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’[Something for the weekend] The SGP without stability or growth
Ah, the Stability and Growth Pact. You remember. Joining the SGP, members promised fiscal restraint, and in return were allowed to junk their soggy old currencies for a Deutschemark with a suntan. They all promised to keep the gap between revenue and spending to below 3 per cent of GDP,
Britain’s Dick Bove
Ian Gordon is fast becoming the UK’s answer to Dick ‘I ♥ banks’ Bove.
Last week, the Evolution Securities analyst and bank apologist rodeto the rescue of RBS, dismissing reports that the state-controlled lender might need another injection of capital.
No hard landing in China, HSBC says
Greece and the Eurozone are so last month. What’s really occupying minds at the moment is China and specifically the possibility of a hard landing.
To wit, we bring you a Q&A between Qu Hongbin, HSBC’s chief China economist,
Snap news
Breaking pre-market news on Wednesday,
- Commerzbank profits wiped about by €760m Greek impairment hit; but loan provisions elsewhere show improvement– statement and report.
- HSBC sells US credit card and retail services business to Capital One;
Snap news
Breaking pre-market news on Tuesday,
- HSBC confirms discussions to sell US credit card and retail services business — statement.
- Danske Bank Q2 profits beat expectations; impairments fall — statement.
Snap news
Breaking pre-market news on Monday,
- HSBC sells 195 New York retail branches to First Niagara Bank — statement.
- Frank Timis says Shandong Iron & Steel Group to invest $1.5bn in the Tonkolili iron ore project — statement.
HSBC’s £10bn of ring-fence fears for UK banks
That ring-fencing idea — it’s just posturing, right? Right?
No?
We don’t know but a report out Wednesday by HSBC says we should take it very seriously given its broad political support.
And it looks like the markets are also doing so on Thursday:
Snap news
Breaking pre-market news on Thursday,
- Prada narrows price range for Hong Kong IPO — report.
- Bill Gammell to step down as chief executive of Cairn Energy — statement.
- Capital One bids for HSBC’s US credit card business — report.
HSBC’s big strategy day
It’s going to take some time to plough through HSBC Strategy Execution plan, announced on Wednesday.
There’s an RNS statement and presentations from the chairman, CEO and finance director to get through,
Snap news
Breaking pre-market news on Wednesday,
- HSBC launches $2.5-$3.5bn cost cutting programme; to review US retail operations — statement and presentation.
- J Sainsbury dividend cover falls to the bottom end of guided range;
GBP, GDP and HSBC
Stagflation or not, sterling has responded positively to Wednesday’s GDP release.
From Reuters:
It looks like some punters were expecting a weaker reading and have been caught short. That and the fact that the dollar has fallen sharply against several major currencies (not just sterling) ahead of the FOMC decision and subsequent press conference.
HSBC’s fat cats
From page 213 of HSBC’s mighty 2010 annual report and accounts.
Related link:
Costs and Basel III undermine HSBC – FT Alphaville
Costs and Basel III undermine HSBC
Thud.
That’s the sound of the HSBC’s annual report and accounts hitting the FT Alphaville desk — all 397 pages of it. (Download at your peril.)
Clearly, we haven’t had time to read all of it, but here are our initial thoughts.
Counting the (UK stock market) cost of the Mubarak uprising
As the situation in Egypt worsens, quoted UK travel operators are coming under selling pressure.
Tui Travel and Thomas Cook are among the biggest fallers on Monday morning as analysts downgrade to reflect the impact of the unrest in Egypt,
Snap news
Breaking pre-market news on Tuesday,
- HSBC placing 6m Icap shares for chief executive Michael Spencer — statement.
- Tesco reports 3.6 per cent like-for-like sale growth in Q3 — statement.
- Xstrata to spend $23bn on new mines by 2016 — statement.
Madoff performance was “magic,” according to HSBC
Bejesus. The Madoff trustee complaint against HSBC makes for good reading.
For background: the court-appointed trustee for Madoff’s failed investment business is suing HSBC for $9bn — claiming, as in the JP Morgan case,
One country, two systems, three currencies (and four curves)
Where’s that?
China, of course.
With news out on Friday that Chinese monetary authorities are preparing the ground for a significant shift towards ‘prudent’ rather than loose monetary policy — all eyes are again on the renminbi market.
When capital controls are the only QE antidote
Are capital controls the most unwelcome comeback since the one-piece jumpsuit?
HSBC’s top analysts and economists look into the issue on Tuesday and slightly beg to differ. Not only have they been more common throughout the recent past than most would care to remember,
Stump it up, Bob
Related link:
Standard Chartered is off to the capital races – FT Alphaville
Guess the Britain-wary bank
Competition time.
A curious aside in Richard Lambert’s final speech as head of the Confederation of British Industry on Monday, as reported by the FT:
Mr Lambert excoriated politicians for irresponsibility in caricaturing banks as casinos and demanded an end to what he called “Vince Cable versus Lombard Street” – a reference to the business secretary’s attacks on the banks.
Geoghegan, out
Now that there is actual news, here’s an update on the HSBC boardroom battle, since we know the suspense has been killing you.
From the FT:
Michael Geoghegan is poised to step down as chief executive of HSBC at the end of the year,
Snap news
Breaking pre-market news on Monday,
- Safran confirms $1.09bn cash acquisition of L-1 Identity — statement.
- BAE acquires L-1′s counter-terror unit for $295m — statement.
- Petra Diamonds posts $70m pre-tax profit – statement.
Snap news
Breaking pre-market news on Tuesday,
- Santander agrees to buy $4.3bn auto loan portfolio from HSBC – statement.
- FSU offer for SDI extended to September 10 – statement.
- Aegon repays €500m of government support – statement.
Snap news
Breaking pre-market news on Monday,
- HSBC confirms it’s in talks with Old Mutual on Nedbank majority stake — statement and statement.
- Petrofac posts first-half revenues of $2.13bn — statement.
UK banks, sucking on the blood of depositors
Here’s a brilliant report from Bruce Packard at Seymour Pierce on Thursday, which expands in great detail on the rather hypocritical trend of banks scorning unsecured lending while simultaneously fighting over customer deposits — the cheapest form of unsecured borrowing for them.
Smug bank is back
Well, here’s something to kick off a week of UK bank earnings — some nice forecast-beating numbers from HSBC.
The bank posted pre-tax profit of $11.1bn in the first half on Monday. That’s compared to analyst predictions of $9.1bn.