Lewis ousted as BofA chairman Bank of America chief executive Ken Lewis was stripped of his role as chairman on Wednesday after rebellious shareholders forced BofA's normally quiescent board to replace him with long-time director Walter Massey. Lewis will remain as BofA's chief executive but the passage of a shareholder proposal to separate the dual roles he has held since taking the helm eight years ago is a blow to his standing. The ballot was delayed for hours while BofA scrambled to count the votes after heavy turnout. See this article online.
http://ftalphaville.ft.com/blog/2009/04/30/55321/lewis-ousted-as-bofa
| Fed expects weakness to persist The US Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged on Wednesday, noting that the US economic outlook had "improved modestly" since its March meeting. However, while the pace of decline had slowed, economic activity would remain weak "for a time", it said. The Fed also left open the option of accelerating or extending its purchases of securities at the next policy meeting. Meanwhile new figures showed that US business investment collapsed in the 2009 first quarter even as consumer spending grew again, with the economy overall contracting at an annualised rate of 6.1%. See this article online.
http://ftalphaville.ft.com/blog/2009/04/30/55320/fed-expects-weakness
| Chrysler teeters on the brink Chrysler slid on Wednesday to the brink of bankruptcy as it negotiated with debtholders and the US government ahead of Thursday's government-set deadline for a restructuring plan. People involved in talks between Chrysler and the government said there was a chance Chrysler could avoid bankruptcy. But the Obama administration could also announce as early as Thursday that Chrysler will file for bankruptcy protection in order to restructure its remaining debt and become a viable partner for Fiat, the Italian carmaker. See this article online.
http://ftalphaville.ft.com/blog/2009/04/30/55319/chrysler-teeters-on-
| Goldman bond sale raises questions Goldman Sachs, one of the 19 banks given preliminary results of the US government's stress tests on Friday, on Wednesday sold $2bn of bonds without a federal guarantee to investors. The debt offering, made in the week before the test results are made public, triggered concerns that Goldman was pushing the boundaries of the bank's agreements with regulators to keep the outcome of the tests confidential. Corporate governance experts said it was a clear signal to investors that the preliminary test results were "not unexpected". See this article online.
http://ftalphaville.ft.com/blog/2009/04/30/55318/goldman-bond-sale-ra
| Hedge funds warn on EU plans Hedge fund and private equity executives say that the European Commission's plans for sweeping new regulation of their industries, published on Wednesday in Brussels, could cripple businesses that managed €2,000bn of assets. The proposed rules would require alternative fund managers, rather than funds themselves, to register and seek government authorisation, and would impose strict reporting, governance and risk management standards, including minimum capital requirements. Industry insiders say costs of compliance could be prohibitive for small funds. See this article online.
http://ftalphaville.ft.com/blog/2009/04/30/55317/hedge-funds-warn-on-
| 3i's investors attack £700m rights issue Three of 3i's top 20 investors have attacked the UK private equity company's proposals to launch a rights issue of up to £700m, raising doubts that the group will pursue the plans. Members of 3i's board were briefed last week about the plans of Michael Queen, the chief executive, who replaced Philip Yea in February. Yea had opposed a rights issue before his departure, it emerged Wednesday. Queen wants to use the funds to cut 3i's £2bn in debt but investors said the group could probably pay down the debt from existing cash generation and investment disposals. See this article online.
http://ftalphaville.ft.com/blog/2009/04/30/55316/3is-investors-attack
| Taiwan's stocks rise most since 1991 Taiwan's stock index rose the most since 1991 and the currency rallied after the island allowed Chinese investments for the first time since a civil war ended six decades ago, reports Bloomberg. Far EasTone Telecommunications, Taiwan's third-largest phone company, surged by the 7% daily limit after China Mobile agreed to buy a 12% stake for NT$17.8bn ($529m). Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing and Cathay Financial also advanced by the maximum allowed on speculation more Chinese companies will invest in the island's companies. See this article online.
http://ftalphaville.ft.com/blog/2009/04/30/55315/taiwans-stocks-rise-
| SocGen chairman Bouton to resign Daniel Bouton is to resign as chairman of Société Générale, one of France's biggest banks, next week, ending the controversy over his decision to remain following last year's rogue trading affair that cost the bank €4.9bn ($6.5bn). In a statement on Wednesday, Bouton, who headed the bank for more than a decade, said he would go after next week's annual meeting because of repeated personal attacks that had harmed SocGen's reputation. See FT Alphaville on Bouton's 'belated departure'. See this article online.
http://ftalphaville.ft.com/blog/2009/04/30/55314/socgen-chairman-bout
| Banks cut overseas lending: BIS Banks retreated from foreign lending at the fastest rate since records began 30 years ago in the final quarter of last year, the Bank for International Settlements said Wednesday. The BIS report is the first comprehensive picture of the scramble to repatriate funds and reduce leverage amid the financial chaos of late 2008. Within just three months from October, banks globally cut their portfolios of foreign loans by $1,800bn or 5.4%. See this article online.
http://ftalphaville.ft.com/blog/2009/04/30/55313/banks-cut-overseas-l
| Santander beats expectations Santander of Spain, the eurozone's biggest bank, on Wednesday reported a 5% yoy decline in Q1 net profit to €2.10bn. The fall was smaller than analysts expected and confirmed Santander's position as one of the world's strongest banks amidst the global economic crisis. Santander said its robust net profit, up 8% on the final quarter of 2008, was fuelled by revenue growth and continued control of costs. Net interest income rose in the first quarter to €6.23bn, up 22% from a year ago. See this article online.
http://ftalphaville.ft.com/blog/2009/04/30/55312/santander-beats-expe
| Allianz operating profits fall 41% Allianz, Europe's biggest insurance group by market cap, revealed a sharp drop in operating profits but reassured investors it would not need them – or the government – to shore up the company with fresh capital. Q1 operating profits fell 41% yoy to about €1.3bn ($1.7bn), Allianz said at its annual meeting. Revenues in the quarter rose slightly from €27bn in 2008 to €27.7bn. The figures come ahead of fuller results to be issued next month. Michael Diekmann, chief executive, said Allianz would break even at the net income level in the quarter. See this article online.
http://ftalphaville.ft.com/blog/2009/04/30/55311/allianz-operating-pr
| Shell follows BP with sharp profit fall Royal Dutch Shell expects to cut more jobs this year as it continues to reduce costs amid lower oil prices, its chief executive told the FT. Jeroen van der Veer, who steps down at the end of June, spoke before the release of Q1 results which showed that Shell followed its rival BP in recording a sharp fall in profits. The group suffered a 58% drop in post-tax profits to $3.3bn from $7.78bn a year ago, although the results exceeded analysts' expectations.. See this article online.
http://ftalphaville.ft.com/blog/2009/04/30/55310/shell-follows-bp-wit
| German group wins UK nuclear deal A German consortium on Wednesday bought two UK sites for building new reactors and committed itself to a huge investment programme. RWE and Eon, two German-owned companies that are already large energy suppliers in Britain and have teamed up to build new nuclear plants, bought the sites in Anglesey and Gloucestershire in an auction held by the government's Nuclear Decommissioning Authority. See this article online.
http://ftalphaville.ft.com/blog/2009/04/30/55309/german-group-wins-uk
| Ex-Citi Asia chief launches $1bn fund Citigroup's former top executive in Asia on Wednesday unveiled a $1bn fund focused on acquiring wholesale banking and insurance assets across the region. Robert Morse and two former Citi colleagues launched Primus Financial Holdings, a HK-based firm seeded with capital from a family based in Asia. Morse, 53, and his colleagues aim to capitalise on distressed valuations for assets to build a diversified financial services group that will feature an alternative investments platform, including distressed fixed income. See this article online.
http://ftalphaville.ft.com/blog/2009/04/30/55308/ex-citi-asia-chief-l
| FT Alphaville needs you! Posted at 05:00 by Paul Murphy We know we're the underdog in this particular race. And today is the last day to vote for FT Alphaville in the Webbys - one of the top awards across the internet. We won't ask again after this (well, not this year) but we need your help today. Each Webbys category has a judges' award and also a 'People's Voice' award, where you have the casting vote. Go here (http://pv.webbyawards.com/) to the People's Voice site. Register and find the "Blog - Business" category under the "Marketplace" section. Help us fight off the competition, including from Richard Branson's Business Stripped Bare blog. Thanks for reading - and thanks for your support. See this article online.
http://ftalphaville.ft.com/blog/2009/04/30/55254/important-request-fr
| Overnight markets: Up Asian stocks rose on Thursday, with the regional benchmark index set for its best month in a decade, as better-than-expected Japanese production and US consumer spending fuelled hopes for a global economic recovery. Futures on the S&P500 Index added 0.7% after the gauge rose 2.2% on Wednesday as official figures showed that consumer spending, which accounts for about 70% of the US economy, grew at the fastest pace in two years last quarter.
Asian markets (Thurs)
03:00 BST
Nikkei up 339.87 (4.00%) at 8,833.64
Topix up 29.05 (3.98%) at 841.04
Hang Seng up 457.22 (3.06%) at 15,414.17 US markets (Wed)
S&P500 up 18.48 (2.16%) at 873.64
DJIA up 168.78 (2.11%) at 8,185.73
Nasdaq up 38.13 (2.28%) at 1,711.94 European markets (Wed)
FTSE100 up 93.19 (2.27%) at 4,189.59
Eurofirst 300 up 15.16 (1.89%) at 816.40 Currencies
04:10 BST
€/$ 1.3325 ( 1.3151)
$/¥ 97.53 (96.89)
£/$ 1.4824 (1.4664) Commodities
04:05 BST
Brent Crude (ICE) up $0.37 at $51.15
Light Crude (Nymex) up $0.39 at $51.36
100 Oz Gold (Comex) down $4.20 at $896.30
Copper (Comex) down $0.90 at $200.10 10-year government bond yields (%)
03:50 BST
US 3.09 (3.02)
UK 3.46 ( 3.46)
Germany 3.16 ( 3.16)
Japan 1.45 (1.42) Sources: FT, Bloomberg See this article online.
http://ftalphaville.ft.com/blog/2009/04/30/55277/overnight-markets-up
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