Good morning New York,
FT ALPHAVILLE
The smell of burnt platforms: Joseph tallies up the key points on the Microsoft/Nokia acquisition story.
The all you can eat collateral buffet: Izzy explains why the Fed's touted fixed-rate full allotment reverse repo facility won't necessarily solve the collateral scarcity problem, but could see the Fed becoming a universal banker in its own right.
NEWS
Microsoft is to buy Nokia's mobile phone business and patents for €5.44bn: It's in an all-cash deal that will reshape the telecoms industry on two continents and comprise a big bet that Microsoft can challenge Apple and Samsung. The deal includes €3.79bn for the devices unit and €1.65bnfor patents. Nokia CEO Stephen Elop will step aside to return to Microsoft. Nokia will become a telecoms equipment company, ending a 30-year roller coaster ride with phones. (Financial Times)(Bloomberg)
Vodafone shareholders set for $84bn payout: It would be one of the biggest ever payouts from a corporate asset sale. Verizon Communications agreed on Monday to pay Vodafone $130bn in cash and stock for its 45 per cent stake in their joint venture Verizon Wireless, the largest US mobile operator, in what will be the third biggest deal ever. (Financial Times)
Li says he's confident China will meet economic goals: "Recent data show employment and prices are stable and market expectations have "apparently" improved, Li said in a speech today at the China-ASEAN Expo in Nanning, China, that was broadcast on state television. The economy has "maintained stable development" since the first half and "confidence is increasing," Li said." (Bloomberg)
Banks face new bail-in-able debt requirements: Mark Carney "said the move was a necessary component in the "ambitious" desire of the Group of 20 nations to stop the most important banks from being "too big to fail"." The plan would not be developed until 2015 at the earliest, he said. It's expected the big international banks will have higher requirements. (Financial Times)
Citigroup is dialing back its 'alternative' holdings: "Citigroup has shed more than $6 billion in private-equity and hedge-fund assets in the past month, according to people familiar with the transactions, in order to comply with new regulations limiting banks' holdings of "alternative" investments." (Wall Street Journal)
Japanese government takes over Fukushima strategy: Japan has unveiled a Y47bn ($475m) strategy for dealing with a"n increasingly out-of-control spread of radioactive water at the stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear-power plant, in a move that for the first time gives the national government direct responsibility for cleaning up one of the world's worst nuclear disasters." Tepco shares rose 4.7% on the news. (Wall Street Journal)(FastFT)
Australian retail sales disappoint: "Overall retail sales rose 0.1 per cent in July month on month, against expectations of a 0.4 per cent gain, according to economists polled by Bloomberg." (FastFT)
Markets: Stocks were mostly firmer and "havens" were softer as optimism on the global economy, and more big corporate dealing, encouraged the purchase of growth-focused assets. However, the market remained highly sensitive to the Syrian crisis, and this was shown by a mid-morning dip for European stocks and a jump for oil to $115 a barrel after Russian news agencies reported two ballistic objects had been fired in the Eastern Mediterranean. The FTSE All-World equity index was up 0.2 per cent as futures showed Wall Street's S&P 500 would return from its Labor Day break to post a 13-point gain to 1,646, and as the FTSE Asia Pacific index added 1.4 per cent. Europe's Stoxx 600 was down 0.1 per cent following the missile news, though was well off its lows. (Financial Times)
