‘Bond market tantrum risks’: Gilt traders brace for Labour leftward pivot as Starmer future uncertain
The science of measuring the money supply can be artfully constructed July 2, 2012 I WISH people were banned from talking so loosely about the money supply. It’s like someone telling you that “the London underground station is closed”. Unless you know which one, it isn’t very helpful. There are a number of ways to measure the money supply, but the main problem is that they often fail to [...]
Libor needs swift modernisation to recapture trust July 2, 2012 WE SHOULD be under no illusion about how catastrophic the failure of the Libor rate setting mechanisms has been. There has been widespread manipulation of the most important price of risk. And we don’t need reminding how important the price mechanism is for the allocation of everything from goods to services, and of course capital. [...]
Would a vote for Scottish independence in its referendum be boon for its businesses? July 2, 2012 YES Stewart Hosie Scotland is a country rich in opportunity and bursting with innovation, but sadly this does not translate often enough into greater commercial opportunities. Independence will provide us with new tools – tax credits for example – to deliver a step-change in Scotland’s research and devlopment. Independence provides greater scope to shape the [...]
RAPID RESPONSES July 2, 2012 Winners and losers [Barclays chair was right to resign over scandal, yesterday] Bob Diamond should be applauded for having led and very successfully grown Barclays’ investment banking operations into a global titan. But an operation or organisation typically reflects the standards and behaviours of its leaders, especially if the leader has a strong personality. Philip [...]
The pensions industry must act to avert the looming UK capital crisis July 1, 2012 OVER the next few decades, the UK’s public finances face being crushed by the costs of preserving our pensioner population. In parallel, our domestic supplies of capital will likely be depleted, exacerbated by a shrinking savings pool. Japan’s once legendarily high savings rate is expected to turn negative this year, as pensioners spend their savings. [...]
Yet another Euro summit provides no real solution July 1, 2012 WILL last week’s summit of EU leaders, the nineteenth since the start of the Eurozone crisis, be seen by future historians as the point at which the tide finally turned? This was certainly the tone of some of the initial media reactions, which judged that Angela Merkel’s resistance had finally been breached, and that progress [...]
The City has much to gain from China’s development as a financial centre July 1, 2012 THE relationship between the UK and China came into sharp focus over the past week, as Hong Kong celebrated the fifteenth anniversary of its return to Chinese sovereignty. In this time, China’s economic transformation – underlined by its ascent to become the world’s second largest economy – has been nothing short of miraculous. That much [...]
Are the government’s proposals for House of Lords reform a sensible move forward? July 1, 2012 YES Peter Facey The government’s House of Lords Reform Bill is very welcome. To have published a bill at all is a historic landmark. Despite Parliament committing itself to replacing the House of Lords with a democratic second chamber 101 years ago, this coalition is the first to have got even this far. We’re not [...]
RAPID responses July 1, 2012 No light touch [Re: From boom to bezzle: this banking scandal will run and run, Friday] The chief big lie in this whole saga is the idea that banks faced light touch regulation. The Financial Services and Markets Act, 2000, was never ever light touch. Wrong touch, yes. Mis-touch, certainly. And definitely overweening and prescriptive, [...]
Barclays’ reputation is severely damaged but it will not be alone June 28, 2012 THERE can be little that is more precious to a bank than a reputation for integrity. The revelation that Barclays has paid a £290m fine for “misconduct” with regard to the setting of benchmark interest rates affecting trillions of pounds of financial contracts is a big blow for the bank’s reputation. Cue politicians calling for [...]