Goldman Sachs Asset Management says equities internationally might be getting too expensive, “but there are still select opportunities for value investors.” In a recent email, the firm presents a chart depicting the degree of dispersion between the price of the top 25% and bottom 75% stocks in each of five different markets. “Despite broadly high valuations today, investors can still find low-priced investments. A market with a high dispersion score, such as that of the UK, means that investors can choose from a bigger pool of cheap and pricey stocks.” Emerging markets also appear to provide such opportunities. “Conversely, equity markets with a falling dispersion score, such as those of the US or Japan, may indicate that the range of opportunities is narrowing.” Goldman Sachs Asset Management say the larger differences in valuations from 2005 suggest there are greater stock-picking opportunities, “particularly for value investors, relative to recent history.”

US Fed the raise rates “fairly soon”? The US Federal Reserve said that it believes “it might be appropriate to raise the federal funds rate again fairly soon if incoming information on the labor market and inflation was in line with or stronger than their current expectations,” Reuters reports, citing minutes released yesterday. The news is getting wide pickup in the global business press this morning.

Paris is building seven new skyscrapers to compete with London for financial services companies as the UK gears up to leave the European Union, the Financial Times reports this morning. About 50 football pitches’ worth of office space will go up between now and 2021.

Elsewhere, the International Monetary Fund is getting into the Islamic banking industry, where it will invest in developing its ability to advise central bankers on Islamic banking systems and to monitor the sector globally. “The emergence in recent years of hybrid financial products in Islamic banking … may have brought some benefits, but also raise[s] financial stability concerns,” the IMF said in a statement as it released a white paper (pdf) on the subject. Reuters notes that “Islamic finance, which bans interest payments and pure monetary speculation, is estimated to have over USD 2 tn of assets globally with around USD 1.3 tn held by Islamic commercial banks. The sector is now systemically important in 14 countries, accounting for over 15 percent of total financial assets, including Iran, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Malaysia and the United Arab Emirates.”