SEC boosts market oversight May 26, 2010 US financial watchdogs will overhaul their regulatory power in light of the mysterious “flash crash” on the day of the UK election. The Securities and Exchange Commission will ramp up its market surveillance by tracking stock orders across all equity markets in real time. SEC Commissioner Luis Aguilar said: “It is shocking that the SEC [...]
Banks to keep swap desks May 26, 2010 THE outlook for a plan to force banks to spin off their swap-trading desks dimmed yesterday when an Obama administration official made clear it is not a core Wall Street reform goal for the White House. The plan – proposed by Democratic Senator Blanche Lincoln, who faces a reelection challenge – is one of the [...]
Lehman Bros creditors issue JPMorgan suit May 26, 2010 LEHMAN Brothers Holdings and a group of unsecured creditors yesterday sued JPMorgan Chase for more than $5bn (£3.5bn), accusing the bank of siphoning billions of dollars of critically-needed assets, and hastening its bankruptcy. In a lawsuit filed in Manhattan bankruptcy court, the plaintiffs accused JPMorgan of extracting billions of dollars of collateral just before Lehman’s [...]
WORLD CUP STOCK PICKS ARE FAR FROM A SAFE INVESTMENT PLAY May 26, 2010 YET more World Cup fun and games from the financial sector, as Halifax Share Dealing yesterday launched a “Sports Stocks Index” based on the upcoming tournament. The broker’s method was to match shares to each of the competing World Cup nations by matching their Fifa country abbreviations to a ticker symbol on an international exchange. [...]
Tories facing revolt over CGT increase May 26, 2010 THE GOVERNMENT is facing a damaging revolt from angry Tory backbenchers over plans to hike capital gains tax (CGT). Simmering dissent among Conservative MPs came to a head yesterday, when former cabinet minister John Redwood wrote an open letter to the Treasury saying it “would send a strange signal if a Lib-Con government decided to [...]
Higher capital gains rates hurt the economy May 26, 2010 THE government has said it wishes to assist a substantial private sector led revival. It needs a policy which allows reasonable freedom for people to invest, encourages those who are responsible and who make provision for their families and their futures, and is fair. I suggest that gains of under one year are taxed as [...]
City A.M. panel fears nations may quit euro within 5 years May 26, 2010 TWO thirds of City A.M. panellists fear at least one Eurozone nation will leave the euro within the next five years. A staggering 62 per cent of our specially selected decision-makers feel the worsening Eurozone sovereign debt crisis will leave the euro at least one player down. Only 32 per cent thought all nations will [...]
CITY VIEWS: SHOULD THE GOVERNMENT RAISE CAPITAL GAINS TAX? May 26, 2010 BEN MOHAMOODALLY | ACCENTURE “The government could increase capital gains tax, which would help the revenue stream. But CGT is an awful tax and stops the middle classes from getting rich.” GRAHAM MCCULLEY | CAPITAL ASSET MANAGEMENT “Capital gains tax is currently low, so it is likely to increase. The government could raise taxes across [...]
Laws: we’re right to cut public spending May 26, 2010 DAVID Laws mounted a strong defence of the coalition’s plans to cut £6.2bn of public spending this year. The chief secretary to the Treasury fended off an urgent question from Alistair Darling in the Commons yesterday, arguing that the cuts were necessary because Labour had left the public finances in such a terrible state.
Law bodies need reform May 26, 2010 THE LEGAL profession has to reassess its regulation structure if it is to survive, the Law Society president Robert Heslett warned last night. Speaking at the Said Oxford Business School, Heslett hit out at the overly-complex regulatory oversight system and the “blurry” boundaries between legal supervisory bodies. “The Act was designed to simplify a system [...]
