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12/08/2013

iShares appoints a new head for Europe, replacing Joe Linhares

BlackRock has appointed a new head for its ETF activities at iShares, the Financial Times reports. Rachel Lord, global head of corporate equity derivatives at Citi, will become head of iShares for the Europe, Middle East and Africa region. She succeeds Linhares, who will return to the United States at the end of 2013, after a three-year term.
12/08/2013

True Potential offers two Goldman Sachs funds on the British market

The True Potential platform has signed a distribution agreement with Goldman Sachs, which will allow it to offer two of its multi-asset class strategies on the British retail market, Fundweb reports. The platform will be exclusively responsible for distribution of the Goldman Sachs Multi-Asset Dynamic Strategy Portfolio and GSQuartix Multi-Asset Dynamic Protection Strategy Portfolio funds to advisers and their clients.
12/08/2013

Phil Milburn adjusts weighting of the Kames Strategic Bond fund

The co-manager of the Kames Strategic Bond fund, Phil Milburn, has reduced his long-term underweight position on interest rate risk, in order to take into account the scale of the recent exodus of investors from bonds, Fundweb reports. Milburn states, however, that his fund, whose assets under management total slightly over USD640m, remains underweight on duration risk, and that this position helped it to get through a period of aversion to bonds.
12/08/2013

Swiss Life settles a lawsuit for EUR11.1m

Swiss Life Select, an affiliate of Swiss Life, and the Austrian consumer protection organisation Verein für Konsumenteninformation VKI, have settled a lawsuit out of court, according to a statement released on 12 August by the insurer Swiss Life. The insurer will pay EUR11.1m to settle the case. The affiliate Swiss Life Select, successor to the financial advisng specialist AWD, has settled a series of class actions as part of mediation approved by the Vienna court. The affiliate will pay damages of EUR11.1m to investors who suffered losses from AWD financial products. After deduction of costs associated with the legal proceedings. VKI will receive EUR7m, which it will pay out to investors who suffered losses.
12/08/2013

Bill Ackman and Perry Capital fund attack JCPenney

Bill Ackman of the fund Pershing Square Capital Management has called for Thomas Engibous, chairman of the board at the retail chain JCPenney, to be replaced as soon as possible, Les Echos reports. Ackman already has a replacement in mind: Allen Questrom, former CEO of JCPenney, who would be willing to return to the role. The current chairman and CEO, Myron Ullman, is not to the liking of Ackman either, who would like to see him go. The speculative fund Perry Capital, which controls 7.3% of capital, on Friday announced that it plans to support Ackman, the largest shareholder in the business. The management at JCPenney has called Ackman’s agitation “misleading, inaccurate and counterproductive,” at a time when the survival of the business is at stake.
12/08/2013

Threadneedle to build presence in Asia

The London-based asset management firm Threadneedle is planning to set up an asset management team in Asia, which will initially specialise in the equity asset class, Asian Investor reports. Threadneedle, which has also received an Islamic finance license for Malaysia, is studying the possibility of creating a range of Sharia-compliant funds. About 10% of assets under management at Threadneedle, which total about GBP86bn, originate from the region.
12/08/2013

Bank J. Safra builds presence in Germany

The Swiss private bank Bank J. Safra (Deutschland) on 9 August announced in a statement that it is planning to build a presence in the south of Germany, opening an office in Stuttgart. The new office will open on 1 October this year, with a dedicated team led by Arthur J. Montanhas, who has been working for the bank since 2009. He will also be regional head for Baden-Wurttemberg, while Werner Shenk becomes deputy director of the Stuttgart office. As a corollary to the opening of this Stuttgart office, activities in Nuremberg will be transferred to Stuttgart and Munich from 30 September 2013, a statement says.
12/08/2013

Comgest reinforces its management team

Comgest has promoted Galina Besedina to strengthen the management team for its GEM Promising Companies fund, Citywire reports. Besedina, an analyst at the firm since January 2008, is assuming responsibility for portfolio management for the first time. She will work alongside Jean-Louis Scandella.
12/08/2013

Soros divests from Pershing Square

Soros Fund Management decided to exit form Pershing Square Capital Management, the fund by William Ackman, due to disappointing returns, according to the Reuters agency, citing a source close to the case. Pershing is expected to redeem funds to Soros, totalling uner USD250m, by the beginning of 2014. Pershing Square lost 2.2% in July, but has continued to deliver returns of 3.8% since the beginning of the year. The decision comes at a time when Soros and William Ackman have been locked in a merciless battle for several months over the case of Herbalife, a firm of which Soros is the chairman.
12/08/2013

ING Financial Partners launches a wealth management platform

ING US, via its broker-dealer ING Financial Partners, is launching a wealth management platform aimed at financial advisers and their clients. The new platform is expected to be operational in fourth quarter 2013 to the 1,500 advisers of the ING Financial Partners network.
12/08/2013

Swan launches a bond fund

The Swiss boutique Swan Asset Management has launched the SIF Bond Enhanced SICAV, an all-terrain global bond fund, Citywire reports. It has also converted one of its funds based in the Cayman Islands into a Sicav entitled Swan SICAV SIF Bond Fund. It is an unconstrained fund.
12/08/2013

“Whale of London” may not face charges

The “Whale of London,” the name attributed to a trader responsible for a trading loss of USD6.2bn at JPMorgan Chase in 2012, may escape charges by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Les Echos reports. The French broker, Bruno Iksil, took disproportionate risks on CDS. The New York Times and the Wall Street Journal report that he is ultimately expected to avoid criminal charges. JPMorgan Chase is reportedly nearing an agreement with the US and British regulatory authorities. A transaction may be announced in autumn, and the SEC is expected to file a civil suit. The reason for this development is that the French trader, who sought to alert his supervisors of the dangers inherent in his positions on several occasions, has been cooperating with authorities. The SEC would also like JPMorgan Chase to admit to “fault” as part of any out-of-court settlement, although the heads of the bank would not personally be held responsible.
12/08/2013

Sponsors of money market funds now support floating share price

Several major money market fund management firms, including J.P. Morgan Chase and Goldman Sachs, are now supporting plans by the SEC to ask the riskiest money market funds held by institutional investors to abandon their constant net asset value of USD1 per share, and adopt a floating share price, the Wall Street Journal reports. In the face of determination from the SEC, promoters of money market funds prefer this solution to the alternatives, particularly since only 35% of the sector would be affected.
12/08/2013

Henderson GI has two news heads in Italy

Henderson Global Investors has appointed Sonia Ginelli as the new general manager of the Italian asset management firm Mario Pellò, as its new head of property in Italy, Fondionline reports. The appointments follow the departure of Alberto Albertazzi, who had served in the two roles until 1 August. Ginelli and Pellò have both worked at Henderson since 2006.
12/08/2013

Invesco appoints a head of sales in Italy

Giulano D’Acunti has recently been appointed as head of sales for Invesco in Italy. In an interview with Bluerating, he explains that in his new role, he will aim to define the commercial strategy for the firm in the country, and also to handle customer relations and support. At the same time, he will retain his position as head of retail distribution. Alongside his appointment, a European sales committee has been created. The new body was sought by Sergio Trezzi, head of Invesco in Europe and head for Italy, and aims to “share market trends and local projects between various countries, and also to work on long-term strategies able to contribute to strengthen the position of Invesco on the European market.” In 2012, Invesco posted net inflows in Italy of EUR2.106bn. In the month of May 2013 alone, the firm posted inflows of EUR440.5m, and now has assets of EUR8bn.
12/08/2013

Slight decline in the default rate for speculative grade corporate issues

The default rate for corporate issues rated speculative grade totalled 2.9% in the month of July, up slightly compared with the previous month (2.8%), the financial ratings agency Moody’s reports. In Europe, the default rate remained stable at 3.4%, while it had remained at 2.8% in the United States, compared with 2.9% the previous month. As of the end of July 2012, the default rate stood at 3.4%, both in Europe and the United States. Since the beginning of the year, the number of issuers rated by Moody’s which defaulted totalled 43, of which 24 were in the United States, 13 in Europe and the remainder in Latin America.
12/08/2013

Departure of a manager from Neptune

Emma Mogford, manager of the Neptune UK Higher Income fund, with GBP2.2m in assets, has left the firm, Investment Week reports. Her fund will be taken over by George Boyd-Bowan.
12/08/2013

Le Brésil vise un accord commercial avec l'Europe

Le gouvernement brésilien prévoit de présenter une proposition d’accord commercial entre les pays du Mercosur (Brésil, Argentine, Venezuela, Paraguay et Uruguay), avec l’Union européenne, indique Antonio Patriota, le ministre brésilien des Affaires étrangères, au Financial Times. Ce qui permettrait à chaque pays du Mercosur de réaliser ses propres accords bilatéraux, selon lui.
12/08/2013

Bercy persiste sur sa prévision de croissance

La France n’a pas l’intention de modifier ses prévisions de croissance de +0,1% de PIB pour 2013 et +1,2% pour 2014, a déclaré hier le ministre de l’Economie et des Finances, Pierre Moscovici. La vieille, il avait pourtant estimé qu’elle se situerait plutôt entre moins 0,1% et plus 0,1%.
12/08/2013

La Bundesbank s'inquiète de la situation grecque

La banque centrale allemande s’attend à ce que la Grèce ait besoin au plus tard début 2014 d’un nouveau soutien financier de ses partenaires européens, rapporte Der Spiegel, citant un document de la Bundesbank. La Buba qualifie d'«extrêmement élevés» les risques liés au plan d’aide en cours et critique le feu vert donné le mois dernier au versement à Athènes d’une enveloppe de 5,8 milliards d’euros, une décision qu’elle juge «motivée par des intérêts politiques».
12/08/2013

La succession de Ben Bernanke à la tête de la Fed est ouverte

Barack Obama a déclaré vendredi que Lawrence Summers et Janet Yellen, les deux personnalités les plus fréquemment citées comme de possibles successeurs de Ben Bernanke, étaient hautement qualifiés, mais il a précisé que leurs noms ne seraient pas les seuls étudiés. «Je prendrai la décision cet automne», a ajouté le président américain.
12/08/2013

Le plan de relance italien approuvé par le parlement

Malgré un contexte politique difficile, la chambre basse du parlement italien a définitivement approuvé vendredi un plan de relance présenté par le gouvernement d’Enrico Letta, qui compte simplifier l’administration et promouvoir des projets publics pour aider à sortir le pays de la récession.
12/08/2013

La croissance australienne en berne

Malgré une baisse de son taux directeur à 2,5% mardi dernier, la banque centrale australienne (RBA) a abaissé ses prévisions de croissance du pays et table désormais sur une hausse du PIB de 2,25% contre une prévision précédente de 2,5%. Elle voit ensuite la croissance remonter à 2,5% vers la mi-2014 et atteindre 3% d’ici à la fin de 2015.
12/08/2013

L’Inde prend des mesures contre la chute de la roupie

La banque centrale indienne (RBI) a indiqué qu’elle prévoyait de mettre sur le marché quelque 220 milliards de roupies (2,7 milliards d’euros) de titres à court terme chaque semaine, afin de limiter la chute de la devise qui est tombée mardi dernier à 61,805, son plus faible niveau historique face au dollar.
12/08/2013

Rebond anticipé de la croissance allemande

L'économie allemande devrait enregistrer une croissance de 0,75% au deuxième trimestre, son rythme le plus élevé depuis plus de deux ans, mais elle ralentira au cours du second semestre, a déclaré vendredi à Reuters Bernhard Heitzer, secrétaire d'État au ministère de l'Économie et de la Technologie. «La croissance sera moins forte au cours de la deuxième partie de l’année», a-t-il prévenu.
12/08/2013

Hausse des défaillances d’entreprises en France

Le nombre de faillites d’entreprises a augmenté de 4,3% en juin sur douze mois, selon des chiffres provisoires publiés vendredi par la Banque de France. Ce sont les micro-entreprises qui sont les plus touchées, avec une hausse des défaillances de 4,4%, contre une baisse de 1,9% pour les autres PME. «Les encours de crédit portés par les entreprises défaillantes représentent 0,5% du total des encours de crédit déclarés», précise la BdF.
12/08/2013

L’Euribor USD disparaît faute de contributeurs

L’indice Euribor dollar, qui a été introduit en avril 2012 pour concurrencer l’indice Libor libellé en dollar (Libor USD), va finalement être retiré du marché dès le 1er septembre, les contributeurs ne souhaitant plus apporter leurs contributions dans un contexte réglementaire de plus en plus strict, a indiqué le groupe bruxellois Euribor-EBF qui gère les indices Euribor. «L’environnement actuel et les réformes en termes de régulation ont rendu les contributions difficiles. Nous sommes triste de perdre l’Euribor USD mais nous comprenons la position des banques», explique à Bloomberg Cédric Quéméner, directeur d’Euribor-EBF. Dix des 20 contributeurs, dont Commerzbank et Natixis le mois dernier, ont en effet décidé de ne plus contribuer au fixing de l’indice, suite aux 2,5 milliards de dollars d’amende qu’ont dû payer RBS, UBS et Barclays pour manipulations des taux Libor et Euribor.
12/08/2013

Chute des prêts bancaires en Chine

Les banques chinoises ont accordé 699,90 milliards de yuans de nouveaux prêts au mois de juillet, un montant en recul de près de 19%, selon les chiffres publiés par la Banque Populaire de Chine. «On peut voir l’impact négatif de la crise de liquidités enregistrée en juin sur le marché interbancaire sur le volume de crédit disponible pour l'économie réelle», analyse Bank of America Merrill Lynch.
12/08/2013

Inflation stable à 1,2% en Italie

Le rythme annuel de hausse des prix à la consommation est resté stable à 1,2% au mois de juillet en Italie, selon l’Institut des statistiques Istat. Un niveau équivalent à celui calculé en normes harmonisées de l’Union européenne (IPCH).
12/08/2013

La dette japonaise franchit un seuil psychologique

Alors que le gouvernement a annoncé un plan de coupes dans les dépenses publiques et hésite encore à recourir à une hausse du taux de TVA, le ministère des Finances japonais a signalé que la dette publique du pays avait dépassé le seuil symbolique d’un million de milliards de yens (7.734 milliards d’euros) à la fin du mois de juin, soit 245% du PIB.

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