Good morning New York,
FT ALPHAVILLE
Ah, we've finally worked out what Blinkx does: Paul attempts to shine a light on what blinkx plc actually does.
When the ill-defined problem meets the unproven solution: Cardiff asks to what extent does the Fed's decision this week on whether to taper — and if so, by how much — rely on a trend that nobody can explain?
A Judge, a journo and ENRC: Paul brings us fresh, intriguing developments in the acrimonious dust-up between Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation and Sir Paul Judge, the City grandee who stepped down from ENRC's board in June.
NEWS
UK raises £3bn from Lloyds Bank share sale: The UK government has raised £3.2bn from the sale of a 6 per cent stake in Lloyds Banking Group, it confirmed on Tuesday, in the first stage of the reprivatisation of the high street lender. The sale – the UK's second-biggest share placing ever – is a milestone in Lloyds' recovery, which has gathered pace in the past year as António Horta-Osório, chief executive, has steered the group back into profit. (Financial Times)
Janet Yellen has "emerged as the front-runner" to become the White House's nominee to lead the Fed, but president Obama hasn't yet made a final decision, an official said. The announcement would not be made this week but would occur during autumn, said spokesman Jay Carney, noting that season begins next week. (Wall Street Journal)
Europe car sales fall again in August as VW slumps: European car sales resumed their downward path in August after posting a rare rise in July, with market leader Volkswagen dragging down the overall market. Car sales in Europe, a bogey market for the global industry, have fallen in six of the first eight months of 2013, a slump that has seen traditional volume manufacturers report billion-dollar losses and sparked a series of factory closures. (Financial Times)
JPMorgan in talks to pay $800m 'whale' fine: The deal, which could be announced this week, would include the SEC, the Fed, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Financial Conduct Authority; but not the CFTC. The bank has balked at the CFTC's seeking a fine and an admission it manipulated the IG9 CDS index. The pact with other regulators will include admissions — but "they are expected to be in line with statements already made by Jamie Dimon". (Financial Times)
Lloyds stake sale hailed as UK confidence vote: "[T]he apparently healthy investor appetite for the 4.28bn shares that are being sold is deemed by the chancellor to be further evidence that the British economy is "healing" after the financial crash…" Bankers agree. "Investors are making a call on the UK," said one involved in the deal. (Financial Times, and further)
China may have decelerated in August on slowing real estate activity: "The Conference Board's leading economic index for China rose 0.7 per cent in August. That follows a 1.4 per cent jump in July and 0.8 per cent jump in June." (FastFT)
PwC's Berkeley audit probed: UK regulator the Financial Reporting Council is investigating whether PwC was independent when it audited the accounts of housebuilder Berkeley Group last year. "People with knowledge of the matter said the probe concerned the role of Glyn Barker, a PwC partner who became a non-executive director on Berkeley's board during the year in question." (Financial Times)
Saudi Arabia is pumping the most crude oil since the 1970s to meet world demand. (Financial Times)
Japan warned US of blackout risk in appeal for LNG: Japan warned the US it faced a high risk of blackouts which would threaten the global economy as it prepared to idle its last nuclear plants in March last year, US Dept of Energy documents released under FOI show. (Bloomberg)
TCI has asked the board of EADS to transfer its €4bn stake in Dassault Aviation directly to shareholders, saying such a method "avoid selling the stake at an unattractive price". The French government has a pre-emptive deal on the stake. (Financial Times)
Markets: The "end of Summers" rally was giving way to the "autumn of QE" caution as investors tweaked positions ahead of the Federal Reserve's decision on whether to begin tapering its asset purchase programme. The dollar index was down 0.1 per cent at 81.19, gold was up five bucks to $1,319 an ounce and industrial commodities are marginally softer, with copper retreating 0.2 per cent to $3.21 a pound. Europe's Stoxx 600 was down 0.3 per cent after the Asia-Pacific region slippeded 0.5 per cent and as US index futures suggested the S&P 500 would ease 1 point to 1,697. After a bullish start to the week, the mood was decidedly more wary. Global stocks hit a five-year high on Monday and the S&P 500 came within several points of last month's record of 1,710 as investors seemed to welcome the withdrawal of Larry Summers from the running as Fed chairman.
