Asian stocks fellamid concerns about Cyprus. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index lost 0.3% and the index looks set to close today with the biggest weekly decline since October. (Bloomberg)
Cypriot parliament debates banking bill today: The parliament in Nicosia is due this morning to debate legislation to enable it to qualify for a bailout and prevent the ECB from cutting off emergency liquidity for the country's banks on Monday. The 61-page bill would guarantee deposits up to €100,000 and put Laiki into resolution, and fold deposits above €100,000 into the Laiki 'bad bank'. The government has also tabled seven other bills, including one to to restrict cashing cheques and various other transactions. The eurogroup issued a statement Thursday night saying finance ministers expected a proposal from Cyprus "as rapidly as possible". In Nicosia on Thursday queues formed outside ATMs and several hundred protestors, many of them bank employees, jostled with riot police. (Financial Times)(Bloomberg)(FT Alphaville)(Eurogroup statement)(Reuters)
Top StanChart executives called before US regulators: "The top three executives of Standard Chartered, including its chairman, were summoned to Washington for an unprecedented meeting with US regulators to explain a recent statement playing down the bank's violations of US sanctions laws, a person familiar with the matter said." Chairman Sir John Peace, CEO Peter Sands and finance director Richard Meddings met yesterday with senior Department of Justice officials and Cy Vance, the Manhattan district attorney. This follows the humiliating apology issued to the bank's staff and investors by chairman Sir John Peace on Thursday morning over comments made on March 5. (Financial Times)
Help to Buy scheme could help existing homeowners refinance: "The Treasury's small print makes clear that borrowers cannot use it to remortgage with their existing lender, but adds: "A borrower remortgaging with a new lending institution would, however, still be able to benefit from the scheme." One person close to the government admitted the scheme could help many people who had borrowed at the height of the boom with little or no deposit." (Financial Times)
"The US House of Representatives eliminated the threat of a government shutdown next week, approving on Thursday a stop-gap funding bill that temporarily eases partisan tensions after months of bitter fights over budgets." (Reuters)
BBVA plans $3.5bn Mexican push: The Spanish bank announced the biggest investment by its Latin American subsidiary to date, saying that it would funnel $3.5bn into its BBVA Bancomer Mexico arm over the next three years – $1.3bn to upgrade bank branches, $1.5bn in new technology and the remaining $700m on its corporate headquarters in Mexico City. (Financial Times)
Hedge fund revival: "The first quarter is likely to be one of the strongest ever for some hedge funds, in spite of a host of macroeconomic concerns worrying many mainstream investors. European equity-focused hedge funds have fared particularly well." (Financial Times)
CVC in Matahari share sale: "Private-equity firm CVC Capital Partners has raised around US$1.3 billion from selling nearly half of its stake in Indonesian retailer Matahari Department Store, people with knowledge of the deal said Friday." (Wall Street Journal)
Blackberry chief confident as Z10 enters US market: "Thorsten Heins, BlackBerry's chief executive, acknowledged on Thursday that the company faces a particularly tough battle in the US market, which he described as the "the most competitive" in the world." (Financial Times)
COMMENT AND CURIOS:
- Dijsselbloem's role in the Cyprus mess. (New York Times)
- Essential reading on the Wednesday eurogroup conference call, in case you missed it. (Reuters)
- Chris Giles wins review of ONS decision. (Financial Times)
- The two numbers determining Jamie Dimon's fate. (Financial Times)
- Inside Putin's central bank governor surprise. (Reuters)
- US government to expand cyber security programme into private sector. (Reuters)
- The iTunes Australia price. (Bloomberg)
OVERNIGHT MARKETS: DOWN
Asian markets
Nikkei 225 down -187.31 (-1.48%) at 12,448
Topix down -12.39 (-1.17%) at 1,046
Hang Seng down -86.19 (-0.39%) at 22,140
US markets
S&P 500 down -12.91 (-0.83%) at 1,546
DJIA down -90.24 (-0.62%) at 14,421
Nasdaq down -31.59 (-0.97%) at 3,223
European markets
Eurofirst 300 down -8.16 (-0.68%) at 1,191
FTSE100 down -44.15 (-0.69%) at 6,389
CAC 40 down -54.71 (-1.43%) at 3,775
Dax down -69.46 (-0.87%) at 7,933
Currencies
€/$ 1.29 (1.29)
$/¥ 94.89 (94.88)
£/$ 1.52 (1.52)
Commodities ($)
Brent Crude (ICE) up +0.23 at 107.70
Light Crude (Nymex) up +0.18 at 92.63
100 Oz Gold (Comex) unchanged 0.00 at 1,614
Copper (Comex) up +1.90 at 344.20
10-year government bond yields (%)
US 1.92%
UK 1.86%
Germany 1.36%
CDS (closing levels)
Markit iTraxx SovX Western Europe -1.35bps at 100.55bp
Markit iTraxx Europe +0.49bps at 118.97bp
Markit iTraxx Xover +0.22bps at 477.62bp
Markit CDX IG +1.63bps at 91.06bp
Sources: FT, Bloomberg, Markit
