While the title of the book makes you think “teen angst” and the book’s choice of cover image that makes you think “Jack the Ripper”, you’d be surprised to learn that this is a book about the Securities Exchange Commission (yes, that’s right – the not-so-dreaded SEC). The book follows the mildly eccentric tale of the mildly eccentric Harry Markopolos, briefly and intermittently describing his journey through life, but getting quickly into the meat of how he set his sights on Bernie Madoff.
No one talks about green shoots any more, they just assume that the worst is behind them. Assumptions are always dangerous, all the more so when billions are involved.
By Ásgeir Jónsson
The Icelandic financial crisis was very similar to the Asian crisis of 1998, or at least the part concerning the currency crisis. On both occasions you had countries that were initially favoured by international investors and received very large sums of foreign investment, which to a large extent was short-term carry trade position. [...]
If you think we can sort out finance with Ben Bernanke at the helm, it was sensible to reappoint him. But when the time comes for members of the Senate themselves to be held accountable, do not be surprised if people point out that pushing Bernanke through – come what may – was the beginning of the end for any serious attempt at reform.
MiFID has been of concern as it has not achieved what it set out to do, namely to improve trade execution by providing guarantees of processing in terms of the best price, cost, speed of processing. The fact that the Directive celebrates its third year of operation without a single major best execution case or fine shows how effective that has been, particularly as best execution is known to be way off.
by Liu Mingkang, Chairman, China Banking Regulatory Commission
The issue of wrong business models, coupled with an over-reliance on wholesale market funding, is one of the major factors contributing to the complexity and connectedness of financial institutions we are having today. In the last few decades, the culture of the financial system has shifted fundamentally from a credit based- to an equity based financial system, resulting in greater risk contagion and mismatch between markets, institutions and instruments.
by Simon Johnson
Gerry Corrigan’s main assertions in a recent speech on large integrated financial groups are completely wrong.
Influential figures in the financial services industry have different takes on whether banks should be big.
Diana Farrell, deputy director of the National Economic Council in the Obama Administration, made a statement about whether the largest US banks are too big and should be broken up that contains three remarkable points.
When five banks failed stress tests, the new central bank governor stepped in and fired the CEOs of all five banks, at the same time recapitalising them with $2.4 billion and effectively taking control of the institutions. The country: Nigeria. The time: now.
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