Text size [+][-] Saturday March 13 2010GLOBAL EDITION
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The agency charged with closing U.S. banks rarely pulls the trigger outside of Fridays. When it does, as with Thursday’s shuttering of a bank with a branch across the street from the New York Fed, or the 2008 collapse of WaMu, it’s usually under exigent circumstances.
A truce has been reached in the manure wars. After a year-long battle, CF Industries is buying rival Terra for $4.7 bln; Yara and Agrium are in retreat. But CF looks stuck with the winner’s curse, as the four-way fight drove prices way up. The losers come up smelling of roses.
The Forbes ranking of billionaires and data from the U.S. Fed suggest that individuals' net worth is again on the rise. Trouble is, governments everywhere are propping up markets and asset values. As fiscal authorities change tack, recent increases in wealth could evaporate.
Investors have greeted listings of buyout firms’ portfolio companies skeptically. The IPO of Sensata addressed market concerns. Most noticeably, Bain is using a big slug of the proceeds to pay down the car parts maker’s debt instead of itself. The exit model won’t be popular.
Reuters Breakingviews is the world's leading source of agenda-setting financial insight. Breakingviews has recently been acquired by Thomson Reuters and is now Reuters’ brand for financial commentary. Every day, we comment on the big financial stories as they break. Breakingviews has around 30 columnists based in London, New York, Hong Kong, Paris, Washington, Moscow and Madrid. We also syndicate selected columns on Reuters.com and in 15 influential newspapers including The New York Times, The Telegraph, The International Herald Tribune and Le Monde.
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Even when you don't agree, it still makes you think. Charles Sherwood, partner and member of the board, Permira
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