US slump worsens November 23, 2011 US stocks suffered a sixth straight day of losses yesterday as frustration over the Eurozone’s debt crisis, coupled with weak Chinese factory data, further dented investor sentiment. A weak German bond sale sparked fears the debt crisis was even beginning to threaten Berlin, with the leaders of France and Germany still at odds over a [...]
Regulations sprouting from Brussels will damage the UK’s corporate governance November 23, 2011 In recent days, the implications of the EU regulatory reform agenda for the City of London have been widely reported. However, the financial sector is not the only area of vulnerability to future EU directives. Of wider concern is the growing risk that the UK’s distinctive model of corporate governance – underpinned by “comply or [...]
Democracy is in: Here comes the activist investor November 23, 2011 SOME of this year’s biggest news stories, such as the Arab Spring and the Occupy movements in London and New York, have a common underlying narrative. “The many” are unhappy about the actions of “the few”. Democracy is in vogue. A similar narrative is emerging from some of the biggest business stories of the year. [...]
If I were Osborne, I’d scrap the 50p tax now November 23, 2011 SO WHAT would you do if you were chancellor? Cut red tape, scrap taxes, subsidise industries or build toll roads? The real chancellor is being flooded with suggestions about how to get the economy moving again, with almost no idea being left unproposed. Each day the pages of the papers are packed with stories about [...]
RAPID RESPONSES November 23, 2011 Property wrongs In Alex Morton’s argument for the liberalisation of planning law as the basis of addressing housing need [Our economy and housing supply are being held back by planning, yesterday], he argues for “a presumption against interference” by councils – only in the next paragraph to call for the use of Compulsory Purchase Orders [...]
Plan your IT systems to avoid being left behind November 23, 2011 AS THE second phase of the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (Mifid) takes shape, it reinforces the role of IT solutions in aiding institutions and brokerages to achieve compliance without losing their competitive edge. The original Mifid directive covered pre and post trade requirements for shares traded on regulated markets, but new regulations will go [...]
THE IMPORTANCE OF ENTERPRISE ARCHITECTURE November 23, 2011 OPERATIONS DIRECTOR FINANCIAL SERVICES , CISCO FINANCIAL services play a vital role in the UK economy in providing investment capital and mitigating risk against loss or catastrophe. But most financial services companies today would fail without having a robust IT technology platform to underpin their business processes and operations. Technology has always played a vital [...]
Turning regulatory big data requirements on their head November 23, 2011 ONE of the biggest changes that new regulations will bring in is an exponential increase in data storage requirements. And these volumes of data should not just be treated as a simple necessity for regulatory compliance. Data needs to be stored and it needs to be accessible. “If you don’t use all the data available, [...]
Build a path to navigate your way back to black November 23, 2011 It’s financial planning week – so take steps to economic security by setting a budget and making a habit of saving LARGE numbers of people in the capital face an uncertain future, particularly when it comes to their retirement. That’s according to the fourth annual financial planning survey, commissioned for UK financial planning week by [...]
Get ready for the fallout of euro breakup November 23, 2011 EVEN a matter of weeks ago, trying to get institutions to talk about back tested strategies for Eurozone breakup was like trying to get blood out of a stone. But now we have started to see this change. First came a report from Nomura, looking at the practical fall out of a collapse of the [...]
