Archive for June, 2009

At the end of 2008, money managers from across Legg Mason said that absent the U.S. and the world economies falling into a severe depression, the chances were good that the U.S. equities markets would rally in 2009. For months, Legg’s best minds, including William Miller of the Legg Mason Value Trust and Harry “Hersh”… »

“Bonuses are back” may be the buzz term in London’s financial district, but among regulators the more clunky “dynamic provisioning” is the watch word of the day.The system by which banks have to put aside rainy-day reserves in the good times was the norm at Spanish banks, which weathered the global credit crisis better than… »

A bearish report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture buried crop prices on Tuesday as the market absorbed higher-than-anticipated planting acreage for corn and soybeans. Wet weather didn’t appear to negatively impact corn planting as much as the market had expected. The USDA’s 2009 forecast of 87.0 million acres puts the new crop at the… »

Investors in Fiat grew excited on Tuesday about speculation that the Italian carmaker might return as a bidder for Adam Opel, the German company representing the bulk of General Motors’ European operations.
General Motors
is close to an agreement to sell Opel to the American private equity fund RHJ International, replacing the previously favored bidder, car-parts maker… »

Britain’s “tripartite” system of regulating the financial system, consisting of the Treasury Department, the Financial Services Authority and the Bank of England, has recently gotten slack for reported disagreements. But at a banking conference on Tuesday, they made it very clear that shareholders were most responsible for their market woes. “Shareholders are at the front… »

Many might say that the winning bidder who ponied up 1.6 million for a steakhouse lunch with Warren Buffet overpaid. But on Monday, one analyst said that shares of the Oracle of Omaha’s firm are set to swell, even as continued problems wreak havoc on the financial sector.On Monday, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods analyst Cliff… »

It’s grim on the British high street: demand has dropped sharply, consumers have moved online and many players have collapsed. But British retailer HMV, which runs music, DVD and video games shops under its own name as well as Waterstone’s bookstores, managed to beat market estimates for its annual results as it gained market share… »

London power couple, Ron Beller, the former chief of now-collapsed hedge fund Peloton Partners, and his wife Jennifer Moses, a senior advisor to Prime Minister Gordon Brown, are quitting the City.
The two, who are moving to San Francisco this summer, are well-known figures in London’s financial and political spheres. Beller, a former partner at Goldman,… »

Citigroup is flexing its muscles in the marketplace-using taxpayer money. Citi has hired Dan Petherick, an equity derivatives salesman, from Morgan Stanley, offering Petherick a guaranteed bonus to join the embattled bank, say people familiar with the situation.
Citigroup
has been a big recipient of taxpayer funds-45 billion and counting.The size of Petherick’s guarantee couldn’t be determined…. »

HSBC Chairman Stephen Green has joined regulators and central bankers in warning his fellow banking bigwigs that it is still too early to be optimistic about the financial sector.
“We cannot even say that we are past the worst,” said Green, speaking to the British Banker’s Association Annual International Banking Conference on Tuesday in London, where… »