Brian Bollen's Blog

New Assignments Actively Sought

It's not often I need to seek new assignments actively but I would like to draw attention to my availability for writing assignments of all kinds, including corporate, and media training. My specialism is clearly international institutional finance but there is scarcely a topic I haven't written about at some point. For further information email brianbollen@mac.com or ring +44 1908 234952.

UK Economy Passes Pre-crisis Peak: Or Does It?

European Economist, Azad Zangana, comments on today's preliminary estimate for second quarter UK GDP figures.

"The release of the preliminary estimate for second quarter UK GDP shows that the economy has surpassed its previous peak, set in 2008.

Look To The Skies

Bank of America Merrill Lynch emails to confirm its involvement as adviser to Sky Deutschland in BSkyB's acquisition of a 57.4% stake in it and all of Sky Italia.

You Know Nothing Jon Snow…

Mint – Blain’s Morning Porridge – July 25 2014

Don’t be worrying about yesterday’s downward revisions on global GDP to 3.4% by the IMF. These were backward-looking and simple historical corrections –massaging the numbers so they look about right at year-end. They reflect the very bad first quarter weather conditions in the US. As a result, the US was slashed 110 basis points. France and Italy suffered from dismal economic reality by being cut 30%, but the UK was hiked by 40bps.

Surge In Jersey Private Placement Registrations

A strong surge in applications in the lead up to the end of the AIFMD transitional phase has seen the number of funds notifying the Jersey Financial Services Commission (JFSC) of their intention to privately place into Europe under AIFMD rules break through the 150 mark.

Macro Hurdles Facing Equities

Keith Wade, chief economist at Schroders, comments on the macro hurdles that he believes could challenge the continuation of the bull market and warrant a slightly more cautious stance towards equities.

Where To Now For Fixed Income Investors?

By Paul Wiseman, investment analyst, Maitland

With sovereign bond yields and credit spreads trading at near historic lows, and an ambiguous macroeconomic environment, traditional bond portfolios are no longer looking that compelling. Such portfolios are typically managed relative to an aggregate index, with limited flexibility to expand their opportunity sets and tool boxes and at this point, following a 30-year bull market for the bond market, prospective returns from traditional bond portfolios do not look that attractive.

Convertible bonds – the lost asset class

By Greg Harris, senior investment manager, Maitland

Few money managers would be willing to describe today’s global equity markets as cheap or offering great long-term value (they certainly offer less than 18 months ago). Similarly, the voices supporting bonds as a long-term investment thesis have grown steadily quieter, especially as the US Fed stands in the corner ready to unleash further tapering.

Proud To Be A Scotsman

Mint – Blain’s Morning Porridge – July 24 2014

Scotsman, Irishman, Welshman and Englishman walk into a bar.. is this some kind of a joke?

Yes, I watched the opening of the Glasgow Commonwealth Games last night and loved every mad moment of it. I wore a big smile from ear to ear, and it made me even prouder to be a Scot. However, one particularly poignant moment was when the Red Arrows flew past trailing Red, White and Blue smoke, and it suddenly struck me as another thing we’ll lose if we give the English independence in the September referendum. I love my pipes and drums, but the Red Arrows are something equally special I want to keep!

BNP, Credit Suisse FA: Official Comment

The position has moved on ever so slightly since the publication earlier this afternoon of the story that BNP Paribas Securities Services is the frontrunner to buy the Credit Suisse Prime Fund Services fund administration business, according to an industry source familiar with the topic.

BNP Front Runner For Credit Suisse FA

BNP Paribas Securities Services is the frontrunner to buy the Credit Suisse Prime Services fund administration business, according to an industry source familiar with the topic.

Turbulent Times In Technology

James Gautrey, global sector specialist, technology and telecoms, Schroders, looks at why and how the Information Technology (IT) world has changed in recent years and whether valuations have now sufficiently improved in order to revisit the sector.
 

Bank J.Van Breda Readies For EMIR

Speed read: Bank J.Van Breda selects ABN AMRO Clearing as general clearing counterparty for OTC derivatives ahead of new EMIR regulations.

Glasgow’s Miles Better

Mint – Blain’s Morning Porridge – July 23 2014

Glasgow’s Miles Better.. fortunately, it’s also miles away….

Ouch… I’ve discovered there are worse things than drinking cheap red wine. Drinking cheap white wine is proving even more destructive on the synapses this morning.. Enough excuses.. what to say about markets? Don’t worry about the immediate stuff, like what Carney might say, or how many iPads Apple isn’t selling. It may be summer, but there is plenty going on under the surface of what looks a somnambulant summer. A couple of big structural shifts look to be underway with the potential to move markets.

To T2S And Beyond

Speed read: Deutsche Bank partners with Clearstream and Euroclear to bolster client collateral capabilities under T2S and beyond.

Deutsche Bank announces a partnership with Clearstream and Euroclear to help clients consolidate, optimise and more efficiently assign their collateral inventory as part of the TARGET2-Securities (T2S) initiative.

Adding In-depth Risk Analysis

Speed read: BNY Mellon adds in-depth risk analysis of
institutional prime money market mutual funds. Market research tool FUNDIQ covers five broad categories from
portfolio and sponsor risk to adviser, shareholder and systemic risk.

The Maltese Solution

Regulatory compliance consultancy Cordium reports the launch of what it describes as a first-of-its-kind service, the Cordium Total AIFM Solution (CTAS). It says the service delivers a fully-functioning, up-and-running Malta-domiciled AIFM for a fixed fee. While the AIFM is operated by Cordium, the client retains total ownership.

Nedgroup Mandates Citi

Citi reports that it has been awarded a new mandate by Nedgroup Investments, the collective investment scheme manager with $2bn of assets under management. It says it will provide a full range of investor services for the Nedgroup Investments Funds Plc, which recently became an authorised Irish-domiciled UCITS fund.

Depositary Receipt Capital Raisings More Than Double

Speed read: depositary receipt capital raisings more than double in first half of 2014
led by foreign IPOs on US exchanges, says BNY Mellon; 41 capital raising transactions bring in over US$9.1bn, up from US$3.6bn mid-2013; China and Asia-Pacific-based firms dominate IPO activity; Most new DR programmes created since 2011; trading value jumps 15.5 percent year-on-year.

Generali Mandates BNP Paribas Securities Services

BNP Paribas Securities Services says it has won a €180bn pan-European mandate from the Generali Group, one of the world’s largest insurance companies.

Always Think The Worst

Mint – Blain’s Morning Porridge – July 22 2014

One must always think the worst, even of your own kin. That way you avoid too much disappointment.

An exciting day of nothing-much here in prospect I’m afraid. All the charts have that summer look to them… A slow market will give the chartist augurs among us time to draw their pretty little lines and triangles on the charts and pronounce not much is going on…