Neil Hume
You have 24 months to comply
Shock, horror.
Just days after the London Stock Exchange paid a jaw dropping price for FTSE, the index provider has decided not take the nuclear option and force a 50 per cent minimum free float requirement on foreign companies listing on London.
IT consultant discovers eurozone, with disastrous consequences
For a company that does half its business in the euro area, one could reasonably expect Logica to be fully conversant with the ongoing sovereign debt crisis.
Seemingly not.
On Wednesday morning the IT company has revealed the “pockets of weakness”
Snap news
Breaking pre-market news on Wednesday,
- Thomas Cook says first quarter bookings off to slow start; to close 200 shops; net debt £891m — statement.
- But German rival Tui says it expects to post a net profit in current fiscal year — statement.
At home with Ben
We’ve marvelled many times at Jon Hilsenrath’s extraordinary ability to mind meld with the most powerful man in global finance — Ben Bernanke (in case you were wondering).
How else to explain the string of scoops explaining the Fed’s thinking in the lead up to crucial FOMC meetings or get-togethers at Jackson Hole.
Euro rout
Brutal:
The wires are pinning the drop on this:
RTRS-EURO FALLS AFTER SOURCES SAY MERKEL REJECTS RAISING UPPER LIMITS OF FUNDING FOR ESM BAILOUT MECHANISM
RTRS-EURO FALLS TO WEAKEST LEVEL SINCE MID-JANUARY VERSUS DOLLAR
RTRS-EURO EXTENDS LOSSES VERSUS DOLLAR,
Markets Live transcript 13 Dec 2011
Markets Live chat transcript for the chat ending at 12:18 on 13 Dec 2011. Participants in this chat were: Neil Hume, FT Bryce Elder/FT NHHola Rabble NHwelcome to Markets Live
Presenting a record UK pension shortfall
The Bank of England’s financial repression and the eurozone debt crisis continue to take their toll on the UK’s private pension funds.
Lowlights from the latest Pension Protection Fund report:
M&G’s Bond Vigilantes reckon that’s a record.
The UK’s inflation myth
Told ya.
From Reuters…
RTRS-UK NOV CPI 0.2 PCT MM, 4.8 PCT YY (FORECAST 4.8 PCT YY)
RTRS-UK NOV RPI 0.2 PCT MM, 5.2 PCT YY (FORECAST 5.1 PCT YY)
RTRS-UK NOV RPIX 0.2 PCT MM, 5.3 PCT YY (FORECAST 5.2 PCT YY)
RTRS-UK NOV CPI ALL GOODS 5.1 PCT YY,
Water, water everywhere…
… nor any drop to drink.
RTRS-ECB SAYS 8.953 BLN EUROS BORROWED USING OVERNIGHT LOAN FACILITY, 346.357 BLN EUROS DEPOSITED
(Graphics via Scotty Barber – Reuters)
Related link:
Snap news
Breaking pre-market news on Tuesday,
- Whitbread warns of slowing sales growth at Premier Inn and Costa Coffee — statement.
- E.ON lowers upper end of profit guidance — statement.
- Desire Petroleum and Rockhopper Exploration discover oil in Falklands appraisal well — statement.
Don’t forget the advisers
Alternative title: The bull that got away.
Everyone else has got it in the neck for the failure of RBS, so it’s only right that we remember those who masterminded the disastrous acquisition of ABN Amro.
The Sarko and Corzine trade
The following raised some eyebrows in the FT newsroom on Friday.
Via Reuters:
French President Nicolas Sarkozy said the ECB’s increased provision of funds meant governments in countries like Italy and Spain could look to their countries’ banks to buy their bonds.
Sovereign downgrades and the eurozone
As S&P decides whether to downgrade Germany and the five other triple-A members of the eurozone, RBS considers who would be hardest hit by the move other than President Sarkozy and his re-election hopes.
Markets Live transcript 12 Dec 2011
Markets Live chat transcript for the chat ending at 12:35 on 12 Dec 2011. Participants in this chat were: Neil Hume, FT Bryce Elder/FT NHHola NHrabble NHwelcome to another week of Markets Live
A sub-optimal solution to the Euromess [updated]
Policy changes the ECB announced last week will help banks directly and governments indirectly. But the EU fell short on every element of a comprehensive deal. On Friday, investors reacted positively to what was sold to them as a “fiscal compact”.
You’ve paid how much? – LSE edition
A few years back, the FSA warned banks to be careful about their choice of code words in M&A deals:
Use appropriate code names to disguise the identities of relevant parties. This only works if the code names are sufficiently different from the names of the relevant parties so their real identities cannot be determined.
Snap news
Breaking pre-market news on Monday,
- Pearson sells 50 per cent stake in FTSE to the London Stock Exchange for £450m — statement and statement.
- France’s Areva to announce big loss; shares suspended pending statement — statement.
Markets Live transcript 9 Dec 2011
Markets Live chat transcript for the chat ending at 12:20 on 9 Dec 2011. Participants in this chat were: Neil Hume, FT Bryce Elder/FT
NHHola Rabble
NHWelcome to ML
NHan hour or so
Lloyd C. Blankfein wants YOUR feedback
Well, not yours, obviously. But random market professionals in the City of London who in recent days have been contacted by the mighty Goldman Sachs.
From: Lloyd C. Blankfein [mailto:gsbrandsurvey@ny.email.gs.com]
Sent:
Quotes du jour – Eurofudge edition
For those of us of a certain age, the fiscal language looks to be copied and pasted from the original Stability and Growth Pact with a few bells and whistles added to imply that ‘this time we mean it.’ - Steven Englander,
Dr Robert Peston will see you now
Ring my friend, I said you call Doctor Robert
Day or night he’ll be there any time at all, Doctor Robert
Doctor Robert, you’re a new and better man,
He helps you to understand
He does everything he can,
The LSE’s call to action
Sadly, the London Stock Exchange’s plan to fix the broken UK IPO market is unlikely to work for the simple reason that it doesn’t really believe there’s a problem.
For companies seeking to raise capital,
Hors d’oeuvres from the ECB
We now await the main course.
What will Chef Draghi offer us? A three-year LTRO? Or what about a wider pool of collateral for your delectation? ECB bills?
Tune it at 1.30pm (GMT):
While you wait for the gastronomique feast,
Markets Live transcript 8 Dec 2011
Markets Live chat transcript for the chat ending at 12:59 on 8 Dec 2011. Participants in this chat were: Neil Hume, FT Bryce Elder/FT NHHola rabble NHwelcome to ML NHI am back
Not even in Japan…
Whatever is decided at the Save the Euro summit, it seems certain the eurozone is heading into recession.
But not just any recession, this will be a protracted one reckons Citigroup.
Our economists believe the sovereign debt and banking crises are causing a renewed recession in the Euro Area.
Snap news
Breaking pre-market news on Thursday:
- Tesco says UK sales down for a fourth month in a row — statement.
- Imperial Leather soap maker PZ Cussons warns on profits — statement.
- Mulberry says half year profits up 231 per cent — statement.
Spot the Dog let off the leash
Who or what does the following quote refer to?
Far too much mediocrity is rewarded for nothing other than destroying value.
If you guessed the fund management industry, then you were right.
In its December investor letter,
Signor Monti, sensazionale [updated]
The price action in on Italian bonds on Monday, that is.
Out of the danger zone, for now.
Thanks Angela. From the FT:
In an apparent concession, Ms Merkel agreed that private sector bondholders would not be asked to bear some of the losses in any future sovereign debt restructuring,