Good morning New York,
FT ALPHAVILLE
A Greek bond raid – will it work? And so FT Alphaville comes across "TENDER OFFER MEMORANDUM — INVITATION FOR TENDER IN RESPECT OF BONDS OF THE HELLENIC REPUBLIC": the official launch of Japonica Partners' eye-catching attempt to buy up to 10 per cent of Greece's restructured bonds, in a kind of Dutch auction. And, says Joseph, there's one very important point here.
NEWS
Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and representatives of antigovernment demonstrators struck a compromise early Friday morning, after three-weeks of antigovernment protests marred by deaths and thousands of injuries. (Wall Street Journal) "The meeting on the Gezi Park ended with a positive outcome," tweeted Ibrahim Kalin, Mr Erdogan's chief adviser, referring to the central Istanbul park at the heart of protests that escalated across the country. Turkish financial markets reacted positively on Friday to the news. The Borsa 100, the main stock index, opened 2 per cent higher and in mid-morning trade was 2.76 per cent up. The lira was up 0.23 per cent against the US dollar at 1.8568. (Financial Times)
Bond sales dry up as interest rates rise: "The number of companies tapping the bond market has collapsed as a result of rising interest rates, threatening to halt a global refinancing wave that helped companies boost earnings and strengthen balance sheets. Bond investors have retrenched in the face of increasing market volatility since Fed chairman Ben Bernanke hinted on May 22 at a possible "tapering" of US quantitative easing. This has left companies unable to raise financing on previously beneficial terms." (Financial Times)
Fear Hester exit will speed RBS defections: "The ousting of Stephen Hester as Royal Bank of Scotland's chief executive has sent staff confidence to "rock bottom" and is set to accelerate a recent wave of defections from the group's investment bank, senior insiders have warned. Shares in the bank, which is 82 per cent state-owned, initially fell 8 per cent on Thursday morning, with investors taking fright at the prospect of greater political interference in RBS's management as well as a likely delay of its reprivatisation timetable. The shares later recovered to close down 3 per cent at 315p." (Financial Times)
LNG trade falls for first time in 30 years: The 'BP Statistical Review of World Energy 2013' report said that trade in LNG – supercooled natural gas turned into liquid so it can be shipped – declined 0.9 per cent in 2012 even as Japan bought record amounts of the commodity to offset lower nuclear power generation on the back of the Fukushima accident. (Financial Times)
Iran supreme leader urges large turnout in presidential elections: Friday's vote is Iran's first presidential election since 2009, when a disputed win for Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nejad led to months of unrest in the Islamic Republic. (Financial Times)
House prices in England and Wales top pre-credit crunch high: "House prices in England and Wales rose to a record last month, beating their pre-recession peak, as government measures to boost home ownership started to stimulate the market. A month-on-month rise of 0.4 per cent in May, to £233,061, took the annual growth rate to 2.7 per cent, according to the LSL/Acadametrics house price index, which the Financial Times helped set up." (Financial Times)
Rupert Murdoch filed for divorce: Mr Murdoch's marriage with Wendi Deng Murdoch, his third wife, had "broken down irretrievably for a period of more than six months". Ms Murdoch does not have equity in News Corp, and has no voting rights. (Financial Times)
Ashley Bacon is JPMorgan's new head of risk: Bacon, a Jamie Dimon favourite, survived the heat of a recent Senate hearing into the London Whale trades, having been brought in to deal with the debacle. John Hogan will move from chief risk officer to "chairman of risk" on the bank's operating committee, but is ultimately likely to step down from the group of executives that run JPMorgan. (Financial Times)
"Naturally occurring" human genes cannot be patented, the Supreme Court ruled. However, the decision also said that patents could be valid for synthetic DNA modified in a lab. The case involved patents by Myriad Genetics, a Utah biotech company, on two genes whose mutations have been linked to breast and ovarian cancer. "A naturally occurring DNA segment is a product of nature and not patent-eligible merely because it has been isolated," Justice Clarence Thomas wrote in the unanimous ruling. (Financial Times)
Brazil acts after real hits four-year low: "Brazil has reduced a financial transactions tax on currency derivatives to zero after its currency, the real, hit four-year lows against the dollar on Wednesday. The measure was the second such move in a week to dismantle currency controls as the government sounds a rapid retreat from its earlier "currency war" against foreign capital inflows." (Financial Times)
Hopes for G8 trade and tax deals dented: "Hopes of a deal to boost the world economy at next week's Group of Eight summit were in the balance on Thursday night, as France and Canada resisted a last-minute push for an ambitious trade and tax package. France's refusal to include its film industry in EU-US trade negotiations has thrown into doubt plans to launch talks on Monday, when European leaders meet Barack Obama, US president, at the summit in Northern Ireland." (Financial Times)
Germany seeks to halt EU-Turkey talks over handling of protests: "Germany is seeking to delay EU membership talks with Turkey scheduled for this month, in response to Ankara's crackdown on mass demonstrations that have shaken the government of Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The prospect that the negotiations – a potential turning point in the long and troubled relationship between Ankara and the bloc – could be put on hold came as the Turkish prime minister delivered a "final warning" to protesters that they were no longer safe to remain in Istanbul's Gezi Park, epicentre of the demonstrations." (Financial Times)
Markets: he bulls regained some control of the markets at the end of a turbulent week dominated by wild fluctuations in Japanese equities, with sentiment lifted by signs American consumers were shrugging off tighter fiscal policy. Asian equity markets rebounded after a strong session on Wall Street, leaving the Nikkei 225 up 1.9 per cent. This comes a day after it recorded a 6.8 per cent drop which pushed the index into a bear market for the first time in three years. European investors followed Asia higher, with the Eurofirst 300 index up 0.4 per cent to 1,178.48 and Germany's Dax index up 0.8 per cent. The FTSE All World index is up 0.4 per cent to 239.76 writes the FT's Global Markets paramour Michael Stothard.
