The credit default swaps market - a market that for years was kept out of view and away from any regulation - has suddenly turned into a political hot potato in Washington, where the chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission said during the week that regulation was needed, while the secretary of the Treasury said efforts were already under way to get things under control, and urged caution.
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Saturday, 27 September 2008
British Banks Reportedly Seek Bailout
British banks are proposing that the government help bail them out of losses from the credit crunch so they can resume lending, according to four people with knowledge of the discussions, but Prime Minister Gordon Brown suggested Friday that he would not go along.
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Armageddon Still Looms
Here we are a week later, and guess what? Armageddon is again approaching. All week long, the credit-default swap spreads on Morgan Stanley widened, until, by Friday, they were actually worse than they were at any time during the previous week. (And this time, the chief executive, John Mack, can’t blame the short-sellers for his troubles, since short-selling in financial stocks has been temporarily banned.)
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Shanghai Bourse to Supervise Retail Investors
The Shanghai Stock Exchange issued on Saturday China’s first ever rules for supervision of retail stock investors, saying those who violate laws would face criminal charges, in a move touching a fundamental problem of more speculation than investment in China’s stock market.
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Singapore Slips towards Recession
Singapore would probably slip into a recession this quarter for the first time since 2002 as exports and manufacturing slumped and fewer tourists visited the city state, economists said.
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Australia to Buy A$4b Mortgages to Revive Market
Australia will spend A$4 billion (HK$25.8 billion) buying residential mortgage-backed securities to revive a debt market frozen by the global credit crunch.
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Bulk Shippers Fall on Rates Gloom
Shares in bulk shipping companies fell as much as 11 per cent yesterday as hopes for a recovery in dry bulk freight rates dimmed amid a scale back in global steel mills output.
Subtle Differences between Chinese, Russian Spacesuits
When astronauts Zhai Zhigang and Liu Boming get into their spacesuits and drift side by side in the orbit module, it will be hard to tell one from the other.
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HSBC Raises Rates for New Homebuyers
HSBC, the largest mortgage lender in Hong Kong, will raise its interest rate for new homebuyers to offset higher funding costs stemming from the recent global financial turmoil.
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Traders Can Appeal Against Fines
SGX clarification is a response to brokers' fears over error trades
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Cramer: Worst Case? Dow Under 8400
Without the Paulson plan, or if the plan is so watered down and delayed, I have been saying all bets are off and we could be in for a huge swoon. How huge?
I like to sit down and noodle on the actual components of the Dow Jones Industrial Average to give you a real sense of what can go wrong. And there is so much going wrong. The credit markets are vanishing, the earnings are vanishing and the only hope is a plan that ignites credit markets, forces money off the sidelines and gets this economy and the worldwide economy moving again.
I like to sit down and noodle on the actual components of the Dow Jones Industrial Average to give you a real sense of what can go wrong. And there is so much going wrong. The credit markets are vanishing, the earnings are vanishing and the only hope is a plan that ignites credit markets, forces money off the sidelines and gets this economy and the worldwide economy moving again.
Property prices, rents set to fall in Asian cities
Property prices and rents in Asia's financial centres of Hong Kong, Singapore and Tokyo are set to fall as banks scale back hiring and investments in the global financial turmoil.
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Friday, 26 September 2008
China to stop iron ore imports from Vale
CHINA will not import iron ore from Brazil-based Vale in the short term, a finance newspaper reported today.
China Allows Short Sales, Margin Loans to Help Market
China’s cabinet agreed to let investors buy shares on credit and sell borrowed stock to help develop Asia’s second-largest market after prices and trading volumes slumped, an official familiar with the plan said.
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Japanese Jumping Back into Wall Street as China Sits and Watches
Wall Street investment banks, or their remnants, eager for outside cash, have found some big buyers. On September 22, Mitsubishi UFJ, Japan’s largest bank, announced plans to buy a 10%-20% stake in Morgan Stanley, making it the biggest share holder and earning it a seat on the board of directors. The deal may run as high as $9 billion. The same day, Japan-based Nomura Securities picked up Lehman Brothers Asian units for $225 million.
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Rich with Cash but Short of Talent, Chinese Bankers Eying Wall Street
Wall Street is undergoing a reshuffling, and assets are on the table for financial firms of other counties to pick up. Japan-based Mitsubishi UFJ and Nomura Securities have already made moves. Will cash-laden Chinese financial institutions follow them in?
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US$900b Aftershock Seen Hitting US, Europe Banks
They face rising premiums as debts mature amid frozen primary market
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Dealers petition against short-sell penalties
They say that SGX move is too harsh on honest mistakes
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Hundreds of Economists Urge Congress Not to Rush on Rescue Plan
More than 150 prominent U.S. economists, including three Nobel Prize winners, urged Congress to hold off on passing a $700 billion financial market rescue plan until it can be studied more closely.
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