FT markets round-up: "A strong January for global stocks has finished meekly as an unexpected bout of caution over the US economy triggers a mild retreat of some benchmarks from cyclical highs. There has been renewed selling of the Japanese yen late in the New York trading day with the currency hitting Y91.56 against the dollar, its weakest level since June 2010. The proximity of the payrolls report was fostering the tentative mood in markets, delivering softness in industrial commodities and a stall in recently buoyant growth-sensitive currencies, but a mixed reaction across highly-rated fixed income products. Gold is cheaper by $14 at $1,663 an ounce. The FTSE All-World equity index is down 0.2 per cent after the Asia-Pacific region, excluding Japan, lost 0.3 per cent. The FTSE Eurofirst 300 drops 0.6 per cent, and Wall Street's S&P 500 has settled 0.3 per cent lower and is back under 1,500. Financial Times Barclays in Qatar loan probe: "UK authorities are probing an allegation that Barclays loaned Qatar money to invest in the bank as part of its cash call at the height of the financial crisis in 2008, which enabled the bank to avoid a UK government bailout. US banks squeezed as mortgage profits hit: "US banks are suffering a squeeze on mortgage profits after a two-year bonanza, raising doubts about the earnings of Wells Fargo, Bank of America and the other large lenders. Mortgage rates rose on average from 3.42 per cent to 3.53 per cent Thursday, their highest level in four months and sharpest increase in 10 months, according to the weekly survey of 30-year mortgages by Freddie Mac, the government-backed mortgage company. US challenges AB InBev's Modelo deal: "The US moved on Thursday to block Anheuser-Busch InBev's $20bn acquisition of Grupo Modelo, the Mexican brewer, arguing that the deal would lead to price increases, harm consumers and deter competition. The US Department of Justice lawsuit is the latest antitrust challenge from Barack Obama's administration and throws into jeopardy one of the biggest cross border deals of 2012. The SEC's weird newswire investigation. Deutsche Bank improved its balance sheet by losing a lot of money. Grand Mal Economics. The psychology of taxi-riders. China approaching the turning point. This entry was posted by FT Alphaville on Thursday January 31st, 2013 22:48.