Betfair Official Blog

No more drinking. No more driving. No more shopping. Economy still a mess!

Daily View - 13th March

The world seems to have become a more fragile place overnight, with the Carlyle Group's mortgage fund throwing in the towel after getting so many margin calls that they were eventually submerged under $16.6bn of debt. This means that the client funds have been totally lost, some $600m in all. This will have a serious knock-on effect across the hedge fund fraternity with lending banks calling for higher margin protection across the sector. In many cases the funds will be unable to provide the extra cash and will be forced into further 'fire sale' liquidations.

The weakness in the dollar has accelerated and China has reported much slower growth than expected. This has led to some spectacular falls in Far East market which will mean a very nasty opening call on the FTSE. Early indications are for a 100 point drop to around 5675.

The rally of yesterday seems a vey long way away now. Dealers spent much of the session setting up short (sell) bets on just such a reaction and will be off to the pub tonight to celebrate their windfalls.

With the Dollar falling some 2% over the past 24 hours it is not surprising that Oil and Gold (priced in Dollars) are almost exactly the same 2% more expensive this morning. Commodities are starting to become 'currency' plays as the Greenback slumps ever lower. Against the Euro we are at another all-time low.