Euribor.

1). Las caídas regresan al euribor

Publicado el 24-02-2009 , por Expansión.com La evolución del euribor se está convirtiendo cada día en una incógnita, después de encadenar 91 bajadas consecutivas en su cambio diario. En las tres últimas sesiones no había logrado repetir tendencia. Hoy ha retomado las caídas, hasta el 2,062%, acercándose un poco más al 2%.

2). Populaire, Caisse d’Epargne Said to Name Perol Chief (Update4) 

Feb. 23 (Bloomberg) -- Groupe Banque Populaire and Groupe Caisse d’Epargne, the two French customer-owned lenders in talks to merge, agreed to appoint President Nicolas Sarkozy’s top economics adviser to head the combined bank in return for more aid, three people familiar with the matter said. Francois Perol’s nomination may be announced this week, along with a government cash injection of as much as 4.5 billion euros ($5.8 billion), said the people, who declined to be identified because the talks are confidential. Perol, 45, couldn’t be reached for comment. The banks, which had already sold 2 billion euros of subordinated debt to the French state and were eligible for an additional 2.5 billion euros under aid measures announced in December, are letting the government pick Perol as chief and acquire a stake of up as much as 20 percent because they need extra cash to bolster their balance sheet, the people said. Natixis SA, their investment-banking joint venture, lost 1.18 billion euros in the first nine months of 2008. “When the state is putting up public money, it can expect to appoint people” to oversee the bank, Finance Minister Christine Lagarde told Europe 1 radio today. She declined to confirm Perol’s appointment, though added he would be “a choice of competence and trust.” The banks may get as much as 5 billion euros in “super- subordinated debt that will be convertible into stock,” Lagarde added. Natixis Climbs “It’s a breakthrough in Sarkozy’s way of dealing with the crisis,” said Anis Bouayad, founder of Paris-based corporate strategy adviser AB Conseils. “For the first time, the government plans to take a stake in a bank, and to name someone close to the president to lead it.” Natixis 5.9 percent to 1.07 euros in Paris, paring the stock’s decline this year to 14 percent and valuing the investment bank at 3.11 billion euros.

Sarkozy’s press secretary, Franck Louvrier, declined to comment on the merger talks, as did Caisse d’Epargne spokeswoman Christine Francoise. Frederic Paillet, a spokesman for Banque Populaire, didn’t return calls. Both Banque Populaire and Caisse d’Epargne are due to publish full-year results on Feb. 26. Banque Populaire’s real-estate manager, Foncia, may be left out of the tie-up, two of the people said, as could the Caisse d’Epargne property development and financing units Nexity and Credit Foncier. That would funnel most of the government money to Natixis. Caisse d’Epargne’s stake in CNP Assurances SA, France’s biggest life insurer, would be included in the combined bank, the people said. Preference Shares The government will own preference shares in the combined bank, and is seeking seats on the bank’s board in return for the aid, the people said. The state would also convert the first 2 billion euros of subordinated debt it provided into shares, bringing its overall stake to about 20 percent, one of the people said. Banque Populaire’s CEO Philippe Dupont is likely to be appointed chairman of the combined bank, the person added. Perol worked for Sarkozy when the latter served as finance minister between 2004 and 2005. He then joined Rothschild & Cie, before he was named Sarkozy’s top economics aide in 2007. Senior lawmakers from the Socialist and Democratic Movement opposition parties said Perol’s nomination would breach conflict- of-interest rules barring public officials from joining companies they deal with in government within three years. Jean Arthuis, the centrist Senate Finance Committee chairman, told Europe 1 that the appointment would be “shocking” if confirmed. Responding to the criticism, Lagarde said any government appointment to the merged bank would be vetted by the civil- service ethics committee in accordance with established rules. The tie-up plan, announced by Banque Populaire and Caisse d’Epargne in October, would create a lender with a network of 8,200 branches in France, second only toCredit Agricole SA, and 480 billion euros in savings and deposits. To contact the reporters on this story: Laurence Frost in Paris atlfrost4@bloomberg.net; Sandrine Rastello in Paris at srastello@bloomberg.net; Last Updated: February 23, 2009 11:46 EST 

3). Central Europe acts to bolster currencies Published: February 23 2009 19:18 | Last updated: February 24 2009 07:21 Central Europe’s battered currencies rallied on Monday after four of the region’s central banks issued co-ordinated statements calling recent currency weakness unjustified and raising the possibility of intervention on foreign exchange markets. It was the first time that banks from the region’s four ex-communist countries with floating currencies had co-ordinated policies, a testament to the seriousness with which falls in Poland’s zloty, Hungary’s forint, Czech Republic’s koruna and the Romania’s leu are being treated. Depreciating currencies are raising fears about the stability of local banks, something that could send shockwaves through countries such as Austria, and Italy, where many parent banks are based. “In the assessment of the National Bank of Poland, the macroeconomic situation in Poland does not justify the scale of the weakening of the zloty. The NBP may undertake actions aimed at avoiding the unfavourable consequences of currency volatility on the economy,” said Slawomir Skrzypek, Poland’s central bank governor. Mugur Isarescu, governor of the central bank of Romania, said his institution would be prepared to use a range of instruments to support the leu, including interest rate policy, moral suasion and minimum reserve requirements. He said: “There are regional risks, but reports are presenting this area as Europe’s subprime, even though we can prove this is not the case.” The zloty’s uptick in the last few days is also a result of the government’s campaign to see Poland admitted into the European Exchange Rate Mechanism by May or June, a necessary precondition for joining the euro. The government is still holding out for Poland to adopt the common currency by 2012, in spite of a lack of enthusiasm from the opposition and Lech Kaczynski, Poland’s president. The other three central European countries are less advanced in their quest to join the euro. Sagging local currencies have made central banks increasingly reluctant to continue with interest rate cuts aimed at reviving sharply decelerating economies. By midday in New York on Monday, the Polish zloty rose 2.2 per cent to 4.6390 zlotys against the euro, the Hungarian forint climbed 2.8 per cent to Ft295.28 and the Czech koruna gained 2.1 per cent to Kc28.2048. The leu was little changed.

4). Genentech cool on Roche bid offer Shareholders in US firm Genentech are being urged to reject an offer from Swiss firm Roche to buy the shares in the firm it does not already own. Roche has offered $86.50 per share, in a $42bn (£28.8bn) move, but Genentech says this undervalues the firm. Roche, which has been the majority owner of Genentech since 1990 and owns 55.9% of shares, first offered $89 per share for the outstanding stock. Genentech said the new offer was not in the best interest of its shareholders. "Genentech's strong projected financial performance implies a valuation substantially in excess of Roche's offer price," Charles Sanders, chairman of the Genentech board's special committee, said in a statement. "We believe Genentech's exceptional management and team, including its world-renowned scientists, can create far more value for stockholders than Roche has offered," he added.

5). U.S. Bubble Collapse to Be Worse Than Japan’s, CLSA’s Wood Says 

Feb. 23 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. is facing a deflationary collapse more severe than the crash that hobbled Japan’s economy in the 1990s, leaving gold as the only defensive play for investors, according to CLSA Ltd.’s Christopher Wood. The housing recession in the U.S. led to a crisis in the banking system as lenders became saddled with illiquid mortgage assets, souring the securitization industry that helped drive credit growth in recent years. The nation’s retail sales fell 10.5 percent in December as consumers became more pessimistic and scaled back purchases. “The collapse of securitization is a much more deflationary situation in the U.S. than anything seen in Japan when the bubble collapsed in the early 1990s,” Wood, Institutional Investor’s top-ranked Asia strategist, said at a conference in Tokyo sponsored by CLSA. “What we need in the future is a more fundamentally disciplined system, even at the cost of higher levels of growth.” Gold may be the safest haven for investors as policy makers accelerate responses to the crisis, devaluing currencies versus hard assets such as gold in the process, said Wood. Gold is likely to more than quadruple from the current level of $986 per ounce currently to $3,500 in 2010, he said. Wood, who in 2003 predicted the U.S. housing crisis, joined New York University economist Nouriel Roubini in cautioning against investment in Europe due to the rising risk among economies in the eastern and central parts of the continent that carry current account deficits. Moody’s Investors Service Inc. on Feb. 17 said some of Europe’s largest banks may be downgraded because of loans to eastern Europe, sending shares of lenders tumbling.

“In my view, we will have a full-scale currency collapse in central and eastern Europe,” the strategist said. “This will lead to a growing focus on the huge exposure of the European banks to these distressed economies.” China and India remain the best bets for equity investors over the long term, Wood said.

6). В Москве расстреляли генерала Высший офицер в отставке скончался от пулевого ранения в голову Убийство произошло в воскресенье днем на севере Москвы. Неизвестные расстреляли генерал-майора ФСБ в отставке Александра Рогачева в его собственном автомобиле на Ленинградском проспекте. Пуля попала в голову, военный скончался на месте. По факту случившегося возбуждено уголовное дело. Пока рассматриваются все возможные версии убийства. Следователи ищут убийц и свидетелей преступления. Тело Александра Рогачева было обнаружено у дома № 31 по Ленинградскому проспекту около 16.00 воскресенья.  «46-летнего генерал-майора ФСБ в отставке убили в автомобиле Toyota Land Cruiser», – рассказали«Интерфаксу» в правоохранительных органах Москвы. Киллер попал в голову, военный скончался на месте. В морге из головы погибшего была извлечена пуля от огнестрельного оружия калибра 9 мм. По факту случившегося возбуждено уголовное дело. Пока рассматриваются все возможные версии убийства. Следователи ищут свидетелей преступления, ведется поиск убийц.