Dimon pledges to fight Whale suits: "Jamie Dimon hit back against allegations that JPMorgan Chase executives misled investors over the bank's "London whale" trading losses, pledging to fight "to the end" against any lawsuits filed in the affair. "There was no hiding, there was no lying, there was no bullshitting. Period," the JPMorgan chief executive said at an industry conference on Tuesday. " (Financial Times)
Apple bonds lose 9% in six weeks: "Investors are nursing losses of up to 9 per cent on Apple's record-breaking $17bn bond offering, less than six weeks after the securities landed in their portfolios. The technology giant tapped the white-hot bond market for the largest debt fundraising to date on April 30, but a sharp turn in interest rates has caused a sell-off in corporate bonds and wiped hundreds of millions of dollars off the value of the offering." (Financial Times)
Investors vent fury at Facebook meeting: "Facebook faced a barrage of complaints from shareholders over the company's depressed stock price at its first annual general meeting on Tuesday, prompting chief executive Mark Zuckerberg to express his own disappointment. The social network's share price remains about 40 per cent below its issue price of $38 more than a year ago. Some investors who bought shares on the private secondary market before the flotation paid more than $40." (Financial Times)
Tech groups urge US to ease security gag: "Google and Facebook have asked the US government to ease a gag order that prohibits the internet companies from revealing the number of national security requests they receive for users' data. The move follows a broader effort by technology companies and advocacy groups in demanding more transparency around US spying programmes." (Financial Times)
US warns EU against exempting film industry from trade talks: "The US government has warned Brussels that EU efforts to placate French demands to exempt its film industry from high-profile transatlantic trade talks could unleash a torrent of demands in Washington for similar reciprocal carve-outs that would imperil a comprehensive deal." (Financial Times)
Emerging market assets suffer in fierce sell-off: "Emerging market currencies, stocks and bonds suffered a fierce sell-off on Tuesday on rising investor concerns over the prospect of the US Federal Reserve reining in its programme of bond-buying to drive down long-term interest rates. Emerging economies have been among the prime beneficiaries of ultra-loose global monetary policy as central banks led by the Fed have flooded financial markets with more than $12tn of extra liquidity since the financial crisis." (Financial Times)
UK banks urged to ease switch to rivals: "Britain's banks will be urged to make it easier for customers to switch to a rival institution, in a cross-party report on raising standards and making the industry more competitive. Andrew Tyrie's banking standards commission believes that more effective competition would be a major driver in tackling the consumer scandals that have dogged the sector." (Financial Times)
Greece pulls the plug on 'extravagant' state broadcaster ERT: "Greece has announced the immediate closure of the state broadcaster ERT as it seeks to comply with a scheme agreed with the EU and International Monetary Fund to cut the public sector payroll by eliminating scores of overstaffed state-owned organisations." (Financial Times)
CBOE pays $6m to SEC for policing failure: "The CBOE has agreed to pay US regulators $6m to settle charges that its inadequate market policing resulted in numerous failings including an instance where it actively interfered with a regulatory investigation. The settlement with the operator of the largest US options exchange marks the first time that the Securities and Exchange Commission has levied a fine for a regulatory failing by a US exchange. " (Financial Times)
COMMENT AND CURIOS
- The real underpinning for equities.
- Technology's influence on the size of government and individual liberties.
- Financialisation as a cause of economic malaise.
- Flowchart of the News Corp split.
- Fiscal fixes for the jobless recovery.
OVERNIGHT MARKETS
Asian markets
Nikkei 225 down -233.75 (-1.76%) at 13,084
Topix down -14.67 (-1.33%) at 1,086
Hang Seng down -260.43 (-1.20%) at 21,355
US markets
S&P 500 down -16.68 (-1.02%) at 1,626
DJIA down -116.57 (-0.76%) at 15,122
Nasdaq down -36.82 (-1.06%) at 3,437
European markets
Eurofirst 300 down -13.70 (-1.15%) at 1,180
FTSE100 down -60.37 (-0.94%) at 6,340
CAC 40 down -53.80 (-1.39%) at 3,811
Dax down -85.23 (-1.03%) at 8,222
Currencies
€/$ 1.33 (1.33)
$/¥ 96.29 (96.01)
£/$ 1.56 (1.56)
Commodities ($)
Brent Crude (ICE) down -0.41 at 102.55
Light Crude (Nymex) down -0.60 at 94.78
100 Oz Gold (Comex) up +0.10 at 1,377
Copper (Comex) unchanged 0.00 at 3.19
10-year government bond yields (%)
US 2.20%
UK 2.19%
Germany 1.60%
CDS (closing levels)
Markit iTraxx SovX Western Europe +1.88bps at 89.22bp
Markit iTraxx Europe +3.58bps at 110.9bp
Markit iTraxx Xover +11.54bps at 463.08bp
Markit CDX IG +1.52bps at 85.46bp
Sources: FT, Bloomberg, Markit
