A leading barrister considers the case for prosecutions July 3, 2012 IN 2011, the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) decided not to investigate allegations concerning Libor manipulation. At that stage, one reason was that it did not have the necessary resources to take on such an investigation. Although the FSA has conducted its own investigation, the results of which will have been passed to the SFO, the [...]
Is it right that Barclays should be taking all the flak for the Libor-fixing scandal? July 3, 2012 YES Neal Lawson Barclays is getting its comeuppance. Where people break the regulations of their industry or the law of the land then they should face the appropriate punishment. We don’t know how deep the rot is – the question is how to find out? Because while Barclays, and maybe others, did it, it was [...]
RAPID RESPONSES July 3, 2012 The firing line There is no doubt that an inquiry is called for in the Libor manipulation saga, but the fines should be targeted at the dealers and the management, not the banks. Shareholders did not have a say in the internal dirty dealings, nor did they share much of the loot. Bonuses mostly went [...]
Germany’s economy is only king in the blind valley of the Eurozone July 2, 2012 In the present debate on the euro crisis, Germany is frequently portrayed as a model of economic strength, a beacon of fiscal prudence and a proponent of structural reform. Her resources seem endless and her government debt an indisputable safe-haven. If only Germany shared her strength and resources more generously, the euro debt crisis could [...]
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 [...]