Monday’s Headlines: Sleepless on Wall Street—traders wake mid-night to check headlines
The European debt crisis is disrupting more than global economics – it’s also getting in the way of traders’ sleep. According to a New York Times article, American traders looking for an edge at work are waking in the middle of the night to stay abreast of the latest headlines in London, Paris and Frankfurt.
The Times reports: “We have a new credo: carpe noctem — seize the night,” said Douglas A. Kass, a hedge fund manager who routinely sets his alarm for precisely that time to scan the headlines coming out of Europe. All last week, the musings of the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, and other European leaders put the markets on edge. “You are almost forced to get up and watch the goings-on,” he added.
East coast bankers set their alarms for 2:30 a.m. to catch Europe’s morning headlines, while those on the West Coast rise at 1 a.m. Bloomberg reports a spike in use of its mobile applications between 5 a.m. and 7 a.m., as well as between midnight and 3 a.m., when trading in Asia winds down and the European markets open. CNBC has recorded a 50 percent jump in the number of viewers tuning in between 4 a.m. and 6 a.m., and that web traffic between 2 a.m. and 5 a.m. has ballooned by 30 percent over the past year. Meanwhile, TD Ameritrade reports that trading volume in S&P futures has more than doubled between 3 a.m. and 6 a.m. over the last 12 months.
Other News:
Occupy protesters disrupt two bank recruiting sessions at Princeton. [DealBook]
MSSB cut its number of regions from 19 to 16, making changes to territories in New England, Florida and the South. [On Wall Street]
Unsuccessful PE managers are holding on to investments to live off the management fees. [Financial Times]
Barclays Wealth has launched a new global bond hedge fund. [Hedge Fund Net]
Commercial and industrial lending rose at an average annual rate of nearly 10 percent in the third quarter, the highest since 2008. [Businessweek]
Fee-based advisors feel squeezed. [Investment News]
The merging Tokyo Stock Exchange and the Osaka Securities aim to attract foreign investors. [Bloomberg]
The London Stock Exchange will buy the remaining 50 percent stake in FTSE International for $701 million from Pearson. [NY Times]
