Good morning New York,
FT ALPHAVILLE
Peak estate agency: Dan wonders what a high profile real-estate agent IPO really tells us about valuations in the market.
RBI springs its own surprise: David notes that nobody sees anything coming these days. New RBI governor Raghuram Rajan followed the Fed's decision to not taper with his own unexpected move — the RBI raised its key interest rate by 25 basis points, citing the threat of rising inflation.
Freudian, sorry, Fantasy M&A: Joseph presents about 124 pages of insanely frenetic speculation from the SocGen analysts on deals that could be made, now that M&A activity is coming back a bit — but it's interspersed with weirdly melancholic reflections on the whole point of dealmaking. It's one of the oddest fantasy M&A notes he's ever seen.
NEWS
Foxtons soars on debut: Foxtons made a strong stock market debut on Friday, providing further evidence of a recovery in both share offerings and the residential property market in the UK. The estate agent said it had raised at least £390m from investors after its shares secured a top-of-the range price of 230p, giving the group an initial market capitalisation of at least £649m. (Financial Times)
Hank Paulson warns of regulatory conflict, the risk that competing financial regulations could "devolve into financial protectionism". The former US Treasury secretary said reforms put in place after the 2008 crisis could lead to "walling off markets, constricting cross-border access to capital and conflicting requirements for global firms" while supporting "regulators, exchange, clearing houses or national financial institutions". (Financial Times)
Fed's decision raises heat on Yellen: Fed's decision has triggered a backlash among Republican lawmakers unhappy with the protracted easy-money policy, and raised pressure from the right on Janet Yellen, the frontrunner to take the helm of the central bank. (Financial Times)
EU, Singapore finalize details of far-reaching trade deal: "The European Union and Singapore submitted for approval on Friday one of the world's most comprehensive free trade agreements, which the EU sees as a stepping stone towards a wider deal with southeast Asia… Subject to approval in Singapore and by the 28 EU member states and the European Parliament, the agreement should enter into force in late 2014 or early 2015." (Reuters)
Goldman hit by New York Fed error: Goldman Sachs suffered a loss when a clerical error by the New York Federal Reserve left the bank without any of the three-month Treasury bills it had ordered at a government debt auction, people familiar with the matter said. As a result of the over-allotment of the six-month bills, Goldman went over the 35 per cent Treasury limit that a bidder can acquire in an auction. The Treasury waived that rule while letting the results of the auction stand, and there will likely be no additional remedies for the bank, a person familiar with the matter said. (Financial Times)
House Republicans Pass Deep Cuts in Food Stamps: "House Republicans narrowly pushed through a bill on Thursday that slashes billions of dollars from the food stamp program, over the objections of Democrats and a veto threat from President Obama." (NYT) (And an NYT editorial lambasting the move)
US and UK steer clear of Brazil oil auction: The auction drew only a quarter of bidders expected by the government, as concerns rise over onerous state controls in the industry. (Financial Times)
Criminal networks blamed for Nigeria oil theft: Criminal networks stole at least 100,000 barrels a day of oil in Nigeria in the first quarter of 2013 and sold it to buyers in west Africa, Europe, Asia and the Americas, according to a new report. The large-scale theft of crude and related pipeline sabotage reduced output in Africa's largest oil producer to below 2m b/d this summer, a four-year low. (Financial Times)
Empire State Realty, whose properties include New York's Empire State Building, files for $1bn IPO: The company aims to offer 71.5m shares priced at between $13 and $15 each, and expects to list on the New York Stock Exchange, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing. (Financial Times)
Admin costs for BP spill settlement soar above $600m: The programme has now paid more than a dollar in administration for every six it distributed in compensation. The settlement administrators have received more than 221,000 claims, and about 12,000 more are coming in every week. The office has employed about 2,200 full-time equivalent staff. Compensation payments have reached $3.6bn, and are on course to exceed by far BP's original estimate of $7.8bn for the total cost of the settlement. (Finanial Times)
S&P warns exchange glitches could trigger downgrade: "We account for some operational risk in our ratings already, but as technical problems occur more frequently, operational risk is becoming a more important in our analysis and could result in downward pressure on ratings over the next few years," analysts at S&P said. (Financial Times)
Belarus leader hints at Potash truce: "The president of Belarus hinted for the first time Thursday at a possible resolution in a cross-border fight over potash that has rocked global fertilizer markets, by suggesting he is open to the idea of sending the jailed chief executive of potash miner Uralkali back to Russia for prosecution there." (WSJ)
Onion prices on the rise: Onion prices in India may extend a record rally as heavy monsoon rains delay harvests and worsen a shortage, potentially accelerating food inflation in Asia's third-largest economy. Retail prices of the vegetable used in everything from soups to curries soared to 70 rupees ($1.13) a kilogram (2.2 pounds) in New Delhi this week from 20 rupees three months earlier, according to the Consumer Affairs Ministry. (Bloomberg)
Egypt returns $2bn to Qatar, after the failure of negotiations to convert it into a three-year bond, in sign of worsening bilateral ties. (Financial Times)
Markets: Global stocks were drifting back from five-year highs as bulls paused for breath at the end of a week in which the surprise of extended Federal Reserve largesse helped weaken the dollar, bolster commodities, suppress bond yields and pump Wall Street to record levels. The FTSE All-World equity index, which on Thursday hit its best level since February 2008, was easing 0.1 per cent as Europe's Stoxx 600 dips 0.1 per cent and US index futures show the S&P 500 opening unchanged at 1,722, just 8 points shy of virgin territory. The Asia-Pacific region was flat in thin trading, with Japan's Nikkei 225 down 0.2 per cent, but China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and South Korea all closed for public holidays. Riskier and fixed income assets generally have had a good week, propelled by news the Fed would not begin reducing its $85bn-a-month stimulus package. (Financial Times)
