| Wal−Mart and bondinsurers sets the stage for today's trading
Credit Suisse fell 9.2 percent to 51.55, the most since October 2002, after saying it wrote down the value of some asset-backed securities in the first quarter. Net income in the first quarter to date will be reduced by about $1 billion, the Zurich-based bank said in an e-mailed statement today. BNP Paribas SA, France's biggest bank, slipped 1.2 percent to 59.7 euros after Bernstein cut its price estimate 18 percent to 69 euros, citing a reduction in earnings forecast for lenders taking account of a possible recession in the U.S. Bernstein cut its price forecast on UniCredit SpA, Italy's largest bank, 9 percent to 6.1 euros. The stock slid 1.5 percent to 4.85 euros. Credit Agricole SA, the country's second-largest bank, dropped 3.4 percent to 17.27 euros.
Unwitting blue-chip casualties
Indeed, he played a key role in a bid for Qantas and, if he had pulled it off, would have been one of the biggest shareholders in the national airline. The list of battered reputations almost reads like a who's who of the very top of the finance industry. The carnage at Centro has destroyed the reputations of people who until a year ago were held in the highest regard. On the Centro board, big names include Paul Cooper, who is also a director of Axa after building a successful career at investment bank Investec. On the same board sits Sam Kavourakis, who had a solid reputation in property after spending eight years running National Mutual Funds Management. Then there is former managing director of the David Jones department store chain, Peter Wilkinson, along with Jim Hall, who was a former senior executive at BHP Billiton and former executive director of finance at Orica.
Major grain merchandiser does away with HTAs
DTN Markets Blogger Pat Hill reports Thursday that the Andersons will no longer write hedge-to-arrive contracts for grain for delivery after August of 2008.
Hedge-to-arrive contracts are forward contracts that don't set the basis until a later date. When basis is wide, that's often a good deal for ag producers. But given the increasingly speculative nature of futures markets, it's become harder and harder for grain merchandisers to hedge that basis risk.
According to the DTN story, there aren't any other major grain firms that have sworn off on hedge-to-arrive contracts yet. But some have reportedly increased fees for those contracts.
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ESP Announces Appointment of CFO
NEW YORK, Nov. 28 /PRNewswire/ -- ESP Holdings Corp., parent of Electronic Securities Processing (ESP) LLC, the buy-side solution, providing seamless, global execution, neutral routing and centralized settlement announced today the appointment of Michael L. Charland as Chief Financial Officer. For over 22 years, Charland has held various senior management rolls in Fortune 500 companies such as General Electric Company and E*TRADE Financial. Most recently, he held the CFO position at Capital Access Network. Charland's addition to the ESP team strongly reinforces the company's commitment to expansion in the marketplace. His knowledge and experience in large and small companies alike will enable ESP to focus even more on becoming the industry leader. "ESP is in a unique position to deliver powerful solutions for the buy- side client," said Charland.
CME up after volume jumps
After a halting start, the year-end rally gained momentum, with stocks rising roughly 7 percent in less than two weeks.
Among winners, shares of CME Group Inc., the world's largest futures exchange, shot higher after November volume advanced 41 percent on rising volatility.
Traders saw their business boom as economic uncertainty caused investors to hedge or speculate with futures contracts tied to equity indexes and interest rates on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and Chicago Board of Trade, both owned by CME.
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A progress report card on the ten World Cup stadiums
Progress on the R8,4-billion construction and upgrade of the ten stadiums selected to host the 2010 FIFA World Cup has emerged, rightly or wrongly, as the touchstone for South Africa's readiness to host a world-class event. The developments are also proving to be catalyst for a host of other infrastructure investments, such as the R19-billion for the expansion of airports, as well as the R5,5-billion investment for rail and road network improvements, directly associated with an event that is expected to attract a cumulative television viewership of over 40-billion in more than 200 countries. There is no question that the South African government is alive to the threats and oppor- tunities associated with the spectacle, which will kick off on June 11, 2010, not only for this country, but for the entire continent.
Buck the circus!
Back in 1988, in my capacity as an individual student at a lowly university, I was busy beating my head against the wall, wondering why the Rainbow Coalition was not leaving the demonic Democrats and forming an independent party? Jesse Jackson got some 7 million votes in 1988. It is not difficult to argue now with even more conviction that, had he split from the Democrats and formed a real party of the pissed off, Jackson could have truly dropped the equivalent of a nuclear bomb of hope; he would have energized millions more to take their political rights seriously by participating in the electoral setup to vote for the sort of real change that people could not only believe in but fight for. Forget hope! They could have changed American political reality if they wanted to. Jackson would have kick-started a new party of the left which would have got past the 5 percent threshold (meaning, federal funding), and by now would have been celebrating its 20th anniversary by taking advantage of the political infighting currently ongoing inside both ruling parties.
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