UBS to pay $780m US tax probe fine UBS on Wednesday agreed to pay $780m in fines and turn over some customer names to the US government as part of a landmark settlement in which the Swiss bank admitted it helped thousands of clients evade taxes. The deferred prosecution agreement settles a long-running criminal investigation by the US Justice department into whether UBS helped wealthy US clients hide bank accounts from tax authorities.The fine is one of the biggest to be imposed for tax-related misdemeanours. See this article online.
http://ftalphaville.ft.com/blog/2009/02/19/52660/ubs-to-pay-780m-us-t
| Savers besiege Stanford banks Panicked savers on Wednesday rushed to withdraw money from banks in Antigua and Venezuela linked to Sir Allen Stanford, the Texan billionaire charged by US regulators with "massive" investment fraud. The SEC accused Sir Allen on Tuesday of operating an alleged $8bn scheme involving certificates of deposits sold through Stanford International Bank, in Antigua, that allegedly promised "improbable" high interest rates. The FBI is also believed to be investigating Houston-based Stanford Financial Group. See full coverage in FT Alphaville's "Stanford Series". See this article online.
http://ftalphaville.ft.com/blog/2009/02/19/52658/savers-besiege-stanf
| Icap's Spencer sells Numis stake Michael Spencer, founder of inter-dealer broker Icap and Conservative party co-treasurer, has sold his stake in Numis, which was part of a package of shares pledged against loans to his private company, and stepped down as chairman of the City broker. His 12% holding in Numis was included along with the bulk of his Icap stake in the securities used as collateral for a loan from HSBC to the Intercapital Private Group, an investment vehicle in which Spencer, his estranged wife and his children's trusts own a 55.1% stake. See this article online.
http://ftalphaville.ft.com/blog/2009/02/19/52657/icaps-spencer-sells-
| UK tax-take to reveal depth of crisis A sharp deterioration in UK public finances is expected to be revealed on Thursday morning as official figures show extremely weak tax revenues in the crucial month of January and lay bare the cost of the government's capital injections into Britain's banks.
The banking crisis has decimated profitability in the sector, which contributed 25% of corporate tax revenues in recent years. The partial nationalisation of some banks – and their liabilities - will also hit the government's books. See this article online.
http://ftalphaville.ft.com/blog/2009/02/19/52656/uk-tax-take-to-revea
| Zoellick urges EU on eastern Europe Robert Zoellick, World Bank president, has urged the EU to lead co-ordinated global support for the economies of central and eastern Europe, even as divisions emerge in the EU over handling the crisis. Amid the turmoil in eastern European markets, Zoellick told the FT the bank was trying to work with the IMF and other institutions to help the region but needed more support from Brussels. His appeal came as he outlined the World Bank's ambition to help revitalise trade finance in time for the G20 summit in April. See this article online.
http://ftalphaville.ft.com/blog/2009/02/19/52655/zoellick-urges-eu-on
| SocGen takes a Russian hit Société Générale, France's second-biggest bank, on Wednesday put its Russian expansion plans on hold and wrote down some Russian assets but expressed confidence about the outlook for eastern Europe. Growing concerns about the economies of eastern Europe have hammered shares in SocGen, which is more exposed to the region than other French banks; it has a majority stake in Rosbank, of Russia, and owns the Czech Republic's third-largest consumer banking network as well as Romania's second-biggest bank. See this article online.
http://ftalphaville.ft.com/blog/2009/02/19/52659/socgen-takes-a-russi
| MBIA to focus on muni bonds MBIA, once the world's biggest debt insurer, is setting up a new company entirely focused on the US municipal bond market in an effort to leave behind problems stemming from its exposure to mortgage-backed securities. The new group, National Public Finance Guarantee Corp, will have an initial portfolio of $537bn of US municipal debt to be transferred from MBIA. FT Alphaville adds that Moody's, following S&P and in response to MBIA's restructuring plan, on Wednesday downgraded the bond insurer to B3 from Baa1. See this article online.
http://ftalphaville.ft.com/blog/2009/02/19/52654/mbia-to-focus-on-mun
| China deals test Australian rules The head of China Investment Corp, the country's $200bn sovereign wealth fund, flew to Australia to meet its federal treasurer shortly before Rio Tinto announced plans for a $19.5bn cash injection from Chinalco, the state-owned metals group. Lou Jiwei, CIC chairman sought clarity on Australia's foreign investment rules that last year were tightened to highlight "national interest" considerations. News that Lou also met Australian iron-ore producer Fortescue Metals triggered speculation that boosted Fortescue's share price more than 12% on Thursday. Bloomberg adds that Canberra may hold an inquiry into Chinese resources investments. See this article online.
http://ftalphaville.ft.com/blog/2009/02/19/52652/china-deals-test-aus
| Taiwan falls into recession Taiwan has tumbled into recession, suffering a record annual fall in output at the end of last year to become east Asia's worst-performing economy. Data on Wednesday showed Taiwan's GDP shrank an annualised 8.36% in the last quarter of 2008. The figures spurred the Taiwanese central bank to make an unexpected quarter-point cut in the key interest rate, bringing it to a record low of 1.25%. See this article online.
http://ftalphaville.ft.com/blog/2009/02/19/52653/taiwan-falls-into-re
| UK property groups in £3bn calls Shareholders in UK real estate companies are being asked to find more than £3bn in less than four weeks to rescue property groups scrambling for cash to pay down debt as asset values tumble. Land Securities, the largest property company, is now finalising plans for a rights issue of about £750m; Brixton, the industrial property company, on Wednesday confirmed it was considering an equity-raising and Segro also said it was assessing all options. They follow equity raising plans by Hammerson and British Land. See this article online.
http://ftalphaville.ft.com/blog/2009/02/19/52651/uk-property-groups-i
| Carlyle offers IMO debt deal The Carlyle Group, the private equity fund, has told creditors it would stump up £25m to keep control of its buy-out of IMO Carwash, in exchange for its creditors writing off debt. It is the second time Carlyle has had to pump money into IMO Carwash and highlights how buyout groups are struggling to keep control of their investments, often offering to effectively buy the company again. See this article online.
http://ftalphaville.ft.com/blog/2009/02/19/52650/carlyle-offers-imo-d
| Taylor Wimpey nears creditor deal UK housebuilder Taylor Wimpey is in the final stages of discussions to restructure its £1.55bn debt pile, ahead of deadlines next month for debt repayments. The company is expected to strike a deal with its banking syndicate and holders of its private placement bonds in time to seek the approval of other bondholders, who hold about £450m of its debt, by March 10 - in time to get round a planned testing of debt covenants, which has been deferred to March 31. See this article online.
http://ftalphaville.ft.com/blog/2009/02/19/52649/taylor-wimpey-nears-
| Goodyear to slash 5,000 jobs Goodyear, the biggest US tyremaker, on Wednesday said it would slash 5,000 jobs, or nearly 7% of its workforce, and freeze salaries amid weak demand. The move comes less than a week after beleaguered US car parts suppliers formally requested $25.5bn of emergency aid from the Treasury, warning that 1m jobs could be at risk, and a day after GM and Chrysler said they needed up to $21.6bn more in federal funds to return to viability. See this article online.
http://ftalphaville.ft.com/blog/2009/02/19/52648/goodyear-to-slash-50
| Oppenheimer's Whitney resigns Meredith Whitney, the analyst whose prescient bearish warnings on Citigroup and other banks have earned her a strong following, has left Oppenheimer & Co to set up her own research and advisory firm, reports the FT. Whitney, 39, who starts work Thursday at Meredith Whitney Advisory Group, plans to build an advisory business specialising in banks and will apply for a broker-dealer licence. Reuters adds that Whitney is married to John Layfield, a World Wrestling Entertainment champion. See this article online.
http://ftalphaville.ft.com/blog/2009/02/19/52647/oppenheimers-whitney
| Overnight markets: Mixed Asian stocks rose for the first time in four days on Thursday after a mixed performance in Europe and the US, as a weaker yen brightened the earnings prospects for Japanese exporters and Australian commodity producers reported higher profits. Futures on the S&P500 added 0.3% after the index lost 0.1% Wednesday as the Fed cut its growth forecast for the US economy. Asian markets (Thurs)
04:45am GMT
Nikkei up 53.03 (0.70%) to 7,587.47
Topix up 4.39 (0.59%) 753.65
Hang Seng down 53.20 (-0.68%) at 12,962.80 US markets (Wed)
DJIA up 3.03 (0.04%) at 7,555.63
Nasdaq down 2.69 (-0.18%) at 1,467.97
S&P500 down 0.75 (-0.10%) at 788.42 European markets (Wed)
FTSE100 down 27.30 (-0.68) at 4,006.83
Eurofirst 300 down 2.07 (-0.27%) at 763.36 Currencies
04:42 GMT
€/$ 1.2586 (1.2587)
$/¥ 93.53 (92.34)
£/$ 1.4256 (1.4232) Commodities (updated)
04:40 GMT
Brent Crude (Apr09) up $0.30 at $39.85
Light Crude (Mar09) up $0.04 at $34.66
100 Oz Gold (Apr09) up $2.00 at $980.20
Copper (3M 24hr) up $30.00 at $3,240.00 10-year government bond yields (%)
US 2.75 (2.65)
UK 3.37 (3.40)
Germany 3.01 (2.98)
Japan 1.25 (1.26) Sources: FT, Reuters See this article online.
http://ftalphaville.ft.com/blog/2009/02/19/52640/overnight-markets-mi
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