Top Story

Libor lawsuits should be dismissed, banks argue
JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and other banks are being sued by local governments, community banks and customers regarding possible manipulation of the London Interbank Offered Rate. The defendants have asked U.S. District Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald to dismiss the cases, arguing there is no evidence they broke the law. Reuters (3/5), Bloomberg (3/5), The Wall Street Journal (3/5)

Industry Update

SEC gets help, including from FBI, on HFT issues
Members of the Quantitative Analytics unit at the Securities and Exchange Commission have been meeting with representatives from the FBI and other regulators to share expertise and tackle concerns related to high-frequency trading. The FBI's collaboration is part of an effort to keep up with quickly evolving trading strategies, sources said. Reuters (3/5), Business Insider (3/5), Financial Times (tiered subscription model) (3/5)

Congressional inquiry on HFT is needed, NASAA says
Congress should investigate high-frequency trading, the North American Securities Administrators Association says. NASAA wants Congress to identify high-frequency traders and look at how their actions affect the markets. Reuters (3/5)

Dow closes at record high
The Dow Jones industrial average closed at an all-time high of 14,253.77 on Tuesday, topping a record set in October 2007. "I'm surprised at the speed of the gains, which have come at a pace that we can't annualize," said Jim McDonald of Northern Trust Global Investments. "But stocks are still not expensive, and we can expect to continue getting a reasonable advance from here." Reuters (3/6), Barron's (subscription required)/Stocks to Watch blog (3/5)

New York Focus

Napolitano: JFK passengers should expect security delays from cuts
Travelers using John F. Kennedy International Airport may face security delays because of the federal government's spending cuts that took effect last week, said Janet Napolitano, the Homeland Security secretary. Waiting times during summer could top four hours, she said. The New York Times (tiered subscription model)/City Room blog (3/5)

Bloomberg blames end of subsidy for numbers in homeless shelters
The end of a New York state rental-subsidy program is the reason for a sharp rise in people spending the night in New York City homeless shelters, Mayor Michael Bloomberg says. "Without those subsidies, people don't move out" of the shelters, Bloomberg said. "So, if you want to reduce the population, you've got to go and get those monies back." The Wall Street Journal (3/5)

Career Development

7 tips for better networking results
It's important to set goals to help you focus your networking, Tara Horner writes. Always have a business card on hand, be honest and respectful toward contacts and don't forget to follow up, Horner writes. SmartBrief/SmartBlog on Leadership (3/4)

People & Personalities

Gensler may keep post at CFTC
The White House is in talks with Gary Gensler about a second term as chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, sources say. Gensler, who became chairman in May 2009, can remain in the job through year-end. He reportedly has expressed interest in other financial or economic positions in the Obama administration. Bloomberg Businessweek (3/5), The New York Times (tiered subscription model)/DealBook blog (3/5), The Wall Street Journal (3/5)

On The Economy

Obama seeks budget-deal support from Republicans

Graham/Reuters

Putting talks with GOP leaders on the back burner for a while, President Barack Obama is reaching out to rank-and-file Senate Republicans to build support for a budget deal with higher taxes to pay down U.S. debt. Obama told senators that he is willing to make changes in health care and retirement programs to get a budget compromise that includes higher taxes. The Washington Post (3/5), Bloomberg (3/6)

Financial Products

Unconstrained bond fund is in Schroders' pipeline
Schroders is set to introduce a global bond fund to the retail market in April, to attract investors looking for higher fixed-income yields. The Schroder ISF Global Unconstrained Bond fund aims to deliver annual yields 4% to 5% higher than its benchmark, the Barclays Capital Global Aggregate Bond USD Hedged index. IFAOnline.co.uk (U.K.) (3/4), International Adviser online (U.K.) (3/4), Citywire (U.K.) (3/4)

SmartQuote

Every time you spend money, you're casting a vote for the kind of world you want." -- Anna Lappé, American writer, speaker and activist Share: