November, 2009
Fed watch – primary credit loans
Released by the US central bank on Tuesday:
In light of the continued improvement in financial market conditions, the Federal Reserve Board on Tuesday announced that it approved a reduction in the maximum maturity of primary credit loans at the discount window for depository institutions to 28 days from 90 days effective January 14,
Re-equitisation vs de-equitisation
At the start of this decade the amount of listed equity in Europe weighted against total market capitalisation began to drop off.
The explanation for this was three-fold. Firstly, debt was cheaper than equity,
It’s all Greek to the European bond market
The spread between Greek bonds and German bunds widened to 153 basis points on Monday, the widest since July 17. And while analysts connected this to the deteriorating state of the nation’s finances,
The slow march of the Moody’s hybrid downgrades
Watch out for those Moody’s hybrid debt downgrades!
They are coming:
Sydney, November 17, 2009 — Moody’s Investors Service has published its revised methodology on the way it rates the hybrid securities and subordinated debt instruments issued by banks.
Goldman warns of near-term downside risk in WTI
Oh my. We hope you’re sitting down because the following might come as a bit of a shock.
On Tuesday Goldman Sachs’ commodity team admitted they may have got something wrong:
The market remains caught in the tug-of-war between weaker-than-expected DM demand,
Lunch Wrap
On FT Alphaville Tuesday morning,
- Goldman Sachs is innocent, ok?
- The uncomfortable position of UBS.
- Cazenove, the broker that got brokered.
- The Regal report.
- A Kinder Surprise for Kraft?
- Not-so-much blood on Wall Street.
‘Brangelina’ cash-in on gold mania (for charity of course)
From the World Gold Council’s website on Tuesday:
Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie to launch gold jewellery range
Monday, 16th November 2009 (145 views) Luxury jeweller Asprey is teaming up with Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie to launch a new range of gold and other jewellery and accessories. According to Women’s Wear Daily,
Repo-ssessed: Lehman RMBS goes on sale
A European central bank is reportedly looking to take advantage of the recent bond market rally to offload something pretty special: Lehman-originated RMBS.
From Bloomberg:
The central bank of Europe’s largest economy [Germany's Bundesbank] hired Morgan Stanley and structured finance advisory firm AgFe Ltd.
Markets live transcript 17 Nov 2009
Markets live chat transcript for the chat ending at 12:23 on 17 Nov 2009. Participants in this chat were: Neil Hume, FT (NH) Miles Johnson, FT (MJ) NH:Good morning NH:It’s 11.03am
The Regal report
The number, nature and duration of the breaches demonstrate a systematic pattern of conduct evidencing a reckless disregard for the AIM Rules by Regal.
Due to the size and high profile of Regal, the
Credit card curveballs
You’ve heard of mortgage loan modifications, now witness the effects of credit card loan modifications on banks.
On Monday, a number of US banks released credit card master trust data for October. Credit
Kinder Surprise for Kraft?
Ambassador, you are really spoiling us with these bid stories.
Various European press reports of the possibility of a Kraft-melting Ferrero-Cadbury tie-up have set chins a wagging in London on Tuesday morning.
DiNapoli: Not-so-much blood on the Street
Was it just last year that the New York Fed was warning that Wall Street stood “on the verge of a significant multiyear downturn in employment and in real earnings”?
Indeed, just over 12 months ago,
Cazenove, the broker that got brokered
Us Brits think of Cazenove as being the epitome of shrewd.
After all, Cazenove partners are/were the masters of corporate broking, the ultimate financial weather-vane for London’s financial community. One-in-three Footsie bosses would/do count the firm’s urbane chairman,
The uncomfortable position of UBS
Within the 47-page document that is the SIGTARP report (The Office of the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program), lies a host of heroes and villains — depending upon your personal point of view.
Annals of Weimar inflation warnings, BoE edition
“I want to deplore our level of yields which is very low, pathetically low”
Gideon Gono, head of the Zimbabwe Central bank, September 21, 2005
“The fact that yields haven’t risen now, I think, does to my mind hold out the prospect that it is possible to put in place a proper framework for fiscal consolidation,
Goldman Sachs is innocent, ok?
There’s been a persistent stink over whether the fumbling efforts of the Federal Reserve and US Treasury to prop up AIG had the effect of bailing out Goldman Sachs, intentionally or otherwise. And whether there was a conspiracy.
Further reading
Elsewhere on Tuesday,
- Preparing China’s yuan for the world stage.
- Bubble trouble: Why real estate is China’s biggest headache.
- America’s newest land baron: FDIC.
- Is merger arbitrage a worthwhile ETF strategy?
- Mauritius buys IMF gold.
Pink picks
Comment, analysis and other offerings from Tuesday’s FT,
Simon Schama: China’s on-off American romance
The Chinese government wags its fingers at American fiscal profligacy not least because it has no wish to see its bond holdings devalued from a collapsing dollar,
AV after dark
On FT Alphaville late Monday,
- Bringing it back on the balance sheet, by the numbers.
- GMAC’s CEO Alvaro de Molina resigns.
- Chart du jour: US banks’ exposure to commercial real estate loans.
Snap news
Breaking pre-market news on Tuesday,
- KiFin (Nathan Kirsh and family) makes 50p per share hostile cash offer for Minerva – statement.
- Cable and Wireless announce details of proposed demerger, launches £200m convertible bond – statement,
Bernanke reassures markets on dollar
The US Federal Reserve is monitoring currency markets “closely” and will conduct policy in a way that will “help ensure that the dollar is strong”, Ben Bernanke said on Monday. In rare comments apparently aimed at reassuring markets and foreign governments,
Dollar relapse boosts gold
The price of gold hit another record on Monday as the dollar resumed its downward trend, helping global equities to fresh highs for 2009. Asian and European bourses started the week in generally fine form and Wall Street joined the trend,
GMAC chief ousted amid bailout talks
Alvaro de Molina was ousted on Monday as chief executive of GMAC Financial Services, the lending arm of General Motors, after little more than 18 months in the job as the troubled lender continued talks with the US Treasury over a third government bail-out.
Canon launches bid for rival Océ
Canon on Monday launched a €1.32bn ($1.97bn) takeover offer for Océ, the Dutch printer and copier maker, seizing a technologically respected but small and financially weak rival. The acquisition would be one of the largest to date by a Japanese company in continental Europe amid signs of a gradual recovery in M&A activity.
Hopu to bag $1bn Minsheng stake
Hopu Investment Management, the Beijing-based buy-out fund set up by former Goldman Sachs dealmakers, is set to acquire a massive stake in China’s Minsheng Banking Corp as part of the lender’s $4bn Hong Kong IPO.
Cisco lifts Tandberg offer to $3.4bn
Cisco Systems raised its offer for Tandberg on Monday in an effort to win over the Norwegian teleconferencing company’s shareholders. Cisco, the top maker of networking equipment, increased its offer to NKr170 a share (about $3.4bn),
StanChart chief hits at regulation
The chief executive of Standard Chartered Bank has launched a caustic attack on the direction of global regulation and warned of the “real cost” to be “borne by the economy” if proposed regulations are implemented.
Berkshire reveals new investments
Billionaire Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway on Monday revealed new investments in Nestle and Exxon Mobil and said it has nearly doubled its investment in Wal-Mart Stores, reports Reuters. It disclosed the investments,