Top Interest Rate Headlines 02-28-11: Economists List U.S. budget Deficit as No. 1 Worry

Economists list U.S. budget deficit as No. 1 worry
Reuters
The massive U.S. budget deficit is the gravest threat facing the economy, topping high unemployment and the risk of inflation or deflation, according to a survey of forecasters released on Monday.
http://jlne.ws/g2kD9j

Bullish noises from Thailand
By Emma Saunders, FT.com
Expect another rate rise on March 9 – maybe even by 50bp. Assistant Governor Paiboon Kittisrikangwan told reporters today that interest rates are still too low, and that “normalisation” will continue if inflation keeps rising.
http://jlne.ws/eXOh8n

Report: JP Morgan in investment talks with Twitter
By Ariana Eunjung Cha, The Washington Post
JP Morgan is reportedly in talks with Twitter to buy a minority stake in the micro-blogging site. Neither will comment on the talks, but anonymous sources confirmed to the New York Times, the Financial Times and the Wall Street Journal that the investment by JPMorgan's $1.22 billion digital growth fund would value Twitter at more than $4 billion.
http://jlne.ws/hwnwF5

Bullard: Economy Looking Better - Video, CNBC.com
Video
http://jlne.ws/dOVQk2

ECB: The ECB's experience with unconventional measures - Slides from presentation at the US Monetary Policy Forum
Slides
http://jlne.ws/hA0a9W

Special Report: In derivatives trade, RIP OTC?
By Huw Jones, Reuters
To get a measure of what financial markets think about plans to make trading in derivatives more uniform and transparent, ask no further than the regulators themselves. Thomas Huertas, a senior UK Financial Services Authority official, said recently that unless the plans to centralize trillions of dollars' worth of contracts were thought through carefully, it could be a bit like "putting a Chernobyl in the back yard."
http://jlne.ws/evGsAp

So Many Regulations, So Little Time
The Dodd-Frank Act is causing a radical restructuring of the over-the-counter derivatives market.
By SCOTT D. O'MALIA, WSJ.com
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has embarked on a radical restructuring of the over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives market, at a pace that hardly allows us to even consider the impact of our new rules. We owe it to the markets we regulate, and to the American people who rely on them, to slow down and develop a carefully considered plan to carry out our mission. I believe we should not vote on any more final rules until the commission settles on an implementation strategy and a timeline that are realistic.
http://jlne.ws/fAcp2H

Goldman to Win Fed Blessing to Repay Berkshire, Buffett Says
Bloomberg
The Goldman Sachs stake and a $3 billion investment in General Electric Co ., each of which pay 10 percent annual interest to Berkshire, will likely be terminated by Dec. 31, Buffett said Feb. 26 in his annual letter. While the Fed has held back Goldman from repaying, the regulator "will likely give Goldman the green light before long," Buffett wrote.
http://jlne.ws/ffQGYR

Commercial banks are catching up
eFinancial News
Aesop couldn't have written it better. The shares of traditional, slow-paced "tortoise" retail banks are outperforming fast-paced investment banking "hares", which seem to be taking a nap while investors demand cost cuts and new revenue streams.
http://jlne.ws/hiP5CH

Citigroup Incurred Losses on 21% of Trading Days Last Year, Filing Shows
Bloomberg
Citigroup Inc., the third-largest U.S. bank by assets, said it had trading losses on 21 percent of the days when markets were open in 2010.
http://jlne.ws/ibGoZb

Citi could face up to $3 billion in Lehman claims
Reuters
Citigroup Inc could face up to $3 billion in claims from the bankruptcy proceedings of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc , the third largest U.S. bank by assets said in a regulatory...
http://jlne.ws/huv6Kn

Bank of America, Citigroup, Wells Fargo say foreclosure probes may carry major financial tolls
Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune
Probes by state attorneys general and other government agencies into banks' foreclosure practices carry the risk of fines and other major costs, according to regulatory filings from three of the country's biggest banks.
http://jlne.ws/i6s1TG

Northern Rock to offer 90% mortgages
By Sharlene Goff, Financial Times
Northern Rock is poised to launch a range of mortgages offering up to 90 per cent of a property’s value, marking the nationalised bank’s return to riskier lending three years after its collapse and government bail-out.
http://jlne.ws/fK4nIN

HSBC lifts pay-out but cuts profitability
By Patrick Jenkins, Financial Times
HSBC sent a mixed message to shareholders on Monday as it increased its dividend but cut its targeted profitability by a fifth.
http://jlne.ws/hSynJD

HSBC profit tops $13 bln, but misses expectations
Market Watch
Banking giant HSBC Holdings PLC said Monday that its 2010 net profit jumped to $13.16 billion from $5.83 billion a year earlier as the bank generated a profit in every consumer group and region for the first time since 2006. Pretax profit rose to $19.04 billion from $7.08 billion a year earlier as loan impairment charges shrank 47% to $14.04 billion. However, the result ...
http://jlne.ws/gKqM1K

HSBC cuts financial targets, shares fall
Reuters Finance News
HSBC cut its profitability targets due to the cost of tougher global bank regulations on Monday, and disappointed investors as its 2010 earnings came in slightly below analysts' ...
http://jlne.ws/gt9lj9

Statement On Support Of The Dodd-Frank Rulemaking Of CFTC Chairman Gary Gensler
Press Release
I support the proposed interpretive order regarding disruptive practices on designated contract markets or swap execution facilities. Congress expressly prohibited three trading practices that it deemed were disruptive of fair and equitable trading. Today’s order provides additional guidance to market participants and the public on the trading, practices and conduct that violate these statutory provisions. The order also addresses comments received by the Commission at the December 2nd roundtable and in response to the Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on disruptive trading practices. The order addresses the comments by clarifying how the Commission will interpret and implement the provisions of Section 747. I look forward to hearing from the public in response to this proposed interpretive order. The comment letters and staff roundtable were extremely helpful in formulating this proposed order.
http://jlne.ws/g0x8g3

Senior banker joins Barclays exodus
Scotland on Sunday
BARCLAYS Wealth has lost another senior private banker from its Glasgow office, Scotland on Sunday has learned.
http://jlne.ws/fvHs8M