FURTHER FURTHER READING
- A debate on helicopter dropping as a legit policy option.
- The Atlantic with an in-depth look back at the Facebook IPO.
- How big money bets for and against rates.
- Bankers advised to pretend they’re toilet cleaners to avoid regulation.
- Ask a banker: Capital, capital!
- What’s holding back hiring in the US?
ROUND-UP
FT markets round-up: “Global equities continued to reach cyclical peaks but the dollar went into retreat at the start of a week that is likely to be dominated by the outlook for US monetary policy. The FTSE All-World equity index rose 0.4 per cent to its highest since June 2008, although the S&P 500 edged back 0.1 per cent after earlier touching a record intraday high. The FTSE Eurofirst 300 and the Nikkei 225 in Tokyo both closed at fresh five-year peaks as they rose 0.3 per cent and 1.5 per cent, respectively. The S&P has risen about 17 per cent so far this year with the Nikkei soaring 49 per cent. <The dollar, however, saw its recent advance to multiyear highs come to a halt. Against a basket of currencies, the dollar was down 0.5 per cent, having touched its best level since July 2010 on Friday.” (Financial Times)
Oil inquiry widens to trading houses: “The European Commission investigation into the possible manipulation of energy price benchmarks has widened, with Brussels seeking new information from trading houses, including Glencore, following last week’s raids on oil majors. The Commission has sent requests for information to Swiss-based commodities titans Glencore, Vitol, Gunvor and Mercuria, and possibly others, according to people familiar with the situation. The companies declined to comment. There is no suggestion that the trading houses are under investigation.” (Financial Times)
Investors vote in Dimon ‘referendum’: “Shareholder activists targeting JPMorgan Chase were talking down the prospects of winning a vote to install an independent chairman at the bank ahead of Tuesday’s annual meeting. However, investors demanding more robust board oversight vowed to press on even after the meeting in Tampa, Florida, which is seen by some as a referendum on Jamie Dimon, the bank’s chairman and chief executive.” (Financial Times)
Qatar snaps up stakes in key lenders: “Qatar is launching another multi-billion dollar push into the banking sector, buying fresh stakes in Russia’s VTB and Germany’s Deutsche Bank. The Qatar Investment Authority, the principal fund responsible for allocating the gas-rich emirate’s vast wealth, is poised this week to invest up to $1bn as part of a $3.2bn capital raising by VTB, Russia’s second-biggest bank, according to people close to the transaction.” (Financial Times)
Yield hunt drives up prices of leveraged loans: “Prices for a type of risky loan that provides financing for some of the most indebted companies have risen to a post-crisis record as investors search for high yielding assets in an age of rock-bottom interest rates. A majority of leveraged loans in the US are now trading above face value thanks to a bidding war between mutual funds and a new generation of structured finance vehicle, reversing the situation that prevailed after a liquidity crunch wracked the market from 2007.” (Financial Times)