Miles Johnson
Markets Live transcript 12 Aug 2010
Markets Live chat transcript for the chat ending at 11:09 on 12 Aug 2010. Participants in this chat were: Miles Johnson, FT Joseph Cotterill Bryce Elder MJHello JCHi there
Markets Live transcript 30 Jul 2010
Markets Live chat transcript for the chat ending at 11:13 on 30 Jul 2010. Participants in this chat were: Miles Johnson, FT Izabella Kaminska, FT Joseph Cotterill MJHello MJand welcome to markets live
What is the BoE’s QE plan B?
Central bankers, as Alan Greenspan learnt to his regret, need to look like they have a plan B.
And so does the Bank of England. Combative MPC member Adam Posen on Tuesday morning seems to be dropping strong hints that something could be cooking over on Threadneedle Street.
Snap news
Breaking pre-market news on Tuesday,
- Kingfisher delisting on the NYSE Euronext due to low level of trading – statement.
- Carillion awarded £157m Public Private Partnership project in Toronto – statement.
Cash and carry
It was a lesson writ large by the financial crisis; dabble in carry trades denominated in dinky currencies at your own peril.
The tale of the Icelandic krona serves as a particularly brutal parable of carry traded excess.
Lunch Wrap
On FT Alphaville Monday morning,
- A Mexican standoff at the Swiss National Bank.
- More rating agency hi-jinx with re-Remics.
- Deripaska wins, but not in the way he would want to
- Austria is Erste to be bothered by Basel III.
Deripaska’s Pyrrhic Rusal victory
For the last year Oleg Deripaska has been a man on a mission.
And after months of wrangling with regulators, UC Rusal, his heavily indebted aluminium company, looks finally to have won approval for a $2bn float in Hong Kong and Paris come January.
Swiss franc forex standoff
A Mexican standoff is mounting between Switzerland’s central bank and the outlaws of the forex markets.
On Monday morning traders are again testing the Swiss National Bank’s resolve to stop further franc appreciation,
Snap news
Breaking pre-market news on Monday,
- Kraft looks for shareholder approval to issue shares for Cadbury bid – statement.
- London Stock Exchange announces acquisition of Turquoise – statement.
- Nigerian oil minister says Shell has not informed Nigeria of any plans to sell oil fields – Reuters.
Yes (Iraqi) Minister
There appears to be a spot of confusion over in Iraq.
On Friday morning Reuters reported that Iranian troops had entered an Iraqi oil field, news that sent the price of Nymex West Texas Intermediate oil up more than $2 a barrel:
[South Africa 2010] The Germans always win
The joys of the World Cup are plenty.
Those in England can beam with pride as Wags go shopping, chairs are thrown through restaurant windows, and much of the country’s media succumb to collective hysteria and mouth-foaming jingoism.
Deep fat finger regret – Danisco edition
Fat fingers can get people into all sorts of trouble – especially when one mistakenly fat fingers a company’s earnings ahead of schedule.
From Danish food ingredient-maker Danisco on Wednesday:
Danisco
[Outlook 2010] Chasing the rally into the New Year
A 2009 perennial question – how long will the rally in global equities last? The answer is right through next year, if you believe the consensus view from the latest Bank 0f America Merrill Lynch fund manager’s survey.
Further reading
Elsewhere on Wednesday,
- Decoding fund brochures.
- Why Roubini is entirely wrong about the gold bubble.
- The merits of fast and slow knowledge for investors
- All aboard the Norway debt/GDP trade.
The world’s riskiest sovereign borrower 2009
With the bells ready to toll for 2009 there are just days left before the general public is pummeled senseless by a slew of pointless annual and pan-noughties awards.
So, in a vain attempt at getting ahead of the pack,
Snap news
Breaking pre-market news on Tuesday,
- Deutsche Bank says needs moderate capital market refinancing in 2010, overall loan loss provisions expected to decline in 2010 – Reuters
- “We have heard nothing that surprises us”:
[Galleon] Rajaratnam: ‘I am no Madoff’
From Big Raja’s latest bail modification letter, posted by his lawyers on Monday morning (emphasis FT Alphaville):
Mr. Rajaratnam has carefully worked with Galleon to wind down its business, to take care of the Galleon employees negatively affected by the Government’s sudden arrest of Mr Rajaratnam and its related press conferences,
S&P and Fitch to Dubai: ‘not so fast…’
Ratings agencies Standard & Poor’s and Fitch have issued responses to Dubai’s surprise repayment of the now infamous $4.1bn Nakheel sukuk.
And just in case the emirate was labouring under any misconceptions,
Mega merger Monday: Exxon in $41bn union with XTO Energy
And just when everyone thought M&A had crawled into a cave for the winter:
Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE: XOM) and XTO Energy Inc. announced today an all-stock transaction valued at $41 billion. The agreement,
Dubai’s Nakheel sticking plaster
One inevitable consequence of Abu Dhabi swooping to rescue its indebted neighbour is that some people will have made several large sacks of money.
Anyone who made bets on Nakheel 2011 bonds for example,
Baillie Gifford slays ENOC’s Dragon Oil offer
The Dragon Oil votes are in, and there will be some rather peeved folk over in Dubai.
RTRS-DRAGON OIL PLC SHAREHOLDERS VOTE NOT TO ACCEPT OFFER FROM EMIRATES NATIONAL OIL CO
RTRS-DRAGON OIL -RESOLUTION WAS PASSED BY IN EXCESS OF 50% OF SHAREHOLDERS,
Snap news
Breaking pre-market news on Friday,
- European Union leaders urge IMF to consider a global financial transaction tax in draft summit statement – Reuters.
- Gordon Brown blocked Alistair Darling’s plan to increase VAT – Guardian.
Gartmore IPO pricing could disappoint
Actually, it almost certainly will disappoint.
One of the first large UK initial public offerings since the outbreak of the financial crisis is on track to close on Friday, but is likely to raise less money than first planned.
Luxury purchases: The rush for real assets
The boom times, it appears, are back.
Savills, the UK estate agent, recently sold a London house for £40m, Bentley began production on a luxury car worth £220,000, and this week Rembrandt’s “Portrait of a man”
Snap news
Breaking pre-market news on Thursday,
- Gordon Brown and Nicolas Sarkozy call for Global Finance, Global Regulation, Global Banker Tax – WSJ
- Dubai’s finance chief says market reaction to debt problems was “psychological”,
Gartmore fillip for Europe’s IPO market
After last week’s Hochtief Concessions IPO car crash, here’s some good news for all those European companies jostling to come to market in 2010.
Private equity-owned fund manger Gartmore’s ₤400m flotation is fully subscribed three days before the books officially close,
US non-farm payrolls fall JUST 11,000 in November
US non-farm payrolls fell by JUST 11,000 jobs in November, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said on Friday.
Repeat non-farm payrolls fell by JUST 11,000 in November.
And that’s a huge surprise: the analyst consensus was for a loss of 130,000,
Hochtief Concessions IPO flop: an autopsy
Blame Dubai.
That was the message from Hochtief after the German construction company was forced to pull the €1bn flotation of its Concessions infrastructure operator business late last night.
But this is wrong.