Business

The "hostel takeover" saga for Starwood Hotels took another unexpected turn this morning, when the company's stock price soared following news that the hotel chain had received an unsolicited $76/share non-binding proposal (8% premium to the Friday close) from an investor group led by China’s Anbang Insurance Group, in a deal that seeks to scuttle its planned combination with Marriott International.  The proposed deal values Starwood, one of the world's largest hotel companies which includes such brands as Westin, Sheraton, The Luxury Collection, W Hotels, St.

• Fed to sit tight on rates at March meet, hint at hikes to come (Reuters)
• Election setback a 'wake-up call' for Merkel, media and politicians say (Reuters)
• Germany’s Merkel under renewed attack after populists’ poll success (FT)
• Temperatures Rise on Eve of Next GOP Contests (WSJ)
• Carl Icahn setting up son to take his place: sources (Post)
• Turkey Vows Swift Retaliation After Bomb Kills 37 in Capital (BBG)
• One of Ankara bombers was female PKK member: Turkish security sources (Reuters)

The biggest macro development over the weekend was China's latest "gloomy" economic update, in which industrial production, retail sales and lending figures all missed estimates, however now that we are back to central bank bailout mode, bad news is once again good news, and the Shanghai Comp soared +1.7% among the best performers in Asia on calls for further central bank stimulus while the new CSRC chief also vowed to intervene in stock markets if necessary. In other words, the worse the data in China, the better.

"There’s a giant bull in the [Turkey stock market] china shop," exclaims one trader, but (unsually for Turkey), "nobody knows anything for sure" about who he, she, or it is. As Bloomberg reports, a mystery investor who first appeared a year and a half ago with $450 million of bets on a single day, almost double the market average, is now executing major transactions with increasing frequency, scaring away competitors who can’t figure out when he or she will strike next, traders and bankers said.

Authored by Michael Klare via TomDispatch.com,