US stocks gain in thin trading before holiday July 3, 2012 US stocks extended a rally for a third day in a shortened trading session yesterday as sharp gains in oil prices lifted energy shares and traders factored in increased expectations for central bank stimulus. A raft of weak economic data has raised hopes that the European Central Bank will cut interest rates to a record [...]
The Libor scandal may destroy the preeminence of the City of London July 3, 2012 THE 2007-8 banking crisis was a disaster for London’s international position as a banking centre. But financial services is much more than just banking. It includes areas such as insurance (in which London’s position is strong internationally, though by no means dominant) and securities and broking – in which London had every prospect of remaining [...]
The paradox at the heart of the Bank of England is now clear for all to see July 3, 2012 THERE is a contradiction at the heart of the Bank of England, which may be laid bare today. It is this: the Bank is above the markets and yet intimately involved in them. The twin spheres – Sir Mervyn King’s lofty world of monetary policy and econometrics and his deputy Paul Tucker’s world of market-makers, [...]
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 [...]
BANKS GO UNDER THE MICROSCOPE July 2, 2012 DAVID Cameron yesterday announced two wide-ranging inquiries into the banking system, pledging to probe the “culture and standards of the industry and bring those responsible for fixing the Libor interest rate to justice”. “The British people want to see bankers who acted improperly punished,” Cameron told the House of Commons. The news came soon after [...]
Fears for US economy as orders drop July 2, 2012 US manufacturing output fell for the first time in three years, industry data showed yesterday, raising fears that Europe’s recession is hitting American’s economic recovery. The Institute for Supply Management’s purchasing managers’ index (PMI) collapsed to 49.7 in June from 53.5 in May, its lowest score since 2009. The drop in the new orders index [...]
Fitch: Banking union may fail without big changes July 2, 2012 EUROZONE plans for a union-wide banking union need major improvements if they are to work effectively, or even succeed in being implemented at all, credit ratings agency Fitch warned yesterday. Political leaders want to create a single banking supervisor, probably under the European Central Bank (ECB), with the aim of breaking the damaging link between [...]
We should prosecute criminals, not set up endless inquiries July 2, 2012 WE should be grateful for small mercies: yesterday’s announcements from the government concerning the banking crisis were half good. It is excellent news that the authorities have become more serious in their determination to prosecute wrong-doing criminally. Fines are not enough; we need to see tough jail sentences for those who break the rules and [...]
