Jefferies slump raises industry concerns

摘要

Fourth-quarter fixed-income, currency and commodity trading results are likely to land like a lump of coal down a chimney, if results from jefferies are any indication. The investment bank, now owned by Leucadia National, reported a 73% collapse in FICC as trading fell off a cliff. The numbers confirm the warnings emanating from the big five US banks in recent weeks. JP Morgan, Citigroup and Bank of America Merrill Lynch in particular have warned that the favourable conditions at the end of the third quarter had evaporated in the fourth quarter. The banks said they were likely to report weak fourth-quarter results - with Citigroup and JP Morgan offering that the range could be 5% to 10% lower - adding to the steady erosion in FICC revenues in recent years. BofA Merrill was less candid.