| Std Bank, ICBC in $1bn resources fund
They did not ruling out a possibility of third party participating and investing in the fund. There is a huge demand for resources such as precious metals, oil and gas in China and this is also driving the commodities markets. Ridley said ICBC was interested in taking part in the resources sector and Standard Bank could provide access to over 250 professionals in commodities and resource financing worldwide. Standard Bank would also contribute to the fund by creating deal flow and fund investment opportunities. We will also leverage global franchise in resources industry, he said. ICBC could assist the fund by facilitating access to investment opportunities in China and contributing funding sources. We will complement each other, said Ridley.
Hedge funds scent a market turnaround amid turbulence
London: If hedge funds are, as is often claimed, the investment vanguard, their latest moves appear to be telling financial markets it is time to take a break from the trading patterns that have dominated since mid-2007. Investment banks have been poring over the latest data on hedge fund positioning from the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and concluded that a number of speculative bets have been changed. Societe Generale, for example, says long positions on 10-year government bonds have been closed. That is to say, hedge funds are not expecting demand for such bonds to increase and drive yields lower. .
Xstrata on receiving end of $80bn takeover deal
Vale, the giant Brazilian miner, is days away from unveiling an agreed takeover bid for Swiss-based rival Xstrata worth over $80bn. A deal could be announced as soon as this week, but some banking sources have cautioned that turmoil in the credit markets means the Brazilians might need more time to secure the necessary financing. Vale, formerly known as CVRD, is expected to provide about half the capital in cash. It will issue the remainder in preference shares. These will be offered to Glencore, which owns 35 per cent of Xstrata, leaving the Swiss commodities trading group with a sizeable stake in Vale. The Brazilian company has a market value of $122bn. The takeover would be the biggest that Xstrata's chief executive, Mick Davis, has pulled off. But it would be the first time that he has been at the receiving end of a deal.
MCX to support Microsoft's rural technology training programme
MUMBAI: Multi Commodity Exchange of India on Thursday announced its support to an ongoing computer literacy programme of Microsoft and Indian Society of Agribusiness Professionals in rural Maharashtra.
This marks the launch of MCX's Corporate Social Responsibility initiative aimed at empowering the youth and women of rural areas of the state with technology skills.
Till now over 15,500 people have been trained and more than 24,000 people are using this service across 16 districts by the means of understanding the futures markets prices of the area specific commodities.
MCX's support will help in increasing deployment of laptop and desktop computers and thereby strengthen the ongoing technology training and adoption efforts through the project.
The Investment Column: Barclays investors should keep faith after ABN ...
In normal times, Barclays' shares would have bounced in the last few weeks after it lost out to Royal Bank of Scotland in the battle to buy ABN Amro. Instead, the bank's stock has fallen 12 per cent since 5 October, the day before it conceded defeat. Barclays is not the only bank whose shares have suffered in the credit crunch. But Barclays is of particular concern because the success of its Barclays Capital investment bank has been closely identified with the booming credit markets that seized up in August. The investment bank Credit Suisse restarted coverage of the stock yesterday with an 8 per cent downgrade to 2007 earnings, based on higher funding costs and expected reductions in trading and investment income. Bob Diamond, who runs BarCap, has done the rounds to remind investors that his business does commodities and foreign exchange as well as leveraged finance and structured credit.
Agri volumes jump on rise in position limits
MUMBAI: Volumes in spices and few other farm commodities increased on Wednesday on NCDEX with the commodities market regulator Forward Markets Commission (FMC) increasing the position limits in most of the agri commodities. Commodity analysts feel that the move will boost up the agri volumes.
FMC on Tuesday increased the open interest limits for 32 agriculture commodities. The position limits is the maximum level of a particular commodity that a member or a client can hold. Meanwhile the commission also reduced the daily price limits of 34 agriculture commodities.
The volume of most active pepper March contract that was on an average around 10,000 tonnes a week back on daily basis moved up to 17,000 tonnes on Wednesday, volume of jeera March contract doubled to 24,000 tonnes while volume of turmeric moved up to 45,000 tonnes from earlier levels of 35,000 tonnes.
Pressure mounts for new controls on oil futures speculators
Sean Cota runs a family-owned fuel oil business in Bellows Falls, Vt., and has been active in the futures markets for 20 years, locking in prices to protect both himself and his customers. But over the past five years, he has watched in amazement -- and growing anger -- as speculators flooded into the market. It has created tremendous volatility and, he believes, driven up prices for crude oil, heating oil and a host of other commodities. As prices hover near record levels this year, his customers are bearing the brunt -- turning down their thermostats, taking longer to pay their bills and even using credit cards to pay for home heating. "All of these things are having a huge impact on people for something that is just not justified by supply and demand," Cota said.
Oil slips as Opec gathers in Saudi Arabia
Commodities came under pressure on Monday as a wave of risk aversion swept across markets, dragging energy, metals and agricultural prices lower. Oil fell sharply at the start of a crucial week with crude prices in sight of the key $100 level as delegates began to gather for a historic meeting of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries. .
Barclays Launches Eight Commodity Sub-Sector iPath(R) Exchange Traded ...
NEW YORK, Oct. 24 /PRNewswire/ -- Barclays Bank PLC announced today the launch of eight new iPath(R) Exchange Traded Notes (ETNs) on the NYSE Arca stock exchange. The iPath ETNs are the first Exchange Traded Notes designed to offer exposure to sub-indexes of the Dow Jones-AIG Commodity Index(SM). They are linked to agriculture, copper, energy, grains, industrial metals, livestock, natural gas, and nickel. "The new iPath sub-sector ETNs provide investors with access to harder-to- reach markets," said Philippe El-Asmar, Head of Investor Solutions, Americas at Barclays Capital. "Investments in iPath Exchange Traded Notes surpassed $3.6 billion in just under 16 months from inception, and we believe these new ETNs will continue to attract attention particularly with daily creations and redemptions available since October 1, 2007." "The new iPath ETNs demonstrate Barclays continued commitment to providing investors with innovative investment solutions to the commodity markets," added Benoit de Vitry, Head of Commodities, Emerging Markets Rates and Quantitative Analytics at Barclays Capital.
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