Markets: Asian stocks dropped, dragging down the benchmark gauge from a four-month high, as Japanese exporters retreated on a stronger yen. Australia's dollar declined with copper prices, while precious metals rebounded. (Bloomberg)
BlackBerry has agreed to be bought by a consortium of Canadian investment companies, led by Prem Watsa's Fairfax Financial, for $4.7bn in cash and taken private, in a last-ditch move to ensure the survival of one of the pioneers of the global smartphone industry. The bid comes in the wake of BlackBerry's admission on Friday that its turnround strategy had failed and that it would abandon the consumer market with the loss of 4,500 jobs and report a $1bn operating loss in the latest quarter. (Financial Times)
JPMorgan faces US charges on mortgage-backed securities: The civil lawsuit, alleging the bank misled investors in mortgage-backed securities sold in the lead-up to the financial crisis, would be the third launched by government authorities against the bank's mortgage-securities operation. (Financial Times) (NYT)
"A U.S. regulator filed lawsuits against Morgan Stanley and eight other banks over the sale of nearly $2.4 billion in mortgage-backed securities to two credit unions that later failed, according to a filing." (Reuters) (Bloomberg)
Citigroup said it would lay off around 1,000 people in its mortgage business, as refinancing volumes slump because of higher interest rates. (Financial Times)
"Our European policy course will not change," declared a triumphant Angela Merkel at her first press conference, declaring that her re-election for a third term as German chancellor was "a very strong vote for a united Europe", and an endorsement of Germany's interests in Europe and the world. (Financial Times)
Ed Miliband will on Tuesday announce plans to increase corporation tax if Labour wins the next UK election. (Financial Times)
Bankia purges 800 of its 1,000 external directors across its network of industrial holdings as the nationalised Spanish bank removes politicians and trade unionists it paid to sit on the boards of related companies before its government rescue. (Financial Times)
"Monte dei Paschi di Siena, Italy's third-biggest lender, is set to approve a drastic restructuring plan on Tuesday aimed at winning the European Union's green light for a 4.1 billion euro state bailout and averting nationalization." (Reuters)
US economy not ready for tapering, says Fed's Dudley: He said he had two tests for starting to taper buying: evidence of labour market improvement and evidence of enough economic momentum to keep the improvement going. "So far, I think we have made progress with respect to these metrics, but have not yet achieved success," he said. (Financial Times)
NY Fed tests repo facility for rate rise: On Monday, the New York Fed began testing the new fixed-rate overnight repurchase, or repo facility, and accepted $11.809bn in cash in exchange for Treasuries for one day and at a fixed rate of 0.01 per cent from eligible participants including money funds, dealers, banks and government agencies such as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. (Financial Times)
China is seeking to join US-led talks aimed at updating the ageing rules on the $4tn annual trade in global services in a move that is raising concerns in Washington over Beijing's motives. US officials are concerned that if China joins the discussions, it may seek to water down the services agreement. (Financial Times)
Sales of GlaxoSmithKline's medicines in China are thought to have dropped 30 per cent since officials accused the UK pharmaceutical group of corruption. The figures, produced by Citi, will add to pressure on GSK's top executives as they face the threat of a substantial fine triggered by Chinese allegations of bribery totalling up to $500m. (Financial Times)
Chrysler files for IPO as a last resort following a dispute between majority owner Fiat and the healthcare trust that owns the rest of the US carmaker. According to the filing, the company has set a place holder amount of $100m to calculate fees ahead of a possible listing. The number of shares and the offering price have not been determined. (Financial Times) (WSJ)
Apple sold more than 9m of its latest iPhones over the launch weekend, up from 5m last year and much higher than analysts had expected, sending its shares 5 per cent higher. (Financial Times)
"Activision Blizzard and parent Vivendi have filed an emergency appeal of a ruling that blocked Vivendi's $8.2 billion sale of most of its controlling stake in the videogame maker. A preliminary injunction issued last week says shareholders must vote before Vivendi is permitted to pare its 61% stake in Activision." (WSJ)
"China's largest gold company, China National Gold , has talked to Ivanhoe Mines about buying a stake in or assets from the company founded by flamboyant mining magnate Robert Friedland, two people familiar with the matter said. It is unclear where talks stand." (WSJ)
"Boeing is favored to win an 8.3 trillion-won ($7.7 billion) fighter-jet deal from South Korea, sustaining its F-15 production line and handing a setback to Lockheed Martin Corp. in the world's biggest combat aircraft tender this year. " (Bloomberg)
COMMENTS & CURIOS
China reforms face headwinds at home and abroad -- Pettis (Bloomberg)
Nairobi mall strike signals terrorist rise across Africa (Financial Times)
"Her husband's relatives say they can't afford to feed her. Her parents say they are too poor to take her back. The customs of purdah practiced in the region make it almost impossible for her to work outside the home. " (Wall Street Journal on the wife of a Delhi rapist and the plight of India's rural women)
The rupee and Ganesha, the portly and popular Hindu elephant god (Financial Times)
In praise of Bloomberg's legacy (Financial Times editorial)
"Investor appetite for deals will remain largely unsated for as long as QE goes untapered and interest rates are at 300-year lows." (Financial Times)
About those small birds... Extrapolating from Yalta to Iran (WSJ)
Merkel as political visionary and/ or as unbelievably reckless.
OVERNIGHT MARKETS
Asian markets
Nikkei 225 down -83.18 (-0.56%) at 14,659
Topix down -5.69 (-0.47%) at 1,213
Hang Seng down -223.49 (-0.96%) at 23,148
US markets
S&P 500 down -8.07 (-0.47%) at 1,702
DJIA down -49.71 (-0.32%) at 15,401
Nasdaq down -9.44 (-0.25%) at 3,765
European markets
Eurofirst 300 down -6.50 (-0.51%) at 1,256
FTSE100 down -39.06 (-0.59%) at 6,557
CAC 40 down -31.58 (-0.75%) at 4,172
Dax down -40.44 (-0.47%) at 8,635
Currencies
€/$ 1.35 (1.35)
$/¥ 98.77 (98.82)
£/$ 1.60 (1.60)
Commodities ($)
Brent Crude (ICE) down -0.01 at 108.15
Light Crude (Nymex) down -0.06 at 103.53
100 Oz Gold (Comex) unchanged 0.00 at 1,327
Copper (Comex) unchanged 0.00 at 3.31
10-year government bond yields (%)
US 2.70%
UK 2.94%
Germany 1.92%
CDS (closing levels)
Markit iTraxx SovX Western Europe -0.75bps at 87.24bp
Markit iTraxx Europe +1.1bps at 100.26bp
Markit iTraxx Xover +7.05bps at 400.61bp
Sources: FT, Bloomberg, Markit
