Good morning New York,
FT ALPHAVILLE
Of refining margins and policy mismatches: David presents a tale of Reliance. Or of cracks. Or of regulation. Global refining margins are still in the doldrums (with recent GRMs low even by post-2008 standards) and Europe's refiners are likely to take the biggest kicking.
Who let the regulatory clowns out?: It has emerged that late in the day yesterday — Thursday — the UK's Serious Fraud Office raised an emergency (read costly) request with the High Court of Justice of England and Wales to prohibit the WSJ from naming a string of people the authorities plan to implicate in a long-running, much-publicised, parallel investigation into the alleged fixing of LIBOR.
Post-deal optimism: It's wise to be cautious whenever Wall Street strategists play political prognosticators, says Cardiff, but here are some sanguine points from Barclays suggesting the chance of another shutdown does seem low.
NEWS
China reverses first-half slowdown: China's economy expanded 7.8 per cent in the third quarter from the same period a year earlier, marking an acceleration from the second quarter when it grew by 7.5 per cent. The rebound in the world's second-largest economy was largely the result of government efforts to shore up growth with looser monetary policy and a "mini-stimulus" of investment in infrastructure such as rail and subway systems. (Financial Times)
Google well placed as mobile revolution takes hold: Google quarterly results beat Wall Street's expectations as the Internet search giant expanded its mobile and overseas businesses while keeping ad-rate declines in check, sending its shares to a record high. (Reuters)
BoE's Tucker warns on shadow banking risk: Regulators need to "up their game" in overseeing hedge funds and shadow banks as risky pools of capital build up beyond the heavily scrutinised world of traditional banking, one of the world's top central bankers has warned. Paul Tucker, the Bank of England's outgoing deputy governor, said in an interview with the Financial Times that it would be "absolutely disastrous" if the economic fragility of banks was recreated outside the mainstream banking sector. (Financial Times)
UK vinyl sales at highest level in a decade: UK vinyl sales have doubled this year to hit their highest level in a decade, thanks to surging demand from music lovers for LPs by artists such as Daft Punk and the Arctic Monkeys. (Financial Times)
Goldman fixed income trading worst in class: Goldman Sachs reported a worse plunge in fixed-income trading than any other large Wall Street bank but protected its profits by slashing the amount of money set aside for year-end bonuses. (Financial Times)
WSJ ordered not to divulge Libor names: "A British judge ordered the Journal and David Enrich, the newspaper's European banking editor, to comply with a request by the U.K.'s Serious Fraud Office prohibiting the newspaper from publishing names of individuals not yet made public in the government's ongoing investigation into alleged manipulation of the London interbank offered rate, or Libor." (WSJ)
Markets: Accelerating economic growth in China coupled with continued relief that the US stepped back from default and ongoing central bank largesse was helping push global stocks to a fresh five-year high. Risk appetite was building, with industrial commodities firmer and "haven" fixed income yields nudging slightly higher. After a strong bounce on Thursday, gold added another $1 to $1,320 an ounce. The FTSE All-World equity index was up 0.2 per cent to 259.7, its best level since May 2008, as the Stoxx 600 in Europe added 0.4 per cent, also a five-year peak. Index futures suggested the S&P 500 in New York would gain 5 points to 1,737 – supported by well-received earnings overnight from Google – and on course for a new record with which to finish the week. The Wall Street benchmark has bounced 4.7 per cent over just the past six sessions. (Financial Times)
