How a secret rule caused the crisis February 22, 2010 SLOWLY but surely, some economists are beginning to piece together the real causes of the crisis. And as you might imagine, their findings are strikingly at odds with the conventional explanations, which tend to revolve around greed, bankers’ animal spirits and deceit. One brilliant new paper shows how an obscure regulation deliberately encouraged US retail [...]
Public is still angry at City February 22, 2010 THERE is overwhelming public support for a cap on bankers’ pay and a windfall tax on bonuses, according to a poll. A YouGov poll has found that 76 per cent of people would support a cap on bonuses, while 59 per cent would back a windfall tax on bankers’ bonuses. Of that, 60 per cent [...]
Haiti death toll 300,000 February 22, 2010 The death toll from last month’s devastating earthquake in Haiti could jump to 300,000 people, including the bodies buried under collapsed buildings in the capital, Haitian President Rene Preval said yesterday. “You have seen the images you are familiar with the pictures. More than 200,000 bodies were collected on the streets without counting those that [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING February 22, 2010 THE SUNDAYS THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH TORIES’ ENERGY PAPER MONTHS LATE The Conservatives’ flagship energy paper may not appear until April – six months after its original planned publication – leading to industry fears of policy disagreements in the run-up to the election. One senior figure who has seen a draft of the paper said that [...]
Police raid offices in PCCW case February 22, 2010 Hong Kong Police have become involved in the failed buyout of telecoms operator PCCW. They have issued search warrants for individuals involved in the aborted deal. Offices have been searched at both PCCW and Fortis Insurance. Hong Kong’s market regulator, The Securities and Futures Commission, succeeded in its attempts to block the buyout of PCCW [...]
Hedgie guru’s big return February 22, 2010 Godfather of the UK hedge fund community Stanley Fink will make a sensational return to the cutting edge of the industry when his management company ISAM teams up with Hite Capital Management. The former Man Group chief executive is poised to launch a new fund with Larry Hite in April, called ISAM Systematic. The fund [...]
City applauds Tory cut-price shares move February 22, 2010 CONSERVATIVE plans to offer millions of people cheap shares in Britain’s nationalised banks have received a tentative thumbs-up from the City. Shadow chancellor George Osborne yesterday outlined a scheme to hand small investors shares in Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds Banking Group when the government exits its £70bn stake. The “people’s bonus” would reward [...]
Greece is not looking for a bailout, says Prime Minister February 22, 2010 Greece is not looking for bailout money, according to its Prime Minister George Papandreou. He instead called for political support to enable Greece to borrow at the same rate as other EU countries. Papandreou told the BBC: “Give us the time, give us the support – and I’m not talking about financial but political support [...]
Royal London and Liver in merger talks February 22, 2010 ROYAL London and Royal Liver, Britain’s two biggest mutual companies, are understood to be in the early stages of merger talks. The proposed deal comes after Royal Liver failed in discussions with Liverpool Victoria, the UK’s largest friendly society, over a potential £10bn merger. Royal Liver turned down a previous bid from Royal London in [...]
Travelodge to construct a new hotel in heart of the City February 22, 2010 Travelodge will open three new hotels, including a development in the heart of the City, in time for the 2012 Olympic Games. A 77-bed hotel in a vacant office building off Cannon Street will cost £7.5m to develop. It hopes to attract business travellers as well as tourists visiting St Paul’s and Monument. The firm [...]
