Bloomberg:
- Federal Reserve officials are focused on driving down the spreads between U.S. Treasury yields and consumer and corporate loans, after cutting the main interest rate to almost zero failed to revive lending. Credit costs for households and businesses haven’t followed yields on government debt lower. Fifteen-year fixed-rate mortgages were at 5.06 percent last week, 2.59 percentage points above 10-year Treasury yields; the spread averaged 0.88 point in 2003, when the Fed slashed rates to 1 percent.
- Yields on Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae mortgage securities tumbled to the lowest since October 2007 relative to government notes, after the Federal Reserve began a $500 billion program to buy the bonds. The difference between yields on Fannie’s current-coupon 30-year fixed-rate mortgage bonds and 10-year Treasuries fell about 24 basis points to 133 basis points as of 1:30 pm in NY. Yields on Fannie’s mortgage bonds fell 25 basis points, or .25 percentage point, to 3.80%, the lowest on record.
- The cost of protecting corporate bonds from default fell on speculation the U.S. government will spend about $775 billion on an economic stimulus package and Germany will invest extra funds to combat the recession. Credit-default swaps on the Markit iTraxx Crossover Index of 50 companies with mostly high-risk, high-yield credit ratings dropped 20 basis points to 1,025, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co. prices at 11:56 a.m. in London.
- Copper prices jumped to a one-month high in New York on speculation that a government stimulus package will help bolster the U.S. economy and revive demand for industrial metals. Copper futures for March delivery rose 8.1 cents, or 5.6 percent, to $1.54 a pound at 11:54 a.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange’s Comex division. Earlier, the price reached $1.558, the highest for a most-active contract since Dec. 4.
- Leon Panetta’s selection by President- elect Barack Obama to become CIA chief surprised two top Democrats on the Senate intelligence panel, who expressed reservations about his lack of background in the spy world.
- One of New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson’s senior political advisers lobbied the state on behalf of JPMorgan Chase & Co., which won a leading role on municipal bond deals under federal scrutiny and a factor in his decision to withdraw from becoming U.S. commerce secretary.
- China’s central bank and foreign- exchange regulator today warned of rising risks to the nation from “abnormal” capital flows caused by the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. “Due to the world economic recession and financial turbulence, the abnormal movement of cross-border capital will bring potential risks,” the State Administration of Foreign Exchange said in a statement on its Web site. “The direction that the flows will take is largely uncertain.”
- The euro fell to a three-week low against the dollar on speculation slowing inflation will prompt the European Central Bank to cut interest rates more than forecast. The common currency had a record two-day loss versus the pound and dropped against the yen as derivatives trading showed investors are betting the ECB will cut its key rate by at least 25 basis points next week.
- Emerging-market currencies are poised for further losses as recessions force wealthier nations to rein in overseas investment, Morgan Stanley said. One-third of the world’s wealth has been wiped out by the financial crisis and this will have a lasting effect on global consumption, wrote London-based Stephen Jen, chief strategist for emerging markets in the bank’s sales and trading arm. Foreign direct investment in the developing nations of Asia, Europe and Latin America is already starting to cool, he said.
- German billionaire investor Adolf Merckle has died, Die Welt newspaper reported today. Merckle was hit by a train near his hometown of Blaubeuren yesterday evening, according to Die Welt. It’s possible that he committed suicide, the report said, citing unidentified police officials. Merckle, whose holdings span the cement, machinery and drug industries, was battered by wrong-way bets on Volkswagen AG, a drop in the value of his HeidelbergCement AG stock and increasing debt.
Wall Street Journal:
- Some of Asia's memory-chip makers are moving to raise contract chip prices in early January following a rise in the spot market, reflecting their belief that current prices are too low.
- The U.K. government has quashed what little optimism was left in its outlook for 2009, saying previous predictions that the economy will start to recover in the second half look doubtful. "The Treasury and everybody else would acknowledge these are uncertain times," a spokesman for Prime Minister Gordon Brown said Monday.
- A derivatives clearinghouse owned by Nasdaq OMX Group Inc.(NDAQ) has gone live in recent days and started clearing over-the-counter contracts tied to interest rates. The exchange operator's chief executive, Bob Greifeld, said it is looking to sell equity stakes in the clearinghouse in the coming months.
- The main business tax cuts proposed by President-elect Barack Obama are likely to be a windfall for two industries particularly tied to the current economic meltdown: Wall Street investment banks and home builders.
NY Times:
- Cities Use Creative, Targeted Lending to Speed Energy Projects
PC Magazine:
- Apple(AAPL) Intros New MacBook, Apps, and Big Changes for iTunes
recast to "
CityNews:
- Consumer Electronics Show Gadgets Prove Good Technology Stays Ahead Of Bad Economy. In addition to the latest HDTVs, computers, cell phones, digital cameras, handhelds and High Definition DVD and MP3 players, here are just a few other products being highlighted at the show:
Press Trust of India:
- Steel prices in India may fall by $61 a metric ton after June because long-term global rates for coking coal are expected to decline, citing Steel Secretary Pramod Rastogi. Coking coal prices in the intermediate delivery market have fallen by a third to $200 a ton, according to the report. Indian steelmakers will likely lower metal prices in June following the fall in long-term fuel prices, Rastogi said.
Sina.com:
No comments:
Post a Comment