Markets: Asian markets were mixed, after strong US retail sales data and news that the House of Representatives passed the budget bill, increasing the likelihood of the Federal Reserve pulling back its stimulus programme. (Financial Times)
US budget passed House by large majority on Thursday evening, as leaders of both parties quashed dissent within their ranks. The legislation was passed by a margin of 332 to 94 and will head to the Senate for a final vote next week. If it is approved by the upper chamber of Congress, it will be signed into law by Barack Obama, who supports the measure. (Financial Times)
UK chancellor George Osborne vowed on Thursday to find "billions of pounds of welfare savings"as coalition tensions over how to eradicate the deficit bubbled to the surface. (Financial Times)
"A US presidential task force has drafted recommendations that constitute a sweeping overhaul of the National Security Agency, according to people familiar with the recommendations. The panel's draft proposals would change the spy agency's leadership from military to civilian and limit how it gathers and holds the electronic information of Americans." (WSJ)
North Korea on Friday announced the execution of Jang Song Thaek, the uncle widely seen as Kim Jong Un's most powerful adviser, accusing him of plotting a coup against the young leader. (Financial Times)
Funds set up for victims of Bernard Madoff should recover almost three-quarters of the Ponzi scheme's $17.5bn losses after a new contribution from JPMorgan Chase of about $2.5bn -- paid due to its alleged role in failing to alert US authorities of its suspicions. About $1bn will go to the US attorney's office in Manhattan, to be paid to victims of the Madoff fraud, and more than $1bn will go to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to settle a wider variety of anti-money laundering violations. (Financial Times)
Gold price probe extended to Deutsche Bank: Germany's financial regulator has demanded documents from Deutsche Bank as part of an investigation into potential manipulation of gold and silver prices. The probe from the German watchdog comes as regulators around the world step up their scrutiny of benchmarks after the recent Libor interbank lending scandal led to hefty fines for banks. (Financial Times)
"Saudi Arabia won't unilaterally cut oil production as it and fellow OPEC members discuss how to cope with a possible increase in global crude output, said people familiar with the matter." (WSJ)
European financial watchdogs have sounded the alarm over the risks consumers run by using virtual currencies such as Bitcoin, which has fluctuated between $340 and $1,240 in the past week. The European Banking Authority will on Friday issue a statement warning of the risk of "violent fluctuations in electronic currencies" value, the danger of "digital wallets" being hacked, and of the lack of legal protections for users. (Financial Times)
Hilton Worldwide's shares jumped 7.5 per cent per cent on their stock market debut on Thursday, marking a turnround for the hotel chain that has generated an $8.5bn paper profit for its private equity owner Blackstone. The world's biggest lodging company by rooms raised $2.35bn in an initial public offering, the largest ever by a hotel operator. Hilton sold 117.6m shares at $20 each, the upper end of the $18-$21 price range. The shares rose to as high as $21.92 before ending their first day of trading at $21.50. (Financial Times)
A consortium led by Centrica, owner of British Gas, has been named as preferred bidder for Bord Gáis Energy, the retail arm of Ireland's state gas company, with a bid that values the group at €1.12bn. (Financial Times)
"A U.S. bankruptcy judge ruled Anadarko Petroleum could be liable for at least $5 billion in a lawsuit over environmental and legal liabilities related to its 2006 acquisition of Kerr-McGee Corp. The ruling sent shares of Anadarko tumbling 9% in after-hours trading on Thursday to around $76 a share." (WSJ)
"Jones Group is nearing a deal to sell itself to private-equity firm Sycamore Partners, according to a person familiar with the matter, in a takeover that would value the footwear and apparel maker at roughly $1.2 billion." (WSJ)
"The French car makers Renault and PSA Peugeot Citroën have taken initial steps toward resuming deliveries to Iran, previously one of their biggest markets...A spokesman for Peugeot declined to comment on its plans for re-entering Iran. A spokeswoman for Renault said the company had begun contacting suppliers in Iran but was waiting for sanctions to be lifted." (WSJ)
General Motors dumped its 87 per cent stake in Peugeot on Thursday (Financial Times)
"The owners of Texas Industries are exploring a sale of the Dallas-based building materials company, three people with knowledge of the matter said. The cement company, with a market value of $1.68 billion as of the close of regular trading yesterday, is working with Citigroup Inc. to find a buyer, the people said, asking not to be identified because the information is private. Texas Industries, also known as TXI, may draw interest from buyers including Switzerland's Holcim and U.S. competitor Vulcan Materials, one of the people said." (Bloomberg)
COMMENTS & CURIOS
Britain is growing – this is no time for a stimulus (Financial Times)
A chronic aversion to risk stunts decision-making across Europe (Financial Times)
When did the Irish become so acquiescent? A long time ago, Roy (Financial Times)
The eventual (p...p... probably) Tokyo taper (Financial Times)
Cisco as canary in the coalmine (Financial Times)
BofAML deal as end of an era for complex mortgage securities settlements (WSJ)
SEC plans to take more cases to trial despite losses (Reuters)
SAC reconsiders industry relationships—and its name (WSJ)
Liberty Global/Ziggo: cable extension (Financial Times Lex)
Lawsuit accuses IBM of hiding China risks amid NSA spy scandal (Reuters)
OVERNIGHT MARKETS
Asian markets
Nikkei 225 up +115.54 (+0.75%) at 15,457
Topix up +1.16 (+0.09%) at 1,243
Hang Seng up +48.16 (+0.21%) at 23,266
US markets
S&P 500 down -6.72 (-0.38%) at 1,776
DJIA down -104.10 (-0.66%) at 15,739
Nasdaq down -5.41 (-0.14%) at 3,998
European markets
Eurofirst 300 down -11.66 (-0.93%) at 1,245
FTSE100 down -62.47 (-0.96%) at 6,445
CAC 40 down -17.74 (-0.43%) at 4,069
Dax down -60.11 (-0.66%) at 9,017
Currencies
€/$ 1.37 (1.38)
$/¥ 103.82 (103.36)
£/$ 1.63 (1.63)
€/£ 0.8412 (0.8411)
Commodities ($)
Brent Crude (ICE) down -0.07 at 108.60
Light Crude (Nymex) down -0.07 at 97.43
100 Oz Gold (Comex) up +3.00 at 1,229
Copper (Comex) down -0.01 at 3.33
10-year government bond yields (%)
US 2.88%
UK 2.90%
Germany 1.84%
CDS (closing levels)
Markit iTraxx SovX Western Europe +0.15bps at 62.78bp
Markit iTraxx Europe +1.86bps at 80.04bp
Markit iTraxx Xover +3.8bps at 322.94bp
Markit CDX IG +0.02bps at 70.25bp
Sources: FT, Bloomberg, Markit
