US prosecutors allege that Raj Rajaratnam, co-founder of Galleon Group, earned more than USD63m in trading profits or averted losses, by using inside information he obtained on about 15 companies, according to the Financial Times. Lawyers for Raj Rajaratnam on Monday will begin their case, which is expected to last one week before the verdict.

Companies are still proving highly cautious about the subject of pay scales, and most of them don’t want to go beyond the existing legislation, according to a survey undertaken last year, covering a sample of businesses (26 selected, 22 responded) from the SBF 120, undertaken by the Forum for Responsible Investment (FIR) via its shareholder dialogue platform CorDial, on the subject of the “role of the general shareholders’ meeting.” Business have particularly marked reservations on the subject of pay scales being subject to shareholder votes. However, the prospect of an advisory vote, which would only apply to corporate officers appears to meet with less resistance. But the sentiment at businesses is that they are already highly transparent in terms of pay, particularly by complying with the Afep-Medef law. Businesses are aware that France lags behind other European countries such as the United Kingdom and the Netherlands in the area of “say on pay.” In the absence of any regulatory changes, no businesses appear to be inclined to take initiative to hold a vote, though many accept the principle. The potential intervential of the chairman of the remunerations board at a general assembly excites little enthusiasm, as many businesses estimate that the chairman of the board should intervene on thus subject as for all others. On the subject of the integration of environmental (E) and social (S) criteria at shareholders’ meetings, it appears that for the past ten years since the passage of the NRE law, genuine progress has been made, both in terms of initiatives and disclosure. However, shareholders, though they are often adequately informed, are only rarely asked for their input, and involved in the direction of the business. Businesses say they are favourable to debate and exchange with their shareholders in these areas, but would not like to subject themselves to specific votes. The integration of E and S criteria into the variable pay scales for corporate officers is virtually non-existent. On the subject of independent board members, an emerging theme at the time of the survey (second and third quarters of 2010), only four companies in the sample are concerned. The other businesses are afraid of the slightly artificial character of an independent member, but prefer it to other checks to their power such as a real separation of executive and non-executive powers, or a board which includes many independent directors. Firms are also unsatisfied overall with the rate of participation at their general shareholders’ meetings, but open to new measures to improve turnout (currently 50-60%), on the condition that these prove to be reliable and low-cost. The prospect of increased dividends for shareholders who vote at assemblies, which exists in Spain, excites some curiosity, but businesses are generally hostile to the idea. These findings have inspired a number of proposals on the part of the FIR, including developing voting practices in order to allow shareholders to vote on management pay scales. The FIR also suggests that as a complement to financial criteria, sustainable development criteria (E and S) should be integrated into variable pay scales, particularly for directors. The Forum proposes that the “orientations” of the sustainable development policy should be systematically subject to shareholder approval, and encourages all French publicly-traded companies to join an electronic voting system now under development at Alfi.

According to the consulting firm Mercer, Spanish pension funds in March underwent losses of 1.2% on average, due to the evolution of equities and bond markets, but they earned 0.5% in first quarter as a whole, Expansión reports.

The European Commission has decided to refer Belgium to the EU’s Court of Justice for discriminatory taxation of certain Icelandic and Norwegian collective investment funds in breach of EU rules on free movement of capital and freedom to provide services. In particular, Belgium does not grant an exemption from capital gains tax for sales of shares from certain collective investment funds established in Iceland and Norway whereas it does grant such exemptions in the case of shares from equivalent collective investment funds established elsewhere in the EU.In Belgium, capital gains on the sale of shares of collective investment funds established in the EU but which do not qualify for the European passport according to Directive 85/611/EEC are not taxable. Such a rule does not apply to capital gains on sales of shares of collective investment funds established in Iceland and Norway which are taxable regardless of their status with respect to the European passport.The Commission considers that this difference in treatment limits the free movement of capital guaranteed by Article 40 of the European Economic Agreement (EEA) and the freedom to provide services guaranteed by Article 36 of the same Agreement.Investment funds established in Liechtenstein (also part of the EEA) are excluded from the scope of the infringement procedure since Liechtenstein does not exchange information on income from such investment funds with the Belgian tax authorities.The Commission sent a Reasoned Opinion to Belgium on 30 September 2010 requesting Belgium to end such discriminatory tax treatment.

The European Commission is urging again Cyprus, Estonia, Germany, and Poland to finalise the adoption of the legislative and administrative measures for inclusion of the aviation sector in the EU’s emissions trading system. To date these four member states have not fully completed the transposition of the EU ETS aviation legislation into national legislation. On the recommendation of Climate Action Commissioner Connie Hedegaard, the Commission is sending a final warning.According to Directive 2008/101/EC, Member States should have transposed the ETS legislation concerning aviation into national law before 2 February 2010. Member States are required to inform the Commission once they have adopted the necessary implementation measures.As the Commission was not notified of all necessary implementing measures by Cyprus, Estonia, Germany and Poland, it issued a letter of formal notice against these Member States already on 25 March 2010.The Commission has since received notification that legislative works were still in progress in all four countries, therefore the Commission is now sending the concerned Member States a final warning, urging them to speed up the adoption of all the necessary national measures and reminding them of the possibility under Article 260§3 of the Lisbon Treaty to refer the cases to the European Court of Justice and to request financial penalties if they fail to do so.

Castlestone Management is to launch an UCITS-compliant precious metals fund, which claims to be the first of its kind, Citywire reports. The Aliquot Precious Metals UCITS fund will be launched at the end of May, and will be managed by the independent investment committee at the firm, led by Angus Murray, CEO. The fund will invest 80% of its assets in precious metals, of which 30% will be invested in gold. The remainder will be divided between metals with a high correlation to these: copper, aluminium and zinc.

Deutsche Bank has announced the launch of an ETF, the db x-trackers FTSE EPRA/NAREIT Global Real Estate ETF (ISIN LU0489337005), which provides access to realty firms and Reits both in developed and emerging countries. Management fees are 0.60%. The US ETF provider IndexIQ, for its part, is offering an ETF which charges fees of 0.75%, which covers small caps in the agricultural sector, the IQ Global Agribusiness Small Cap ETF (ISIN US45409B8349).

Hedge fund managers remain pessimistic about US equities, according to the most recent monthly survey (March) from TrimTabe/BarclayHedge. In March, 36% still predicted that the S&P 500 would fall, compared with 40% in February, while 28% were optimistic, compared with 26% previously. Sentiment about 10-year US Treasury bonds had not changed greatly, with 33% of managers pessimistic and 16% optimstic. However, managers have become highly pessimistic about the dollar, with 43% predicting a decline, compared with 31% in February. In parallel with this continuing pessimism, investors are continuing to pour money into hedge funds, which saw record inflows in February. 18% of hedge funds are expecting to increase their leverage in the short term, while 14% say that they are planning to lower it. This will come as little surprise, as managers last month estimated that Portugal would be the next victim of the European debt crisis, and Spain is their next candidate.

Following an article in Les Echos on 6 April announcing that Banca Leonardo may soon sell its asset management unit in France, and speculation in Il Corriere della Sera that an investment fund had made a bid to acquire DNCA Finance, the French asset management firm based in rue de la Paix in Paris has confirmed that changes in its ownership are under consideration, but that no decisions had been taken. According to information obtained by Newsmanagers, regardless of the solution chosen, Jean-Charles Mériaux, head of investment, will remain the main shareholder behind the largest institutional shareholder. Currently, the star manager owns 20% of shares, behind Banca Leonardo (67%). In the new distribution of capital now taking shape, the Italian firm would also remain a significant shareholder. An announcement on the subject of the various changes is expected in the next few weeks.

GE Asset Management (USD119bn in assets under management) has appointed Dmitri Stockton, former chairman and CEO of banking activities at GE Capital, as chairman and CEO of the management firm. He succeeds Jay Ireland, who becomes chairman and CEO of GE Africa.

At a presentation of the three-year plan for Intesa Sanpaolo, Corrado Passera, CEO, reviewed the bank’s various activities, including asset management in the Eurizon Capital division. Its revenues are expected to increase bt 11.2% to EUR1.4bn over the period. This increase may come due to external growth, but not through an Italian marriage with Pioneer, Il Sole – 24 ore reports in an article on Intesa. “There was a time when that merger was possible, but now there are no negotiations underway,” the director states.

At the opening of the savings conference now being held in Milan, the Italian minister of the economy, Giulio Tremonti, renewed his proposal to offer Italian asset management firms that decide to repatriate to Italy a choice of the most favourable tax regime from among the existing regimes in the European Union, Il Sole – 24 Ore reports. Under the initiative, entitled “tax regime shopping,” a public consultation will be held. Due to disadvantageous tax regimes for Italian-registered funds, many Italian asset management firms have moved abroad. Now the tax handicap has been lifted, but are many managers prepared to return? According to initial responses collected by Il Sole – 24 Ore, many managers say they would be highly cautious about the offer.

The bond manager Stephen Snowden has left Old Mutual Asset Manager, where he spent seven years, to return to Aegon Asset Management. He will report to David Roberts, head of bonds.

Skandia has announced changes to its Strategic Bond fund, which has GBP60m in assets. The fund is now in a UCITS-compliant format, and its fees will be lowered from 1.25% to 0.80%, Investment Week reports.

Aberdeen Asset Management plans to launch the Aberdeen MM Diversified Alpha Fund, a portfolio of UCITS III funds, on 1 May 2011. The Fund will evolve from theexisting £7.9 million Aberdeen MM Multi Asset Growth Fund.The Fund will be a multi-asset portfolio with a total return mandate, investing in vehicles using a wide range of investment powers to reduce volatility and stabilise returns. The Aberdeen multi manager team, jointly led by Aidan Kearney and Graham Duce, will continue to manage the Fund. From 1 May 2011, the annual management charge for the Fund will be reduced from 1.5% to 1.25%.

March Gestión de Fondos (MGF), the fund management firm of Banca March (EUR1.7bn), has announced the recruitment of José Ramón Aranda as head of sales. Aranda was previously head of distribution at Credit Suisse Asset Management for Spain.

The Swiss stock exchange (SWX) on 6 April admitted two new Swiss-registered ETFs to trading. The UBS-Index Solutions - SXI Real Estate ETF A (CH0105994401) charges 0.35%, while the UBS-Index Solutions SXI Real Estate Funds ETF (CHF) I (CH0105994419) charges a management commission of 0.20%. Both funds replicate the SXI index of Swiss real estate funds.

Skagen Funds has received permission from the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (Finma) to market its Norwegian domiciled funds Skagen Global, Skagen Kon-Tiki, Skagen Vekst and Skagen Tellus in Switzerland.In addition to its home markets in the Nordic countries, the Norwegian asset manager currently markets its funds in Luxembourg, the Netherlands and the UK. The decision to expand operations into Switzerland was based on a growing interest and demand from Swiss investors, the firms says. As it has previously done in its other international markets, Skagen announces it plans to develop its footprint in Switzerland «in a controlled and measured manner». Initially a team of three Skagen employees will service Switzerland remotely from our International office based in Stavanger, Norway, responding to client enquiries and servicing existing clients as required.

Le niveau élevé des cours du pétrole est dû à la spéculation et non à un défaut de l’approvisionnement, a estimé le ministre qatari de l’Energie, Mohammed Saleh al Sada. «L’Opep ne peut rien faire en ce qui concerne la spéculation, mais il semble que cela soit la principale raison expliquant le niveau actuel des cours pétroliers», a-t-il ajouté.

Républicains et démocrates n’arrivent pas à se mettre d’accord sur les moyens de financer les besoins du gouvernement jusqu’au 30 septembre, fin de l’exercice fiscal 2010-2011. Environ 800.000 fonctionnaires pourraient ainsi être contraints de cesser le travail. Une réunion à la Maison blanche mercredi soir entre Barack Obama, John Boehner, le président républicain de la Chambre des représentants, et Harry Reid, le chef de la majorité démocrate au Sénat, a permis une discussion «franche» mais n’a pas abouti à un accord.

Les tests de résistance auxquels seront soumis les banques européennes évalueront le besoin en capitaux des établissements dans l’hypothèse d’une croissance en Europe qui serait inférieure de quatre points de pourcentage à ce qui est prévu, a déclaré mercredi Thomas Huertas, vice-président de l’Autorité bancaire européenne (ABE), lors d’une conférence à Dublin. «De notre point de vue, c’est un scénario sacrément négatif», a-t-il ajouté. Les documents envoyés par l’ABE aux banques pour qu’elles se préparent aux «stress tests» exigent de ces dernières qu’elles s’imaginent être confrontées à une contraction de 0,5% dans la zone euro et à une chute de 15% des Bourses européennes. L’ABE, qui vient d'être mise sur pied, subit des pressions pour rendre ces tests plus rigoureux afin de ne pas répéter le scénario de l’année dernière, lorsque 91 banques avaient été testées avec pour résultat l'échec de seulement sept d’entre elles.

L'économie américaine reste trop fragile pour que la Réserve fédérale commence à relever ses taux d’intérêt, a déclaré mercredi le président de la Fed d’Atlanta Richard Lockhart. L’inflation n’est pas un sujet majeur d’inquiétude, selon lui, et les hausses de prix observées ces derniers temps étaient d’ailleurs espérées par les responsables monétaires dont beaucoup craignaient l’année dernière une dérive déflationniste.

Le conseil d’administration de la chambre de compensation américaine The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation’s (DTCC) a fait part de la nomination au poste de président de Robert Druskin, un vétéran de l’industrie en provenance de E*Trade. Sa nomination sera effective le 18 avril prochain. DTCC avait annoncé en décembre la séparation des rôles de président et de directeur général.

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Si la demande placée de bureaux progresse de 21 % en rythme annuel, le stock immédiatement disponible est en hausse séquentielle de 4 %

Lisbonne a réclamé hier soir l'aide financière de Bruxelles alors que le pays a placé au prix fort un milliard d’euros de bons à 6 et 12 mois

Les autorités ont demandé hier soir l’aide de la Commission européenne alors que le pays vient de placer hier au prix fort un milliard d’euros de bons à 6 et 12 mois.

La Caisse d'amortissement de la dette sociale a émis 15,3 milliards d'euros d'obligations à moyen et long termes au premier trimestre

L'offre américaine proposait hier une prime de 10 % sur le cours de Nyse Euronext et de 25 % par rapport à la proposition de la bourse allemande

On comprend que la BCE ait hâte de normaliser sa politique monétaire. Mais pour s’en tenir aux chiffres, le relèvement des taux ne va pas de soi. Même à 2,6% fin mars, l’inflation en zone euro demeure gérable, surtout considérée hors énergie et produits alimentaires. S’agissant des effets de second tour, on n’en voit nulle part la trace ni même la menace. Quant au profil conjoncturel de la zone euro, à la création monétaire ou à la production de crédits, ils n’appellent pas non plus une telle mesure. Au moment où les pays périphériques se débattent dans leurs difficultés, et que l’Espagne s’efforce de sortir de la zone dangereuse, doit-on leur faire prendre un risque supplémentaire ? Il est vrai que la BCE maintient sa politique non conventionnelle, mais quelle sera son efficacité dans ce nouveau contexte ? La seule raison vraiment cohérente du resserrement monétaire est ailleurs, et tient à la situation particulière de l’Allemagne. Son dynamisme économique ne devrait pas souffrir du relèvement annoncé, alors que sa Chancelière se trouve dans une posture difficile. Or l’Europe a plus que jamais besoin de son concours, sans compter que c’est d’elle que dépendra le choix du successeur de Jean-Claude Trichet. L’italien Mario Draghi tient la corde et l’occasion est belle d’administrer la preuve de son orthodoxie monétaire. De là à penser que cette hausse des taux est avant tout une « hausse allemande », il y a un pas qu’il est permis de franchir.