The great banking experiment. What matters most: price or service?
29 Jul 2010 [1 Comment | 173 views]
It is time for the British public to put their money where their mouth is. Today saw the first launch of a High Street bank in 100 years. And it offers all the services we have berated banks for not offering. But it comes at a price. Will the public be willing to pay that [...]
All stressed up, and nowhere to go: banks pass stress tests as regulator plays calming music
26 Jul 2010 [1 Comment | 168 views]
Markets breathed a sigh of relief on Friday. And as for the politicians, if you had put your ear to the nearest window on Friday afternoon and listened very carefully, you would have heard their sigh as it emitted synchronously across the length and breadth of Europe. It seems the EU’s banks are in good [...]
Obama signs most important financial legislation in over half a century
22 Jul 2010 [1 Comment | 251 views]
It is one of the most controversial pieces of legislation ever passed in US history. And yet amongst the UK media it has barely raised a flicker. It is a shame, because the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act could have a profound impact upon the global economy for the next half a [...]
Why risk-averse banks are taking too much of a risk
19 Jul 2010 [0 Comments | 108 views]
Vince Cable has been a busy beaver. Last week it was changing the university education system. This week it’s Saint Vince’s favourite whipping boys, the banks. Apparently overdraft fees are now at a ten-year high. It makes a mockery of low interest rates. If you sign up to the school of thought that says you [...]
Fears over US double dip make place for new European panic , but at least news from China could perk up economists
19 Jul 2010 [0 Comments | 172 views]
Are the Chuckle Brothers still going strong, does anyone know? Alas, the author recalls the duo because his kids were young when they were popular, not because he was a child himself then. You may recall their famous line went like this: “From me, to you”. The other would respond in like fashion, and whatever [...]
Goldman Sachs gets off with yellow card, as Obama contemplates handing BP red
16 Jul 2010 [0 Comments | 180 views]
According to a famous article in Rolling Stone magazine a couple of years ago: “Goldman Sachs is like a great vampire squid wrapped around the face of humanity, relentlessly jamming its blood funnel into anything that smells like money.” So, there’s another magazine that minces its words. Last night it was revealed that the bank [...]
Saint Vince and making banks small enough to fail
14 Jun 2010 [0 Comments | 261 views]
There’s a new TV series kicking off tonight on Channel Four at 8pm (that’s when Italy is playing Paraguay), presented by Will Hutton. It features an interview with the anointed one himself, with our new business secretary saying: “The coalition agreement is quite explicit…The purpose of this commission is to look at the separation of [...]
Hungary heading Greek way, Eurozone banks heading back to 2008
4 Jun 2010 [0 Comments | 303 views]
Common sense can be a dangerous thing, because when everyone applies the same common sense, the result can be disaster. Right now, banks in Europe are helping themselves to large helpings of common sense, and are shunning each other. It is like the bad old days of the credit crunch all over again, with banks [...]
Buffett: the bubble-ette clanger, and the intimidated credit rating agencies
3 Jun 2010 [0 Comments | 194 views]
Pity the credit rating agencies. It seems they were harassed, harangued and hassled. And that’s why they got it wrong. Pity Warren Buffett, he got it wrong, too. He admitted it yesterday while being grilled by Congress. Credit rating firms were in the dock yesterday, and it appears it wasn’t their fault for failing to [...]
End of EU warning, Greece blames the banks, and government finds black hole
17 May 2010 [0 Comments | 567 views]
Did Labour want to form next government? And so Paddy Ashdown reckons David Milliband wasn’t even interested in a deal with the Lib Dems. According to press reports this weekend, while poor old Gordon was up for a Lib–Lab pact, it was young Mr Milliband who put the kybosh on the idea. Can’t think why. [...]
