FURTHER FURTHER READING
- Michael Pettis on the China liquidity crunch.
- US housebuilders have been oddly restrained.
- Darpa's robot challenge.
- The housing recovery, brought to you by Wall Street.
- An oral history of "Trading Places", the movie
- While Britain stagnates, America is roaring back.
- Low inflation highlights Fed's dilemma.
ROUND-UP
Shares firm as Fed tapering fears fade: "The better tone to global equity and government bond markets remained in place as a flurry of comments by Federal Reserve officials helped ease concerns that the US central bank could move soon to scale down its economic stimulus measures. World equity markets were certainly looking a lot happier than they were last week. The S&P 500 rose 0.6 per cent, taking its advance over the past three sessions to 2.6 per cent. The FTSE Eurofirst 300 index rose 0.7 per cent, while in Tokyo the Nikkei 225 Average jumped 3 per cent. Chinese stocks steadied after six straight days of falls. Industrial commodities also pushed ahead. Copper ended a fraction firmer in London at $6,740 after Wednesday's 1 per cent slide, while Brent oil settled at $$102.82 a barrel, up $1.16. The yield on the 10-year US government bond was down another 7 basis points at 2.48 per cent, while that on the German Bund fell 4bp to 1.73 per cent." (Financial Times)
Iran, Russia and China prop up Assad economy: "Iran, Russia and China are propping up Syria's war-ravaged economy, with President Bashar al-Assad's regime doing all its business in rials, roubles and renminbi as it seeks to beat western sanctions, according to the country's senior economics minister. Syria's three main allies are supporting international financial transactions, delivering $500m a month in oil and extending credit lines, Kadri Jamil, deputy prime minister for the economy, said in an interview with the Financial Times. He added that its allies would also soon help with a "counter-offensive" against what he called a foreign plot to sink the Syrian pound." (Financial Times)
Corzine charged in connection with misuse of customer funds: "A US regulator has filed civil charges against Jon Corzine, former chief executive of MF Global, and Edith O'Brien, its former assistant treasurer, in connection with the misuse of nearly $1bn of customer funds before the brokerage's 2011 collapse. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission said in a complaint filed in the Southern District of New York that Mr Corzine "failed to supervise diligently the activities of MF Global's officers, employees, and agents"." (Financial Times)
Bank fees rise 9% despite dealmaking dip: "Investment banks revived their fortunes during the first half of the year by generating a 9 per cent rise in fees because of a recovery in capital markets – despite another drop in dealmaking. According to Thomson Reuters, investment banking fees have risen 9 per cent to $36bn this year from the same period in 2012. Of the global fee pool, 59 per cent was generated in the Americas, illustrating how the US market has recovered compared with the rest of the world." (Financial Times)
Fed big-hitters seek to quash QE fears: "Two senior Federal Reserve officials sought to quash perceptions the US central bank is moving quickly towards reeling in support for the US economy, including a rare dig at investors for being "out of sync" with Fed thinking. The remarks mark the clearest attempt by top monetary policy officials to clarify Fed policy after Ben Bernanke, Fed chairman, last week rattled the markets by proposing a timeline for trimming the central bank's $85bn in bond buys later this year." (Financial Times)
Shale puts US in line to be top oil producer: "The shale boom is on course to make the US the world's largest oil producer by 2017, but only if the price of crude stays above about $75 per barrel in the next few years, according to a study described as the most detailed analysis so far of the surge in production in North Dakota and Texas. Leonardo Maugeri of Harvard University, a former head of strategy at Eni, the Italian oil group, said US shale oil production could grow from about 1.5m barrels per day at the end of 2012 to almost 5m b/d in 2017. Together with conventional oil, that would take US crude production close to its previous peak of 10.9m b/d in 1970." (Financial Times)
