Does Geithner want a united EU government?
Wednesday 22 Jun 2011 | Regulation Mutters
Echoing the famous words of former US secretary of state Henry Kissinger, who complained of not knowing who to pick up the phone to when dealing with Europe, US Treasury secretary Tim Geithner has seemingly urged EU leaders to unite.
“I think it is very hard for people who invest in Europe – within Europe and outside Europe – to understand what [the EU’s] strategy is when you have so many…
Help the Aged… through securitisation
Tuesday 21 Jun 2011 | Regulation Mutters
The deputy governor of the Bank of Japan has signalled his backing for the return of the securitisation market… for OAPs.
In a speech on Monday to the University of Cambridge in England, at the 7th anniversary conference of Keynes’ general theory, Kiyohiko Nishimura waxed lyrical about the problems posed by ageing populations.
His conclusion? As the financial needs of the elderly are often…
Draghi’s ‘first experience’ of democratic accountability
Tuesday 14 Jun 2011 | Regulation Mutters
It looks like rumour mongers finally have the proof they need that Italy is some way off being a full-functioning democracy – at least under Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.
Mario Draghi, the governor of the country’s central bank and European Central Bank presidential nominee, admitted at the end of a public hearing with MEPs on Tuesday that the grilling was a totally new experience for…
Who says financial regulators don’t have hearts?
Tuesday 14 Jun 2011 | Regulation Mutters
With a complete overhaul of its structure on the way, some might say the UK Financial Services Authority should have more important things on its mind – yet the regulator has still found the time to donate £42,000 (€47,600/$68,500) of furniture to charity.
Shattering the public’s vision that the financial services industry is made up of greedy bankers and casino-style gamblers, the FSA…
The quintessential European breakfast buffet
Thursday 9 Jun 2011 | Regulation Mutters
We have more this morning from the marvellously colourful (NB: colorful, for our US readers) Bart Chilton of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, who has been telling financial industry professionals of his love for early morning European cuisine.
“One of the things I like about Europe is the breakfast buffet hotels offer in the morning,” he remarked at the opening of a High Frequency…
Is Timothy Geithner faultless?
Tuesday 7 Jun 2011 | Regulation Mutters
US Treasury secretary Tim Geithner launched a scathing attack on Britain yesterday, more or less shifting the blame for the financial crisis from America onto the shoulders of its English-speaking cousin.
“The United Kingdom’s experiment in a strategy of ‘light touch’ regulation to attract business to London away from New York and Frankfurt ended tragically,” he expounded.
“That should be a…
Goldman lost 98% of Gaddafi investment
Wednesday 1 Jun 2011 | Regulation Mutters
One of the world’s most feared dictators, Colonel Gaddafi, is reported to have invested $1.3bn in Goldman Sachs, only to see the bank lose 98 per cent of it, the Wall Street Journal reports.
According to the paper, Goldman offered to cut Libya’s sovereign wealth fund a deal that would make it one of the biggest shareholders in the investment bank after a currency bet and other trades went badly…
Draghi faces 50 per cent pay cut
Wednesday 1 Jun 2011 | Regulation Mutters
Mario Draghi, who is set to replace Jean-Claude Trichet as European Central Bank president in November, will have his take-home pay slashed by half.
Current employer the Bank of Italy confirmed on its website this week that in 2010 Draghi earned more than €757,000. This is the first time that the central bank has disclosed details of its boss’s pay package.
Meanwhile, according to the ECB,…
HSBC in internship nepotism storm
Friday 27 May 2011 | Regulation Mutters
Banking giant HSBC has landed itself in hot water after admitting that it only offered internships in its legal department to the “sons and daughters” of current executives.
In a letter to a hopeful applicant for some unpaid experience, Richard Bennnett, group general counsel, reportedly said the department only offered such placements to relatives of insiders.
“HSBC does not have a…
Economic stalwarts in Hayek-plosive hip hop battle
Thursday 26 May 2011 | Regulation Mutters
The global financial crisis has reignited the debate about using government spending to get economies out of trouble – leading to a hip hop battle between two notorious economists.
An entertaining spoof written by Russ Roberts, professor of economics at George Mason, and directed by John Papola, depicts the herculean fight between the father of Keynesian economic theory, John Keynes, and the…
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HKEx: ‘We don’t believe in arbitrage’ The financial services industry is high up on the target list for the Hong Kong Exchange’s key company poacher, head of issuer marketing Eric Landheer. But which firm – insurer or bank – is his next target? And how will he lure them?
G-Sifi insurer designation too ‘secretive’ As efforts gather pace in Basel to determine which insurers should be deemed globally systemic, the American Insurance Association tells Global Financial Strategy that the process is wrongheaded, lacks transparency and may seriously harm the US market. Will Henley reports.
STRAW POLL
Are eurobonds inevitable, whether Germany likes it or not?