November, 2009
Geithner lauds Apec’s stance
Tim Geithner, US Treasury secretary, welcomed a commitment by Asia-Pacific ministers to flexible exchange rates even as his Chinese counterpart praised the renminbi’s peg for helping the global recovery.
Intel settles antitrust AMD case
Intel sought to quell rising complaints over its business practices as it agreed on Thursday to pay $1.25bn to settle a private antitrust lawsuit from rival chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices, ending one of the longest disagreements in US business.
Liberty nears Unitymedia deal
Liberty Global, the international cable group chaired by John Malone, moved closer on Thursday to sealing a €3.5bn ($5bn) deal to acquire Unitymedia, Germany’s second-largest cable TV company, which has been preparing an IPO for almost a year.
BEA rises further on bid talk
The share price of Hong Kong’s Bank of East Asia on Thursday rose sharply for the second day after Guoco Group stepped up its stakebuilding, triggering speculation that it would launch a takeover of the territory’s largest locally-owned bank.
Clive closes to new investors
Clive Capital, the world’s largest commodity hedge fund, is shutting its doors to new investors just two years after its launch as raw materials enjoy fresh demand. The London-based fund, which trades commodities ranging from oil to metals and meats,
Porsche reveals huge losses
Porsche on Thursday revealed a €4.4bn ($6.6bn) pre-tax loss in its past fiscal year, compared with €8.6bn in pretax profit a year earlier. The German sportscar maker had to swallow large writedowns on Volkswagen shares and options after abandoning its audacious and costly takeover attempt of VW this year.
Dexia faces business break-up
Dexia, the Franco-Belgian bank that received repeated government bailouts, could be forced to sell off its core public-financing division if it fails to convince the European Commission that the business is sustainable,
Kenmore collapse hits Lloyds
Lloyds Banking Group was chasing debts and investments of more than £700m on Thursday night after the collapse of UK property developer Kenmore, reports The Times. Administrators at Grant Thornton were appointed to salvage what they could of Kenmore,
FDIC sets plan to refill coffers
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp moved on Thursday to refill its fund protecting consumers’ deposits, finalising a plan to raise $45bn by having banks prepay three years of premiums, reports the WSJ.
Ponzi scheme ‘topped $1bn’: FBI
An alleged Ponzi scheme by prominent Florida attorney Scott Rothstein is likely to have topped $1bn, the FBI said on Thursday, reports the WSJ. Authorites are still investigating the massive suspected fraud,
Ex-HSBC HK executive pleads guilty
Former HSBC executive Chen Ching-hsiao pleaded guilty to charges that he accepted a $60,000 bribe from a client seeking credit facilities, reports Bloomberg. The former senior vice president at HSBC’S commercial- banking department said “yes” when asked if he was pleading guilty at the Hong Kong District Court on Friday. Chen faces up to two or three years in prison,
RBS seeks to defuse investor anger
The Royal Bank of Scotland has moved to defuse a backlash from shareholders angered that Sir Philip Hampton, chairman, has taken on another boardroom role, reports the Daily Telegraph. The bank has called investors to reassure them that Sir Philip,
Overnight markets: Down
Asian stocks fell on Friday and bonds climbed as oil prices declined amid concerns that the global economic recovery will falter, reports Bloomberg. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index lost 0.3% to 117.48 late morning in Tokyo,
Revealed: the EU AIFM draft directive’s limits on hedge fund pay
Herein in full is “annex II” – the last minute principles to heavily regulate European hedge fund managers’ pay appended to the European Union’s draft Alternative Investment Fund Manager directive in the past 48 hours by the Swedish presidency of the EU council.
BA/Iberia proposed merger terms announced
Here are the key details of the memorandum of understanding for a proposed “merger of equals” between BA and Iberia. And, my, does it look complex.
A new holding company (TopCo) will be created that will own both the existing airlines.
Bond insurer death watch, CIFG edition
CIFG, a French bond insurer, was always something of a curiosity in the bond insurance sector, with its European ancestry, significant subprime exposure through both RMBS and CDOs and public spats with rating agencies.
CDS report: Investors’ risk appetite on the wane
Gavan Nolan of Markit wrote this CDS report
European credit indices widened today as the appetite for risky assets showed tentative signs of waning. The Markit iTraxx Europe index widened 1bp to 84bp,
‘The Federal Housing Administration is not in the long-run self supporting’
Hate to say we told you so, but the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) is in a spot of bother.
Bloomberg reported quite comprehensively on the dire state of the FHA’s mortgage reserves on Thursday (emphasis FT Alphaville’s):
Welcome to the sub-marine crisis
On Thursday, AP Moller Maersk — the world’s top container shipping company — spooked shipping industry watchers when it reported deeper than expected losses of $706m for the nine months to September,
FDIC saves securitisation
Well, sort of.
Remember FAS 167? The new accounting standard will eliminate qualified special-purpose entities (QSPEs) and lead to banks putting billions worth of securitised assets — mostly credit card trusts — back onto their balance sheets from 2010.
Principal forgiveness: Exhibit A
Here’s something you don’t see every day – a copy of an unsolicited Principal Reduction [Mortgage] Loan Modification offer from Bank of America.
From Calculated Risk:
According to Calculated Risk,
Debunking the size of the carry trade
Historically low interest rates in the United States are, as we know, supposedly encouraging investors to put on dollar-funded carry positions.
But while current interest-rate differentials might imply this is a very profitable and popular trade,
AMD and Intel kiss and make-up
FT Alphaville did not see this coming: AMD and Intel on Thursday declared the end of one of the longest-running and bitterest spats in the technology sector (see also: Apple v Microsoft, Yahoo v Google,
Goldman Sachs saves kittens (really)
An update.
Earlier on Thursday, FT Alphaville cited a report from New York that Goldman Sachs had failed to pay veterinary bills for a bundle of kittens born at one of its under-construction buildings.
Is the BA-Iberia merger imminent? – update
Shares in British Airways were up 10 per cent on Thursday afternoon amid expectations that the troubled carrier’s long-planned merger with Spain’s Iberia is finally about to happen.
But earlier in the London day there had been a lot of conflicting newsflow.
A CoCo Cashbox
Let’s get CoCorporate lawyer-y (sorry).
In recent weeks, FT Alphaville has become intimately familiar with the concept of CoCos, or contingent convertibles. We shall now turn to the mechanics of the actual capital structure (joy).
Wal-Mart’s Q3 earnings top consensus, but sales figures disappoint
Wal-Mart posted better-than-expected headline results on Wednesday, but its shares slipped 1 per cent in pre-market trade as investors reacted to a disappointing benchmark sales metric.
The retailer said profit for the third quarter increased 3.2 per cent to $3.2bn,
Lunch Wrap
On FT Alphaville Thursday morning,
- Another PR disaster for Goldman Sachs (Miaow).
- BT learns the law of intended consequences.
- Has the London hedge fund exodus finally arrived?
- AP-Moller Maersk results bode poorly for global trade.