New evidence on CEO pay rebuts Darling September 28, 2009 LET us, for once, put the emotion and anger to one side. What real, rigorous, academic evidence is there supporting the view that bonuses caused or were a significant contributor to the financial crisis (rather than other factors being to blame, such as ultra-loose monetary policy or flawed risk models)? The answer: very little. In [...]
Madoff’s UK staff probed September 28, 2009 Criminal charges may be brought against some of the London employees of fraudster Bernard Madoff by the end of this year, the Serious Fraud Office has said. Senior British prosecutor Richard Alderman said: “I’m advised by the team that we can expect charges before the end of the year”. Alderman added that investigators were looking [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING September 28, 2009 FINANCIAL TIMESEDF JOB CREATES A HEADACHE FOR VEOLIAThe board of Veolia Environnement was meeting yesterday evening to weigh up the consequence of the nomination of Henri Proglio, long-time boss of the world’s largest water and waste group as the head of EDF, the French state controlled nuclear operator. Directors have been asked not only to [...]
Yen soars on intervention pledge September 28, 2009 The yen yesterday hit an eight-month high against the dollar after Japan’s finance minister appeared to tone down comments suggesting he would intervene to stem its recent rise. The currency reached 88.23 yen per dollar – the highest since January’s 13-year high of 87.10.
King’s Swedish trip hurts pound September 28, 2009 The pound dropped further yesterday after it emerged that Mervyn King last week visited Sweden to hold talks with its central bank, known for its radical negative interest rates. News of the meeting reinforced concerns the Bank is planning to alter the rate it pays on commercial banks’ reserves.
UK firms set to rush LSE listings September 28, 2009 Smaller UK firms are from next week expected to bombard the London Stock Exchange to take advantage of an FSA rule change making them eligible for a less costly and rigorous “secondary listings” that will allow them to raise money quickly. But only firms with full compliance procedures will be included on FTSE indices.
Class action lawsuit hits BoA bosses September 28, 2009 INVESTORS in a class-action lawsuit against Bank of America (BoA) over the Merrill Lynch takeover are trying to collect “billions of dollars” in damages, Ohio’s attorney general said yesterday. Attorney General Richard Cordray spoke after filing a 155-page complaint in Manhattan federal court that accuses BoA of fraudulently concealing Merrill’s soaring losses even as it [...]
Banks to be asked for billions to shore up FDIC deposit fund September 28, 2009 US BANK regulator the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) is today expected to pass a measure to ask banks to pay $36bn (£22.7bn) to shore up is dwindling deposit insurance fund. The FDIC board is set to meet today and will ask US banks to pay three years of regular contributions in advance to boost [...]
UBSboss wants to buy its way out of government bad bank deal September 28, 2009 UBS chief executive Oswald Grubel yesterday said that the bank is aiming to sever its ties with the Swiss government by buying its way out of a “bad bank deal”. UBS is currently paying expensive rates on the bad bank scheme for protection against big losses on its toxic assets. But its plans to ditch [...]
Mandelson in rallying cry to Labour party September 28, 2009 LABOUR politicians are in the “fight of our lives”, business secretary Lord Mandelson said yesterday, but insisted that the general election was still “up for grabs”. In a speech designed to unify the party in readiness for a difficult election campaign, Mandelson admitted Labour were the “underdogs” but savaged the Tories over their approach to [...]