The UK Financial Services Authority imposed a temporary ban on short-selling financial stocks on Thursday, saying the measure was needed to prevent further instability in the financial sector.
The ban, which takes effect from midnight on Thursday Sept. 18, follows hours after UK bank Lloyds TSB bought rival HBOS following a dramatic fall in the latter's share price.
CNBC.com
"We have taken this decisive action, after careful consideration, to protect the fundamental integrity and quality of markets and to guard against further instability in the financial sector," FSA Chief Executive Hector Sants said in a statement.
The move came after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday introduced rules under which short sellers and their broker-dealers must deliver securities by the close of business on the settlement date, three days after the sale.
Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling welcomed the FSA ban.
"I believe it is the right thing to do in the current market conditions and in the interests of financial stability," he said in a statement.
The FSA said the ban will remain in force until Jan. 16 next year and will be subject to an initial review after thirty days.
In addition, investors with an existing short position of more than 0.25 percent of a financial company's share capital must disclose their holdings every day from Sept. 23, the FSA said.
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Fed, ECB, BOJ Take Joint Action to Alleviate Tensions (Update1)
Fed, ECB, BOJ Take Joint Action to Alleviate Tensions (Update1)
By John Fraher and Brian Swint
Sept. 18 (Bloomberg) -- The Federal Reserve, the European Central Bank and the Bank of Japan joined with their counterparts around the world to pump dollars into the financial system and head off a deepening crisis.
The Fed said it authorized other central banks to auction $180 billion in dollar funds to financial institutions, in a statement on its Website. A joint release said that the Bank of England, the Bank of Canada and the Swiss National Bank also participated.
``The action is designed to address the continued elevated pressures in U.S. dollar short-term funding markets,'' the banks said. ``The central banks continue to work together closely and will take appropriate steps to address the ongoing pressures.''
Central bankers have struggled to restore confidence in markets this week as banks hoarded money on concern more banks will follow Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. into bankruptcy. The cost of borrowing in dollars for three months jumped the most since 1999 with the crisis spreading abroad as U.K. mortgage lender HBOS Plc slumped and Russia poured money into its banks.
``The lack of dollars has been making the financial crisis worse around the world which is why we now have this coordinated response,'' said Robert Barrie, an economist at Credit Suisse Group in London.
By John Fraher and Brian Swint
Sept. 18 (Bloomberg) -- The Federal Reserve, the European Central Bank and the Bank of Japan joined with their counterparts around the world to pump dollars into the financial system and head off a deepening crisis.
The Fed said it authorized other central banks to auction $180 billion in dollar funds to financial institutions, in a statement on its Website. A joint release said that the Bank of England, the Bank of Canada and the Swiss National Bank also participated.
``The action is designed to address the continued elevated pressures in U.S. dollar short-term funding markets,'' the banks said. ``The central banks continue to work together closely and will take appropriate steps to address the ongoing pressures.''
Central bankers have struggled to restore confidence in markets this week as banks hoarded money on concern more banks will follow Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. into bankruptcy. The cost of borrowing in dollars for three months jumped the most since 1999 with the crisis spreading abroad as U.K. mortgage lender HBOS Plc slumped and Russia poured money into its banks.
``The lack of dollars has been making the financial crisis worse around the world which is why we now have this coordinated response,'' said Robert Barrie, an economist at Credit Suisse Group in London.
Monday, September 15, 2008
Wilbur Ross: Possibly a Thousand Banks Will Close
http://www.cnbc.com/id/26710362
In an exclusive interview with CNBC.com, Wilbur Ross, chairman and CEO of WL Ross & Co., says he sees possibly as many as a thousand bank closures in the coming months. And this will create opportunities for investors.
"I do think a lot of the regional ones will (close), just as they did in the last savings and loan crisis in the 1990s," Ross said. (Watch the full CNBC.com exclusive interview with Wilbur Ross on the left)
Ross says he will be looking to pick up smaller distressed institutions. "There will be opportunities, but we will need federal assistance in them, because what we're mainly looking for is stable sources of deposits, not so much the loan portfolio."
Ross feels that there will be too many people willing to provide capital to the large financials, which makes them less of a bargain than smaller banks.
When asked about his views on Bank of America's
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purchase of Merrill Lynch
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[MER 17.05 -2.38 (-12.25%) ]
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, Ross said that he didn't think that Merrill was in that dire a position.
"I think people in general felt better about Merrill's situation than about Lehman. I think ever since John Thain came in, he's done a wonderful job trying to fix what was a very difficult situation," Ross said.
He also noted that this was really now the second successful turnaround for Thain. "He (Thain)saved Merrill, went into BoFA ... Temasek, for example, went into something like a $5 a share profit out of this. So it's not a tragic ending."
"It will be very interesting to see where Thain ends up in the Bank of America hierarchy," Ross added.
In an exclusive interview with CNBC.com, Wilbur Ross, chairman and CEO of WL Ross & Co., says he sees possibly as many as a thousand bank closures in the coming months. And this will create opportunities for investors.
"I do think a lot of the regional ones will (close), just as they did in the last savings and loan crisis in the 1990s," Ross said. (Watch the full CNBC.com exclusive interview with Wilbur Ross on the left)
Ross says he will be looking to pick up smaller distressed institutions. "There will be opportunities, but we will need federal assistance in them, because what we're mainly looking for is stable sources of deposits, not so much the loan portfolio."
Ross feels that there will be too many people willing to provide capital to the large financials, which makes them less of a bargain than smaller banks.
When asked about his views on Bank of America's
cnbc_comboQuoteMove('popup_bac_ID0EJD15839609');
[BAC 33.74 0.68 (+2.06%) ]
cnbc_quoteComponent_init_getData("bac","WSODQ_COMPONENT_BAC_ID0EJD15839609","WSODQ","true","ID0EJD15839609","off","false");
purchase of Merrill Lynch
cnbc_comboQuoteMove('popup_mer_ID0EKAAC15839609');
[MER 17.05 -2.38 (-12.25%) ]
cnbc_quoteComponent_init_getData("mer","WSODQ_COMPONENT_MER_ID0EKAAC15839609","WSODQ","true","ID0EKAAC15839609","off","false");
, Ross said that he didn't think that Merrill was in that dire a position.
"I think people in general felt better about Merrill's situation than about Lehman. I think ever since John Thain came in, he's done a wonderful job trying to fix what was a very difficult situation," Ross said.
He also noted that this was really now the second successful turnaround for Thain. "He (Thain)saved Merrill, went into BoFA ... Temasek, for example, went into something like a $5 a share profit out of this. So it's not a tragic ending."
"It will be very interesting to see where Thain ends up in the Bank of America hierarchy," Ross added.
World May Face `Japan-Like' Economic Stagnation, GIC's Tan Says
By Shamim Adam
Sept. 15 (Bloomberg) -- The world may face ``Japan-like'' economic stagnation as turmoil in financial markets weighs on growth and challenges the ability of policy makers to manage the crisis, Government of Singapore Investment Corp. said.
Global growth will probably be weak in the next few years, and protectionist and populist policies are likely to emerge, said Tony Tan, deputy chairman of GIC, in a speech in Geneva yesterday. The sovereign fund, which oversees more than $100 billion, has pumped billions into UBS AG and Citigroup Inc. after they posted writedowns linked to U.S. subprime mortgages.
``Policy responses so far have tried to minimize the likelihood of a Japan-like deflationary spiral but the adjustment could take a couple of years and be very painful,'' Tan said. ``Over the near term, debt deflation and deleveraging in the U.S. and other major developed economies will exert downward pressure on growth in many economies.''
An asset-price bubble in Japan burst in the early 1990s, triggering a property and stock market collapse that heralded a decade of stagnation in the world's second-largest economy. Financial institutions worldwide have reported more than $500 billion in losses and writedowns since the beginning of 2007 and the credit-market collapse erased $11 trillion from global stocks in the past year.
The worst U.S. housing slump since the 1930s is showing little sign of abating and more than 10 lenders in the world's largest economy have collapsed this year. The U.S. Treasury Department and the Federal Housing Finance Agency this month seized control of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac after the biggest surge in mortgage defaults in at least three decades threatened to topple the companies.
`More Severe'
``If house-price declines are significantly greater than expected, larger financial institutions could become insolvent, the credit crunch would be more severe and economic growth could weaken considerably,'' Tan said. ``A vicious deflationary cycle with falling house prices, failing financial institutions and weaker growth could then ensue.''
Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. is preparing to file for bankruptcy after Barclays Plc and Bank of America Corp. abandoned talks to buy the U.S. securities firm, according to a person with direct knowledge of the firm's plans.
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. last month estimated that half of the world economy already faces recession, with richer nations faring the worst as emerging markets continue to expand. The global economy faces a 25 percent chance of recession in the next year, according to UBS AG economists.
Emerging Markets
Japan's economy shrank 3 percent last quarter, the steepest decline since 2001, while the euro-area economy contracted 0.2 percent in the same period. The U.S. economy, which expanded at a 3.3 percent annual pace in the second quarter, has lost 605,000 jobs in the first eight months of the year.
Emerging markets will account for more than half of the world's growth in the next decade, from about a fifth in 2000, Tan predicts.
``Growth in emerging markets can be expected to remain relatively robust,'' he said. ``Emerging economies will displace the G-7 as the world's largest economies over the next two to three decades.''
A rising ``middle-class'' in emerging markets will also increase demand for commodities and increase supply constraints that may spur competition for resources, he said.
Natural Resources
``International tensions could rise as countries compete for natural resources, especially food, energy and water,'' Tan said. ``Commodity-producing countries are likely to exert stronger control over their natural resources, potentially exacerbating supply concerns. Countries that are reliant on imports of commodities could be more aggressive in their pursuit of supplies.''
Weaker employment and income growth could lead to a rise in protectionist policies, especially in the U.S. and Europe, Tan said. Governments need to increase conflict-resolution mechanisms and boost cooperation to solve issues amid the emergence of new major economies, he said, citing the World Trade Organization Doha Round of talks as an example.
Trade ministers have tried and failed to reach a breakthrough in the so-called Doha Round talks in each of the past three years. A nine-day summit at the WTO in Geneva collapsed on July 29 after India and the U.S. disagreed over how poor nations could increase duties to protect their economies from surging farm imports.
``Significant stagnation as well as inflation risks suggest that challenges and potential conflicts arising from both protectionism as well as resource nationalism could seriously jeopardize globalization of production and markets,'' Tan said.
Sept. 15 (Bloomberg) -- The world may face ``Japan-like'' economic stagnation as turmoil in financial markets weighs on growth and challenges the ability of policy makers to manage the crisis, Government of Singapore Investment Corp. said.
Global growth will probably be weak in the next few years, and protectionist and populist policies are likely to emerge, said Tony Tan, deputy chairman of GIC, in a speech in Geneva yesterday. The sovereign fund, which oversees more than $100 billion, has pumped billions into UBS AG and Citigroup Inc. after they posted writedowns linked to U.S. subprime mortgages.
``Policy responses so far have tried to minimize the likelihood of a Japan-like deflationary spiral but the adjustment could take a couple of years and be very painful,'' Tan said. ``Over the near term, debt deflation and deleveraging in the U.S. and other major developed economies will exert downward pressure on growth in many economies.''
An asset-price bubble in Japan burst in the early 1990s, triggering a property and stock market collapse that heralded a decade of stagnation in the world's second-largest economy. Financial institutions worldwide have reported more than $500 billion in losses and writedowns since the beginning of 2007 and the credit-market collapse erased $11 trillion from global stocks in the past year.
The worst U.S. housing slump since the 1930s is showing little sign of abating and more than 10 lenders in the world's largest economy have collapsed this year. The U.S. Treasury Department and the Federal Housing Finance Agency this month seized control of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac after the biggest surge in mortgage defaults in at least three decades threatened to topple the companies.
`More Severe'
``If house-price declines are significantly greater than expected, larger financial institutions could become insolvent, the credit crunch would be more severe and economic growth could weaken considerably,'' Tan said. ``A vicious deflationary cycle with falling house prices, failing financial institutions and weaker growth could then ensue.''
Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. is preparing to file for bankruptcy after Barclays Plc and Bank of America Corp. abandoned talks to buy the U.S. securities firm, according to a person with direct knowledge of the firm's plans.
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. last month estimated that half of the world economy already faces recession, with richer nations faring the worst as emerging markets continue to expand. The global economy faces a 25 percent chance of recession in the next year, according to UBS AG economists.
Emerging Markets
Japan's economy shrank 3 percent last quarter, the steepest decline since 2001, while the euro-area economy contracted 0.2 percent in the same period. The U.S. economy, which expanded at a 3.3 percent annual pace in the second quarter, has lost 605,000 jobs in the first eight months of the year.
Emerging markets will account for more than half of the world's growth in the next decade, from about a fifth in 2000, Tan predicts.
``Growth in emerging markets can be expected to remain relatively robust,'' he said. ``Emerging economies will displace the G-7 as the world's largest economies over the next two to three decades.''
A rising ``middle-class'' in emerging markets will also increase demand for commodities and increase supply constraints that may spur competition for resources, he said.
Natural Resources
``International tensions could rise as countries compete for natural resources, especially food, energy and water,'' Tan said. ``Commodity-producing countries are likely to exert stronger control over their natural resources, potentially exacerbating supply concerns. Countries that are reliant on imports of commodities could be more aggressive in their pursuit of supplies.''
Weaker employment and income growth could lead to a rise in protectionist policies, especially in the U.S. and Europe, Tan said. Governments need to increase conflict-resolution mechanisms and boost cooperation to solve issues amid the emergence of new major economies, he said, citing the World Trade Organization Doha Round of talks as an example.
Trade ministers have tried and failed to reach a breakthrough in the so-called Doha Round talks in each of the past three years. A nine-day summit at the WTO in Geneva collapsed on July 29 after India and the U.S. disagreed over how poor nations could increase duties to protect their economies from surging farm imports.
``Significant stagnation as well as inflation risks suggest that challenges and potential conflicts arising from both protectionism as well as resource nationalism could seriously jeopardize globalization of production and markets,'' Tan said.
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