‘The government aren’t the experts’: Liberal Democrats vow to push back controversial Pension Schemes Bill
BANKING WOE PUTS EURO ON THE BACK FOOT June 17, 2009 JANE FOLEYRESEARCH DIRECTOR, FOREX.COM AFTER months of heavy handed fiscal and monetary stimulus, the fact that central bankers and finance ministers are turning their attention to exit policies offers some reassurance that conditions must be returning to normal. This is not, however, a time for complacency. Over the past couple of months, investors’ fears have [...]
SUSTAINABLE BANKING IS WAY FORWARD June 17, 2009 MOORAD CHOUDRYHEAD OF TREASURY, EUROPE ARAB BANK THE financial crash of 2007-2008 was caused by the interaction of several different factors, some of which had been building for years. Since then markets have entered a period of restructuring that reflects the realities of the crash: key to this is an awareness that much of the [...]
CLEARING AND SETTLEMENT REGULATORY DEVELOPMENTS June 17, 2009 Yesterday, President Obama announced a plan to overhaul US financial regulation in response to a banking and capital markets crisis. As part of the proposal, oversight of over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives would be imposed, and there would be harmonisation of futures and securities regulation. New payment and settlement system safeguards would be created. The financial crisis [...]
Recovery hopes are pushing smart traders towards metals contracts June 17, 2009 BELOW me, dozens of men in dark suits are standing in a ring, yelling at each other and making special hand signals. Around the ring clerks are sitting, often with a telephone held to each ear and giving a running commentary down the line on the events unfolding in front of them. In the cacophony [...]
The post-trade space is facing a revolution following Mifid June 17, 2009 IN THE fast and exciting world of trading it is all too easy to overlook the importance of the necessary but rather administrative post-trade activities, of which clearing and settlement are the most important. But these play a vital role in the functioning of the European securities markets. And the European clearing and settlement space [...]
WHY LIBEL TOURISM IS A BIG WORRY June 16, 2009 MAX COLEMEDIA LAWYER, MISHCON DE REYA SOLICITORS THE practice of libel shopping has been coming under scrutiny recently. Libel tourism is a type of forum shopping, the practice of finding the foreign jurisdiction which is most friendly to the claim, and the courts in this country are an appealing destination if you are a foreigner [...]
Eurozone banks will prove the downfall of the single currency June 16, 2009 AFTER months of Europe scoffing at the troubles of the Anglo-Saxon banking system, it appears likely that many Eurozone banks have plenty of skeletons in their own closets. The European Central Bank (ECB) said earlier this week in its Financial Stability Review that it estimated Eurozone bank writedowns due to securities – or toxic assets [...]
COMMODITY CURRENCIES SLOW DOWN June 16, 2009 BORIS SCHLOSSBERGDIRECTOR OF CURRENCY RESEARCH, GFT ONE of the best trades in the FX market in the past three months has been to go long on the Commonwealth currencies of Canada, Australia and New Zealand. These were the biggest beneficiaries of the recovery trade as global demand picked up. Spurred by China’s seemingly insatiable demand [...]
Economy fears hit oil, miners and banks but defensives fly June 16, 2009 THE FTSE 100 closed 0.1 per cent higher yesterday, recovering only a small part of Monday’s sharp falls as strength in defensive stocks was countered by falls in oils, miners, and banks. At the close the FTSE 100 was up 2.56 points at 4,328.57, rallying slightly after hitting a six-week closing low on Monday when [...]
US falls on gloomy stats and Best Buy June 16, 2009 US stocks slipped yesterday as mixed economic data and disappointing sales figures from giant electronics retailer Best Buy spurred worries about an anemic recovery. After a three-month run that lifted the S&P 500 as much as 40 per cent from 12-year lows, analysts said the economy needs to start showing real improvement to support optimism [...]