Le quotidien indique que les investisseurs internationaux pourraient être tentés de tester le tout nouveau ministre japonais des Finances, Koriki Jojima, sur son attitude vis-à-vis du yen. Son prédécesseur Jun Azumi était un fervent partisan de l’interventionnisme visant à freiner la vigueur de la devise japonaise sur les marchés.

Le nombre de transactions financières enregistrées à Hong Kong et qui ont été réalisées en violation de la loi a explosé au premier semestre de l’année de 29% pour atteindre 11.860, selon le South China Morning Post qui cite des sources judiciaires. Un volume croissant de fonds suspects étrangers viendrait également se loger dans les comptes des banques de Hong Kong.

La branche immobilière de la Caisse de Dépôts du Québec, Ivanhoe-Cambridge, «continue de faire le ménage dans ses actifs parisiens». Après avoir racheté en avril le siège de PSA Avenue de la Grande Armée, elle met en vente trois immeubles de bureaux dont elle espère retirer 715 millions d’euros. Le portefeuille comprend la tour Pacific à la Défense, le siège d’Areva non loin de l’Opéra et celui de Vivendi Avenue de Friedland.

Les marchés d'actions ont bénéficié des annonces des banques centrales au troisième trimestre plus que d'un retournement des perspectives

La chambre de compensation, sur le point d'être achetée par le LSE, devra lever de 300 à 375 millions de capital pour répondre aux exigences des régulateurs. Ils veulent rendre les infrastructures de post-marché plus résistantes alors que la compensation des dérivés va augmenter.

L'économie grecque devrait se contracter de 3,8% l'an prochain après avoir reculé de 6,5% cette année. Le déficit est attendu à 4,2% du PIB

Le ratio de dépenses publiques sur PIB ne diminuera qu'à partir de 2014, et avec l'hypothèse d'une croissance de 2%

Les régulateurs ont déjà essuyé un échec mais un comité dépendant du Trésor devrait remettre des propositions de réforme sur la table

La société, qui a levé 1,4 milliard d’euros de nouveaux capitaux, entend porter son programme de financement à 7 milliards d’euros d’ici à fin 2012

Le groupe italien d’aérospatiale et de défense Finmeccanica a reçu une manifestation d’intérêt de la part du Fondo Strategico Italiano (FSI) pour sa filiale AndalsoEnergia, a rapporté Reuters. L’offre, qui semble porter sur les 55% détenus par Finmeccanica dans sa filiale énergie, serait formulée de concert avec un groupe d’hommes d’affaires italiens.

Nobles Crus, one of the foremost wine investment funds in the world, values its assets at far higher levels than those used by ten of its rivals, Financial Times Fund Management has learned. The difference raises questions about precise valuations on the market for fine wines, which has attracted billions of dollars in investment in the past few years. Few wine funds have performed better than Nobles Crus, which was launched in 2008 with EUR2m, and now has EUR109m in assets, FTfm notes.

Anne Boyon Fuster, Responsable de la coordination et du développement de l'épargne salariale, Total lors d’une table ronde organisée par amLeague et Newsmanagers : « Il y a 4,5 milliards d’euros d'épargne salariale chez Total. Aujourd’hui, quand on regarde nos allocations d’actifs on est Europe à 95 % environ, d’ailleurs beaucoup plus zone Euro qu’Europe. Il est évident qu’on réfléchit pour sortir un peu de cette zone géographique. Il n’y a pas de règle, mais cela pourrait intervenir l’année prochaine par exemple, mais pas pour tous, seulement pour certains fonds sur lesquels on se pose des questions. Tout ceci ne se décrètent pas au niveau de l'épargne salariale de Total. Ce sont des décisions qui doivent être accompagnées par les conseils de surveillance, en concertation avec nos organisations syndicales et avec les représentants des porteurs de parts qui sont décideurs sur ce sujet. Nous n’avons qu’un tiers des sièges dans les conseils de surveillance. Aucune décision ne se prend sur notre seule conviction. C’est en partageant ces convictions qu’on peut faire avancer les mandats. Nous avons une gamme de sept fonds qui sont gérés par plusieurs sociétés de gestion que nous sélectionnons. On trouve assez sain de remettre en cause les mandats régulièrement, quelle que soit la qualité du gérant. Evidemment, big is beautiful chez Total. On aura du mal à aller chez les petites maisons de gestion. Mais petit à petit, ce sont des choses qui se font. Cela peut être des arguments pour faire rentrer dans la gamme des maisons de gestion plus petites et moins connues des conseils de surveillance du groupe, de conforter des convictions que nous pouvons avoir en tant que professionnels; même si nous ne sommes pas des professionnels de la gestion, nous avons quand même une vision du marché, des gérants, de leur positionnement. Si on ne suit pas et si l’on n’est pas en veille sur le marché, on décroche assez vite. »

Le présent appel à manifestation d’intérêt porte sur la sélection de la société de gestion (pour une durée de 7 ans reconductible) chargée de la gestion de la SAS Nord France Amorçage, de ses relations avec les investisseurs (sélection et suivi des partenaires) ainsi que du contrôle, de la mise en oeuvre de la stratégie et du plan d’investissement, de l'étude des projets, du suivi des participations et de l’accompagnement des PME. Créé en septembre 2012 par la Région Nord Pas de Calais, Nord France Amorçage a pour objectif de soutenir les jeunes entreprises innovantes par des interventions en fonds propres (prises de participation en capital, obligations convertibles, ou prêts participatifs). Le fonds est doté de 5 M€ dont 4 M€ au titre du programme opérationnel FEDER 2007 - 2013. Le principe consiste à co investir dans les PME éligibles selon le principe de pari passu, c’est à dire 50 % au plus en partenariat avec un investisseur de capital risque. La société interviendra selon les mêmes conditions, le même niveau de risque et de subordination que le partenaire financier. Il est précisé que cet appel à manifestation d’intérêt s’inscrit dans le cadre défini au niveau européen (1ère mesure du régime communautaire cadre N629/2007 d’interventions publiques en capital investissement régional. La sélection s’effectuera conformément à l’article 44-2-b et c du règlement de la commission européenne 1828/2006, du 8.12.2006, par le biais d’un appel à manifestation d’Intéret au travers d’un processus de due diligence visant à s’assurer que la Société de gestion s’appuie sur une équipe professionnelle et expérimentée et pérenne, dont les pratiques sont conformes aux standards du marché respectant les normes professionnelles et notamment, celles édictées par l’AFIC et et l’Unicer. Pour lire l’avis complet : cliquez ici

The Alternative Investment Management Association (AIMA), the global hedge fund industry association, has announced the formation of a new AIMA Council, its board of directors. The new non-executive chairman was named by AIMA last week as the former US Securities and Exchange Commissioner Kathleen Casey. She replaces out-going AIMA non-executive chairman Todd Groome, who had been in the role since 2009. Kathleen Casey is joined on the new AIMA Council by Olwyn Alexander, Partner, PwC; Mark O’Sullivan, Partner, Ernst & Young LLP; Phil Schmitt, President, Summerwood Capital Corp.; and Henry Smith, Global Managing Partner, Maples and Calder. Those continuing their Directorships of AIMA are Andrew Baker, Chief Executive Officer, AIMA; Andrew Bastow, General Counsel, Director of Government & Regulatory Affairs, Winton Capital; James G. Dinan, Founder, Chairman & CEO, York Capital Management; Chris Pearce, Asia COO, Marshall Wace Asia Ltd; Paul Sater, Partner, Ernst & Young; and Phil Tye, Co-Founder and Managing Director, DragonBack Capital Limited.

The French firm Amundi ETF has announced that it has registered two bond products in Spain, the Amundi ETF Euro Corporates Financials iBoxx, which replicates the Markit iBoxx EUR Liquid Financials Index (TR), and the Amundi ETF Euro Corporate Ex Financials iBoxx, which aims to track the evolution of the Markit iBoxx EUR Liquid Non-Financials Index (TR).The two products, which charge 0.16% each, bring the number of ETFs from Amundi registered in Spain to eight. The first five were licensed in March, and the sixth in July.

Mutual Fund Wire has reported on a BlackRock “ViewPoint” which issues proposals for money market reforms. The proposals seek a compromise with the Treasury and the SEC, particularly in accepting the notion of short-circuits, similar to the “gates” which Secretary fo the Treasury Tim Geithner has proposed to protect money market funds from massive capital outflows. Meanwhile, BlackRock has adopted a more conciliatory attitude to proposals by Mary Schapiro, chairwoman of the SEC, to introduce floating net asset value: a study is said to have shown that these proposals “would change but not destroy” the sector.

The Swedish asset management firm Wiborg Kapitalförvaltning is closing the Consepio hedge fund, “which has recently disappointed both investors and portfolio managers,” the firm has announced. Since the beginning of the year, the fund has lost 17.14%. The fund was an equity long/short product, with a bias for Scandinavian markets. Its assets as of the end of April were SEK322m, Its average annual returns since launch on 1 February 2002 come to 6.14%, and its total returns to 88.75%. The fund was managed by Ragnhild Wiborg and Aline Reichenberg Gustaffson.

In London and Frankfurt, Goldman Sachs Asset Management (USD836bn in assets as of the end of June) on 1 October announced the release of the Goldman Sachs Liberty Harbor Opportunistic Corporate Bond Portfolio, a Luxembourg-registered long-only fund of corporate bonds with no constraints or benchmark index, managed actively by its affiliate Liberty Harbor. The team responsible for the fund (launched on 4 April) will aim to keep a short duration. The fund is now licensed for sale in Germany.CharacteristicsName: Goldman Sachs Liberty Harbor Opportunistic Corporate Bond PortfolioManagement commission: 1.50% for basic distribution shares in US dollars ( LU0727289802), for A shares (in US dollars, LU0751755405) and for E shares in euros hedged for currency rates (LU0751755231).A and E shares carry a distribution commission of 0.50%.Minimal subscription: USD5,000 for basic shares, and USD1,500 or EUR1,500 for A and E shares.

The central asset management firm for the German co-operative banks, Union Investment, has announced that it has already attracted EUR50m from institutional investors for its new Luxembourg-registered specialised investment fund (SIF), which will invest 70% of its portfolio in wind energy on land, and up to 30% of its assets in solar energy.Union will focus on countries at the core of Europe, such as Germany, France and the United Kingdom, and will add selective investments in Scandinavia and Poland.The objective is to reach EUR300m in owners’ equity, and annual returns averaging 6% to 8%. Initial subscriptions are set at EUR2.5m.

On 1 October, Union Investment released an additional fund in its Riester product range (subsidized retirement savings), the UniProfiRenteSelect. It is aimed at the most elderly clients, for whom the minimal duration for a Rieste UniProfiRente policy (10 years) is too long. The minimal duration is not part of the conditions for Select, which will allow holders of Riester policies with other providers to transfer their policy to Union Investment, even shortly before their retirement date.Subscribers hoping to receive gains beyond the legal savings guarantee period may take out an optional additional guarantee.

Between January and August, Raiffeisen Capital Management has posted inflows of about EUR450m in Italy, Donato Giannico, head for Italy at the Austrian asset management firm, has announced in an interview with Soldi&bluerating. The firm is also planning to launch hree funds on the Italian retail market: a strategic allocation fund, a bond fund which will manage duration, and a fund of bond funds composed solely of Raiffeisen funds.

The independent research provider Morningstar has announced the acquisition of a minority stake of 34% in the Swedish firm Financial Europe AB, which provides estimates of the consensus on specific data about businesses, such as sales projections for a particular division. The transaction price has not been disclosed.

Six private infrastructure funds have held a final closing in third quarter, to raise a total of USD2.7bn, down 48% compared with second quarter, according to statistics released by Preqin. However, ten infrastructure funds have held intermediate closings in third quarter totalling a cumulative USD14bn, an increase of 33% quarter on quarter.

The Swiss federal financial market surveillance authority, Finma, has elected Franz Wipfli to the board of directors, and appointed Paul Müller, currently a member of the same board, as its vice-chairman. The business economist Wipfli has had a long career in the insurance sector, concluding as CEO of the affiliate of the Zurich insurance group in Austria, and member of the extended board of the Zurich Financial Services group. The new vice-chairman of the board of directors, Müller has been a member of the board since 2009, and succeeds Monika Mächler in the role.

Guillaume Jonchères, who had been president and CEO of the asset management firm Cogefi until April this year, has joined Banque Leonardo. In the asset management unit of the firm, he becomes head of management for the Imago fund, a long/short equity fund investing in Europe, launched a few days ago. The fund will remain in incubation for some time before being released for sale.

With its new electronic trading platform for corporate bonds, known as Aladdin Trading Network, BlackRock is venturing into terrain which has hitherto been dominated by Wall Street banks, but which they have been neglecting, the Financial Times reports. The system will allow buyers and sellers of this kind of debt to trade with each others directly, rather than going through a bank. The activity has been developed by Richard Pager, who joined BlackRock three years ago, and who is global head of trading.

A manager of a division of SAC Capital Advisors, Michael Steinberg, has been placed on paid leave after his name appeared in a government investigation into insider trading, a source familiar with the matter cited by the Wall Street Journal states. Steinberg had been working at Sigma, a division of SAC, since 1997, and is close to the founder of SAC, Steven A. Cohen. The scandal is related to the trial of Jon Horvath, a former SAC analyst, who is cooperating with the government, and has confessed to obtaining insider information. He is said to have shared it with Steinberg.

Un gérant d’une division de SAC Capital Adcisors, Michael Steinberg, a été placé en congé payé après que son nom soit apparu dans l’enquête du gouvernement sur les délits d’initiés, selon un personne proche du dossier citée par The Wall Street Journal.Michael Steinberg travaille chez Sigma, la division de SAC, depuis 1997 et est un proche du fondateur de SAC, Steven A. Cohen. L’affaire est liée au procès de Jon Horvath, un ancien analyste de SAC, qui coopère avec le gouvernement et a admis avoir obtenu des informations confidentielles. Il les aurait partagées avec Michael Steinberg.

AXA Real Estate Investment Managers, with over EUR42 billion of assets under management as of June 2012, announces a new round of fund raising to bring its total Commercial Real Estate (CRE) debt programme to EUR7 billion by the end of 2012. AXA Real Estate aims to secure around EUR2 billion of additional investment capacity by the end of 2012, having already received around EUR1.4 billion commitments from investors. In addition to targeting existing and new investors in its core markets of the UK and France, AXA Real Estate will concentrate its marketing efforts in Germany, the Netherlands, the Nordics and Switzerland. The new tranche of fundraising follows EUR1.3 billion of investments made by AXA Real Estate in the first half of 2012. This significant volume of transactions has enabled the company to increase its investment target to EUR2.4 billion for the full year, compared to the EUR2 billion target it set in January.

On Friday, the last day of Mark Fetting’s term as CEO of Legg Mason, Nelson Peltz sold 1.82 million shares in the asset management firm for about EUR12.9m, and his stake now totals 9.54%, compared with 10.9% previously, Mutual Fund Wire reports, citing a notification from Trian, Peltz’s firm, to the SEC.Mutual Fund Wire observes that Peltz has signed a standstill agreement with Legg Mason until 30 November. This will then allow him to buy further shares if he would like to follow up on his efforts to take control of the firm, and then dismantle it.For his part, Ross Kerber, of Reuters, says that the headhunting agency Korn/Ferry has been selected by Legg Mason to seek a successor to Fetting.The press agency reports that the three names cited for the position of CEO are Ronald O’Hanley, head of the asset management division at Fidelity Investments, Sallie Krawcheck, who was head of the asset and wealth management unit at Bank of America, and Peter Ciezko, one of the executives of American Century Investments, who has already previously worked at Legg Mason.