Good morning New York,
FT ALPHAVILLE
Dan has taken a look at the peer to peer lenders, and he can't help but be reminded of the problems with money market funds.
NEWS
Beijing has banned banks from Bitcoin transactions, as regulators warned of danger that it be used for criminal activity. Surging Chinese demand has been one of the main drivers of Bitcoin's 5,000 per cent appreciation this year, (Financial Times, Bloomberg).
Australia's Qantas Airways on Thursday forecast steep first-half losses while announcing a further 1,000 job cuts and possible asset sales. Stuck in a price war, the news prompted a warning from Moody's of a possible downgrade, (Wall Street Journal).
German drugs and chemicals group Merck has moved to increase its presence in high-tech electronic devices by agreeing to acquire Apple supplier AZ Electronic Materials in an all-cash deal worth £1.6bn. The 404p a share cash offer is a 53 per cent premium to the 263p closing price on Wednesday, (Financial Times, Bloomberg).
Siemens announced a plan for higher profits at its infrastructure unit at an analyst day on Thursday. The restructuring comes as new Chief Executive Joe Kaeser reviews the company's operations after taking over in August, (Wall Street Journal).
BNP will buy Bank Gospodarki Zywnosciowej from Dutch lender Rabobank to boost its presence in Poland, the bank said on Thursday. The French bank will buy Rabobank's 98.5% stake in Poland's Bank BGZ, which is valued at around 4.2 billion Polish zlotys ($1.36 billion) under the deal, (Wall Street Journal).
A suicide bomber has attacked Yemen's defense ministry. At least 20 people were killed on Thursday in a car bomb and gun battle at the Yemeni defence ministry compound in the capital Sanaa, sources inside the complex said, in one of the most serious attacks in the past 18 months, (Reuters).
Markets: Global stocks are again struggling for a foothold as investors continue to ponder when the US Federal Reserve will start reducing its stimulus and what impact such a move may have on financial markets. US index futures suggest Wall Street's S&P 500 will slip 2 points to 1,791 following a choppy session on Wednesday, (Financial Times).
