Si l'Italie et l'Espagne souffrent, la France et les autres pays de la zone euro voient leurs rendements s'écarter vis-à-vis de l'Allemagne

La banque helvète espère dégager 200 millions de francs d’économies en année pleine. Environ 550 postes seront supprimés dans le groupe

Tiré par l'Allemagne, le PIB de la zone a progressé de 0,2 % au troisième trimestre. Mais il se contractera à la fin de l'année, même dans les pays cœur

Des désaccords au sein de la Commission l’obligent à « différer » certaines mesures

Les détenteurs de dette grecque ayant accepté une décote de 50% sur la valeur faciale de leurs actifs seraient à la recherche de rendements plus élevés ainsi que d’un paiement annuel incitatif dans le cas où l’économie grecque connaitrait une reprise, selon le quotidien qui cite une proposition faite dimanche dernier aux autorités grecques. Ils insistent également sur le fait que ces mesures doivent être régies par la loi britannique et non grecque.

Des désaccords au sein de la Commission l’obligent à « différer » certaines mesures

Même si les taux de défaut demeurent raisonnables, l’augmentation du chômage pourrait peser sur la performance des transactions

La ville de Shanghai a émis hier 3,6 milliards de yuans d’obligations à 3 ans, et 3,5 milliards à 5 ans au taux de 3,30 %. Une première

L’encours des fonds a progressé de 0,6 % en octobre à 732,6 milliards d’euros, en dépit d’une décollecte de 7,2 milliards

La zone euro a enregistré une croissance modeste de 0,2% au troisième trimestre par rapport aux trois mois précédents, selon les chiffres publiés mardi par Eurostat, tirée par la France et l’Allemagne, mais la décélération des exportations et la stagnation de la consommation augurent d’une contraction sous peu. En rythme annuel, le PIB des 17 pays utilisant la monnaie unique européenne est ressorti à 1,4%, soutenue notamment par une production industrielle étonnamment solide en août. L'économie allemande a enregistré une croissance de 0,5% sur la période de juin à septembre, conforme aux attentes des économistes, tandis que celle du deuxième trimestre a été révisée en hausse à +0,3% contre +0,1% précédemment. Le produit intérieur brut de la France a progressé de 0,4% sur la même période après une contraction de 0,1% au deuxième trimestre. Les deux principales économies de la zone euro vont cependant être rattrapées par la crise de la dette souveraine, préviennent des économistes. Par ailleurs, si la contraction du PIB grec (-5,2% en rythme annuel) était largement attendue, celle des Pays-Bas (-0,3% ) constitue une mauvaise surprise.

La balance commerciale est revenue dans le vert en septembre et ce de manière plus franche que prévu, selon les chiffres d’Eurostat. L’excédent commercial de ce mois ressort ainsi à 2,9 milliards d’euros, contre un consensus des économistes de 0,3 milliard. Pour le mois d’août, le déficit a été révisé à 4,4 milliards contre -3,4 milliards il y a un an.

Le différentiel de rendement entre les emprunts d’Etat à 10 ans français et allemands a atteint mardi midi un nouveau record, à 183 pb, en raison de la tension du rendement de l’OAT 10 ans à 3,58%. A l’exception du Bund et des emprunts nordiques et britanniques, les taux européens décalent nettement à la hausse. Ceux de l’Italie ont repassé la barre des 7% à 10 ans (+33 pb), et ceux de l’Espagne se traitent à 6,28% (+17 pb), dans la foulée des tensions de la veille, notamment liées à la faiblesse des rachats de dette par la BCE. Ce climat a d’ailleurs forcé mardi le Trésor espagnol à consentir un rendement supérieur à 5% pour émettre 3,16 milliards d’euros de bons à 12 et 18 mois alors qu’il était inférieur à 4% lors des dernières opérations du même type.

A growing number of UCITS funds are bypassing regulations that forbid investment in some assets such as commodities futures, with the use of total return swaps based on an offshore hedge fund which holds the positions, Financial Times Fund Management reports. The perfectly legal tactic opens the way to potentially high levels of leverage, the newspaper points out. That could threaten the success of the UCITS brand.

Pimco on 14 November announced the launch of the Pimco GIS Credit Absolute Return fund, aimed at investors seeking a diversified strategy focused on absolute returns with no benchmark. The fund has an “all-terrain” investment style, has considerable freedom in terms of the financial instruments to be integrated into its portfolio, and is managed by Mark Kiesel, Managing Director and Head of corporate debt portfolios. The fund combines long-term strategic investments and more short-term tactical opportunities in order to offer positive returns regardless of the market environment. It is designed to allow investors to diversify their bond portfolio without exposing themselves to risks that Pimco estimates are inherent to indices. The fund will be based on the expertise of Pimco in the area of credit, its proven investment process, research capacity and risk management techniques, in order to offer a strategy focused on absolute returns to investors seeking alternatives to long-only traditional funds. “The Pimco investment process orients our macroeconomic scenario, and allows us to identify risk factors in various bond markets,” says Kiesel. “We complement this top-down approach with a rigorous bottom-up analysis which aims to obtain the best long and short positions in each segment of the bond market: investment grade credit, high yield bonds, emerging market credit, bank loans, and municipal and convertible bonds.” The fund comes as an addition to the Global Investor Series (GIS) from Pimco, which complies with UCITS regulations. The range, registered in Dublin, now has 45 sub-funds, representing EUR57bn in asstes under management as of 30 June 2011. In addition to daily liquidity, the funds offer investors a way to expose their portfolios to a wide range of asset classes, ranging from global and regional traditional bond funds, to credit portfolios, to alternative and asset allocation solutions. The funds are available in several share classes denominated in several currencies, depending on the needs of the client. Institutional share classes in the funds will be available for sale under the ticker code PIMCIUA.

Berkshire Hathaway Inc, the portfolio company for Warren Buffett, on 14 November announced that it has acquired 5.4% of International Business Machines Corp (IBM), for a total of USD10.7bn, the Wall Street Journal reports.The investment at current market prices represents USD12bn, thus Berkshire Hathaway has already made gains of 12%. After State Street, Berkshire Hathaway was the second-largest shareholder in IBM as of 30 September. The buyer had begun to amass shares since March, twice receiving confidential treatment from the SEC.Since the beginning of this year, the share price for IBM has increased by 28%, while the S&P 500 index was flat. With an investment in IBM, Buffett breaks with his longstanding aversion to the technology sector.

Norges Bank Investment Management, which manages the Norwegian Government Pension Fund Global, and Axa Real Estate Investment Managers, acting on behalf of Axa France Insurance Companies, has announced that their Paris office joint venture partnership has exchanged contracts to acquire by the end of the year a portfolio of prime Paris offices for EUR290 million (excluding transfer taxes), reflecting a passing cap rate of 6.0%. This second acquisition by the JV has been negotiated off market and comprises three office properties, with some retail units on ground floors: two in Paris and one in Boulogne-Billancourt, in the Western Business District of Paris. The details of the assets are as follows: 28 – 32 Victor Hugo – Paris 16 – A prime office asset located in the heart of the Paris central business district in the immediate vicinity of Place de l’Etoile. It has a total GLA of approximately 9,500 sqm, of which 900 sqm of retail, arranged over five basement levels, a ground floor and seven upper levels. The property is fully let. 99 Avenue de France – Paris 13 – Located in the Rive Gauche business area in the 13th district of Paris, the asset has a total GLA of approximately 14,300 sqm, of which 4,600 sqm of retail, arranged over two basement levels, a ground floor and eight upper levels. It is fully let. Le Prélude – Boulogne-Billancourt – A headquarter office building located within Boulogne-Billancourt, in the established Western Business District of Paris. It has a total GLA of approximately 8,200 sqm arranged over three basement levels, a ground floor and six upper levels. It is fully let to a single strong covenant tenant. The JV between Norges Bank and Axa Real Estate was launched in August 2011 to target co-investment opportunities in the Paris office market.

NewAlpha Asset Management, an affiliate of IFO AM specialised in the incubation of management firms in the inception phase, has signed its seventeenth incubation partnership with the Heieck Siebrecht Capital Advisors company, via an investment of USD40m in the asset manager’s flagship fund. HSCA AG, based in Zurich, is an independent company founded in 2009 by Frank Siebrecht and Stefan Heieck. Siebrecht and Heieck had a total of over 26 years of experience in German and European equities. Siebrecht was an equities analyst at Deutsche Bank for 9 years, before spending three years at Absolute Capital Management, where he was co-manager of the Absolute Capital Germany fund. Heieck was in equity sales at DG Financial Markets, and then at ManFirst Capital, before joining Absolute Capital Management to co-manage Absolute Capital Germany. Heieck Siebrecht Capital Advisors uses an absolute return strategy on European equities with a particular focus on German, Swiss and Austrian large and midcaps. HSCA also includes in its investment universe European rivals to their German counterparts.

The California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) has announced the appointment of Carol Baldwin Moody as senior portfolio manager for investment compliance and operational risk. As the head of CalPERS new Investment Compliance function, she will be responsible for developing, implementing and monitoring investment management compliance and operational risk programs and policies. Moody comes to CalPERS from Wilmington Trust, where she was senior vice president and chief risk officer.

The US investment firm Evercore Partners Inc has bought a 45% stake in Evercore Investment Management LLC (24 employtees, USD3.5bn in assets) for about USD45m in cash. The transaction will be closed by the end of the year.The founders and employees of the firm will retain the remaining 55%. Alain De Coster, Laurence Russian and Guilherme Ribeiro do Valle, the founders, will remain as heads of ABS IM, and will sign long-term employment contracts. They will invest a large part of the proceeds of the sale in products managed by ABS.

The French entrepreneurial asset management firm IT Asset Management (about EUR150m in assets) has recruited Ines Thibault as head of sales for France. She had previously been head of sales at Algofi.Pierre Nicolle, an intern sales assistant, has been recruited as a salesperson for France. He joined the asset management firm in December 2009, after being responsible for development of major accounts at a finance specialist IT services company. He will be in charge of monitoring and distribution of funds in France to institutional clients and independent financial advisers.IT Asset Management is also adding to its sales drive in Europe, with the registration of the IT Funds Info Tech fund in Spain, and a new sales partner in the United Kingdom, Gemini Investment Management.

At the end of last month, assets under management by Legg Mason totalled USD628.7bn, compared with USD611.8bn as of 30 September. This level remains well below USD662.5bn at the end of June, and USD671.8bn as of 31 December 2010.Among its long-term assets, the equity allocation increased to USD159.4bn as of the end of October, from USD144.9bn at the end of September (it totalled USD184.2bn as of the end of last year), while bond products totalled USD359bn as of 31 October, compared with USD355.5bn one month previously, and USd355.8bn as of 31 December 2010.Assets in money market funds were down to USD110bn, from USD111.4bn as of 30 September. As of the end of 2010, these asstes totalled USD131.8bn.

The German asset management firm Deka Immobilien has announced that it has resold the logistics property Myren 6 & 8 (15,000 square metres), located in Huddinge near Stockholm, “at a profit.” The property is wholly leased to Posten Sverige AB and was purchased for about EUR35m by the British asset management firm Rockspring Property Investment Managers.Myren 6 & 8 were acquired in 2004 for an institutional real estate fund from Deka.

The board of directors at UBS has appointed Sergio P. Ermotti as CEO of the group, effective immediately. He has held the position for the interim since 24 September 2011. The decision of the board to award the position of group CEO of Ermotti was taken following an extensive evaluation process, the bank said on 15 November in a statement. The chairman of the board of directors, Kaspar Villiger, has decided to step up changes to the board at UBS, and not to stand as a candidate for his own seat at the general assembly on 3 May 2012. After his election to the board of directors at the next general shareholders’ meeting, Axel Weber, who is expected to be appointed as vice-chairman of the board, will succeed Villiger as chairman of the board of directors. The board of directors and the executive board at UBS have finalised their plans to reposition the bank and the board of directors has defined a strategy for UBS. In his new role, Ermotti will be in charge of deploying the new strategy, which “concentrates on our leading wealth management activities and our position as the largest universal bank in Switzerland,” says Ermotti, cited in the statement. The details of the new strategy will be unveiled on UBS Investor Day, which will be held on 17 November 2011 in New York.

Credit Suisse is planning to fully integrate Clariden Leu into its organisation by the end of 2012, the bank announced in a statement on 15 November. The move will result in recurring annual cost savings of about CHF200m, and an increase in private banking profits of CHF800m by 2014. CS is expecting the integration to strengthen its position and to increase the profitability and efficiency of private banking operations. The currently clients of Clariden Leu will be transferred to Credit Suisse. Hans-Ulrich Meister, Chief Executive Officer Private Banking at Credit Suisse, has been elected as chairman of the board at Clariden Leu, while Hanspeter Kurzmeyer is appointed as its new CEO.

A new study by the CFA Institute (“An Examination of Transparency in European Bond Markets”) recommends that post-trade transparency requirements on bond markets be more carefully defined. Investors would thus have improved access to information about prices, and competition would be strengthened, while liquidity would be protected. The report analyses the current situation in terms of transparency on European bond markets, based on the example of Italy, the largest bond market in Europe, and the United States. Italy is now one of the few countries in Europe to have made bond transaction reporting obligatory, while the United States have imposed the transparency requirement since 2002, with the introduction of the TRACE system (Trade Reporting and Compliance Engine). Analysis of these two examples reveals the costs and benefits of increased transparency for investors. At the same time, a recent survey by the CFA Institute of its European members finds that 76% of respondents estimate that profits due to increased transparency on alternative trading platforms offset the costs On the basis of these findings, the CFA Institute recommends that public reporting requirements for bond transactions be introduced throughout the European Union, as a part of the MiFID II regulations. Post-trade transparency requirements should first be calibrated to take into account the size and liquidity of the bond issue. More precisely, it should be possible to shift reporting on major transactions to allow market actors to hedge their positions. That would dissipate some fears about the unuseful exposure of the broker-dealer, which could potentially damage liquidity. The new requirements would then need to be put in place gradually. Market operators need time to adjust their procedures to a new requiremnt. A gradual approach would also reduce the risk of a temporary liquidity shock. Lastly, the authorities need to set minimal standards for the content and format of post-trade transaction data. Investors need to have access to precise and coherent information on bond transactions in order to facilitate the investment decision process. It is essential to have coherent standards for transaction reporting in order to facilitate the consolidation of post-trade data and allow investors to have a wider view of bond market transactions.

Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) has announced the recruitment of Georgia Marshall as head of European research. Marshall is currently regional head of corporate governance at Aviva Investors. She will begin in her new role in January 2012, in London. Marshall will oversee the ISS research teams based in London, Brussels and Paris, covering the United Kingdom and continental Europe.

The Danish pension fund PFA will most likely reduce its exposure to European banks. Jesper Langmack, managing director of PFA for equity and alternative investments, has told the Financial Times that returns on equity at most European banks will fall to 5-10%, due to the Basel III regulations and slowing growth.

The Danish pension fund Lønmodtagernes Dyrtidsfond (LD, DKK50bn) has jointly selected Nykredit and BNY Mellon Asset Servicing as its global custodians, following an EU-wide request for proposals.Nykredit Portefølje Administration will supervise day-to-day administration, while BNY Mellon AS will provide the IT system, process and resources of its global network.

The British asset management firm Legal & General has approached the Cofunds platform with an offer to acquire the activity, in which it already holds a 25% stake, the Sunday Telegraph reports in its 13 November issue. The private equity firm Bridgepoint is also reported to have expressed an interest even before Legal & General made its bid. In addition to Legal & General, the Cofunds shareholders include the IT provider IFDS (24%) th US investment firm Newhouse Capital (18%), the British firms Threadneedle and Jupiter (20% and 10%, respectively), and Prudential (3%). On Monday afternoon, Cofunds denied that it planned to sell the activity.

Henderson Global Investors has teamed up with Sesame Bankhall Group to launch an investment company entitled Optimum Investment Management Limited, Investment Week reports. The joint venture will offer advisers access to an investment solution managed by the multi-management team at Henderson.