Good morning New York,
FT ALPHAVILLE
A Greek bond raid: Japonica Partners, a self-styled "entrepreneurial co-investment firm" based in Providence, Rhode Island, has launched a tender offer for almost 10 per cent of all Greek government bonds in circulation. It's ready to buy paper worth €2.9bn at par, paying a minimum of 45 per cent of face value. Paul looks into the details.
Intended consequences and the yen: David notes that the South Korean reaction to Abenomics seems to be missing the point a bit. As Koichi Hamada, economic adviser to Japanese PRime Minister Shinzo Abe, has stressed already: "Each country can take care of itself through its own monetary policy".
NEWS
Turkish stocks tumble after protests: The Borsa Istanbul 100 fell to 79,047 in early trade, more than 8 per cent below the previous close. It then recovered to trade at about 5 per cent down. The lira weakened about 1 per cent against major currencies and yields on government bonds rose about 20 basis points. The market volatility came after Recep Tayyip Erdogan, prime minister, dismissed protesters as "looters" in a series of television appearances on Sunday following the occupation of Taksim Square in Istanbul. He also described Twitter as a "curse" and branded anyone who drank alcohol an alcoholic. (Financial Times)
Oil majors plan extra $1bn Alaska investment: BP, ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips plan to invest an additional $1bn in the North Slope of Alaska over the next five years, in the first sign that the tax reform signed into law last month is making it more attractive to international oil groups. (Financial Times)
Google set to pass Apple as app platform: Apple is set to lose its crown as the world's most popular app platform to Google in the next few months as its rival rapidly closes the downloading gap with the iPad maker. The moment marks the end of one of Apple's longstanding advantages, amid formidable competition from Samsung and new devices from Google's Motorola. (Financial Times)
South Korea says G8 needs to tackle unintended consequences of Abenomics: In an interview, Hyun Oh-seok, the South Korean finance minister and deputy prime minister, said that international co-ordinated action was needed to mitigate the impact of so-called Abenomics on currency markets. The weaker yen had begun to hurt South Korean exports, Mr Hyun said, and was having unforeseen spillover effects on the global economy. (Financial Times)
Glencore, Blackstone eye a Rio Tinto ore business: Commodities giant Glencore Xstrata and private-equity firm Blackstone Group are among the suitors circling the Canadian iron ore operations that Rio Tinto has put on the block, according to people familiar with the matter. (Wall Street Journal)
Wells chief warns Fed over debt proposal: Wells Fargo's chief executive has warned the Federal Reserve against forcing banks to hold more long-term debt, a measure that central bank officials believe will help end the phenomenon of institutions judged "too big to fail". (Financial Times)
SAC sees investors pulling out $3.5bn: SAC Capital Advisors is bracing for investors to pull an estimated $3.5bn from the firm, according to people briefed on the matter, as the hedge-fund giant continues to battle fallout from an intensifying insider-trading probe. (Wall Street Journal)
Analysts predict emerging market rout: The worst month in a year for emerging-market currencies will prove to be more than a momentary bout of weakness to strategists at firms from UBS to Societe Generale who see the Federal Reserve weaning investors off its extraordinary stimulus. (Bloomberg)
Tax probe in France targets UBS unit: Prosecutors are probing whether UBS's French unit helped bankers from the parent company in Switzerland approach and encourage French clients to open Swiss bank accounts that allowed them to evade taxes. Under French law, only French-registered entities can sign up customers in France. (WSJ)
Markets: Asian and European bourses started the month on the back foot with sentiment damped by another slide for Japanese stocks, noted the FT's Global Markets Commentator Jamie Chisholm. Industrial commodities were mixed as traders absorbed contrasting signals on the health of the Chinese manufacturing sector. The dollar index was slightly softer, helping gold gain $9 to $1,395 an ounce. The FTSE All-World equity index was down 0.5 per cent after the Asia-Pacific region excluding Japan shed 0.5 per cent and as the FTSE Eurofirst 300 saw a 0.8 per cent decline. Turkey's stock market has fallen 6 per cent following several days of political violence.
