Agefi reports, citing information in the New York Post, that the private equity funds TPG, Leonard Green, Berksire Partners and CCMP are reportedly in the running for the last request for proposals in the next few weeks to acquire the US activities of Redcats, an affiliate of the PPR group. Eight brands are included, primarily including the plus size clothing website and catalogue company OneStopPlus.

As announced late in May by Newsmanagers (see Newsmanagers of 31 May 2012), Thomas d’Hauteville has joined M&G Investments as head of distribution in its Paris team. D’Hauteville was previously in charge of investor relations for North and South-West France at DNCA Finance. D”Hauteville will cover distribution activities in the North and South-West France regions for M&G.

La société de gestion Vivienne Investissement rejoint à compter du 1er octobre prochain le championnat amLeague. Adepte de la gestion quantitative, assurant la gestion d’un fonds «global macro» dénommé Ouessant, Vivienne Investissement interviendra de fait dans le cadre du mandat «multi asset class».Vivienne Investissement est une société de gestion quantitative indépendante issue d’un laboratoire de recherche et développement en finance quantitative fondé en 2005, et dont l’objectif a été, au moyen des mathématiques, d’innover et élaborer un processus de gestion robuste. Avec un track record obtenu en gestion pour compte propre, la société a élargi son activité à la gestion pour compte de tiers le 22 mai dernier.En rejoignant amLeague, Laurent Jaffrès, le président fondateur de la société compte ainsi accélerer le développement de son fonds en le faisant connaître auprès des investisseurs institutionnels, la gestion privée ou les family offices, etc. Le fonds, qui affiche un encours de 1,5 million d’euros, devrait cependant, dès l’année prochaine, être proposé aux particuliers via les conseillers en gestion de patrimoine.

The US hedge fund Strategic Value Partners has recruited Steve McGuinness, a former Goldman Sachs Asset Management executive, the Financial Times reports. He will be senior managing director at SVP, in charge of development, and will report to Victor Khosla, founder of the hedge fund. SVP has USD4bn in assets under management, of which USD2.2bn have been invested in distressed debt in the past 20 months.

The S&P 500 index has posted gains of 12% since the beginning of the year, of which 9.8 percentage points have been since 1 June. This movement has caught defensive fund and hedge fund managers off guard, and they have now to buy shares not to be left out, in a trend which may drive up the price of equities further, the Wall Street Journal notes. However, there is a lot of uncertainty in Europe and about the Fed’s monetary stance, and so some managers are preferring to “keep their power dry.”

The US affiliate of Julius Baer Holding, Artio Global Funds, has filed with the SEC a fall in its profits in first half, to USD6.87bn, compared with USD44.7bn in January-June 2011.Assets as of 30 June totalled USD21.16bn, compared with USD46.83bn twelve months previously. Net redemptions totalled USD10.46bn, compared with USD7.76bn, while market effects were positive by USD1.26bn in the first six months of the year (compared with USD1.19bn in first half 2011), despite a negative impact of USD1.02bn in first quarter.In the period under review, Artio laid off 25 employees, but this measure which aimed to save USD20m annually did not affect portfolio managers or analysts in the areas of international equities, high yield or high grade bonds. The asset management firm has announced that it will be liquidating its four US equity funds (Artio US Multicap Fund, Artio US Midcap Fund, Artio US Smallcap Fund and Artio US Microcap Fund).

Funds People reports that, according to Expansión, Santander is planning to merge its ten foreign asset management affiliates in a single holding company. The project is already well-advanced, as Spanish, UK, Argentinian and Luxembourg asset management firms have already been integrated, and the Mexican asset management firm of the group will soon be added as the bank in this country holds its IPO.The group will gradually transfer the Brazilian, Chilean, Polish, Puerto Rican and Swiss asset management firms to the holding company, while Santander Asset Management has recently founded a German affiliate, which will soon open in Frankfurt.

Last month, daily trading volumes for on-book trades of ETFs on European markets of NYSE Euronext fell 16.4% compared with the previous month, to EUR191.7m, compared with EUR239.7m in July, and EUR257.7m in June. There were no new launches in August, and at the end of the month, the number of publicly-traded ETFs totalled 676, of which 587 were primary listings, comapred with 687 and 593 at the end of July.Block trades in August totalled EUR521.2m, compared with EUR741.5m in July (-29.7%), and EUR733.4m in June. They also represented 11.8% of total trading volume, compared with 14.1% in July The median spread in August stood at 28.1 basis points, compared with 29.7 points the previous month, and 31.15 points in June.

The flagship index of the Paris stock exchange may be changed at the end of this week, Les Echos reports. Peugeot may be remoed from the index, to be replaced by the chemist Solvay, according to market specialists. Arkema and Sodexo are also among the candidates to join the CAC 40, where they would join Alcatel-Lucent and STMicroelectronics. The decision may be taken later this week, this evening or tomorrow, marking the first changes to the flagship index for nearly one year.

Selon nos informations, la Banque Postale pour compte propre a terminé une phase de sélection pour un gestionnaire de fonds contractuel dédié portant sur la multigestion alternative. Le montant serait de l’ordre de 50 millions d’euros avec la prise en compte de filtres ISR dans la sélection. A l’issue de la procédure d’appel d’offres restreints (3 finalistes), le choix s’est porté sur Amundi IS en association avec Morningstar comme advisor. Contacté à ce sujet, la Banque Postale n’a pas souhaité commenter cette information.

The Scottish asset management firm Aberdeen Asset Management, via its German affiliate Aberden Immobilien Kapitalanlagegessellschaft, this May launched a real estate fund aimed at institutional investors, with slightly over EUR100m in initial capital. It is the second real estate fund launched this year in Germany by Aberdeen. The fund, known as «Städte und Wohnen,” will initially invest in residential properties in Berlin, Frankfurt, Hamburg and Karlsruhe. Investments are also underway in Heidelberg and Munich. The objective for the fund is to invest about EUR1bn in German residential real estate.

GulfMena and SoloCapital will be launching a hedge fund in the next few days, which will be based in Dubai, and which will be only the second hedge fund accepted by the financial markets, Mena FM reports. The two firms are planning to deploy a systematic trading strategy which aims for returns of over 25% per year, with volatility of about 10%. The hedge fund, which has already been approve by the regulatory authorities, will be launched in mid-September with capital of EUR10m. The two partners are aiming for assets of EUR40m to EUR50m by the end of the year, and EUR250m to EUR350m in the next three years.

Switzerland, for the fourth consecutive year, tops the overall rankings in The Global Competitiveness Report 2012-2013, released on September 5 by the World Economic Forum. France has lost three places to 21st place, due to the declining confidence of investors in tax policies that heavily penalise investment decisions. Singapore remains in second position and Finland in third position, overtaking Sweden (4th). These and other Northern and Western European countries dominate the top 10 with the Netherlands (5th), Germany (6th) and United Kingdom (8th). The United States (7th), Hong Kong (9th) and Japan (10th) complete the ranking of the top 10 most competitive economies. The report indicates that Switzerland and countries in Northern Europe have been consolidating their strong competitiveness positions since the financial and economic downturn in 2008. On the other hand, countries in Southern Europe, i.e. Portugal (49th), Spain (36th), Italy (42nd) and particularly Greece (96th) continue to suffer from competitiveness weaknesses in terms of macroeconomic imbalances, poor access to financing, rigid labour markets and an innovation deficit. Despite growing its overall competitiveness score, the United States continues its decline for the fourth year in a row, falling two more places to seventh position. In addition to the burgeoning macroeconomic vulnerabilities, some aspects of the country’s institutional environment continue to raise concern among business leaders, particularly the low public trust in politicians and a perceived lack of government efficiency. On a more positive note, the country still remains a global innovation powerhouse and its markets work efficiently. The large emerging market economies (BRICS) display different performances. Despite a slight decline in the rankings of three places, the People’s Republic of China (29th) continues to lead the group. Of the others, only Brazil (48th) moves up this year, with South Africa (52nd), India (59th) and Russia (67th) experiencing small declines in rankings.

The number of fallen angels, or companies whose ratings have fallen from investment grade into the speculative category, totalled 30 in second quarter, compared with 6 in the previous quarter, and 25 one year earlier, according to the financial rating agency Moody’s which is offering a new quarterly review of changes in ratings for investment grade corporate issuers. Moody’s sates that 26 of the fallen angels in second quarter, 87% of the total, were based in Europe, which brings the rate of fallen angels in Europe to 3.3% compared with 0.8% in first quarter 2012. This percentage is only 0.1% in North America and 0.0% in Asia, while the global rate was 1.2%, compared with 0.2% in first quarter. Moody’s estimates, however, that the rate of fallen angels will fall to 0.8% in third quarter, with rates of 0.5% in North America, 0.2% in Asia and 1.6% in Europe. This significant improvement in the European rate is said to be related to stabilising outlooks for the financial sector due to poor results in second quarter. Only 12% of firms in the financial sector are on a negative ratings watch at the end of second quarter, compared with 55% at the end of first quarter 2012.

Following the recent manipulation of LIBOR, the European Commission on September 5 launched a consultation inviting stakeholders to comment on possible new rules for the production and use of indices serving as benchmarks in financial and other contracts.Commissioner for Internal Market and Services Michel Barnier said: «The international investigations underway into the manipulation of LIBOR have revealed yet another example of unacceptable behaviour by banks. Doubts about the accuracy and integrity of indices can undermine market confidence, cause significant losses to consumers and investors, and distort the real economy. It is therefore essential that steps are taken to ensure the integrity of benchmarks and the benchmark-setting process. The Commission has already acted quickly to amend its legislative proposals on market abuse. However, changing the sanctions regime alone may not be sufficient: wider work is required to regulate how indices and benchmarks are compiled, produced and used."The consultation is wide-ranging: it covers all benchmarks, not just interest rate benchmarks such as LIBOR but also commodities and real estate price indices for example and it seeks to identify possible shortcomings at every stage in the production and use of benchmarks.The ultimate objective is to ensure the integrity of benchmarks. All options are on the table but any solution should guarantee that benchmarks are not subject to conflicts of interest, reflect the economic reality that they are intended to measure and are used appropriately.

Tobias Pross, director of institutional distribution, on 5 September announced that Allianz Global Investors (AGI) will be offering its clients a way to reduce counterparty risks on their over-the-counter derivatives (OTC) from December: transactions made in this area from client portfolios will go via a central counterparty. AGI will thus allow investors to benefit from the protection provided by European Market Infrastructure Regulation (EMIR), which is expected to come into force sometime in 2013.

On 6 August, the US firm Eaton Vance completed its acquisition of 49% of the Canadian firm Hexavest (CAD10.8bn in assets as of the end of July). On 4 September, Eaton Vance (USD192.9bn in assets as of 31 July) announced that it is launching four equity funds, which will be managed by the Hexavest team led by Vital Proulx, chairman and CIO.The funds are the Eaton Vance Hexavest Emerging Markets Equity Fund (Class A: EHEAX, Class I: EHEIX), Eaton Vance Hexavest Global Equity Fund (Class A: EHGAX, Class I: EHGIX), Eaton Vance Hexavest International Equity Fund (Class A: EHIAX, Class I: EHIIX) and Eaton Vance Hexavest U.S. Equity Fund (Class A: EHUAX, Class I: EHUIX). These products will be managed with a method that combines Hexavest’s proprietary fundamental approach with quantitative models.

Vanguard Group has announced that Edward Owens, senior vice president of Wellington Management Company, which manages 20 Vanguard funds, will be retiring at the end of this year, the Wall Street Journal reports. Owens manages the Vanguard Health Care Fund, whose assets total USD22.4bn.Owens will be replaced by Jean Hynes, associate portfolio manager, who has been a part of the fund’s management team since 1991.

The Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations this morning signed an agreement with China Development Bank, its Chinese counterpart, to invest in French and Chinese SMEs, Les Echos reports. The two partners are creating a fund with EUR150m in assets, to be managed by Cathay Capital. The fund offers a way for China to invest in French SMEs with EUR10m to EUR200m in earnings, and for France to invest in Chinese businesses, with investments of EUR3m to EUR15m. Two investments have already been identified.

The joint venture Ping An Russell Investments is preparing to launch a multi-managed fund aimed at high net worth individual (HNWI) clients early in fourth quarter, Hedge Week reports. The new product, known as MoM, will provide access to the same local hedge funds selected by Russell Investment for US dollar investors via the future QFII fund reserved for qualified foreign institutional investors.

Le ministre des Finances allemand s’est dit convaincu que la zone euro compterait toujours 17 membres l’an prochain, renforçant ainsi le sentiment que Berlin n’entend pas en voir la Grèce écartée. Les inspecteurs de la «troïka» des créanciers de la Grèce sont attendus à Athènes cette semaine pour faire le point sur les réformes en cours, qui visent à réduire les dépenses budgétaires de 12 milliards d’euros en deux ans.

Le Trésor néerlandais a émis mercredi pour 3,5 milliards d’obligations à 3 ans en dollars, à un coupon de 0,25%. De sources de marché, il s’agit du coupon le plus bas jamais enregistré pour un émetteur non américain. Le rendement à l'émission a atteint quant à lui 0,507%.

La hausse de la productivité non agricole aux Etats-Unis a été plus marquée au deuxième trimestre que précédemment estimé, alors que le coût unitaire du travail augmentait plus modérément, a indiqué le département du Travail. La productivité, qui mesure la production horaire par salarié, a crû de 2,2% en rythme annuel, alors que sa hausse avait auparavant été estimée à 1,6%. Elle avait reculé de 0,5% au premier trimestre.

La banque centrale canadienne est restée campée sur ses positions, répétant qu’elle pourrait devoir relever ses taux d’intérêt en dépit du ralentissement économique mondial et prédisant une accélération de son économie nationale cette année et l’an prochain, accompagnée d’un retour de l’inflation à son objectif d’ici un an. Comme attendu, elle a laissé son taux d’intervention à 1%, le niveau qui est le sien depuis deux ans. Le Canada est le premier pays à avoir relevé ses taux en 2010.

A la veille du discours de Mario Draghi, les fuites se multiplient sur les intentions de la Banque centrale européenne. Selon des banquiers centraux cités par Bloomberg, le président de la BCE devrait annoncer des achats d’obligations souveraines stérilisés sur une base illimitée.

Une révision de l’hypothèse de la croissance en France pour l’année 2013, de 1,2% actuellement, n’est pas à l’ordre du jour, a déclaré la porte-parole du gouvernement, semblant contredire les propos de Jean-Marc Ayrault. « Le Premier ministre a eu l’occasion de dire que nous nous adapterions à la situation, mais encore une fois les prévisions de croissance ne sont pas une donnée exogène qui tombe du ciel, c’est aussi une donnée sur laquelle on agit justement par un certain nombre de politiques publiques que nous portons aujourd’hui pour relancer l’emploi et la croissance. »

Les ventes au détail dans la zone euro ont reculé de 0,2% en juillet, comme prévu, un repli qui met fin à une serie de deux hausses mensuelles consécutives, a annoncé Eurostat. Sur un an, les ventes de détail reculent cependant plus que prévu, de 1,7%, alors que les économistes tablaient sur un repli de 1,5%.

L’Allemagne, qui adjugeait mercredi 5 milliards d’euros de Bunds à 10 ans, n’a finalement reçu que 3,93 milliards d’euros d’offres de la part des investisseurs et n’en a accepté que 3,61 milliards. Le rendement moyen est de 1,42%. Outre la concurrence d’autres papiers notés AAA cette semaine, ce relatif échec s’explique aussi par l’attentisme des gérants à la veille de la réunion de la BCE. Les stratégistes de BNP Paribas y voient plutôt le signe d’une moindre aversion pour le risque de la part des investisseurs.

L’activité des services s’est contractée en août en France, alors qu’un léger rebond était attendu pour la première fois depuis quatre mois, et les entreprises du secteur ont diminué leurs effectifs au rythme le plus marqué depuis mars 2010. Selon les résultats définitifs de l’enquête mensuelle Markit auprès des directeurs d’achats publiés, l’indice d’activité PMI des services est tombé à 49,2 le mois dernier, contre 50 en juillet, et alors que l’estimation flash publiée la semaine passée le situait à 50,2.

La contraction dans les services dans la zone euro s’est accélérée en août, une donnée qui suggère que la région va retomber en récession. L’indice PMI des services est ressorti à 47,2 en août, contre une première estimation de 47,5. Il était de 47,9 en juillet. L’indice PMI manufacturier publié lundi était ressorti inchangé à 45,1 le mois dernier. Markit pense que la zone euro dans son ensemble retombera en récession au troisième trimestre. L'économie de la zone euro s’est contractée de 0,2% sur le deuxième trimestre et le recul de produit intérieur brut (PIB) du troisième trimestre pourrait être de 0,5% à 0,6%.