Bloomberg:
“I would like to think that we could have another cut in the interest rates,” Juncker said, when asked if the ECB may move as soon as next month. The central bank “isn’t blind” to the financial situation and the economic slowdown and “is drawing the same conclusions from these observations.”
- Blackstone Group LP(BX) Chairman Stephen Schwarzman said a global recession isn’t necessarily bad news for leveraged buyouts. “We’re quite optimistic about our new prospects,” Scharzman said. “We are in extremely strong financial position.” Schwarzman said the biggest profits for private-equity investors come during the worst economic times, pointing to recession in the early 1990s and 2001, when investors earned average annual returns of around 30%.
- The cost of shipping Middle East crude to Asia, the world’s busiest route for supertankers, may drop for a fourth day, amid signs that weakening oil demand and reduced OPEC output are curtailing cargoes. Refineries may hire 100 very large crude carriers, or VLCCs, to collect cargoes from Persian Gulf ports in November, compared with a monthly average of about 105, Charlie Fowle, a director at London-based shipbroker Galbraith’s Ltd., wrote.
- Russia's ruble fell the most in two months and stocks tumbled as the central bank scaled back its defense of the currency amid the country's worst financial crisis since the 1998 devaluation. Bank Rossii widened its target range for the ruble against a basket of dollars and euros by 30 kopeks (1 cent) to increase the currency's ``flexibility,'' according to a statement posted on its Web site after the market closed today. The Micex Index plunged 13 percent, the biggest decline worldwide today, and won't open tomorrow, spokeswoman Anna Cheryomushkina said.
- Copper, after a 42% slump this year, is still high enough for three-quarters of mining capacity to avoid losing money, making closures that would boost prices less likely, Goldman Sachs said. New mining projects and expansions by companies including Anglo American Plc and Xstrata Plc are unlikely to be constrained either, Goldman said.
- Former Sumitomo Corp. copper trader Tetsu Emori, who now runs the Astmax Commodity Global Macro Fund for Japan’s biggest commodity manager, says crude oil may fall below $50/bbl. (video)
- The slump in shipping has at least two more years to go as the global fleet expands and a slowing world economy saps demand for everything from iron ore to consumer goods, the largest shipping hedge fund group said. Rental income from commodity carriers and container ships is unlikely to earn owners much more than running costs for the next two to five years, Tufton Oceanic Ltd. research director Andreas Vergottis said in an interview today. Rates for oil tankers will drop to similar levels ``within three months,'' he said.
- Crude oil fell below $59 a barrel in New York for the first time since March 2007, and gasoline tumbled, on speculation the International Energy Agency will cut its 2009 oil-demand forecast because of slowing economic growth. Pump prices are following futures lower. Regular gasoline, averaged nationwide, declined 2 cents to $2.22 a gallon, AAA, the nation's largest motorist organization, said today on its Web site. The fuel has tumbled 46 percent from the record $4.114 a gallon reached on July 17. ``This is a tough time for OPEC because of the demand picture,'' Mueller said. ``Every time they cut production they are building up spare capacity. There's also a risk that they may make cuts and prices still won't rebound.''
- Money-market rates in London fell as central banks injected cash into the financial system to counter a collapse in lending. The London interbank offered rate, or Libor, that banks charge each other for three-month loans in dollars slid 6 basis points to 2.18 percent today, the 22nd consecutive decline and the lowest level since Oct. 29, 2004, according to British Bankers' Association data. The comparable euro rate fell 7 basis points to 4.32 percent, the lowest level since Jan. 24.
CNBC.com:
Goldman Sachs(GS): Has Firm Lost Its Midas Touch?
CNNMoney.com:
As the lights fade across the hedge fund universe, SAC Capital Advisors had been one of the few funds unbowed by the rout that has forced countless rivals to close or suspend redemptions. But now, some wrong-way bets at SAC - notably on the disastrous Volkswagen-Porsche trade that hammered many hedge funds last month - are forcing fund founder and general partner Steve Cohen to dismiss staff in the wake of double-digit losses. While Cohen has hardly been shy about reducing his exposure to equity markets and "going to cash," SAC - with $16 billion in assets - was still whipsawed in October's ugly markets, booking an 11% loss for the month and 18% for the year to date.
Washington Times:
- A behind-the-scenes battle to take the reins of the Republican National Committee is taking off between former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and former Maryland Lt. Gov. Michael S. Steele.
LA Times:
- Goldman, Sachs & Co.(GS) urged some of its big clients to place investment bets against California bonds this year despite having collected millions of dollars in fees to help the state sell some of those same bonds. The giant investment firm did not inform the office of California Treasurer Bill Lockyer that it was proposing a way for investment clients to profit from California's deepening financial misery. In Sacramento, officials said they were concerned that Goldman's strategy could raise the interest rate the state would have to pay to borrow money, thus harming taxpayers.
Philly.com
- Obama chief of staff-designate Rahm Emanuel, who's been an Illinois congressman, Democratic Party House leader,Wall Street investment banker (Wasserstein Perella), Clinton aide, and director of the failed mortgage-lending giant Freddie Mac, which overdosed on subprime loans and had to be bailed out by the federal government, is also a loyal ally of the troubled, highly-paid hedge fund industry, and has worked to keep taxes on their fat fees low, writes HedgeWeek admiringly. Emanuel "was the top House recipient in the House of Representatives of campaign contributions from hedge funds, private equity firms and the wider securities and investment industry during the 2008 election cycle. He played a part in derailing efforts last year to have carried interest taxed as income rather than capital gains, going so far as to write a memo offering several options on how essentially to preserve the tax advantage. However, he also sponsored a bill that would have prevented hedge fund managers from deferring taxes on offshore compensation. "The appointment of Emanuel suggests that Obama's presumed hostility to the hedge fund industry may have been exaggerated and that the sector will get a fair hearing as the new administration begins the process of reforming US financial sector regulation. At a time when hedge fund managers feel particularly friendless, it cannot hurt to have someone who understands their business in the heart of the White House."
The Institute for Luxury Home Marketing:
- Graphs: ILHM National Luxury Home Market
paidContent.org:
- This one is a shocker: Vivian Schiller, the longtime head of NYTimes.com’s digital efforts, has left the company, and has joined National Public Radio as its new CEO. She succeeds Dennis Haarsager, who has served as interim CEO since March, after Ken Stern left abruptly after internal discord. Also recently, Kinsey Wilson, the executive editor of USA Today and previously the editor of USAToday.com, left the paper and joined NPR as its digital head. With two digital vets at NPR, its already formidable online presence and reputation should grow, if only they can prevent getting mired in all the politics at the company and its member stations .
Globe and Mail:
- Lawrence Asset Management Inc. has temporarily halted redemption orders in its flagship hedge fund after it plunged 65 per cent for the first 10 months of this year. The firm “believes it is in the best interests of all shareholders to suspend redemptions for 60 days” on the Lawrence Partners Fund, its president Ravi Sood told investors in a letter on Monday. The Lawrence Partners Fund, which invests in smaller-capitalization Canadian stocks and has private equity holdings, saw its stellar track record unravel in September when it took a 48-per-cent haircut.
Interfax:
Eesti Paeevaleht:
- George Soros said the global credit crisis has “apparently” reached its peak and the financial system is already healing itself, citing an interview.
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung:
- Microsoft Corp.’s(MSFT) Xbox game console doubled its market share in many European countries following price cuts, citing Microsoft’s entertainment division President Robbie Bach.
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The Economic Times:
India’s largest real estate developer, DLF, has put on hold construction of one of the most high-profile mall projects, ‘Mall of India’, at Gurgaon, as retail rentals fall and cash becomes precious. The proposed venture was set to be the country’s largest mall, with around 4.5-million sqft space.
Xinhua Financial Network:
- China
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