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News round-up: 18 Sep 2008 – foreign press alert
Today, in the wake of a mammoth banking deal in the UK between Lloyds TSB and HBOS, it is time to look at some of what is happening outside of the U.S. as a result of the credit crisis and market panic. I will principally using Canadian,…
Lloyds gets HBOS for a song
Lloyds TSB has announced that it will buy rival HBOS for 232 pence a share. Back in May 2007, just over a year ago, HBOS shares were trading for almost £17 each. However, HBOS closed trading today at £1.47, sustaining a loss of over 90% in…
Desperate Housewives – UK style
Update 04 Mar 2009: Marshall Auerback sent me a story about Dresdner bankers suing to get tens of millons in bonuses. Obviously the house in Kent and the private clubs and schools have to be paid for. His story here reminded me of this…
The TED spread through the roof
Risk in the financial markets is high. I know, that's an obvious point. But, seriously, risk is very high. The TED spread is now at its highest since October 1987. And you remember October 1987, right?The TED in TED spread stands for…
Consolidation through merger over bankruptcy
As we plan for another day in financial turmoil, I have to admit to preferring financial services industry consolidation through merger to bankruptcy. I was just reading FT Alphaville's post on a proposed Lloyds TSB takeover of HBOS (the…
Why Lehman failed
It's been bothering me for some time -- the fact that Lehman failed and Merrill was taken out at a deal time value that was a significant premium to both book value and the prevailing price of its shares in the market. It seems rather…
The Federal Reserve bails out AIG
At 9:00 PM EDT, the Federal Reserve posted a statement on its website that it has decided to offer AIG an $85 billion line of credit at a penalty rate in return for all of AIG as collateral. In addition, the Federal Reserve will receive an…
Barclays gets “core Lehman” assets
It's done. Core Lehman is sold. Now the rest of the company can be liquidated. Barclays will buy the core assets for a measly $2 billion. For Lehman staff in the US, this has to be a relief. However, staff in London are probably left…
S&P cuts HBOS counterparty credit ratings
In yet another move by ratings agencies likely to roil markets, HBOS has been cut by S&P. Given the fact that HBOS is the biggest loser to date in the European banking sector in the wake of Lehman's collapse. This cannot be seen as…
News Round-up: 16 Sep 2008
Everyone has heard the news of importance: AIG, Lehman, Goldman, WaMu, Merrill. Although I just heard on Bloomberg Rado that Barclays was buying the "Core Lehman" assets.Anyway, I thought I would concentrate today more on the blogosphere.…