Mario Draghi: ECB could start buying government debt November 17, 2014 European stocks were buoyed yesterday as European Central Bank (ECB) chief Mario Draghi said the ECB was prepared to buy government bonds. The ECB has only bought private sector bonds thus far but buying government bonds offers any stimulus programme a much larger scope. “Other unconventional measures might entail the purchase of a variety of [...]
David Cameron warns voters not to abandon Tories ahead of 2015 general election November 17, 2014 David Cameron has done an about-turn on the economy, Labour’s Ed Miliband said yesterday. The Prime Minister, Miliband continued, was getting his excuses in early about the state of the UK’s finances, having spent months shouting about the strength of Britain’s recovery. About-turn or not, building on the “there is still more to do” [...]
FTSE buoyed as Draghi speech reverses trend – London Report November 17, 2014 BRITAIN’S top share index turned positive late yesterday after European Central Bank president Mario Draghi said unconventional monetary policy measures could include buying sovereign bonds. Draghi also told the European Parliament the ECB will continue to do “whatever it takes” within its mandate to save the euro and that the single currency was irreversible. The [...]
Ed Miliband tells David Cameron he is “getting excuses in early” with global economy warning November 17, 2014 Ed Miliband has accused the David Cameron of “getting his excuses in early” with warnings of “red lights flashing on the global economy”. The Prime Minister wrote in the Guardian today that in the midst of a global slowdown, the UK must stick to the government’s long-term economic plan which he said has seen [...]
How to destroy Islamic State: What Obama could learn from Wall Street November 17, 2014 TWENTY years ago, I sat on Wall Street as an expectant, newly-hired investment banker, being trained in the arts (although there was some science involved) of corporate finance, bond maths, and company valuations. One phrase from a shouty lecturer remains imprinted on my mind to this day. “Life’s just a stream of cashflows,” he bellowed [...]
Is Mark Carney right that clawback may need to cover all bankers’ pay, not just bonuses? November 17, 2014 Alex Edmans, a finance professor at London Business School and Wharton, says Yes. Pay packages should ensure that executives act in the long-run interest of their firms. Short-run bonuses incentivise bankers to boost near-term earnings at the expense of long-run value – such as writing subprime loans or manipulating rates. Clawbacks will deter myopic actions, [...]
Mark Carney: EU bonus cap has “unfortunate” side-effects – reform bankers’ pay instead November 17, 2014 Bank of England governor Mark Carney says massive fines for bad behaviour among bankers hasn't done enough – and that their pay may be overhauled even further in order to "help rebuild trust in financial institutions". New measures could include "clawback" options for bankers' salaries as well as their bonuses, and even paying out "performance [...]
Should you use Facebook at work? Soon you might have to as Zuckerberg said to be developing professional social network for the office November 17, 2014 Companies usually frown on their workers spending the day on Facebook, but that could be about to change. No longer will you have to hide your browser window when your boss walks past, as Facebook is said to be secretly creating “Facebook at Work”, a new enterprise product designed to aid communication and collaboration in [...]
David Cameron’s “red warning lights” over global economy: Five charts that sum up the Eurozone’s latest crisis November 17, 2014 Prime Minister David Cameron has warned of "red warning lights" flashing on the "dashboard of the global economy", following this weekend's G20 summit in Brisbane. That's particularly true of the Eurozone, which only narrowly avoided a triple-dip recession according to GDP figures published on Friday, which showed growth of 0.2 per cent in the third [...]
G20 summit 2014: Vladimir Putin walkout eclipses pledges made in Brisbane November 17, 2014 G20 leaders promised market-led reforms to boost growth at the weekend’s summit in Brisbane that saw Russian President Vladimir Putin controversially leaving early and further progress made on a free trade agreement between the US and EU. “We are implementing structural reforms to lift growth and private sector activity, recognising that well-functioning markets underpin prosperity,” [...]