Top Interest Rate Headlines 02-02-11: NY Fed names MF Global, SocGen as primary dealers

NY Fed names MF Global, SocGen as primary dealers
Reuters
Two more firms are joining the select group of investment banks and securities dealers that work directly with the U.S. government to help manage monetary policy and sell U.S. debt.
http://jlne.ws/iiPRnW

BofA Is Said to Near Sale of Balboa Insurance Business to Australia's QBE
By Cristina Alesci, Zachary R. Mider and Hugh Son, Bloomberg
Bank of America Corp., the largest U.S. lender by assets, is near an agreement to sell its Balboa insurance unit to Australia’s QBE Insurance Group Ltd., said two people with knowledge of the matter.
http://jlne.ws/exEUa4

US wants China yuan to float freely
Reuters
The United States recognizes China has taken some steps to raise the value of its yuan currency, but will not be satisfied until it floats freely, U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke said on Wednesday.
http://jlne.ws/gqGI0O

U.S. Treasury urged to consider 100-year bond
Reuters
Top Wall Street firms are urging the U.S. Treasury to create an ultra-long bond with a maturity of between 40 to 100 years, according to notes from a debt advisory committee meeting released on Wednesday.
http://jlne.ws/fWaI7Q

Bill Gross’s new Investment Outlook “Devil’s Bargain”
Pimco Web Site
There are lots of ways to describe money: moolah, lean green, dinero … I memorized one definition of “money” from an economic textbook way back in 1966: “A medium of exchange and a store of value,” it said. Well, yes, I suppose, although it failed miserably in the latter capacity in subsequent years. My primer also neglected to mention the increasingly dominant function that money was to assume in a finance-oriented, capitalistic system: Money can be used to make money.
http://bit.ly/dRi8td

Europe backlash grows against Mifid reforms
By Jeremy Grant in London - Financial Times
European regulators face a growing backlash over moves to impose greater transparency on parts of the equities and derivatives markets as the region gears up for reforms mirroring US efforts to make the financial system safer.
http://jlne.ws/ii10jC

DTCC NAMES RONALD JORDAN CHIEF DATA OFFICER
New York, February 2, 2011 – The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) has named Ronald Jordan, a 26-year industry veteran, to the new position of Chief Data Officer, effective immediately.
www.dtcc.com

Fed passes China in Treasury holdings
By Michael Mackenzie in New York - Financial Times
The Federal Reserve has surpassed China as the leading holder of US Treasury securities even though it has yet to reach the halfway mark in its latest round of quantitative easing, according to official figures.
http://jlne.ws/hkLj2r

Senate Banking Staffer Joins Reed Smith
NY Times
Mark Oesterle, the chief counsel to Republicans on the Senate Banking Committee, has joined Reed Smith's financial regulatory group in the law firm's Washington office.
http://jlne.ws/i4Txqo

BM&FBOVESPA begins publication of the new reference interest rates
Press Release
Interest rates with longer terms are an indexation alternative in the private-sector fixed-income market
São Paulo, February 1, 2011 - BM&FBOVESPA starts today the daily publication of the 3-month Reference Interest Rate (TJ3) and the 6-month Reference Interest Rate (TJ6).  Based on the one-day Interbank Deposit Futures Contract ID1 traded on the Exchange, at the end of Tuesday's trading the TJ3 was fixed at 11.55% and the TJ6 at 12.04%.

DTCC Opens Washington, DC Office, Names Capitol Hill Veteran Dan Cohen Managing Director, Head of Government Relations
Business Wire
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation (DTCC) announced today that Daniel L. Cohen has been appointed to the new position of managing director and head of government relations.
http://jlne.ws/f8yoM1

DTCC Publishes New Book on 'Life Cycle of a Security'
Business Wire
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) has published a new booklet called "Life Cycle of a Security" designed to provide a "plain English" description of DTCC's depository.
http://jlne.ws/faiC46

ICAP set to hit full-year profit target
Reuters
British broker ICAP (LSE: IAP.L - news) said strong electronic trading last quarter would help the firm hit its target for 2010-11 profit and welcomed greater clarity over regulatory plans for the over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives market.

Goldman slumps in new rank of bank brands
Crain's New York Business
(Bloomberg) - Bank of America Corp., the biggest U.S. bank by assets, replaced HSBC Holdings Plc as the world's most valuable banking brand, according to a survey by London-based Brand Finance Plc. HSBC, Europe's largest bank, fell to third place this year behind BofA and Wells Fargo & Co., the fourth-biggest U.S. lender by assets. Goldman Sachs Group Inc., which in July reached a $550 million ...
http://jlne.ws/esGYQT

Gorman's No. 1 Priority Is Fixing Fixed-Income
By SUSANNE CRAIG, NY Times
Two weeks after Morgan Stanley reported a loss in its fixed-income group, the firm's chief executive, James P. Gorman, told investors at the firm's financial services conference that fixing the unit was his No. 1 priority.
http://jlne.ws/guTAKG

UK banks closing L850bn funding gap
AFP Telegraph Finance News via Yahoo! UK & Ireland Finance
Britain's largest banks have made good progress towards replacing the L850bn in wholesale funding they still rely on for a large part of their financing.
http://jlne.ws/eQkIIX

Big bank bonuses 'benefit Treasury'
Shropshire Star
High levels of bank bonuses are benefiting the Treasury, a leading Tory ex-Cabinet minister has claimed.
http://jlne.ws/gyiPA6

Bank Dividends: Expect 'em in Q2, Say Morgan Analysts
Wall Street Journal Blogs
Morgan Stanley analysts covering large cap banks spotlighted their expectations Tuesday for banks to restart dividend payments and share buybacks in the second quarter ...
http://jlne.ws/eUQrnU

Rosenfeld Returns to Lazard From Rothschild
By MICHAEL J. DE LA MERCED - NY Times
Gerald Rosenfeld, a vice chairman of U.S. investment banking at Lazard.Lazard Gerald Rosenfeld, a vice chairman of United States investment banking at Lazard. Lazard said on Tuesday that it had rehired Gerald Rosenfeld as a senior executive, years after the banker left and joined a rival, Rothschild North America.
http://jlne.ws/eX1F0A

Citigroup takes over record label EMI
BigPond News
Citigroup has taken over debt-strapped EMI Group, closing a bad purchase of the music label by Guy Hands.
http://jlne.ws/e6OzRb

New $1.548 Billion CMBS Offered By Morgan Stanley, BofA - Source
Dow Jones
A new commercial mortgage-backed security is on offer: Morgan Stanley and Bank of America Merrill Lynch have a $1.548 billion bond, according to a person familiar with the matter.
http://jlne.ws/fBHAgW