Longest winning streak for the Dow in 16 years. The index edged up just 5 points to close at 14455.28 -- registering nine c0nsecutive days of gains for the first time since November 1996. The S&P 500 closed at 1,554.52, within a whisker of its all-time high of 1,565.15 (Reuters).
The new Pope is Argentine, a former Archbishop of Buenos Aires. Jorge Mario Bergoglio will assume the papal name of Francis I, having won on the fifth ballot. As cardinal, he balanced modernising and conservative sides of the Argentine church. Pope Francis is the first Jesuit ever to achieve the papacy, and the first non-European for 1,272 years (Financial Times, Wall Street Journal).
US spy agencies are set to gain access to a vast banking database for the first time. The Treasury's 'FinCEN' records of transactions flagged by banks are open to the FBI, but have so far only become available to the CIA and NSA on a case by case basis (Reuters).
The CFTC is looking into London silver and gold market pricing. The investigation into the fixings for spot prices will assess whether the process, which is organised by banks, is open to market manipulation (Wall Street Journal).
Ina Drew will testify at Friday's US Senate panel into JPMorgan's Whale trades. Drew, the bank's former chief investment officer, took much of the blame in an internal report into the $6bn loss caused by the flawed trades, and had until now maintained a year-long silence following her resignation. Doug Braunstein, a former chief financial officer, will also testify (Financial Times).
FURTHER FURTHER READING
- Why US debt isn't exceptionally crisis-free.
- But also why it might be.
- Flammable ice and planet-cooking: John Kemp on methane hydrates.
- LBOs as sexy investments.
- Why UK fiscal and monetary policies are doomed to collide.
