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* French companies close $7.8b in contracts in Algeria
Dec. 4 (Bloomberg)—Alstom SA, Gaz de France SA, Total SA
and Bull SA signed contracts worth more than 5 billion euros
($7.8 billion) in Algeria as part of French President Nicolas
Sarkozy’s three-day visit to the North African country.
The contracts are to build power and petrochemical plants,
buy natural gas and renovate the former French colony’s post
offices. They reflect [...]
* Evening Whiskey
Sentiment in worldwide equity markets continues to be pretty pessimistic and not many other asset classes seem to be able to offer relief. Except for government bonds ofcourse, which continue to be well bid in these circumstances.
On the subject of govvies, we think that you are absolutely out of your mind if you are buying [...]
Weekend Read-Up
Newsletter writer sentiment points toward excessive pessimism. (NYTimes.com)
Who are the biggest beneficiaries of the proposed subprime mortgage borrower bailout? (Accrued Interest)
Contrarian alert! The weak U.S. dollar is now magazine cover fodder. (Alea)
Distressed investors are beginning to see attractive opportunities. (WSJ.com)
Are the emerging markets now a safe haven? (WSJ.com)
Goldman’s top [...]
*Evening Whiskey
What started off as a promising day in Europe ended in a disaster after HSBC stated that it was going to use $45b of its capital to bail-out its two Structured Investment Vehicles. Another round of “de-risking” took hold of the financial sector, dragging along the general market. Crude oil kept hovering around the $100 [...]
As of Next Week: Twitter Updates
Our frequent visitors know that we tend to post “market moving” news facts as quickly as possible on this blog. We now have found a way to make those breaking news updates even more convenient for our readers: we’re going to make them available via twitter.com.
The functionality that Twitter offers is simply fantastic. Dealingfloor [...]
How Financial Markets Really Work
With all the talk going on about the mortgage crisis in financial markets, it makes sense to look at the developments with some humor. Below you’ll find a hilarious video discussing the financial community in general and the sub prime crisis in specific (idea from The New Inspirer). Enjoy!
