O, who can hold a fire in his hand,
By thinking on the frosty Caucasus?
Or cloy the hungry edge of appetite,
By bare imagination of a feast?
Or wallow naked in December snow,
By thinking on fantastic summer’s heat?
-- Bolingbroke, Richard II
On this day in 1399, Henry of Bolingbroke (1367 – 1413) was proclaimed King of England, supplanting his cousin Richard II, who is later thought to have starved to death, perhaps voluntarily. Henry’s descendants include the current monarch, Elizabeth II, and the Queen's daughters-in-law Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, and Sophie, Countess of Wessex.
Deutsche Bank fears drag down markets
We can’t wait for the weather to provide opportunities to cavort unclothed in a blizzard, but for now we have excitement in the form of speculation that Deutsche Bank is in a serious bit of bother. The resulting turmoil on markets is BNN’s Top Line this morning. Berlin “continues to play a straight bat on Deutsche, having denied a report this week that a secret rescue plan is being developed,” The Guardian says.
Yes, we had to look up that cricket allusion. Apparently it can mean being honest and straightforward – but also evading questions.
Some observers think that the problem is not contagious, at least so far.
“We are not yet seeing enough signals of a pan-European credit seize up that could portend a meaningful global risk off,” according Michael Purves, chief global strategist at brokerage Weeden, quoted yesterday by Barron’s.
“Another indication that this crisis may be limited to Deutsch Bank’s stock holders and not a path to an international credit freeze up/banking meltdown is the fact that European banks equity and bond prices have been pretty resilient thus far.”
Today's guests
Deutsche investors may be getting cold feet but Toronto's sizzling office market is said to be the most frenetic in North America. At 10:10 a.m. ET, we'll be joined by Paul Morassutti of real estate adviser CBRE. He tells segment producer Adena Ali that technology tenants are driving demand, moving into buildings that they traditionally would never have occupied.
On Commodities at 11:30 a.m ET, we’ll take a look at gold-focused royalty and streaming company Franco-Nevada, whose stock is up six fold in five years. Our guest is chairman Pierre Lassonde. We’ll ask him what lessons have been learned in the 10 years since Canadian mining flagship Inco and Falconbridge were bought by foreign players. You can check out yesterday’s interview with former Inco CEO Scott Hand here.
Finally, for those doggedly building a skill in hopes that enough practice will make them invincible, The New Yorker has a warning: Genes and the environment matter too: “Saying that training is everything may be tempting, but it’s wrong.”
Well, there goes our dream of glory in Mongolian wrestling.
Every morning Commodities host Andrew Bell writes a ‘chase note’ to BNN's editorial staff listing the stories and events that will be in the spotlight that day. Have it delivered to your inbox before the trading day begins by heading to www.bnn.ca/subscribe
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