Asian stocks declined, led by material producers and Chinese developers, on concerns China will step up efforts to cool the property market. The MSCI Asia Pacific was 0.4% lower. (Bloomberg)
Germany defies calls for stimulus: Wolfgang Schäuble says 2014 budget, involving spending cuts of more than €5bn to trim the total below €300bn, was "a strong signal for Europe". (Financial Times)
CFTC probes gold pricing: The US regulator "is examining the setting of prices in London, in which a handful of banks meet twice daily and set the spot price for a troy ounce of physical gold, the people said." (Wall Street Journal)
UBS' Ermotti among highest paid Europe bank CEOs: Sergio Ermotti was the highest earner at UBS last year with a pay package that is expected to be more than SFr8m ($8.4m), making him one of the highest bank chief executives in Europe. (Financial Times)
Transatlantic tussle over trader: The US Department of Justice and the SFO "clashed late last year in their mutual pursuit of Tom Hayes, the former UBS trader who is viewed by prosecutors in both countries as a ringleader of banks' attempts to rig the London interbank offered rate, or Libor, these people said." (Wall Street Journal)
Australian job numbers raise expectations rate-cutting cycle is over. Employment numbers recorded the biggest monthly gain in almost 13 years, keeping the unemployment rate at 5.4% compared to expectations of a rise to 5.5%. The AUD strengthened and government bond yields surged, with all maturities above the RBA's cash rate of 3% for the first time since July 2011. Three-quarters of the new jobs were part-time. (Bloomberg)
JPM-MF Global accord gets court approval: "A bankruptcy judge on Wednesday approved a settlement that will increase JPMorgan Chase & Co's potential recoveries from the liquidation of MF Global Holdings to as much as 76 cents for every dollar in claims." (Reuters)
COMMENT AND CURIOS:
- Citigroup's risk chief a lonely voice supporting derivatives moving to exchanges. (Financial Times)
- China to start monitoring brokers' murky channel business. (Reuters)
- Lex: Blackrock, Fidelity combine in ETF wars. (Financial Times)
OVERNIGHT MAKRETS: MIXED
Asian markets
Nikkei 225 up +90.10 (+0.74%) at 12,330
Topix up +6.39 (+0.62%) at 1,038
Hang Seng down -83.11 (-0.37%) at 22,474
US markets
S&P 500 up +2.04 (+0.13%) at 1,555
DJIA up +5.22 (+0.04%) at 14,455
Nasdaq up +2.80 (+0.09%) at 3,245
European markets
Eurofirst 300 up +0.09 (+0.01%) at 1,194
FTSE100 down -29.12 (-0.45%) at 6,482
CAC 40 down -3.93 (-0.10%) at 3,836
Dax up +4.79 (+0.06%) at 7,971
Currencies
€/$ 1.29 (1.30)
$/¥ 95.99 (96.09)
£/$ 1.49 (1.49)
Commodities ($)
Brent Crude (ICE) down -0.12 at 108.40
Light Crude (Nymex) down -0.25 at 92.27
100 Oz Gold (Comex) down -2.70 at 1,586
Copper (Comex) down -0.95 at 350.00
10-year government bond yields (%)
US 2.03%
UK 1.98%
Germany 1.48%
CDS (closing levels)
Markit iTraxx SovX Western Europe +0.88bps at 97.95bp
Markit iTraxx Xover -0.55bps at 410.14bp
Markit CDX IG -0.77bps at 79.01bp
Sources: FT, Bloomberg, Markit
