Good morning New York,
FT ALPHAVILLE
Why don't you slip into something comfortable, like a pro-business city state: Dan takes a closer look at the World Bank's annual ranking of business friendly countries. He finds that while the Philippines is on the up and up, lights are flashing in China which has slid to 96th globally, from 78th four years ago.
Fed wonk special, now with Q&A: Some prominent Fed Reserve Board staffers recently put out two weighty papers in advance of the 4th Jacques Polak Annual Research Conference. David notes that the papers are seen as giving important insight into the Fed's thinking and provides a comprehensive summary of the key points as compiled by Barclays' Michael Gapen.
NEWS
Twitter IPO priced at $26 a share: Twitter's valuation soared to $18bn after the messaging platform capitalised on surging investor interest to price its shares on Wednesday at $26 each, just above the range it had indicated just two days ago. (Financial Times) (Wall Street Journal)
Tech user numbers do not equal profit, warns SEC: The top US securities regulator has warned that technology companies with lots of users will not always translate them into large profits, in comments that appeared to be timed to coincide with the eve of Twitter's much-anticipated initial public offering. (Financial Times)
"Goldman Sachs and other underwriters on Twitter's IPO will share about $59.2 million for managing the sale after accepting one of the smallest fee rates for a U.S. IPO this year." (Bloomberg)
Crédit Agricole rejects settling with Brussels over rate-rigging claims: Crédit Agricole has dismissed the prospect of settling with European Commission antitrust authorities over accusations that its traders manipulated the Euribor interbank lending benchmark. Jean-Paul Chifflet, chief executive, said alongside a presentation of the group's third-quarter results that the bank had an "excellent case" and that the commission's case was "without merit". (Financial Times)
Rightmove sees surge in interest from home buyers: Property website Rightmove said page views rose 30 per cent in the four months to end-October, as the company surfed a rising tide in the UK property market. (Financial Times)
Nestlé to sell Jenny Craig diet business: The Swiss food giant has struck a deal to sell its struggling Jenny Craig diet business unit to North Castle Partners, according to the US buyout firm. The value of the deal is yet to be disclosed. (Wall Street Journal)
Siemens launches €4bn share buyback: Siemens said it would buy back up to €4bn of shares as new chief executive Joe Kaeser cushions investors for another "challenging" year during which the German engineering company will cut costs to close a profitability gap with competitors. (Financial Times)
ArcelorMittal reports 19% profit gain, keeps 2013 target: Third-quarter earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization rose to $1.71bn from $1.45bn a year earlier, ArcelorMittal said in a statement. (Bloomberg)
US Treasury to introduce floating-rate notes: "The US government on Wednesday set plans to sell a new type of debt that pays more interest as market rates rise, marking its first new product since the introduction in 1997 of Treasury notes that protect buyers against inflation. The first sale of so-called floating-rate notes will take place on Jan. 29, with the auction of between $10bn and $1bn of two-year securities, the Treasury Department said." (WSJ)
Square in talks over possible IPO: Square, the payments company led by Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey, has begun informal discussions with investment bankers about an initial public offering that could come as soon as next year, according to two people familiar with the matter. (Financial Times)
Markets: Stocks were struggling for momentum and the euro was inching higher as US and eurozone monetary policy remained in focus. Industrial commodities were mixed – copper up 0.1 per cent to $3.24 a pound, Brent crude down 31 cents to $104.93 a barrel – as gold fell $2 to $1,317 an ounce. The dollar index and Treasury prices were barely changed. The FTSE All-World equity index was down 0.1 per cent as Europe's Stoxx 600 saw a 0.1 per cent loss and after the Asia-Pacific region fell 0.5 per cent. US index futures showed the S&P 500 slipping 4 points to 1,766, leaving the benchmark 6 points below its record close as Wall Street prepared for Twitter's IPO. Investors face a potentially crucial few sessions that may determine the market's psyche going into the traditionally bullish final weeks of the year. Central bank strategy is in the spotlight. The euro was up 8 pips to $1.3518 ahead of the European Central Bank's decision on interest rates, due at 12.45 GMT.
