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,” [...]
G20 summit: David Cameron predicts another recession as global problems bite November 17, 2014 Prime Minister David Cameron has warned that “red warning lights are flashing on the dashboard of the global economy”, threatening another recession. At the close of the G20 summit in Brisbane, Cameron wrote of “a dangerous backdrop of instability and uncertainty”, with the UK’s receovery hampered by the slowdown in the Eurozone. In an article [...]
Osborne waives VAT for Band Aid 30 November 17, 2014 GEORGE Osborne has promised to waive VAT on the latest Band Aid 30 charity single. The move means all of the money raised by the song, out today, will go to charity to tackle Ebola. Organiser Bob Geldof, who is working with artists like Ellie Goulding described the gesture as amazing.
G20 summit: Cameron, Obama and world leaders pledge $2 trillion boost and 2.1pc GDP growth by 2018 November 16, 2014 Countries of the G20 have pledged to grow their economies by 2.1 per cent by 2018, adding $2 trillion (£1.25 trillion) to the global economy. The G20 summit in Brisbane was brought to a close by leaders committing to more than 800 reforms aimed at growing their collective GDP, including employment measures, Infrastructure investment, increasing [...]
“More sanctions? I’m off”: Putin leaves G20 early after being blasted over Ukraine November 15, 2014 Russian President Vladimir Putin has decided to wave goodbye to his fellow G20 summit attendees a day early, after they criticised Russia's involvement in Ukraine and threatened to impose more sanctions on Moscow. Western leaders from both Europe and North America berated Russia for its part in the recent escalation of military activity in [...]