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Why Hanjin’s Zombie Collapse Won’t Be the Last One - (www.wolfstreet.com) Hanjin Shipping Co. filed for the equivalent of
bankruptcy protection in South Korea on August 31 and over the past two weeks
in the US and dozens of other countries. Some of its ships are still idling at
sea, trying to out-wait the uncertainty, and being seized by creditors. Some
have made it to port and are being unloaded. Others have already been sold at
fire-sale prices. When US Bankruptcy Judge John Sherwood asked Hanjin lawyer
Ilana Volkov if the carrier was liquidating, she said: “There is no
clear visibility yet on what will happen with this business.” The seventh
largest container carrier in the world is not the only carrier in financial
trouble. Another huge Korean carrier, HMM, was restructured and bailed out
earlier this year, with creditors, including the Korean taxpayer, taking a big
hit. The state-owned Korean Development Bank is now its largest shareholder.
German Protesters Gather to Oppose Transatlantic Trade Deals
- (www.bloomberg.com) Protesters gathered in seven German
cities on Saturday to oppose transatlantic trade agreements between the
European Union and the U.S. and Canada. More than 320,000 people turned out,
the organizers said in an e-mailed statement. In Munich, thousands met on the
central Odeonsplatz square and adjoining Ludwigsstrasse in heavy rain as the
annual Oktoberfest opened just a few miles away. “There is no bad weather, there are only bad
trade agreements,” Karl Baer of the Munich Environmental Institute said in
opening remarks before a crowd wielding signs and flags of organizations
including the Green party, labor unions, local farmer groups and
non-governmental organizations such as Attac and Greenpeace. Protesters
argue that the trade agreements would favor industrialized agricultural
processes over craft-based food production that’s not genetically engineered.
They say the deals would cost thousands of jobs and lead to lower standards in
employment and food safety.
Warning Indicator for China Banking Stress Climbs to Record
- (www.bloomberg.com) A warning indicator for banking stress rose to
a record in China in the first quarter, underscoring risks to the nation and
the world from a rapid build-up of Chinese corporate debt. China’s
credit-to-gross domestic product “gap” stood at 30.1 percent, the highest for
the nation in data stretching
back to 1995, according to the Basel-based Bank for International Settlements.
Readings above 10 percent signal elevated risks of banking strains, according
to the BIS, which released the latest data on Sunday. The gap is the difference
between the credit-to-GDP ratio and its long-term trend. A blow-out in the
number can signal that credit growth is excessive and a financial bust may be
looming.
Wells
Fargo's Chief Risk Officer Of Scandal-Plagued Group Leaves For "Personal
Reasons" - (www.zerohedge.com) What a difference a week makes. Just days after
it was revealed that Carrie Tolstedt, the supervisor in charge of Wells Fargo's
infamous consumer banking group where employees falsified and fabricated more
than 2 million customer accounts was leaving the bank on "golden parachute"
terms, quietly collecting a $125 million parting gift in
the process, moments ago Bloomberg reported that Wells Fargo's top risk manager
in the same division has taken a leave of absence and was replaced in that
role. As Bloomberg first reported, Claudia Russ
Anderson, who began a six-month leave Monday, was succeeded in August by Vic
Albrecht, who held a similar job in the wealth-management division, Richele
Messick, a spokeswoman for the San Francisco-based company, said in a phone
interview. Anderson’s leave was announced to staff in June, said Messick, who didn’t
elaborate when asked whether it was tied to a U.S. investigation into the bogus
accounts. “Claudia decided to take a personal leave of absence for personal
reasons,” Messick said. The leave takes effect a day before Chief
Executive Officer John Stumpf is scheduled to testify before the Senate Banking
Committee.
Heavy-Equipment Glut Weighs on Machine Makers - (www.wsj.com) Used
machinery is flooding the secondhand market, piling more pain on equipment
makers battling slack demand from any customer that mines, moves or refines
commodities amid a global slump in the value of everything from coal to corn. Instead
of buying a new $500,000 bulldozer or $300,000 excavator, many construction
firms and other equipment users are renting or entering longer-term leases for
machines to expand their fleets or replace worn out equipment, dealers and
analysts say. Dealers, in turn, are keeping smaller inventories of new wheel
loaders, backhoes and other machinery. That is hurting sales for Caterpillar Inc., Volvo
AB, Deere &
Co. and other manufacturers.
How a ‘twist’ by the Bank of Japan could upstage the Fed -
(www.marketwatch.com)
Currency Hedging Bulges Thanks to ‘Flight From Zero,’ BIS Says - (www.bloomberg.com)
Currency Hedging Bulges Thanks to ‘Flight From Zero,’ BIS Says - (www.bloomberg.com)
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