Opening Bell: 09.13.10

Banks Get New Restraints On Capital (WSJ)
The committee punted other big issues. Officials agreed they needed new requirements to force banks to have access to ample liquidity, the funding that banks use to finance their daily operations. But they couldn't reach consensus on the impact these rules might have on financial markets. So they agreed to delay new rules in this area until at least 2015, with other rules set to kick in three years later, and pledged to revisit the issue.

Bob Diamond: The Case For The Defence (Telegraph)
Diamond talks about his history with Barclays since joining in 1996. He talks about the banking commission which will consider whether the UK’s universal banks – joined together in investment and retail operations, such as Barclays – should be split apart. He talks of Basel III and the headwinds of new regulation, and the need to create a better balance at Barclays between the profits made by its investment and retail arms. He talks about pay and the need for caution, about casino banks and the “disappointment” he feels at the level of some of the debate. And when Diamond says “disappointment”, you know he means a whole lot more. As he speaks, a bird thuds straight into his glass-fronted office at North Colonnade, Canary Wharf. “Boy, that’s gotta hurt,” Diamond says.

Deutsche Bank to Raise $12.5 Billion for Postbank, Regulation (Bloomberg)
The bank plans to raise at least 9.8 billion euros ($12.5 billion) in its biggest-ever share sale to take over Deutsche Postbank AG and meet stricter capital rules. Deutsche Bank expects to offer between 24 euros and 25 euros a share in cash to Postbank investors to increase its 29.95 percent stake, the bank said yesterday. Postbank dropped as much as 7.5 percent to 25 euros in Frankfurt trading after Josef Ackermann, Deutsche Bank’s chief executive officer, told reporters in Frankfurt he doesn’t plan to improve the offer.

Deutsche Bank CEO: Basel III 'Very Demanding' (Reuters)
Ackermann told reporters in Frankfurt he was pleased the new rules could be phased in over several years and added they were “overall very good“.

Geithner Urges Action On Economy (WSJ)
"If the government does nothing going forward, then the impact of policy in Washington will shift from supporting economic growth to hurting economic growth," Mr. Geithner said during an interview with The Wall Street Journal in his U.S. Treasury office, citing the example of countries who "shift too quickly to premature restraint" after a crisis, including the U.S. in the 1930s.

Greece moves to reassure investors (FT)
Greece will launch a charm offensive in Europe this week to reassure investors the country is on track with crucial economic reforms to prevent a damaging government bond default that could trigger a deeper crisis in the eurozone. George Papaconstantinou, finance minister, will lead a delegation including European Union, European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund officials to meet investors in London, Paris and Frankfurt. It will be Greece’s first roadshow since last December. That trip came a few weeks before spreads on its bonds hit record levels as investor confidence collapsed, and Athens tried in vain to persuade China, several Gulf states and India to buy Greek debt.

Coffee Rally Peaking As Funds Pare Bets on Surplus Up 500% (Bloomberg)
Supplies of arabica, the world’s most-grown coffee, will exceed demand by 6.67 million 60-kilogram (132-pound) bags in the year ending in September 2011, according to ABN Amro Bank NV and VM Group. That’s the most in nine years and more than six times this season’s expected surplus. Speculators including hedge funds cut their net-long position, or bets on higher prices, by 8.4 percent since Aug. 17, regulatory data show.

Treasury Lawyer Tapped To Replace Feinberg (AP)
The administration says Feinberg will be replaced by Patricia Geoghegan. She will be responsible for setting pay guidelines for top executives at the four companies still getting exceptional assistance from the government's $700 billion bailout fund. Geoghegan spent much of the past year working with Feinberg as he issued a series of compensation reports. She came to Treasury after retiring as a partner from New York law firm Cravath, Swaine and Moore, where she had specialized in tax law and executive compensation.

Anna Chapman's Fan Club (NYP)
“She was an expert at using her femininity to get information,” said model Dennis Hirdt, one of Chapman’s many former playthings, in the new issue of Details magazine. “When I first met her, from the get-go: Little hand touches. Whispers . . . or maybe ‘by accident’ lips running against an earlobe. Stuff like that,” he said. Some of Chapman’s former paramours gathered at a Manhattan bar to commiserate after her bust as a Russian spy earlier this summer, the mag said, and at one point, one of the men finally blurted out, “OK, who f - -ked her?” Several hands shot up, the mag says.