Good morning New York,
FT ALPHAVILLE
A fresh spike in shareholder activism? Paul picks up an annual survey on individual investors’ voting intentions and this year’s results suggest 43.8 per cent of respondents plan to exercise their rights — a a 5.1 percentage point jump from 2012. What are they likely to vote on? Directors pay, of course (34.5 per cent) – and retirement bungs (37 per cent).
Secret liquidity and Scottish independence: Joseph gets artistic about Scottish independence, ELA and what may just be too humiliating a potential setup. We’re talking about the scale of — and therefore the conditions upon — emergency liquidity that could be lent to banks in Edinburgh under the gaze of the central bank in London.
NEWS
Oklahoma tornado kills dozens and flattens town: At least 51 people were killed when a mile-wide tornado obliterated whole blocks of Moore, Oklahoma, on Monday afternoon, with 40 others feared dead. The powerful tornado, rated the second-highest strength level of EF4 and packing winds of up to 200 miles per hour (320kph), touched down in the middle of the afternoon and devastated a 20-mile stretch of the area that lies just south of Oklahoma City, including much of the town. (Financial Times) (Bloomberg)(Reuters)
Congress accuses Apple of avoiding billions in tax: US congressional investigators on Monday accused Apple of avoiding paying billions in taxes around the world by exploiting loopholes and using Irish subsidiaries that are not tax residents of any country. The Senate permanent subcommittee on investigations released a 40-page report of a hearing on Tuesday, which said the company used technicalities in Irish and American tax law to pay virtually no corporate taxes on at least $74bn over the past four years. Apple denied entities were set up with the aim of avoiding taxes. Subcommittee staffers said Apple was not breaking any laws and had cooperated fully with the investigation.(Financial Times)(FT Alphaville)(Reuters)
U.S. and Europe prepare to settle Chinese solar panel cases: “The Obama administration and the European Union have each decided to negotiate settlements with China in the world’s largest antidumping and antisubsidy trade cases involving China’s roughly $30 billion a year in solar panel shipments to the West, officials and trade advisers in Beijing, Brussels and Washington said. The plan that is starting to take shape would essentially carve up the global solar panel market into a series of regional markets.” (New York Times)
US corn rush threatens prices: US farmers driving floodlit tractors into the night have planted the most corn in any week on record in a sprint that could force prices lower on world agricultural commodity markets. US Department of Agriculture data suggested farmers seeded a record 42m acres (17m hectares) in the seven days to Sunday – an area larger than Austria, Ireland or South Korea. Seventy-one per cent of corn fields were planted in the main farm states by Sunday, up from 28 per cent the week before. (Financial Times)
Vodafone to reinvest £2.1bn Verizon dividend: Vodafone is to plough a £2.1bn dividend from US telecoms group Verizon back into its business rather than offer shareholders a windfall, after the UK-based mobile operator reported its biggest annual fall in service revenues in five years. Vittorio Colao, chief executive, blamed weakness in southern European markets for revenues for the year to March 31 falling to £44.4bn, down 4.2 per cent – or £2bn – from the previous year. (Financial Times)
Qatar buying fresh stakes in key banks: “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.” Qatar was key among new investors in Deutsche Bank’s €2.9bn capital raising three weeks ago, according to bankers, who said the state authority invested more than €100m. (Financial Times)
Goldman Sachs is selling its remaining shares in Industrial & Commercial Bank of China for about $1.1bn. Goldman’s sixth sale of the stock since 2009 completes its exit from ICBC, in which it bought a 4.9% stake for $2.58bn in 2006. The latest move brings the total raised from sales to about $10bn. The exit comes ahead of new capital regulations that raise the cost of holding stakes in other financial companies. (Wall Street Journal)
Riverstone leads talks of $1bn commodities venture: “US private equity group Riverstone is leading talks on an investment of as much as $1bn in a new commodities investment venture to be run by a former Deutsche Bank executive who aims to plug a funding gap left by the banks.” (Financial Times)
Japan panel warns of dangers if debt not addressed: “A Japanese government panel warns there is “absolutely no guarantee” that domestic investors will keep financing the country’s massive public debt, citing the risk of a spike in bond yields that could crimp long-term growth prospects, draft report seen by Reuters shows.” (Reuters)
“U.K. inflation slowed more than economists forecast in April to a seven-month low and producer prices rose the least since 2009 as fuel costs fell. Consumer prices rose 2.4 percent from a year earlier, compared with 2.8 percent in March, the Office for National Statistics said in London today. The median forecast of 35 economists in a Bloomberg News survey was 2.6 percent. Core inflation also cooled, while factory-gate prices increased an annual 1.1 percent, the least since September 2009.” (Bloomberg)
Markets: Stocks are hovering near cyclical peaks with traders seemingly reluctant to place bold bets ahead of potentially significant monetary policy developments over the next few days. The uncertainty can be seen in commodities where copper is down 0.1 per cent to $3.35 a pound and Brent crude is off 43 cents to $104.37 a barrel. Gold, which delivered a dramatic rebound in the previous session, is down $8 to $1,385 an ounce as the dollar index firms. The FTSE All-World equity index, which closed the previous session at its best level since June 2008, is easing 0.1 per cent after the Asia-Pacific region lost 0.2 per cent and as the FTSE Eurofirst 300 sees a 0.3 per cent slip. US index futures suggest the S&P 500 will greet the starting bell with a fractional decline writes the FT’s Global Market Unsullied Jamie Chisholm.
