Good morning New York,
FT ALPHAVILLE
David has had a look at the year in FX trends.
NEWS
French business activity slumped to a seven-month low in December, exacerbating concerns about the fragility of the eurozone's second-largest economy. However the disappointing French reading did not prevent an improvement in the broader eurozone, which registered its best quarter in two-and-a-half years (FinanciaL Times).
An Israeli soldier was shot dead by Lebanese troops in a rare fatal clash on one of the Middle East's tensest borders. The incident was the worst flare-up in more than three years on the so-called Blue Line separating Israel and Lebanon, which fought a war in 2006 (Financial Times).
Standard Chartered has moved oversight of the bank's risk controls directly to its Chief Executive Peter Sands, a change requested by U.K. regulators amid concerns over the lender's governance structure. The British regulator was unhappy about a potential conflict of interest in having the finance director oversee both the risk and finance functions, according to a person familiar witht he situation (Wall Street Journal).
Carrefour said it will pay €2bn to purchase 127 mall sites in France, Spain and Italy. The French supermarket retailer is half way through a three-year plan to refocus its attention on its domestic markets, and comes after the group sold out of several emerging markets, including Colombia, Malaysia and Indonesia (Financial Times, Wall Street Journal).
London Bonuses to rise 44 per cent. Managing directors at banks in London are expecting a 44 percent rise in bonuses for 2013 even as European authorities seek to scale back compensation, according to a recruiter's survey (Bloomberg).
Markets: US index futures have rallied hard off session lows, dragging European stocks higher, as seasonal bullishness seems to overcome disappointing data on the Chinese economy and caution ahead of Wednesday's policy decision from the Federal Reserve (Financial Times).
