April, 2011
The IMF on the state of Europe’s banks
So now we know — the IMF sees European banks through yellow, green and red-coloured glasses:
Much, much more in the IMF’s just-released global financial stability report.
Taibbi takes aim at the Talf
Yeah, so — the Talf was a scam. That much we knew from the get-go.
What we didn’t know was that a pair of Reiki-loving Wall Street wives had a crack at it. That nugget’s contained in the latest from Matt Taibi — the hyperbolic Rolling Stones writer of vampire sqid fame.
iShares responds to FSB criticism of ETFs
The industry’s response to Tuesday’s warning note on Exchange Traded Funds from the Financial Stability Board has begun predictably with a statement from iShares — the world’s largest provider of ETFs.
If the market ignores your research…
… bang on about it.
That’s the lesson from Monday’s ‘take profits on your commodity positions’ call from Goldman Sachs.
As Olivier Jakob at Petromatrix observes on Wednesday:
Just in case someone missed on Monday the Goldman Sachs recommendation to exit long positions in crude oil,
European bailouts make busy CDS bees
FT Alphaville recently took a look at Portugal and Spain decoupling from a bond yield perspective.
One week and one bailout later, here’s what it looks like from the point of view of CDS spreads, courtesy of Markit.
Markets Live transcript 13 Apr 2011
Markets Live chat transcript for the chat ending at 11:21 on 13 Apr 2011. Participants in this chat were: Neil Hume, FT bryce.elder NHHola Rabble NHsorry we are late NHwas just searching for a diary piece
Do banks see ETFs as inexpensive funding for illiquid securities? – Part II
(continued)
Here’s our favourite part from the FSB report.
It refers to the practice of collateral sweating — loading your ETFs with the cheapest collateral out there and swapping it to guarantee the performance of a specific index (our emphasis):
Do banks see ETFs as inexpensive funding for illiquid securities? – Part I
Recent trends in Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) could create “potential financial stability issues” says the Financial Stability Board.
We say: about time someone stated the obvious.
We know other regulators have cast their eye on ETFs,
ARM moves closer to PC market
The FTSE 100 has regained its composure after Tuesday’s wobble and leading the market higher is ARM Holdings.
Now, shares in the chip designer rose 5 per cent in the US overnight after tech blog Engadget showed a demo of the next version of Microsoft Internet Explorer (IE10).
What was that about Chernobyl?
Amid large aftershocks and fears of nuclear contamination rocking eastern Japan on a daily basis, it was the last thing anyone in the country needed to hear on Tuesday: that the crisis at the crippled
UK software blow-up 2.0
Like a moth to a flame, the UK software sector seems to attract its fair share of flaky companies.
Over the past decade there have been several spectacular blow-ups, most notably iSoft, the company charged with creating a patient records system for the NHS, Torex Retail,
Further reading
Elsewhere on Wednesday,
- George Soros: What if the world isn’t worth saving?
- A closer look at Chinese equities and the dollar.
- “The Office” goes to India.
- Best rejection letter ever.
Pink picks
Comment, analysis and other offerings in Wednesday’s FT,
Martin Wolf: the radical right and the US state
What does the rise of libertarianism portend for the future of the US?, asks the FT columnist.
Snap news
Breaking pre-market news on Wednesday,
- Schneider Electric not currently in discussions with Tyco International over bid — report.
- ASML reports Q1 results; says some customers holding back on orders because of supply chain issues — statement.
Further further reading
For the commute home, where no-one criticises your fiscal policies,
- More on Goldman’s bearish commodities turn.
- Richard Koo talks balance sheet recessions.
- A read-out from Soros’ bash in Bretton Woods.
Assessing the dollar’s weakness
How weak is the dollar?
A timely question asked by Goldman Sachs on Tuesday morning, what with the euro reaching a 15-month high of $1.45 earlier today. Indeed, on the face of it, there is weakness everywhere.
[FOW Amsterdam] How to make a dividend sandwich
By Theo Casey, a columnist at Futures & Options World, blogging on the back of FOW’s European Equity Options conference in Amsterdam.
It’s been fun, Alphaville. The sun has set on our Dutch adventure.
Why Lloyds has lashed out at the ICB
A handy table via Morgan Stanley. It shows the impact on Lloyd Banking Group if it’s forced by the UK government to sell another 400 branches. No wonder António Horta-Osório is furious.
The inflationary Easter bunny
Some of the MPC may be exhaling a premature sigh of relief at the widely rumoured inflation *non-fail news* out Tuesday morning.
Analysts have been quick to note that the first below consensus CPI result for 10 months (4 per cent year-on-year vs 4.4 per cent expected) was driven by a fall in food prices (to 4 per cent y-o-y from 5.7 per cent in February),
The banking system – still broken
Here’s a perfectly nuanced view of how quantitative easing — the programme started by the Federal Reserve to avert depression following an almighty banking bubble — impacts asset prices.
First, envision part of the QE process.
Markets Live transcript 12 Apr 2011
Markets Live chat transcript for the chat ending at 11:34 on 12 Apr 2011. Participants in this chat were: Neil Hume, FT bryce.elder NHHola NHand welcome to Markets Live
Goldman jolts commodities market
A nasty (and in all likelihood temporary) fall for the FTSE 100 on Tuesday morning.
And it’s mining stocks that have done most of the damage.
Apart from profit taking, there are two reasons for this sell-off,
For you Southern Europe, ze inflation is over
Cezmi Dispinar points to the below slide from a presentation by Heiner Flassbeck over at NachDenkSeiten. It’s all in German, and it’s about eurozone monetary policy, but stick with it!
The chart shows unit labour costs — with the red line being Germany,
UK inflation *non fail* shock
Cue sighs of relief at the Bank of England on Tuesday morning following news UK CPI had fallen to 4 per cent YEAR-ON-YEAR in March from 4.4 per cent YEAR-ON-YEAR in February.
Japan, nuclear accident upgrades, economic downgrades
It was a sobering start to Tuesday, after an equally sobering Monday evening punctuated by strong tremors in Tokyo and the northeast, followed by yet another big aftershock and many more nasty tremors throughout much of Tuesday.
[Modern Football Finance] Arsenal edition
Some further thoughts on Stan Kronenke’s £731m cash offer to take control of Arsenal Holdings from the ever informative Andersred blog.
One is the whacking multiple the US sports franchise billionaire is prepared to pay for the Premier League club.
Further reading
Elsewhere on Tuesday,
- Pimco’s not-so-great timing.
- “The carry trade never dies.”
- Endgame scenarios in Greek debt.
- Iceland — comitting financial suicide?
- Or, showing some pluck?
- The sell-off in paper gold.
Pink picks
Comment, analysis and other offerings from Tuesday’s FT,
Philip Stephens: The banks get away with it, again
There are a couple of things to say about Britain’s banks, says the FT columnist. They still pose a serious threat to the nation’s long-term stability and prosperity.