal mentioned last week,
No joke, the SEC falls flat in financial audit
Oops.
From a report by the US Government Accountability Office –the Congressional watchdog charged with investigating how taxpayers money is spent:
In GAO’s opinion, SEC’s fiscal years 2009 and 2008 financial statements are fairly presented in all material respects.
Goldman: There is no dollar-funded ‘carry bubble’
So Nouriel, you are being asked here to please calm down. Yup, you heard it here first. (And here, but let’s ignore that for now).
“There has,” says Goldman Sachs strategist Mark Tan, “been a lot of focus recently on the extent of Dollar-funded carry trades contributing to the decline in the USD”.
A swooning Maiden and the Fed’s CRE exposure
What ties the SIGTARP report, Goldman Sachs CDOs and the mounting concern that is US commercial real estate altogether?
The most recent breakdown of the Federal Reserve’s Maiden Lane III portfolio. That is,
Then and now at William Morrison – updated
September 10, 2009.
Questioned on whether he was among the candidates to replace Sir Stuart Rose as chief executive of Marks and Spencer, Marc Bolland said: “I love Morrisons. I am happy where I am.”
Lunch Wrap
On FT Alphaville Wednesday morning,
- BoE minutes reveal QE split.
- Call of the search for an ITV chairman.
- CoComplications.
- Hershey-Cadbury data points du jour.
- Capital controls,
Is oil about to have a physical reality check?
BNP Paribas’ Harry Tchilinguirian has put out a very interesting oil note on Wednesday.
First, the bank has revised its fourth quarter 2009 WTI price forecast to $77 per barrel versus $66 per barrel previously,
Hershey-Cadbury data points du jour
So, Hershey has entered the fray.
From RNS on Wednesday:
The Hershey Company (“Hershey”) notes the recent press speculation regarding a potential offer for Cadbury. Hershey confirms that it is reviewing its options and at this stage there can be no assurance that any proposal or offer from Hershey will be forthcoming.
Markets live transcript 18 Nov 2009
Markets live chat transcript for the chat ending at 12:19 on 18 Nov 2009. Participants in this chat were: Neil Hume, FT (NH) Bryce Elder (BE) NH:good morning NH:it’s 11.03am
The return of capital controls, Indonesia edition
What’s this?
Another country touting the possibility of capital controls in a bid to protect itself from an appreciating currency?
From Reuters:
SINGAPORE, Nov 18 (Reuters) – The Indonesian rupiah slipped on Wednesday after the central bank threatened to restrict foreign ownership of short-term debt,
M&A hots up in Asian insurance
Insurance – and particularly life insurance – has become one of Asia’s hotbeds for M&A activity. Here are just some of the deals or bids reported in the last month or so alone:
The biggest – and as yet unresolved – bid is the unsolicited A$11bn ($10.2bn) bid by Axa and Australia’s AMP on November 9 for Axa’s majority-owned Asian business,