Good morning traders!

In Asia today, the Nikkei was up 81.79 points at 9,868.05, while the Hang
Seng ended the morning up 452.15 points at 18,373.08.

Crude oil traded at $69.29 a barrel on Nymex.

Happy Monday!

G.

Morning all. Friday's market reports:

Telegraph
The Times
FT
The Guardian
The Independent
This is Money

Saturday

The threat of disruption to Britains energy supply loomed last night after 2,000 power plant workers across the country walked out in wildcat strikes to protest about sackings at a Total refinery in Lincolnshire.
Blackout threat after protests over Lindsey oil refinery sackings

Commercial mortgage-backed bonds have been flying higher this week. Whats all this down to? The trick is dubbed the re-Remic. Why hasnt, then, the re-remic been used more extensively before? Perhaps because, all a re-remic is, is basically a re-use of CDO structuring technology.
Re-mimicking the crisis

Most analysts maintain that Poland stands to ride the financial storm better than any other country in emerging Europe. The country in some ways seen as the quasi China of Europe. Yet indicators suggesting the opposite are mounting up.
Poland: not so strong after all?

A huge pool of liquidity, created in only four months by the Chinese banking industry in an all-out attempt to fight the global financial crisis, may be flowing towards the casinos of Macau, the gambling capital of Asia.
Chinese bail-out cash heads for Macaus casinos rather than Guangdong factories

The statement by a US official this week that $134bn of Treasury bills seized in Italy earlier this month are fake has only raised more questions in a case that, as one commentator noted earlier this week, is a plot better suited for a John LeCarre novel.
Bond-smuggling mystery thickens like a lumpy stew

Sunday

Gordon Brown has ordered top ministers at the Treasury and Department of Business to draw up plans to cope with rising oil prices and a lending drought for UK companies, amid fears that the nation's economic recovery risks being derailed.
Brown demands emergency plan to stop oil wrecking recovery

The mining group Xstrata has approached its rival Anglo American about a 41bn merger that would create one of the world's leading natural resources companies, The Sunday Telegraph has learnt.
Mining group Xstrata plots talks on 41bn merger with Anglo American

Depressed commercial property prices have prompted a wave of interest in the market with up to 16 firms currently working on or readying plans to launch real estate funds. Blackstone, the New York-listed financial services firm, heads the list with plans to raise around $2bn (1.2bn) in Europe for a new Special Situations real estate fund.
Property rush as billions raised to pick up bargains

A group of Londons largest hedge funds, which between them manage 120 billion of assets, have joined forces to fight a proposed European directive on financial regulation.
Hedge funds to take on Europe

After two smugglers were stopped last week with what at first appeared to be $134bn in US state bonds, the tension and paranoia surrounding the fate of the dollar hit a new high.
Is this the death of the dollar?

Monday

European Central Bank president Jean-Claude Trichet warned today that governments that have borrowed billions to fight the economic crisis had no room for more debt and would have to start bringing down budget deficits.
ECB chief Trichet says governments have reached borrowing limit

The proportion of senior executives who think their business prospects are good has almost doubled to 42pc percent from 22pc percent in the first quarter, according to KPMG's National Business Confidence Survey. Only 25pc of executives now believe their own prospects are poor, down from 37pc in the spring.
UK business confidence doubles in a year, according to KPMG survey

City scribblers have been falling over themselves to revise up their forecasts. Supposedly, the recession is over. But is it?
There are still serious structural weaknesses in the UK economy

House prices took a dip again in June after four months of gradual improvements, fresh data published shows. Britain's biggest property website Rightmove said that the average price dropped by 1,000 in June, 0.4%, to 226,436, compared with a rise of 2.4% in May. Prices are now down 5.5% over the past 12 months.
House prices fall after four months of steady progress

Nigerian militants attacked three Shell pipelines in just 24 hours over the weekend sparking concerns that the escalating volatility could drive up oil prices.
Oil price fears following rebel attacks on Shell

Iceland is concerned that its credit rating could soon be downgraded to "junk" status meaning there is a high risk of the country defaulting on its sovereign debt.
Iceland at risk of a 'junk' credit rating

NIKKEI 225	AUSTRALIA ASX200	SHANGHAI	HANG SENG

KOSPI	VIX	GOLD	NYMEX CRUDE

BWY UBS: upgraded to buy from neutral, tp cut to 801 from 808
GOG RBS: downgraded to hold from add
ISAT Merrill: upgraded to buy from neutral
MRW Goldman: upgraded to neutral from sell
MRW JPMorgan: downgraded to neutral from overweight, tp cut to 260 from 320
SBRY JPMorgan: reiterated overweight, tp reiterated 370
TSCO JPMorgan: reiterated underweight, tp 300

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