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’FT Alphaville – Xmas opening hours
AV will be taking a little break over the festive period — from midday on December 23rd until January 3rd.
OK, it’s an extended break. But it’s been a hectic year and the team need to recharge their batteries. Of course,
Dear Santa… This is Ben
Found by the creative writers at JPMorgan Asset Management — a letter to Santa, from a boy (one ‘Ben’) who lives in the Washington DC area of the United States:
“Dear Santa,
It’s that time of year once again and I would like to ask you for some very special presents for Christmas this year.
For sale – one FT Alphaville editor
Yes, it’s true. As part of the FT’s charity seasonal appeal, a lunch with FT Alphaville editor Neil Hume — at legendary London restaurant Koffmann’s — is up for auction.
Visit this page for details and to bid.
Citi’s Christmas Credit Carols
‘Tis the season for festive levity from analysts.
And fittingly on Friday, while snow drifts gently down in London, and FT Alphaville prepares for its Xmas AVent party, Citi’s annual Christmas carols have just landed in our inbox.
Festive reading
Looking for something to read over Christmas? Or perhaps you are struggling to find a pressie for the banker in your life?
Well, FT Alphaville can help — with a little assistance from SocGen strategist Dylan Grice.
We’re yanking the Vampire Squid auction
Executive decision this.
Upon receipt of an “enveloping” bid from a fan of Tracy’s sculptural talents, the charity auction for the hand-crafted Vampire Squid is hereby cancelled.
The prospective owner,
Have a holly, jolly, rally-filled Christmas, Goldman says
Because December is traditionally a very good month for European equities.
And the better the year, the better the December, according to the kitten-cuddling bank.
Here’s the basic idea from Goldman Sachs’ European equity strategy team:
The end of Kobe beef burgers, or how thrift stole Christmas
Frugal is the new black, according to everyone from David Rosenberg to the US consumer and the beleaguered retailers.
Consider the following piece, which appeared in the New York Times on Friday:
In the retail business,
Santander subordinates on siesta
What’s red and white and doesn’t redeem itself ’till December?
A Banco Santander LT2 callable bond!
Santander’s announcement last week, that it would not be calling one of its subordinated bonds,
Citi to Paulson: Application for xmas party
Read last week’s Pandit memo?
If you did, you just might have been curious to know the details of the new “approaches to executive compensation” that the US government has outlined “consistent with their objective as an investor in Citi”.
[FT Alphaville Advent Calendar] 23 December
Our final FT Advent Calendar Christmas ‘gift’ (because there is no way we are coming into the office tomorrow).
Click the tree!
[FT Alphaville Advent Calendar] 22 December
Not getting much of a bonus this year? Perhaps you’re better off…
Click the tree!
UBS bears ECB gifts
UBS’s European fixed income team are clearly feeling the Christmas spirit.
They’ve devised something of a Christmas gift-list for ECB council members, to (ahem) “show their appreciation” for the central bank:
Is Santa Claus about to liquidate?
It’s that time of year to search out long-forgotten seasonal Christmas gear and sparkle up your house.
Accordingly, FT Alphaville thought it might be worth dusting off some economic theories from Christmas past.
[FT Alphaville Advent Calendar] 18 December
Cooking the books with (a) Madoff. Today’s FT Alphaville Christmas gift below!
Click the tree!
[FT Alphaville Advent Calendar] 17 December
Someone could have used this particular Christmas pressie to blow the whistle on Madoff…
Nothing on the tree today. It’s a visual representation of the Fed target rate – zero. zilch. nothing.
[FT Alphaville Advent Calendar] 15 December
Did Madoff take your money? Markets got you down? Need a little stimulus of your own? Then the FT Alphaville Advent Calendar offers you this… (HT reader David Glover)
Click the tree!
[FT Alphaville Advent Calendar] 12 December
Stressed out about the markets, your job? Then use today’s FT Alphaville Advent Calendar gift to chill out – and remind you that things could be worse!
Click the tree!
[FT Alphaville Advent Calendar] 11 December
Something for the fashion-conscious FT Alphaville reader today – one who’s not afraid to wear their trading positions on their sleeves.
Click the tree!
[FT Alphaville Advent Calendar] 10 December
A bit of tragic irony for FT Alphaville readers today.
Click the tree!
Empty CEO stockings
The Wall Street Journal has a good snapshot of the banking heads who won’t be getting bonuses this year.
Of course, their minions are losing out too. Morgan Stanley, for instance, will cut compensation for its top 35 execs by about 65 per cent — UBS has already done something similar.
Is £84m enough for a Christmas shopping spree?
We know the banks have been told to start lending. But surely this move by Alliance & Leicester is a little extreme?
Sky news reports:Oh Oh! I Have An £84m Overdraft
A careworker thought all her Christmases had come at once when her bank mistakenly extended her overdraft facility – to £84m.
[FT Alphaville Advent Calendar] 9 December
Ok, so we dare someone to actually wear today’s FT Alphaville Advent Calendar gift.
Click the tree!
Citi does Christmas (contrarianism) lunch
Proving that expense accounts are not completely dead in the City — even for Citigroup — the bank’s portfolio strategists are continuing their bit of Christmas lunch contrarianism this year. The reasoning behind the exercise?
The combination of good company,
[FT Alphaville Advent Calendar] 4 December
What’s red and green and can read the stock market? Click the tree for today’s Advent surprise!
Click the tree!
[FT Alphaville Advent Calendar] 3 December
Dec 3. and day 2 of our FT Alphaville calendar (someone clearly needs to explain the concept to us).
Click on the tree!
Germans have Christmas spirit
They are the most optimistic about spending this holiday season, according to UBS’s first Christmas consumer survey.
Deutschland leaps ahead of the Christmas consumer stakes with 50 per cent of Germans polled planning to spend about the same amount this year.
[FT Alphaville Advent Calendar] 2 December
Yes, we missed yesterday. But over the coming weeks we’ll be bringing you the occasional Christmas treat.
Click on the tree!