Tuesday, March 31, 2009

UK Notebook

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FT.com
 All times are London time: Wednesday Apr 01 2009

FT.com - Columnists, Notebook
Gravy train rolls for regulators
Mar 31 2009 19:49
The FSA is under fire for failing to prevent disaster at the Dunfermline Building Society, yet it is still handing out employee bonuses, writes Sue Cameron Read more »


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© Copyright The Financial Times Ltd 2009. "FT" and "Financial Times" are trademarks of the Financial Times.
The Financial Times Limited, registered in England and Wales number 227590. Registered office: Number One Southwark Bridge, London SE1 9HL. VAT number GB 278 5371 21.


Comment from FT.com

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FT.com
 All times are London time: Wednesday Apr 01 2009


Advertisement1 FT.com - Comment and analysis
Why G20 leaders will fail to deal with the big challenge
Mar 31 2009 19:10
The G20 summit is dealing with the short-term symptoms of chronic global excess. The world economy cannot be safely balanced by a small number of countries spending themselves into bankruptcy. Finding a longer-term cure for the illness still lies ahead, writes Martin Wolf Read more »

From the fat cats to long tails: when all is not normal
Mar 31 2009 19:35
Extreme adverse events happen much more often than they are supposed to in the world of classical statistics. This explains why it is so damaging to be out of the market even for a few days, if they happen to be the wrong days, writes John Kay Read more »

Britain is not a regulatory island
Mar 31 2009 19:52
The UK has resisted any processes that would curtail its sovereignty or independence. This may not be in its interest, writes Callum McCarthy Read more »

Asia is the victim if the bond bubble bursts
Mar 31 2009 20:00
If a guarantee scheme were created, Asian savers might invest directly in capital-hungry US industries, writes Yu Qiao Read more »



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© Copyright The Financial Times Ltd 2009. "FT" and "Financial Times" are trademarks of the Financial Times.
The Financial Times Limited, registered in England and Wales number 227590. Registered office: Number One Southwark Bridge, London SE1 9HL. VAT number GB 278 5371 21.


Analysis from Martin Wolf at FT.com

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FT.com
 All times are London time: Wednesday Apr 01 2009

FT.com - Martin Wolf
Why G20 leaders will fail to deal with the big challenge
Mar 31 2009 19:10
The G20 summit is dealing with the short-term symptoms of chronic global excess. The world economy cannot be safely balanced by a small number of countries spending themselves into bankruptcy. Finding a longer-term cure for the illness still lies ahead, writes Martin Wolf Read more »


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© Copyright The Financial Times Ltd 2009. "FT" and "Financial Times" are trademarks of the Financial Times.
The Financial Times Limited, registered in England and Wales number 227590. Registered office: Number One Southwark Bridge, London SE1 9HL. VAT number GB 278 5371 21.


Comment from FT.com

 View an online version of this email here.

FT.com
 All times are London time: Wednesday Apr 01 2009


Advertisement1 FT.com - Opinion
Asia is the victim if the bond bubble bursts
Mar 31 2009 20:00
If a guarantee scheme were created, Asian savers might invest directly in capital-hungry US industries, writes Yu Qiao Read more »

Britain is not a regulatory island
Mar 31 2009 19:52
The UK has resisted any processes that would curtail its sovereignty or independence. This may not be in its interest, writes Callum McCarthy Read more »



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© Copyright The Financial Times Ltd 2009. "FT" and "Financial Times" are trademarks of the Financial Times.
The Financial Times Limited, registered in England and Wales number 227590. Registered office: Number One Southwark Bridge, London SE1 9HL. VAT number GB 278 5371 21.


The 6am Cut

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The 6AM Cut - A news by email service from FT.com's Alphaville

Today's Topics:

Henderson calls for 'reinvented' GM
Unusual bankruptcy in store for GM
Barclays in talks with CVC on iShares
Merrill's $3.6bn bonuses under fire
Google poised for VC launch
Seven bidders circle Satyam
Japan outlines new stimulus plan
Japan's 'tankan' confidence slides
Brussels weighs WestLB decision
Santander sells Cepsa stake to Ipic
Court restricts voting in Fortis sale
Solvay bid talk boosts drugs stocks
Macquarie sues rebels over toll road
Myners fights calls for resignation
Goldman's partners leave after fund losses
Overnight markets: Up

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Henderson calls for 'reinvented' GM

In Categories: Capital markets, People
Posted at 05:17 by Gwen Robinson

GM is to close more car plants, lay off more workers and speed up consolidation of dealers in response to the US government's demand for faster restructuring, its new chief executive said Tuesday. Just days after taking over from ousted chief Rick Wagoner, Fritz Henderson said there was a need to "reinvent GM" within 2009. He again raised the prospect of bankruptcy filing if GM cannot secure agreement with the auto workers union and its bondholders by June 1.

See this article online.
http://ftalphaville.ft.com/blog/2009/04/01/54277/henderson-calls-for-

Unusual bankruptcy in store for GM

In Categories: Capital markets
Posted at 05:15 by Gwen Robinson

The US government is seeking to ease GM into what it calls a "controlled" bankruptcy, somewhere between a prepackaged bankruptcy and court chaos, by persuading at least some creditors to agree to a plan that would cleave the company into two, reports the NYT. Instead of signing on every creditor as is typically required in prepackaged deals, officials are using as leverage the promise of taxpayer financing.

See this article online.
http://ftalphaville.ft.com/blog/2009/04/01/54276/unusual-bankruptcy-i

Barclays in talks with CVC on iShares

In Categories: M&A, Capital markets, Private equity
Posted at 05:14 by Gwen Robinson

Barclays has entered exclusive negotiations with UK buyout group CVC Capital Partners to sell the exchange traded funds business of its iShares subsidiary for about £3bn. The deal excludes iShares securities lending arm. CVC, which last year raised an €11bn ($14.6bn) fund, beat bids by two rival consortia. The deal would be 60-70% financed by a loan from Barclays, which will also receive warrants worth 20% of the equity in the buy-out.

See this article online.
http://ftalphaville.ft.com/blog/2009/04/01/54275/barclays-in-talks-wi

Merrill's $3.6bn bonuses under fire

In Categories: Capital markets, People
Posted at 05:13 by Gwen Robinson

A senior Democratic congressman has demanded that the Treasury and Federal Reserve disclose what they knew about $3.6bn in bonuses Merrill Lynch paid out last year, days before its government-brokered take-over by Bank of America. Dennis Kucinich, chairman of an investigative House subcommittee, said the Merrill pay-outs were a bigger scandal than the $165m AIG bonuses, which triggered a backlash when they came to light this month.

See this article online.
http://ftalphaville.ft.com/blog/2009/04/01/54274/merrills-36bn-bonuse

Google poised for VC launch

In Categories: M&A, Capital markets, Private equity, People
Posted at 05:12 by Gwen Robinson

Google on Tuesday moved to extend its already outsized influence over Silicon Valley with plans to join the top venture capital firms that dominate the region's thriving start-up business. Though it planned to invest just $100m in its first year, Google's new financing arm, Google Ventures, announced Tuesday, would steadily expand its VC investment strategy, said the new group's managing partners, Bill Maris and Rich Miner.

See this article online.
http://ftalphaville.ft.com/blog/2009/04/01/54273/google-poised-for-vc

Seven bidders circle Satyam

In Categories: M&A, Capital markets
Posted at 05:11 by Gwen Robinson

The caretaker board of scandal-hit Satyam Computer Services, India's fourth-largest computer group, expects to sell the company by mid-April in a highly unusual transaction. Bidders are being warned there are no reliable financial accounts nor assessments of the potential liability from shareholder suits. Despite the doubt, Satyam's offer to sell a 51% stake has drawn seven bidders, including Indian companies Larsen & Toubro and Tech Mahindra.

See this article online.
http://ftalphaville.ft.com/blog/2009/04/01/54272/seven-bidders-circle

Japan outlines new stimulus plan

In Categories: Capital markets, People
Posted at 05:10 by Gwen Robinson

Japan's prime minister Taro Aso on Tuesday instructed his ministers to compile a new economic stimulus package "as soon as possible before mid-April" in addition to a longer-term programme for growth. Aso failed to indicate how much more spending the new measures would entail, saying only that the cost of the package would depend on the details, but with the new package, Japan's fiscal spending is likely to easily exceed the 2% of GDP recommended by the IMF.

See this article online.
http://ftalphaville.ft.com/blog/2009/04/01/54278/japan-outlines-new-s

Japan's 'tankan' confidence slides

In Categories: Capital markets
Posted at 05:10 by Gwen Robinson

Japan's slide into its worst postwar recession drove manufacturer confidence to a record low and prompted executives to signal more spending and job cuts, according to Japan's quarterly 'tankan' survey issued Wednesday, reports Bloomberg.  The Bank of Japan's Tankan index of sentiment among large makers of cars, electronics and other goods slid more than forecast to minus-58 in March from minus-24 in December, the lowest since the survey began in 1974.

See this article online.
http://ftalphaville.ft.com/blog/2009/04/01/54271/japans-tankan-confid

Brussels weighs WestLB decision

In Categories: M&A, Capital markets
Posted at 05:09 by Gwen Robinson

The European Commission is aiming to take a decision on restructuring plans at WestLB, the ailing German regional bank, before the summer, antitrust officials said Tuesday. Last week, the bank's owners accepted that attempts to engineer a merger of WestLB with other players in Germany's state-owned Landesbanken sector had failed, and said they would sell the bank through an auction.

See this article online.
http://ftalphaville.ft.com/blog/2009/04/01/54270/brussels-weighs-west

Santander sells Cepsa stake to Ipic

In Categories: Capital markets
Posted at 05:07 by Gwen Robinson

Santander, Spain's biggest bank, on Tuesday agreed to sell its 32.5% stake in oil refiner Cepsa to the International Petroleum Investment Company (Ipic) of Abu Dhabi for about €2.8bn ($3.8bn). Unión Fenosa, the Spanish electricity group, will sell its 5% stake in Cepsa as part of the same deal. Ipic will pay €3.3bn in total to lift its current 9.5% stake to about 47%, making it the second biggest shareholder after Total of France.

See this article online.
http://ftalphaville.ft.com/blog/2009/04/01/54269/santander-sells-ceps

Court restricts voting in Fortis sale

In Categories: M&A, Capital markets
Posted at 05:05 by Gwen Robinson

Fortis Bank's proposed sale to BNP Paribas faced renewed uncertainty on Tuesday after a Belgian court restricted the pool of shareholders entitled to vote on the sale to a faction that rejected a similar deal in February. The ruling was dismissed as "a joke" by Karel De Boeck, the chief executive of Fortis Holding, the Belgian bank's parent company that on Tuesday unveiled a €28bn ($37bn) loss for 2008.

See this article online.
http://ftalphaville.ft.com/blog/2009/04/01/54268/court-restricts-voti

Solvay bid talk boosts drugs stocks

In Categories: M&A, Capital markets
Posted at 05:03 by Gwen Robinson

Belgium's Solvay was in focus on Tuesday amid talk that a large European drugmaker was eyeing a possible bid for the chemicals and pharmaceuticals group. One suggestion was that a larger peer might try to prise away Solvay's drug business. Any deal would hinge on Solvac, a holding company which owns 30% of Solvay's shares and mostly acts on behalf of relatives of Ernest Solvay, the company's founder. It is thought that Solvac would oppose any takeover.

See this article online.
http://ftalphaville.ft.com/blog/2009/04/01/54267/solvay-bid-talk-boos

Macquarie sues rebels over toll road

In Categories: Capital markets, People
Posted at 05:02 by Gwen Robinson

Macquarie Group has moved to protect its financial exposure to BrisConnections, an A$4.8bn ($3.3bn) Queensland toll road project whose partly-paid shares have fallen by 99% since their catastrophic market debut last year. The Australian investment bank – which was BrisConnections' adviser, sponsor and joint underwriter for A$1.17bn of equity – is taking legal action to compel rebel shareholders to meet "contractual obligations" to pay funds owed to the company by April 29. See FT Alphaville's take here.

See this article online.
http://ftalphaville.ft.com/blog/2009/04/01/54266/macquarie-sues-rebel

Myners fights calls for resignation

In Categories: People
Posted at 04:59 by Gwen Robinson

Lord Myners, the UK's City minister, was fighting opposition calls for his resignation on Tuesday night over his account of how a £700,000 annual pension was awarded to Sir Fred Goodwin, former RBS chief executive. The calls came after Sir Tom McKillop, former RBS chairman, gave his version of events in a letter to the Treasury select committee aimed at rebutting what he called the minister's "unfair and unjustified" allegations about the award of the £16m pension pot.

See this article online.
http://ftalphaville.ft.com/blog/2009/04/01/54265/myners-fights-calls-

Goldman's partners leave after fund losses

In Categories: Capital markets, Hedge funds, People
Posted at 04:56 by Gwen Robinson

Two Goldman Sachs partners who helped lead Wall Street's so-called quantitative investment wave have left the firm after large losses at their marquee fund, known as Global Alpha, during the global credit crisis. Goldman told clients on Tuesday that Mark Carhart and Ray Iwanowski, managing directors and co-heads of its quantitative investment strategy team, had left the bank along with another team member.

See this article online.
http://ftalphaville.ft.com/blog/2009/04/01/54264/goldmans-partners-le

Overnight markets: Up

In Categories: Capital markets
Posted at 04:47 by Gwen Robinson

Asian stocks gained on Wednesday, led by automakers and commodity producers, on speculation the US will let carmakers GM and Chrysler fail, and after raw- material prices rose. Futures on the S&P500 index slumped 1%  following the gauge's 1.3% rally on Tuesday, as news of the US government's plans for the automakers emerged.
Asian markets (Wed)
03:50 BST

Nikkei  up 242.15 (2.99%) at 8,352
Topix up 22.09  (2.91%) at 795
Hang Seng up 54.95 (0.40%) at 13,631

US markets  (Tues)
DJIA up 86.90 (1.16%) at 7,608.92
Nasdaq up 26.79 (1.78%) at 1,528.59
S&P500 up 10.34 (1.31%) at 797.87

European markets (Tues)
FTSE100 up 163.23  (4.34%) at 3,926
Eurofirst 300 up 24.59 (3.47%) at 734

Currencies
02:00 BST
€/$ 1.3218  (1.3263)
$/¥ 98.74 (97.73)
£/$  1.43070 (1.4261)

Commodities (updated)
01:40 BST
Brent Crude (ICE) down $0.98 at $48.25
Light Crude (Nymex) down $1.16 at $48.50
100 Oz Gold (Comex) down $2.20 at $922.80
Copper (Comex) down $0.45 at $184.00

10-year government bond yields (%)
US 2.73  (2.73)
UK  2.68 (3.16)
Eurozone 2.99 (2.98)
Japan 1.34 (1.33)

Sources: FT, Bloomberg

See this article online.
http://ftalphaville.ft.com/blog/2009/04/01/54219/overnight-markets-up

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� Copyright The Financial Times Ltd 2009. "FT" and "Financial Times" are trademarks of the Financial Times.
The Financial Times Limited, registered in England and Wales number 227590. Registered office: Number One Southwark Bridge, London SE1 9HL. VAT number GB 278 5371 21.

In today's FT

 View an online version of this email here.

FT.com
 All times are London time: Wednesday Apr 01 2009


Advertisement1 Financial Times - UK Homepage
Aso lays bare G20 split on downturn
Mar 31 2009 23:40
Taro Aso has dismissed Angela Merkel's warnings about the risks of excessive public spending in the global downturn, saying Germany has failed to understand why strong fiscal action is vital for recovery Read more »

London braced for G20 onslaught
Mar 31 2009 18:55
Businesses in the heart of the Square Mile financial district went into a pre-summit lockdown as thousands of protesters were expected to converge on the City, where they will march on the Bank of England Read more »

India's economy better bet than China
Mar 31 2009 23:20
Democracies have a far better chance of sustaining economic reform than one party states Manmohan Singh, India's prime minister, has told the Financial Times in a rare top-level assertion of his country over neighbouring China Read more »

Financial Times - US homepage
Henderson calls for 'reinvented' GM
Mar 31 2009 20:38
General Motors is set to close more car plants, lay off more workers and speed up consolidation of its dealer network as part of its response to the US government's demand for faster and deeper restructuring Read more »

London braces for G20 onslaught
Mar 31 2009 18:55
Businesses in the heart of the Square Mile, London's financial district, went into a pre-summit lockdown as thousands of anti-G20 protesters are expected to converge on the City, where they will march on the Bank of England Read more »

Obama faces lonely struggle
Mar 31 2009 19:46
Barack Obama enters his first real moment of global diplomacy in London with a paradox: he is the most popular US president in a generation but you would have to go back more than two generations to find one with fewer cards to play Read more »

Financial Times - Europe homepage
Aso lays bare G20 split on downturn
Mar 31 2009 23:40
Taro Aso has dismissed Angela Merkel's warnings about the risks of excessive public spending in the global downturn, saying Germany has failed to understand why strong fiscal action is vital for recovery Read more »

London braced for G20 onslaught
Mar 31 2009 18:55
Businesses in the heart of the Square Mile financial district went into a pre-summit lockdown as thousands of protesters were expected to converge on the City, where they will march on the Bank of England Read more »

Call for urgent Ukraine reform
Mar 31 2009 22:50
Viktor Yushchenko, Ukraine's president, called for urgent economic and political reforms in response to a huge drop in the country's output Read more »

Financial Times - Asia homepage
Aso lays bare G20 split on downturn
Mar 31 2009 23:40
Taro Aso has dismissed Angela Merkel's warnings about the risks of excessive public spending in the global downturn, saying Germany has failed to understand why strong fiscal action is vital for recovery Read more »

India's economy better bet than China
Mar 31 2009 23:20
Democracies have a far better chance of sustaining economic reform than one party states Manmohan Singh, India's prime minister, has told the Financial Times in a rare top-level assertion of his country over neighbouring China Read more »

London braced for G20 onslaught
Mar 31 2009 18:55
Businesses in the heart of the Square Mile financial district went into a pre-summit lockdown as thousands of protesters were expected to converge on the City, where they will march on the Bank of England Read more »

FT.com - World
Aso lays bare G20 split on downturn
Mar 31 2009 23:40
Taro Aso has dismissed Angela Merkel's warnings about the risks of excessive public spending in the global downturn, saying Germany has failed to understand why strong fiscal action is vital for recovery Read more »

India's economy better bet than China
Mar 31 2009 23:20
Democracies have a far better chance of sustaining economic reform than one party states Manmohan Singh, India's prime minister, has told the Financial Times in a rare top-level assertion of his country over neighbouring China Read more »

London braced for G20 onslaught
Mar 31 2009 18:55
Businesses in the heart of the Square Mile financial district went into a pre-summit lockdown as thousands of protesters were expected to converge on the City, where they will march on the Bank of England Read more »

'Tarp cop' launches probes into bail-out fraud
Mar 31 2009 21:30
US authorities have launched more than a dozen criminal investigations into possible fraud involving bank bail-out funds, the special inspector-general for the troubled assets relief programme told Congress Read more »

Obama faces lonely struggle
Mar 31 2009 19:46
Barack Obama's first real global diplomatic moment begins with a paradox: he is the most popular US president in a generation, but you would have to go back more than two generations to find one with fewer cards to play Read more »

FT.com - Companies
Henderson calls for 'reinvented' GM
Mar 31 2009 20:38
General Motors is set to close more car plants, lay off more workers and speed up consolidation of its dealer network as part of its response to the US government's demand for faster and deeper restructuring Read more »

GM seeks £600m aid for Vauxhall, union claims
Mar 31 2009 22:52
General Motors has confirmed it had spoken to the UK government, but denied it had made a specific financial request Read more »

Google poised for venture capital launch
Mar 31 2009 19:23
Google unveiled plans to join leading venture capital firms that dominate the Silicon Valley region's thriving start-up business, committing to invest $100m in its first year Read more »

Sun-Times files for Chapter 11
Mar 31 2009 18:22
The Sun-Times Media Group, publisher of the Chicago Sun-Times and 58 smaller newspapers in the Chicago suburbs, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Read more »

M&S's Rose shrugs off investor unrest
Mar 31 2009 15:15
Shares in the UK retailer rose 12 per cent after it reported a better-than-expected trading performance, offering Sir Stuart some respite from investor concerns about trading, his role as executive chairman and succession planning at the retailer Read more »

FT.com - Financial Markets News
Overview: Risk appetite returns in spite of gloom
Mar 31 2009 22:26
A more optimistic mood comes despite worse than expected data in the US on house prices and generally downcast reports on the world's economy Read more »

Wall Street financials bounce back
Mar 31 2009 22:19
Wall Street rallied, taking the benchmark S&P 500 index to its best month since 2002 as buyers eyed bargains after Monday's heavy sell-offs Read more »

Retailers stand out as FTSE rebounds
Mar 31 2009 23:21
Marks & Spencer was the stand out gainer on the FTSE 100, as London's equities market rebounded from the previous session's sharp sell off Read more »

Euro advances in spite of downbeat data
Mar 31 2009 18:38
The euro advanced as trading was dominated by rebalancing flows ahead of the month end Read more »

USDA predicts fall in crop sowings
Mar 31 2009 19:05
The expected 2.8% drop to 246m acres breaks a string of four years of cropland increases and the decline in acreage is likely to lift food prices Read more »

FT.com - Comment and analysis
Why G20 leaders will fail to deal with the big challenge
Mar 31 2009 19:10
The G20 summit is dealing with the short-term symptoms of chronic global excess. The world economy cannot be safely balanced by a small number of countries spending themselves into bankruptcy. Finding a longer-term cure for the illness still lies ahead, writes Martin Wolf Read more »

From the fat cats to long tails: when all is not normal
Mar 31 2009 19:35
Extreme adverse events happen much more often than they are supposed to in the world of classical statistics. This explains why it is so damaging to be out of the market even for a few days, if they happen to be the wrong days, writes John Kay Read more »

Britain is not a regulatory island
Mar 31 2009 19:52
The UK has resisted any processes that would curtail its sovereignty or independence. This may not be in its interest, writes Callum McCarthy Read more »

Asia is the victim if the bond bubble bursts
Mar 31 2009 20:00
If a guarantee scheme were created, Asian savers might invest directly in capital-hungry US industries, writes Yu Qiao Read more »

FT.com - Business Life
Accidental entrepreneurs
Mar 31 2009 22:31
Some have found success after never imagining they would start a business Read more »

A scientist's place in the sun
Mar 31 2009 22:31
Nikolaus Meyer quit academia to launch a thin-film solar technology company Read more »



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You have received this email because you have signed up for this briefing on FT.com

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© Copyright The Financial Times Ltd 2009. "FT" and "Financial Times" are trademarks of the Financial Times.
The Financial Times Limited, registered in England and Wales number 227590. Registered office: Number One Southwark Bridge, London SE1 9HL. VAT number GB 278 5371 21.