NY lawsuit filed against JP Morgan over Bear Stearns MBS: New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman filed a civil fraud lawsuit against JPMorgan on Monday over mortgage-backed securities packaged and sold by Bear Stearns, which JP Morgan bought in March 2008. The suit seeks unspecified damages and cites $22.5bn of losses were suffered by investors. It is the first action to come out of a working group created by President Barack Obama earlier this year to go after wrongdoing that led to the financial crisis. JP Morgan in a statement it would contest the allegations. Schneiderman's office said: "We intend to follow up with similar actions against other sponsors and underwriters." (Financial Times) (Reuters) (Wall Street Journal) EU report will call for bank bonuses to be paid in debt: The Liikanen commission, an independent review set up almost a year ago by EU commissioner Michel Barnier, will on Tuesday recommend reforms for long-term pay incentives as well as advocating ringfencing trading activities to make big banks safer. Some of the panel's most radical measures have been toned down and Barnier will decide whether any of the proposals will be included in his reforms. Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke pushed back against criticism that the Fed's easing enables bad fiscal policy, saying the central bank's easing could help shrink the federal budget deficit over time. "Funding for lending" scheme fails to cut costs: Since the launch of the BoE scheme in July, the quantity of new loans to businesses and households has not improved, and the price of mortgage money is rising, not falling. Banks profiting more on QE3-era mortgages: Banks" profits from new mortgages have risen sharply since the Fed announce a new bond-buying programme. Even with 30-year fixed mortgages falling to a record low of 3.4%, the spread on new mortgages issued has risen to 1.6%, compared to 1.44% prior to QE3′s announcement and an average of 0.5% from 2000 to 2010. Former Fed chairman Paul Volcker will appear before the UK parliament's Commission of Banking Standards as it examines the structure of British banking sector. His appearance before the commission will fuel suggestions that the UK is taking a fresh look at structural reform of Britain's banks along the lines proposed by the Vickers Commission last year. The Reserve Bank of Australia cut benchmark lending rates by 25 basis points to 3.25% on Tuesday. Statement New minister pledges greater BoJ scrutiny: Japan's new Economy Minister Seiji Maehara pledged a closer watch over the central bank to ensure it meets a 1 percent inflation goal, adding that purchases of foreign bonds may be a powerful tool for easing. Samsung Galaxy tablet ban lifted: US District Judge Lucy Koh in San Jose granted Samsung an order lifting the ban on sale of its Galaxy 10.1 tablets, after a federal appeals court gave her jurisdiction over the matter. The temporary sales ban was imposed in June, before a patent-infringement trial between Apple and Samsung that ended in August with a $1.05bn jury verdict for the iPhone and iPad maker, but did not find Samsung's Galaxy 10.1 infringed on Apple patents. Biggest tech IPO since Facebook... Workday, a lossmaking US business software company, has paved the way for the biggest technology IPO since the troubled Facebook listing, as it announced plans for a stock sale that would value it at up to $3.85bn. "Regulate us!" say (some) HFT traders. Gideon Rachman: Blame the "great men" who created the euro. Nissan gambles on $3,000 Datsun. Australian property CDS have tumbled this year. Asian markets Nikkei 225 up +21.23 (+0.24%) at 8,818 Topix up +1.02 (+0.14%) at 733.37 Hang Seng up +78.09 (+0.38%) at 20,840 US markets S&P 500 up +3.82 (+0.27%) at 1,444 DJIA up +77.98 (+0.58%) at 13,515 Nasdaq down -2.70 (-0.09%) at 3,114 European markets Eurofirst 300 up +15.49 (+1.42%) at 1,105 FTSE100 up +78.38 (+1.37%) at 5,820 CAC 40 up +80.16 (+2.39%) at 3,435 Dax up +110.58 (+1.53%) at 7,327 Currencies €/$ 1.29 (1.29) $/¥ 78.12 (77.95) £/$ 1.61 (1.61) Commodities ($) Brent Crude (ICE) down -0.12 at 112.07 Light Crude (Nymex) down -0.15 at 92.33 100 Oz Gold (Comex) unchanged 0.00 at 1,781 Copper (Comex) down -0.05 at 379.25 10-year government bond yields (%) US 1.62 UK 1.74 Germany 1.48 CDS (closing levels) Markit iTraxx SovX Western Europe -2.67bps at 146bp Markit iTraxx Europe -2.81bps at 133.28bp Markit iTraxx Xover -9.57bps at 558.03bp Markit CDX IG -0.25bps at 99bp This entry was posted by Kate Mackenzie on Tuesday, October 2nd, 2012 at 5:31 and is filed under Uncategorised.