October 31, 2008

Financial Services

3:29AM

Barclays Secures $12B Capital Injection · Barclays finalized an $11.8 billion capital injection Friday – including a $9.4 billion investment from private investors in Qatar and Abu Dhabi – in a move that will allow it to meet new capital ratios mandated by the U.K. government for Britain's largest banks. (FT)

4:36AM

Banks Owe Executives $40B In Pay, Pensions · Top Wall Street banks scheduled to receive $125 billion in government capital injections reportedly owe their executives more than $40 billion in compensation and pension packages year to date, complicating U.S. Treasury stipulations that the banks strictly use capital infusions to boost lending. (WSJ)

8:02AM

Regulators To Approve Derivatives Clearing House · U.S. regulators will reportedly approve a clearing house for the $55 trillion credit derivatives market in the next several weeks. Meanwhile, Depository Trust & Clearing Corp. said Friday it will help boost market transparency by releasing weekly data on derivatives trades linked to the top 1,000 companies and benchmark indexes. (CNBC, Bloomberg)

5:28AM

Laeven: The Cost Of Crisis Resolution [OPINION] · International Monetary Fund economist Luc Laeven calculates that between 1970 and 2007 the fiscal cost of banking crises in industrialized economies averaged 15% of GDP, three times the U.S.'s $700 billion bailout plan, suggesting costs associated with the current credit crisis could rise appreciably. (VOX)

5:09AM

Islamic Banking Thrives As Wall Street Falters [ANALYSIS] · Islamic finance, which bans interest and trading in debt according to sharia law, has held steady despite a painful global credit crisis, spurring U.S. Treasury officials to examine its features for regulatory guidance. (Washington Post)

6:36PM

AIG Taps Fed Facility To Repay U.S. Loan · American International Group repaid $6.8 billion of a $123 billion U.S. government credit line by borrowing from the Federal Reserve's commercial paper facility on Thursday. (Reuters)

7:07AM

Levitt: Derivatives Necessary, Need Regulation [VIDEO] · Former Securities and Exchange Commissioner Arthur Levitt defends the use of derivatives, arguing they are a "legitimate tool" to bet against the future, but concedes more regulation and transparency is needed in the market. (Bloomberg: Video)

4:32AM

Treasury Halts Negotiations With Detroit Automakers · The U.S. Treasury is reportedly no longer negotiating with Detroit automakers about a possible capital infusion via its $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program, complicating prospects for a tie-up between struggling General Motors and Chrysler. (Detroit Free Press)

8:17PM

Sarkozy: Strategic Fund To Start Within Weeks · French President Nicolas Sarkozy said late Thursday that his government will establish a strategic fund in three weeks' time to protect domestic industries battered by the financial crisis. The government could potentially inject $130 billion into the fund. (Reuters)

4:50AM

2005 Bankruptcy Law Doomed Wall Street · Analysts contend Wall Street sealed its demise by backing a 2005 bankruptcy code that in retrospect removed legal obstacles for counterparties - including hedge funds- to unwind derivatives trades and demand extra collateral from faltering institutions like Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers. (FT)

8:29PM

ABA Requests Deadline Extension For Capital Plan · The American Bankers Association sent a letter to U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson requesting a deadline extension to participate in its recapitalization plan. The lobby took issue with the program's dividend restrictions and expressed concern it will stigmatize healthy banks. (American Banker)

7:28AM

Bank of Japan Cuts Key Rate, Nikkei Plunges · The Bank of Japan lowered its key interest rate to 0.3% Friday, down from an already record low 0.5%, to help stave off a prolonged recession. The Nikkei 225 index plunged 5% after three of the eight board members dissented in favor of a larger cut. (Bloomberg)

4:06AM

E. Greenberg: Insurers Don’t Need Subsidies [OPINION] · Evan Greenberg, CEO of ACE Limited and chairman of the American Insurance Association, protests that U.S. insurers should not have to partake in the U.S. Treasury's Capital Purchase Program because they have yet to show they pose a systemic risk to the financial system. (WSJ)

2:44PM

Schwarzman: Regulation Is Not A Solution [VIDEO] · Stephen Schwarzman, head of private-equity giant Blackstone, said in an interview Thursday that the failure of "regulated" banks and brokerages in recent weeks underscores that more government regulation is not necessarily a solution to the crisis. (Fortune Video)

8:40PM

IMF Extends $9B Loan To Pakistan · The International Monetary Fund reportedly agreed Friday to extend a $9 billion loan to Pakistan in an effort to help it meet foreign debt payments amid the global credit crisis. (CNBC)