April, 2011
Online gaming and the Schleswig-Holstein question [updated]
It’s been a baptism of fire for the ludicrously named bwin.party digital entertainment Plc.
Shares in the merged bwin and Partygaming only started trading a week ago but already they have fallen sharply:
BoJ: A more focused ‘QE3′, Japanese style
It might signify the evolution of what some have already dubbed ‘QE3, Japanese-style’ into something more limited but focused on disaster relief and reconstruction. The effects, however, may be felt in markets around the world.
Portugal, a post-bailout margin call
This is getting to be a tradition after peripheral bailouts…
Dear RepoClear Member,
In accordance with the Sovereign Credit Risk Framework and in response to the yield differential of 10 year Portuguese government debt against a AAA benchmark,
The power of ECB code words
On a day when the ECB will likely raise interest rates 25bps — a chart (via Nomura) that amuses us for some reason:
Something that amuses us rather less: 99 per cent of Portuguese mortgages are on variable rates.
Further reading
Elsewhere on Thursday,
- Atlas shrugged, and so did I.
- America’s budget crisis – in a nutshell.
- Ryan vs Obama: (US budget) chart porn.
- Stiglitz: Fukushima, and gambling with the planet.
Pink picks
Comment, analysis and other offerings from Thursday’s FT,
John Gapper: Buffett needs to stop flying solo
I once hitched a ride on a Gulfstream jet (purely for research purposes, obviously) and enjoyed the experience of being flown in a leather-trimmed cabin at nearly 50,000ft,
Snap news
Breaking pre-market news on Thursday,
- Bwin.party digital entertainment says proposed revision to Germany’s state lottery treaty doesn’t comply with EU law — statement.
- Vedanata Resources launches open offer for 20 per cent of Cairn India;
Further further reading, CPI jokes edition
For the commute home, where core inflation remains tightly restrained by your belt buckle,
- From Heidi Moore’s new blog at Marketplace — Bailouts: the investment banker employment act of 2008.
- The 2011 National Magazine awards finalists.
Deflated inflation expectations
Given the attention that inflation expectations received in Tuesday’s release of the latest FOMC minutes, we’re not the least bit surprised that it’s been the topic du jour among analysts (along with other distractions).
Can dogs really smell cell phones?
Apparently so.
We ask as this was mentioned by Matthew Kluger, the M&A lawyer charged on Wednesday with earning $32m through insider trading. Garrett Bauer, a trader, was also charged with using MNPI — material non-public information,
Portugal to seek EU aid
Unleash the rescue dogs.
In a live TV address on Wednesday Portugal’s interim PM José Sócrates announced it was was requesting EU assistance:
06, 2011 3:39:29 PM RTRS – PORTUGAL PM SOCRATES SAYS FINANCIAL SITUATION WAS AGGRAVATED BY REJECTION OF AUSTERITY MEASURES
PORTUGAL PM SOCRATES DOES NOT SPECIFY WHAT TYPE OF AID,
Buffett’s “insider” trading policies and procedures
Courtesy of the WSJ; quote marks Warren’s own:
Some excerpts from Berkshire’s policies below (click to expand for a less fuzzy reading experience):
Does this mean David “I didn’t have any inside information”
Carry trade = quantitative easing
Can prolonged periods of negative real interest rates ever be good for economies in a globalised world?
Anders Aslund, senior fellow of the Peterson Institute for International Economics, argues no.
Some thoughts on unpaid internships and finance
FT Alphaville occasionally volunteers at a non-profit which, amongst other things, helps first-generation college students from migrant families apply for internships and jobs. They, like their peers, often want to intern at banks.
Reassurance on Irish bank data quality
FT Alphaville wishes to make a correction — on an Irish bank’s behalf. Via the Central Bank of Ireland:
The Central Bank has today updated the table on senior and subordinated debt published on 2 March 2011.
About that Home Retail bid rumour
There was much excitement around rumoured takeover target Home Retail Group on Tuesday morning.
Its shares shot up 10 per cent as the City woke up to the fact that Madison Dearborn Partners, the US buyout specialist,
The curious case of the JJB cash call [updated and explained]
If Wednesday’s cash call from Commerzbank is mind-numbingly complex, then the latest fund raise from JJB Sports, the struggling sports retailer, is downright odd.
First, let’s consider the fees.
JJB is raising £65m of which £5m will be paid out in fees,
Irish GNP warrants, FTW
It’s not every day that one sees the Irish central bank governor effectively proposing Ireland restructure its debt, but that’s the comment pages of the FT for you.
From the pen of Patrick Honohan on Wednesday,
ECB fears at extreme, in Schatz options
Stefano Di Domizio at Lombard Street Research notes on Wednesday that the put/call ratio on the German Schatz (the two-year bond) has suddenly and seriously discorrelated from the put/call ratio on the Bobl (the five-year bond).
QEased commodities, chart du jour
The QEased commodity debate is on fire.
And to keep it sizzling on Wednesday, we throw this chart of the Continuous Commodity Futures Price Index from Sean Corrigan at Diapason Commodities into the mix:
Portugal meets its debt ceiling…
…debt ceiling punches back.
Results of Portugal’s latest debt auction are out — short-term 6- and 12-month securities, with yields of…
RTRS-PORTUGAL 12-MONTH T-BILL AVG YIELD 5.902 PCT (PVS 4.331
Markets Live transcript 6 Apr 2011
Markets Live chat transcript for the chat ending at 11:29 on 6 Apr 2011. Participants in this chat were: Neil Hume, FT bryce.elder Tony Tassell NHmorning rabble NHand welcome
Spain drifts away
Spot the odd one out:
It’s Spain of course, which has decoupled from other members of the periphery over the past three months with its bond yields not only tightening against bunds but also falling outright (from a high of 5.45 per cent to just over 5 per cent today.
Commerzbank’s mind-numbing cash call
Is this the most complicated cash call of recent times ever?
Judge for yourself.
Presenting Commerzbank’s €11bn capital increase (click the image for the term sheet):
Now if we are reading this correctly — something that’s not helped by the fact you can’t access the press release from outside Germany for some arcane regulatory reason — Commerzbank is planning to do the following:
ASX/SGX, the fantasy turns into a nightmare
“Keep your money mate,” was the way Heard on the Street put it in response to Australian Treasurer Wayne Swan’s decision to effectively block Singapore Exchange’s A$8.4bn ($8.7bn) takeover offer of its local rival ASX.
Further reading
Elsewhere on Wednesday,
- Top 10 deal premiums of the decade.
- Murkiness in corporate disclosures: ‘All a matter of materiality’.
- Nice ‘lobagolas’ excite Citi traders.
- The not-so-strange acquisitions of nuclear power companies.
Pink picks
Comment, analysis and other offerings from Wednesday’s FT,
Martin Wolf: Waiting for the great rebalancing
Pressures are building for a rebalancing of the world economy, the FT columnist writes.
Snap news
Breaking pre-market news on Wednesday,
- Commerzbank to raise €11bn via mandatory convertible notes and rights issue – report (statement cannot be accessed from the UK).
- Intesa Sanpaolo announces €5bn capital increase — statement.
Yen moves
Here’s the movement in the yen since the Japan earthquake on March 11:
And something that crossed the Reuters wire earlier today:
The dollar briefly rose to its highest in more than five months against the yen and gained versus the euro on Tuesday after minutes of the last Federal Reserve meeting showed some Fed officials believed the U.S.