Filthy Rich and Enjoying Every Minute of It
Filthy rich and proud of it. Photo courtesy of TimesOnline
TIMESONLINE: Stock markets across the world may have tanked last year but that didn’t stop the top performing hedge fund managers from making themselves a huge pile of cash.

In fact, the top 25 made £8.275 billion or an average of $464 million (£331m) each in 2008, according to research by Alpha Magazine. That is enough money to pay for 30 hospitals, employ more than 300,000 nurses for a year, or vaccinate every child in poverty from five preventable diseases.

Anyway, here is the list of the top 10, and how they made their millions (billions). Filthy Rich: The 10 Highest Paid Hedge Fund Managers of 2008 >>> | Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Savers Should Have £500,000 Worth of Savings Protected, Says Financial Services Authority
THE TELEGRAPH: Savers should have £500,000 worth of their savings protected if a bank or building society collapses, says the Financial Services Authority.

The City watchdog called for the "quantum leap" in the level of protection offered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme from its current level of £50,000, saying it would boost confidence among savers.

If a bank goes bust, the FSCS will repay up to £50,000 per person, per authorised bank or building society.

However, there would be a time limit of six months on the additional protection covering balances stemming from selling a property or a divorce settlement.

Thomas Huertas, a director at the FSA, said: "Our proposals will protect people who have little or no choice about holding a high balance for a limited period over the current FSCS limit of £50,000 before they can diversify it, if they wish, between different institutions."

Experts welcomed the proposals, saying they would help to reassure savers amid the economic turmoil. >>> By Myra Butterworth, Personal Finance Correspondent | Tuesday, March 31, 2009


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Obama, Europa und der Weg in die Hölle
DIE PRESSE: Der Europa-Besuch Barack Obamas steht im Zeichen der Ernüchterung. Die Beziehungen haben sich spürbar abgekühlt. Über die Krisenbewältigung bestehen krasse Auffassungs-Unterschiede.

Vor der Siegessäule in Berlin hatte er noch leicht reden. Umjubelt und umschwärmt, war der Kandidat im Sommer 2008 der Liebling der Massen, der Wunschpräsident der Europäer – kurzum: Barack Obama war der Anti-Bush, auf den alle so lange gewartet hatten. Seine Stippvisite in Europas Metropolen glich einem Triumphzug. Daheim verhöhnte ihn das McCain-Lager zwar als zweifelhafte Berühmtheit vom Rang einer Paris Hilton. Doch die Häme machte nur deutlich, wie sehr die Republikaner in die Defensive geraten waren.

Ein Dreivierteljahr später hat sich die Botschaft Barack Obamas nicht verändert. Doch steht sein erster Europa-Besuch als US-Präsident in dieser Woche unter völlig anderen Vorzeichen. Die globale Wirtschaftskrise hat die grundsätzlichen Differenzen zwischen den USA und dem Rest der Welt stärker akzentuiert. „Das ist geradezu eine Einladung zur Desillusionierung“, sagte John Kerry, als Vorsitzender des Auswärtigen Ausschusses im Senat einer der einflussreichsten Außenpolitiker.

War George W. Bush mit Demonstrationen gegen den Irak-Krieg konfrontiert, so steht beim G20-Gipfel in London der ungezügelte Wall-Street-Kapitalismus im Visier, der das Finanzsystem beinahe zum Einsturz gebracht hätte. Die Proteste am Wochenende zeugen von tief sitzenden Ressentiments.

Über die Krisenbewältigung bestehen krasse Auffassungsunterschiede. Während die Notenbank in Washington die Geldpresse angeworfen hat, halten viele Europäer das „Big Government“, das staatliche Konjunkturprogramm Washingtons, für einen „Weg in die Hölle“, wie Tschechiens Noch-Premier und Hardrock-Fan Mirek Topolánek formulierte. Sie fürchten einen Anstieg der Inflation. >>> Von Thomas Vieregge, Washington | Montag, 30. März 2009

Nicolas Sarkozy’s Threat to Walk Out of Global Summit
TIMESONLINE: Anglo-Saxon gibe strains relations with Obama


President Sarkozy yesterday threatened to wreck the London summit if France’s demands for tougher financial regulation are not met.

France will not accept a G20 that produces a “false success with language that sounds good but contains no commitments”, his advisers said.

Asked if this meant a possible walk-out, Xavier Musca, Mr Sarkozy’s deputy chief of staff for economic affairs, said: “A basic rule with nuclear deterrence is that you do not say at what point you will use the weapon.”

The French threat dramatically raised the temperature hours before President Obama arrives in London today. If carried through, it would ruin a summit for which Mr Brown and Mr Obama have high ambitions, believing it vital to international recovery.

Mr Sarkozy, who blames the “Anglo-Saxons” for causing the economic crisis, told his ministers last week that he would leave Mr Brown’s summit “if it does not work out”. >>> Charles Bremner in Paris and Philip Webster | Tuesday, March 31, 2009


THE GUARDIAN:
Those key G20 questions answered: The big issue is: can they agree a plan to rebuild the world economy? But there are other pressing questions: Who should we be watching? What's in the Downing St goodie bag? And who's the new Carla Bruni? >>> Words by Jon Henley, Aditya Chakrabortty, Oliver Burkeman, Stuart Jeffries, Jonathan Glancey, Amy Fleming, John Vidal, John Crace, Paula Cocozza | Tuesday, March 31, 2009

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World Bank Warns of Social Discontent in Russia
THE TELEGRAPH: The World Bank has given warning of serious social discontent in Russia after delivering a bleak assessment of the country's economy.

World Bank warns of social discontent in Russia. Photo courtesy of The Telegraph
Scotching optimism that the world's largest country may already be in recovery, the bank predicted that Russia's economy is contracting far more sharply than the Kremlin has acknowledged.

According to revised government forecasts, the Russian economy will shrink by 2.2pc this year. But it its latest economic report on Russia, the World Bank predicts that Gross Domestic Product will actually contract by 4.5pc.

The assessment comes as foreign investors focussed on emerging markets again start to flirt with Russia after months of record capital flight in the wake of last August's war with Georgia and a collapse in the price of oil.

The Russian stock exchange's benchmark RTS index has gained over 30pc this year alone, outpacing most emerging markets, after a modest recovery in oil and metal prices.

But Zeljko Bogetic, the World Bank's lead Russia economist, cautioned against such optimism.

"As the crisis continues to spread to the real economy around the world, initial expectations that Russia and other countries will recover fast are no longer likely," he said. >>> By Adrian Blomfield in Moscow | Monday, March 30, 2009

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Reiseverbote für Schweizer Banker: Die USA ziehen die Schraube im Kampf gegen Steuerflucht weiter an
NZZ Online: Die US-Steuerbehörden verschärfen den Druck auf Kunden von Schweizer Banken. Jetzt werden konkrete Angaben zu Beratern verlangt. Auch Schweizer Privatbanken fürchten offenbar, dass ihre Mitarbeiter von der Justiz in die Mangel genommen werden. Laut Medienberichten sollen sie Managern Auslandreisen verbieten.

Neben der UBS kommen offenbar jetzt auch andere Schweizer Banken in den USA unter Druck. Bild dank der Neuen Zürcher Zeitung.
Im Mai 2008 ging den amerikanischen Steuerbehörden der frühere UBS-Mitarbeiter Bradley Birkenfeld ins Netz. Dem ehemaligen Direktor der Private-Banking-Abteilung der UBS konnte nachgewiesen werden, im Ausland betrügerische Anlagefonds und Firmen gegründet zu haben, um rund 150 Millionen Dollar an Vermögen reicher Klienten zu verbergen. Birkenfeld gestand und arbeitet seither mit den Behörden zusammen. Die immer noch hängige Zivilklage gegen die UBS beruht hauptsächlich auf den Informationen, die Birkenfeld den Behörden offenlegte.

Aus Furcht vor den Ermittlern soll die UBS schon im vergangenen Mai den Mitarbeitern des ehemaligen Private-Banking-Teams Reisen in die USA verboten haben. Die Grossbank kommentierte entsprechende Medienberichte nicht. Die Schraube angezogen >>> tsf | Freitag, 27. März 2009

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G20 Rabble-rousing Professor Is Suspended ahead of Summit
MAIL Online: The university professor masterminding mayhem at the G20 summit in London was suspended from his job yesterday.

The dramatic move came after anarchist Chris Knight threatened violence against the police in a series of inflammatory declarations.

The 66-year-old former member of Labour's extreme left-wing Militant Tendency warned that 'all hell will break loose' if demonstrators meet police aggression.

Knight, a lecturer in anthropology at the University of East London, confirmed that an effigy of disgraced former RBS boss Sir Fred Goodwin would be among those strung up at the protests and warned bankers to stay away.

He said of Sir Fred, whose house was attacked earlier this week: 'To be honest, if he winds us up any more I'm afraid there will be real bankers hanging from lampposts.'

Last night, his employers said in a statement: 'Professor Chris Knight has been suspended from his duties at the University of East London, pending investigation. In order not to prejudice this process we cannot make any further comment.'

In recent days, Knight has given media interviews warning of his plans to ignite a revolution in the capital to coincide with the G20 meeting. >>> By Michael Seamark | Friday, March 27, 2009

MAIL Online: 'White, Blue-eyed Bankers Have Brought World Economy to Its Knees': What the Brazilian President Told Gordon Brown

Gordon Brown’s efforts to broker an £80billion bailout for world trade on a trip to Brazil hit a stumbling block tonight when the country’s president lashed out at ‘white, blue-eyed’ bankers for bringing the world economy to its knees.

Mr Brown watched on uneasily as his host, President Luiz Inacio Lula de Silva, launched a bizarre tirade in which he warned that next week’s G20 summit in London would be a ‘spicy’ affair.

President Lula said it was completely unfair that the poorest people in the world were suffering most for the mistakes of wealthy, Western financiers.

‘This was a crisis that was fostered and boosted by irrational behaviour of people that are white, blue-eyed, that before the crisis looked like they knew everything about economics,’ he declared.

‘Now they have demonstrated that they don’t know anything about economics.’

President Lula, head of Brazil’s main left-wing party, said that ‘no black man or woman, no indigenous person, no poor person’ had been in any way culpable for the global banking crisis.

‘I’m not acquainted with any black banker,’ he said. ‘The part of humanity that’s responsible should pay for the crisis.’ >>> By James Chapman | Friday, March 27, 2009

Failure of Morality not Capitalism

Obama Forced to Fight Own Party to Spend Taxpayers’ Trillions
TIMESONLINE: President Obama was huddled in talks yesterday with congressional Democrats over proposals that would pare his $3.6 trillion budget, raising question marks over how he would fund promises on healthcare, climate change and tax cuts.

Although the President was braced for ferocious opposition from Republicans, who warn that his spending plans will bankrupt America, he also faces growing hostility from a group of fiscally conservative Democrats alarmed by forecasts of a $9.3 trillion (£6.3 trillion) deficit over ten years. Barack Obama's Pledges in peril as Blue Dogs Take a Bite at Budget >>> Tom Baldwin in Washington | Thursday, March 26, 2009

MAIL Online: Brown Spooked by the Markets: PM Accused of Heading Down 'the Road to Hell'

In London: Investors won't buy our bonds / In Europe: PM accused of heading down 'the road to hell'

Gordon Brown is in retreat on his Budget plans amid signs of City alarm over the soaring level of Government borrowing.

He pulled back from another debt-fuelled giveaway to kickstart the economy after Tuesday's intervention from the Governor of the Bank of England.

Downing Street insisted there was no rift between Mr Brown and Mervyn King over his bombshell claim that Britain cannot afford another 'fiscal stimulus'.

But the Governor appeared to have spooked the markets when it emerged that a routine sale of Government bonds fell short yesterday.

City experts blamed doubts over Mr Brown's economic policy for the Treasury's failure to find buyers for £120million worth of debt, or 'gilts'.

It was the first time since 2002 that the Government has been unable to sell its debt, and this will be seized on by those who have warned that there is insufficient demand for the volume of debt being sold by the Treasury.

Officials played down the significance of the shortfall, but economists said investors were beginning to doubt the Government's credit rating.

The Tories turned up the pressure on Mr Brown by insisting there was now a question mark over his ability to fund the crippling levels of debt needed to keep the economy afloat.

And the European Union added to his woes when its acting president warned that President Barack Obama's call for more borrowing and spending, backed by Mr Brown, was 'the road to hell'. >>> By Benedict Brogan and James Chapman | Thursday, March 26, 2009

Fat Cats in Terror after Anti-capitalists Attack Fred the Shred's Home
MAIL Online: Security will be stepped up around fat-cat bankers after the home of disgraced former RBS boss Sir Fred Goodwin was targeted by vandals.

A statement claiming to be from the group responsible for damage at his £3million mansion warned of further attacks, saying: 'This is just the beginning.'

The threat sparked fears of a terror campaign against those blamed for the collapse in the financial system.

The concern is that anti-capitalist groups will copy the tactics of animal rights militants by directly targeting individuals they hold responsible for the credit crunch.

Tensions are already high, with anarchists reported to be plotting mayhem at next week's G20 summit in London.

Their intention is to paralyse the Square Mile by staging sit-in protests and storming financial institutions, with the Bank of England and RBS among the top targets.

Effigies of bankers will be hung from lampposts. Security adviser Dai Davies, a former head of Scotland Yard's Royalty Protection squad, said: 'Risk assessments will have to be carried out by the police on individuals who are concerned about their safety. If there is cause for concern then appropriate advice will be given and pre put in place.

'The developments at Sir Fred Goodwin's home will almost certainly make some other high-profile bankers want to review their own private security arrangements.' >>> By Stephen Wright | Thursday, March 26, 2009

THE GUARDIAN: Banks Braced for City Riots During G20 Summit after Attack on Sir Fred Goodwin's Home

Financial sector staff are warned to keep low profile / Former RBS boss 'shaken' after early morning raid

The last time bankers faced angry demonstrations, some responded by pouring champagne or photocopied £50 notes from windows, but it is unlikely that protesters targeting the City next week during the G20 summit will be met by similar shows of bravado.

Many staff are being advised to dress down next Wednesday and Thursday to avoid being marked out as City workers - if they cannot avoid the protests entirely by working from home. Others have been advised to avoid leaving the office to attend meetings.

Concern about possible violence heightened when the home of former Royal Bank of Scotland chairman Sir Fred Goodwin was vandalised early yesterday morning, leaving three windows shattered and the rear window of his black Mercedes smashed. An anonymous email was sent to media organisations shortly after the attack threatening further action against "criminal" bank bosses.

The former RBS boss, who had not been at home and is at the centre of a row over the size of his pension from the taxpayer-owned bank, was said to have been "shaken" by the incident.

Many in the City believe aggressive media coverage of the financial crisis has declared a virtual open season on financial sector workers.

The financial advisory group Bluefin, which employs 500 staff in London, has set up a phone line offering staff updates next week. Staff have been told not to go to its office in Mark Lane in the City unless absolutely necessary. "As a responsible employer, the safety and wellbeing of our staff is always considered of paramount importance," a spokesman said.

A UBS spokesman said the bank would continue to assess the level of threat as it got nearer the time. "We are telling people to be cautious. If you have client meetings, do you need to have them here? Some of the banks have said dress down or try not to move around. It is all pretty obvious. "It is quite co-ordinated among the banks. We all talk to each other. I think it is different if you are in a landmark building, some are more obvious than others."

Another banker complained that we "are in an era of the demonisation of financial services". >>> David Teather | Thursday, March 26, 2009

Joschka Fischer über EU: Keine Führung, nirgends
SUEDDEUTSCHE.DE: Auf dem Trittbrett durch die Krise: Nächste Woche treffen die Europäer beim G-20-Gipfel in London erstmals Barack Obama und zeigen ein Verhalten, das ebenso legitim wie fatal ist. Mehr als ein "Formelkompromiss" zur Bewältigung der Finanzkrise ist nicht zu erwarten.

Am Rhein und in Prag werden Nato und EU dem neuen amerikanischen Präsidenten huldigen, schöne Bilder, hehre Reden über die Zukunft des Transatlantismus - alles wie gehabt. Doch vor Straßburg und Prag findet, am 2. April, auf dem G-20-Treffen in London der transatlantische Ernstfall statt. Mit der Wahl Barack Obamas zum amerikanischen Präsidenten sollte alles besser werden - eigentlich. Die transatlantische Kontinentaldrift, die Europa und Amerika in den acht Jahren unter George W. Bush immer weiter auseinander gebracht hat, sollte gestoppt und sogar umgekehrt werden. Diese Hoffnung geht dahin.

Denn die Weltfinanz- und Weltwirtschaftskrise lässt die Differenzen zwischen Amerika und Europa voll ausbrechen. Europa weigert sich, sehr viel stärker als bisher finanziell bei der Bewältigung der beiden Krisen zu helfen. Gewiss, am Ende des Londoner Treffens werden sich die Staats- und Regierungschefs auf eine gemeinsame Erklärung einigen; ein Scheitern kann sich niemand erlauben. Aber die Unterschiede werden bestehen bleiben. Die einen wollen die Krise wegfinanzieren, die anderen wollen sie wegregulieren, und am Ende wird beides in der Erklärung stehen. So etwas nennt man dann "Formelkompromiss."

Die nationalen Medien der beteiligten Staaten werden anschließend ihre jeweiligen Regierungen für ihre "Tapferkeit" und "Durchsetzungskraft" preisen, werden von "Punktsiegen" schwadronieren, aber eine kraftvolle globale Antwort auf die schwerste Krise seit 1929 wird es trotzdem nicht gegeben haben. Keine Führung, nirgends. >>> Eine Außenansicht von Joschka Fischer | Donnerstag, 26. März 2009

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Taschenbuch) – Deutschland & Österreich >>>
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Gebundene Ausgabe) – Deutschland & Österreich >>>

MEP Dan Hannan's 'Brezhnev Apparatchik' Attack on Gordon Brown Is a YouTube Hit
THE TELEGRAPH: An MEP's withering attack on Gordon Brown in which he likens him to a "Brezhnev era apparatchik" has become a surprise hit on the internet.

Daniel Hannan challenges Godon Brown
Daniel Hannan, the Conservative MEP for South East England, publicly lambasted the Prime Minister over his economic record after he addressed the European Parliament on the global financial crisis on Tuesday.

With Mr Brown looking on, he told fellow MEPs that Britain was entering the recession in a "dilapidated condition", with an "almost unbelievable" deficit.

In a blistering riposte to the Premier's calls for a concerted international effort to tackle the crisis, he accused the former Chancellor of trying to "spread the blame" and called him a "devalued Prime Minister".

The three-and-a-half minute speech, which drew cheers and laughter from fellow MEPs in Strasbourg, was not covered on mainstream broadcasts.

But it was posted on the video sharing website YouTube shortly after the sitting and attracted 90,000 viewers within 24 hours after being picked up by US news outlets and political blogs.

In the most critical passage, he told the Prime Minister: “When you repeat, in that wooden and perfunctory way, that our situation is better than others, that we are well placed to weather the storm, I have to tell you, you sound like a Brezhnev-era apparatchik giving the party line.

"You know and we know, and you know that we know, that it's nonsense."

Accusing Mr Brown of losing his moral authority by failing to live up to his own rhetoric, he said that 11 years of his stewardship had left the entire country in "negative equity".

Every British child is now born owing around £20,000,” he said.

“Servicing the interest on that debt is going to cost more than educating the child.”

He added that Mr Brown, who hopes to strike a "global new deal" at the summit of G20 leaders in London next month, was “pathologically incapable” of taking responsibility. >>> By John Bingham | Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Gordon Brown Launches Damning Attack on Bankers
THE TELEGRAPH: Gordon Brown, the Prime Minister, has launched a damning attack on the behaviour of bankers in a speech to Wall Street financiers in New York.

The Premier accused bankers of operating “outside” everyday human values and principles in the run-up to the global economic crisis. He said that “avarice” had developed over the past few decades and now needed to be tackled.

Mr Brown is on a global economic mission ahead of next week’s G20 summit in London. Speaking in New York, he said that new international standards governing banking – and banking bonuses – would now have to be agreed by world leaders.

At a breakfast for business leaders, Mr Brown said that values such as “honesty, integrity and working hard” may have been absent from the financial system in recent years.

“The principles and values we apply in our everyday lives, you have got to ask did we apply them to the running of our financial institutions?,” he said.

“There is a sense that the global economy was outside these standards that we applied in our everyday lives… a world without standards is going to be a world without stability”.

The Prime Minister warned the Wall Street financiers that the major challenge they now face was to ensure honesty in financial dealings. He described it as an “epoch-making era”.

“Markets depend on morality in the end,” he said. “We are building for the first time not just a global economy but a global society.”

Among those attending the breakfast at the five-star Plaza hotel were the president of Citibank, directors of Morgan Stanley, the president of Nasdaq and the president of Goldman Sachs. >>> By Robert Winnett, Deputy Political Editor in New York | Wednesday, March 25, 2009

The DANGERS of Sharia Finance in USA

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”The Way to Hell,” Says EU President
INTERNATIONAL HERALD TRIBUNE: BRUSSELS: Trans-Atlantic tension over the handling of the global economic crisis intensified on Wednesday when the prime minister of the Czech Republic, which holds the European Union presidency, described the U.S. stimulus measures as the "way to hell."

Addressing the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek argued that the Obama administration's fiscal package and financial bailout "will undermine the stability of the global financial market."

Mr. Topolanek's comments, only a day after he offered his government's resignation following a no confidence vote, took European officials by surprise.

The rotating E.U. presidency lasts for six months and the country that holds it is supposed to speak on behalf of the entire 27-nation bloc.

The statement came just a week before a meeting of the Group of 20 leaders of the world's biggest economies in London which aims to forge an international consensus on the economic crisis. His comments also underlined potential ideological strains between Washington and Europe as President Barack Obama prepares to travel to Prague in less than two weeks for a summit intended to bolster transatlantic relations and show that the United States and Europe are united over economic policy. EU President Blasts U.S. Economic Stimulus >>> By Stephen Castle and Dan Bilefsky | Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Sarkozy prône
une «éthique du capitalisme»
Nicolas Sarkozy a défendu les valeurs de «l'effort, de la responsabilité, de l'honnêté», devant 4 500 personnes, mardi à Saint-Quentin. Photo grâce au Figaro
LE FIGARO: Mardi soir, à Saint-Quentin, le chef de l'État a fait la pédagogie de son plan de relance.

Quand l'économie va mal, il faut se tourner vers les «valeurs». Nicolas Sarkozy, mardi soir, à Saint-Quentin, est revenu aux deux valeurs qui ont été au cœur de sa campagne : le travail et la responsabilité. Il s'est longuement réclamé de l'une et de l'autre pour accuser ceux qui les discréditent : les capitalistes sans scrupules, les entrepreneurs qui ne sont pas «responsables», mais aussi les manifestants qui, en Guadeloupe, choisissent «l'intimidation» et «menacent la sécurité des biens et des personnes», ou les «voyous» qui «rouent de coups un professeur». Ou encore ceux qui seraient tentés de «céder à la démagogie» et au «populisme» en ne pensant qu'à leurs «difficultés et leurs intérêts».

Nicolas Sarkozy a plusieurs fois appelé au retour à une «éthique du capitalisme», qui serait une «éthique de l'effort, de la responsabilité, de l'honnêteté». «La dictature des marchés, ce n'est pas la liberté», s'est-il exclamé. Les dirigeants qui «préparent un plan social» et perçoivent malgré tout de «grosses rémunérations» sous forme de «bonus» ou de «parachutes dorés», «cela n'est pas responsable, pas honnête», condamne le chef de l'État, qui a réclamé un «devoir d'exemplarité ». Et si l'exemplarité venait à faire défaut, Sarkozy s'est dit prêt à intervenir. En particulier, il proposera à l'automne une loi sur le partage des profits, faute d'accord entre patronat et syndicats sur ce thème d'ici à juin. De quoi contrarier fortement la présidente du Medef, Laurence Parisot, qui refuse toute négociation sur le sujet. >>> Charles Jaigu | Mercredi 25 Mars 2009

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Angriff auf Dollar: China verlangt neue Weltwährung
DIE PRESSE: Die Forderung des chinesischen Zentralbank-Chefs nach einer weltweiten Leitwährung beflügelt ökonomische Theorien des "Weltgeldes". Aber auch die Verschwörungstheorien rund um die Weltwährungen Amero und Globo.

Bild dank der Presse
China hat eine neue globale Leitwährung unter Aufsicht des Internationalen Währungsfonds (IWF) gefordert. Der Chef der chinesischen Zentralbank, Zhou Xiaochuan, schrieb in einem Aufsatz, dass die gegenwärtige Krise erneut nach einer kreativen Reform des internationalen Währungssystems hin zu einer internationalen Leitwährung rufe.

Dollar zu unverlässlich

Zhou erwähnte den Dollar zwar nicht direkt, schrieb allerdings, die Krise habe gezeigt, wie gefährlich es sei, sich bei internationalen Finanzgeschäften auf die Währung eines einzigen Landes zu verlassen. "Eine überhoheitliche Leitwährung, die von einer globalen Institution gemanagt wird, könnte sowohl dazu genutzt werden, die globale Geldflüsse zu schaffen, wie auch sie zu kontrollieren", schrieb Zhou. Dies würde die Gefahr künftiger Krisen reduzieren und zugleich die Möglichkeiten zum Krisenmanagement erweitern. >>> ebl/ag | Dienstag, 24. März 2009

FINANCIAL TIMES DEUTSCHLAND: Zweifel am Dollar: China fordert neue Weltwährung

Die chinesische Zentralbank verlangt eine umfassende Reform des internationalen Währungssystems - und rüttelt am Greenback als weltweite Leitwährung. Stattdessen plant Peking eine Rolle rückwärts zu einem Instrument aus der Bretton-Woods-Ära.

China hat eine neue globale Leitwährung unter Aufsicht des Internationalen Währungsfonds (IWF) gefordert. Die gegenwärtige Krise rufe erneut nach einer kreativen Reform des internationalen Währungssystems hin zu einer internationalen Leitwährung, schrieb der Chef der chinesischen Zentralbank, Zhou Xiaochuan, in einem am späten Montagabend veröffentlichten Aufsatz.

Zhou erwähnte den Dollar zwar nicht direkt. Er schrieb allerdings, die Krise habe gezeigt, wie gefährlich es sei, sich bei internationalen Finanzgeschäften auf die Währung eines einzigen Landes zu verlassen. "Eine überhoheitliche Leitwährung, die von einer globalen Institution gemanagt wird, könnte sowohl dazu genutzt werden, globale Geldflüsse zu schaffen, wie auch sie zu kontrollieren." Das werde die Gefahr künftiger Krisen reduzieren und zugleich die Möglichkeiten zum Krisenmanagement erweitern. Die Sonderziehungsrechte (SZR) des Internationalen Währungsfonds (IWF) hätten das Potenzial, zu einer übernationalen Reservewährung zu werden, sagte Zentralbankchef Zhou. >>> © 2009 Financial Times Deutschland | Dienstag, 24. März 2009

US-Finanzminister Geithner will ein enges Korsett für Finanzsystem
TAGES ANZEIGER: US-Finanzminister Timothy Geithner und Notenbankchef Ben Bernanke wollen eine Neuordnung der Finanzmarktregulierung durchsetzen. Lücken in der Kontrolle von Finanzriesen [sic] müssten geschlossen werden.

Stärkere Überwachung der US-Finanzriesen: Ben Bernanke (Notenbankchef) und Timothy Geithner (Finanzminister). Bild dank dem Tages Anzeiger
«Alle Institutionen und Märkte, die ein Systemrisiko darstellen könnten, werden einer strengen Überwachung unterliegen, einschliesslich einer Begrenzung ihrer Risiken», sagte Finanzminister Timothy Geithner in Washington bei einer Befragung durch den Bankenausschuss des US-Repräsentantenhauses.

Es müsse verhindert werden, dass der Staat wieder mit einer Situation wie im vergangenen September konfrontiert sei, als der vor der Pleite stehende Versicherer AIG durch Eingreifen der Regierung gerettet werden musste. Notenbankchef Ben Bernanke sagte in der Sitzung, es bestehe ein «dringender Bedarf», neue Verfahrensweisen für die Kontrolle «systemrelevanter, wichtiger Finanzunternehmen» aufzustellen. >>> vin/sda/ap | Dienstag, 24. März 2009

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Obama et Sarkozy engagent le dialogue avant le G20
LE FIGARO: Les deux présidents s'entretiendront mercredi, par téléphone, des enjeux du sommet international sur la finance mondiale qui se tiendra le 2 avril à Londres.

Nicolas Sarkozy devrait avoir une conversation par visioconférence mercredi avec Barack Obama (ici, les deux hommes à Paris en juillet 2008) (Crédits photo : Le Figaro)
Rencontres au sommet entre responsables américains et français. Après un entretien lundi soir à la Maison-Blanche entre François Fillon et le vice-président Joe Biden, Nicolas Sarkozy devrait avoir une conversation par visioconférence mercredi avec Barack Obama. À dix jours du sommet des principales puissances économiques mondiales, la France s'active pour défendre ses propositions en vue d'une réforme de la finance mondiale.

En visite aux États-Unis depuis dimanche soir, le premier ministre a enchaîné rencontres et entretiens avec des responsables politiques, économiques et bancaires. Son objectif est de confronter les réponses américaine et européenne à la crise, avec l'espoir de rallier l'Administration d'Obama à l'urgence d'une réforme de la régulation finan­cière. À New York et Washington, François Fillon a solennisé l'enjeu de la réunion de Londres. «Le rendez-vous du G20 est très important pour la résolution de la crise, car c'est d'abord une crise de confiance. L'absence d'accord, un accord a minima ou bien des divisions constitueraient un signal extrêmement négatif envoyé aux peuples et aux marchés» , a confié le premier ministre lors d'une rencontre infor­melle avec la presse après sa rencontre avec des acteurs de la régulation financière. À l'heure du petit déjeuner, François Fillon a pris le pouls de plusieurs banquiers et décideurs économiques américains, dont Éric Dinallo, directeur de la régulation des assureurs de New York, William Dudley, président de la Réserve fédérale de New York, ou encore Tim Ryan, président de l'association des grandes banques de Wall Street. Il est reparti avec le sentiment que la majorité est consciente, selon lui, de l'impact qu'un «mauvais accord» à Londres aurait sur le redressement des économies. >>> Bruno Jeudy | Mardi 24 Mars 2009

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Nine of AIG's Top Bonus Earners Agree to Repay Cash in Full
THE GUARDIAN: Nine of the top 10 recipients of ­controversial bonuses at the insurer AIG have pledged to hand back the money ­following a public and political outcry over multimillion-dollar rewards at the crisis-stricken company.

New York state's attorney general, Andrew Cuomo, revealed last night that most of the biggest winners from a ­controversial "retention scheme" at AIG have succumbed to pressure by forsaking their awards.

Of those working at AIG's financial products division, which ran up vast losses on toxic derivatives, 15 of the 20 top bonus winners are giving back the money.

Cuomo said: "A number of them have risen to the occasion and I applaud them."

The money being returned amounts to $30m out of the bonus scheme's total payout of $165m. Cuomo, speaking on a conference call, revealed that about $80m of the total went to Americans. Some of the rest is likely to have gone to British staff at AIG's key financial products office in London.

He expressed a hope that more bonuses would be returned and said he expected his office to recoup about $80m. >>> Andrew Clark in New York | Tuesday, March 24, 2009

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Bank Heads Renounce Stock Options
BBC: Four top bosses at French bank Societe Generale have handed back thousands of stock options, after public criticism and a call from the government.

Chief executive Frederic Oudea, chairman Daniel Bouton and deputy chief executives Severin Cabannes and Didier Alix announced the move on Sunday.

The stock options - which they gained on 9 March - caused controversy because SocGen needed public cash in December.

The French government has pumped 1.7bn euros ($2.3bn; £1.6bn) into SocGen. >>> | Monday, March 23, 2009

Ausverkauf! Sonderangebot! Daimler holt sich Abu Dhabi als neuen Großaktionär
WELT ONLINE: Der angeschlagene Autobauer Daimler hat sich das Emirat Abu Dhabi als Großaktionär ins Haus geholt. Über eine Kapitalerhöhung steigt die staatlich kontrollierte Investmentgesellschaft Aabar mit 9,1 Prozent bei Daimler ein. Damit wird Abu Dhabi zum wichtigsten Anteilseigner des Autoherstellers.

Unterstützung für Daimler: Das Emirat Abu Dhabi steigt als Großaktionär bei dem angeschlagenen deutschen Autohersteller ein. Bild dank der Welt
Der von der Absatzkrise gebeutelte Autobauer Daimler hat sich ein zweites Emirat als Großaktionär ins Haus geholt. Mit 9,1 Prozent steigt Abu Dhabi zum wichtigsten Anteilseigner auf und verweist Kuwait auf den zweiten Platz. Der Einstieg geschieht durch die Ausgabe neuer Aktien, durch deren Kauf 1,95 Milliarden Euro in Daimlers Kasse fließen, wie der Konzern am Sonntag in Stuttgart mitteilte. Der Anteil Kuwaits wird dadurch verwässert und fällt von 7,6 auf 6,9 Prozent. >>> dpa/lha | Sonntag, 22. Marz 2009

Max Hastings: Seize Their Porches and Throw Them in Jail! Shameless Bankers Are Worse than Train Robbers
MAIL Online: The best suggestion of the past week about how to punish Sir Fred Goodwin is that he should be obliged to report personally at an RBS branch to collect his pension cheques. If customers do not lynch him, staff will.

But too much attention has focused on Goodwin.

Of course, he is contemptible. But he is only one among thousands of monstrously over-rewarded merchants of failure.

At least the former RBS chief executive is no longer at his desk. Almost all the others still occupy fat, padded chairs in City institutions. The time has come to address the entire robber banker culture.

Lord Turner’s impressive Financial Services Authority report this week promised an end of ‘light touch’ regulation. Turner makes plain his distaste for the City’s reward structure.

I would go much further. In dealing with the sort of people who have created a disaster which will cripple this country’s finances for decades to come, drastic sanctions will be necessary.

Statistics from America show that top executives of the seven biggest failed financial institutions have taken home $464 million in alleged performance pay since 2005, while their businesses have racked up $107 billion losses in the past two years alone.

British bankers have profited from rip-offs identical in kind, if not quite in scale.

Yet those responsible remain convinced they are entitled to seven-figure remuneration, even though it’s taxpayers who are having to stump up the money.

It is as if a man who has driven a Bentley into a brick wall demands that the manufacturer should present him with a new one, because it is the only car he is used to driving.

These bankers think they are above criticism and the lesson for us, the public, is that we need to get the boot in and keep kicking.

Only thus might we begin to change the wicked culture which has brought Western nations, Britain prominent among them, to the edge of ruin. >>> Max Hastings | Saturday, March 21, 2009

THE GUARDIAN: AIG Warns Staff to Travel in Pairs after Death Threats over Bonuses

Executives fear for safety after £115m payout / Hide firm's logo and park in lit areas, employees told

The embattled US insurance company AIG has warned its staff to travel in pairs after dark, not to wear company logos and to avoid discussing their work outside the office, as public outrage boils over at multimillion-dollar executive bonuses.

AIG's employees have been subjected to death threats since the company handed out $165m (£115m) in "retention" awards to employees in its disastrously loss-making financial products division this week.

Recipients of the bonuses said they feared for their own safety. A union-backed campaign group is today taking protesters on a bus tour of AIG executives' homes in a wealthy enclave of Connecticut known as the "gold coast".

In a leaked company-wide memo, AIG's corporate security team this week warned staff to take special precautions "due to a growing sense of public attention fuelled by increased media scrutiny".

The memo, posted on the New York website Gawker, urges staff to "avoid wearing any AIG apparel (bags, shirts, umbrellas etc) with the company insignia". It advises workers to take off identity badges when they go outside, to report the presence of any strangers, and to call the emergency services if they think they are being followed. "At night, when possible, travel in pairs and always park in well-lit areas," it reads. >>> Andrew Clark in New York | Saturday, March 21, 2009

INTERNATIONAL HERALD TRIBUNE: Goldman Defiant


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French Workers Strike Over Economy

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Selling a Recovery

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Bank Bailout Returns to Haunt Brown

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1 Billion Dollar gepumpt: Das gefährliche Spiel der US-Notenbank
WELT ONLINE: Ben Bernanke hat zum Äußersten gegriffen: Der US-Notenbankchef wirft die Geldpresse an, pumpt 1,15 Billionen zusätzliche Dollar in den Markt. Das schürt zwar Inflationsängste. Doch viele Analysten glauben an den Erfolg der Maßnahme. WELT ONLINE erklärt, was die 1200 Milliarden Dollar bedeuten.

US-Notenbankcehf Ben Bernanke: Er schmeißt die Geldpresse an. Bild dank der Welt
In den Neunziger Jahren, als Ben Bernanke noch Ökonomie-Professor war, soll er auf einer Tagung einmal folgenden Satz gesagt haben: „In einer richtigen Krisensituation muss eine Notenbank notfalls auch Ketchup kaufen.“ Mit diesem Spruch wollte Bernanke deutlich machen, dass in einer Rezession nicht nur die Leitzinsen fallen müssen. Eine Notenbank müsse auch Wertpapiere und Staatsanleihen aufkaufen, um die Märkte zu stabilisieren.

Heute, als Chef der Federal Reserve, hat Bernanke seinen damals locker dahingesagten Satz Realität werden lassen. Auf ihrer Sitzung am Mittwoch beschloss die Federal Reserve, den unvorstellbaren Betrag von mehr als einer Billion US-Dollar in den Markt zu pumpen, um den Kreditmarkt wieder in Schwung zu bringen. Das riesige Paket wirft viele Fragen auf. WELT ONLINE beantwortet die wichtigsten: >>> Von Martin Greive und Viktoria Untereiner | Donnerstag, 19. März 2009

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Massenprotest gegen Sarkozys Wirtschaftspolitik: Gewerkschaften fordern weitere Konjunkturspritzen
NZZ Online: Mit Kundgebungen und Streiks haben die französischen Gewerkschaften für verstärkte Massnahmen zur Konjunkturbelebung demonstriert. Zentrale Forderungen waren mehr Kaufkraft und Schutz der Arbeitsplätze. Die Regierung warnte dagegen vor einem vergrösserten Staatsdefizit.

Protestkundgebung in Bordeaux. Bild (Reuters) dank der Neuen Zürcher Zeitung
Millionen Menschen sind an rund 220 Kundgebungen in Frankreich auf die Strasse gegangen. Es handelte sich um die grössten Proteste seit dem Amtsantritt von Präsident Nicolas Sarkozy. Begleitet wurden sie von Streiks im öffentlichen Dienst, denen sich auch die Beschäftigten vieler Privatunternehmen der Auto-, Elektro- und Energiewirtschaft anschlossen.

Premierminister François Fillon verzichtete wegen des Streiks auf seine Teilnahme an der Eröffnung des EU-Gipfels in Brüssel. Mit Hinweis auf das ausufernde Staatsdefizit lehnte Fillon weitere Massnahmen zur Konjunkturankurbelung oder zur sozialen Absicherung ab. Nach ähnlichen Protesten am 29. Januar hatte Sarkozy den Gewerkschaften 2,6 Milliarden Euro für soziale Massnahmen zugesagt. >>> sda/dpa/afp | Donnerstag, 19. März 2009

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Uganda: Country to Host World Islamic Economic Forum
ALLAFRICA.COM: Kampala — UGANDA National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (UNCCI) in partnership with the Uganda Government are to host World Islamic Economic Forum (WIEF) in September.

WIEF has established itself globally as a key business platform that has brought together eminent government and business leaders to share current trends and successful strategies in building and maximising businesses. >>> James Odomel | Wednesday, March 18, 2009

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VTB Mulls Russian Debut on Sukuk Market
REUTERS: MOSCOW - Russia's second largest bank VTB (VTBR.MM) may become the country's first issuer of sukuk or Islamic bonds and is considering a deal worth several million dollars, VTB's investment banking head said on Wednesday.

Russian companies need to be more creative about raising capital as usual sources of funding have dried up in the global credit crunch and around $100 billion of foreign corporate debt payments are due this year. "We are looking at the possibility of entering this market (Islamic finance) -- both for us and for our clients," VTB Capital head Yuri Solovyov told journalists, adding that an issue from VTB could be worth several million dollars.

He declined to name which other Russian companies had expressed interest in such financing.

Globally, $14.9 billion worth of sukuk were issued last year, less than half 2007's issuance, according to Standard & Poor's.

To comply with Islam's ban on interest, sukuk are structured as profit-sharing or rental agreements, and returns are derived from underlying physical assets such as commodities or real estate. Investment, pork, alcohol, gambling and pornography is banned.

To date there have been no Russian issuers of sukuk. >>> © Thomson Reuters 2009 | Wednesday, March 18, 2009

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Working Paper Presented at the First Business Forum on Islamic Finance in Spain; Focusing on Finance as Bridge between Arab and Western Worlds
AL BAWABA (البوابه): Event is sponsored by the King Abdul-Aziz University and the Spanish IE Business School

Al-Khabeer, a leading sharia’a compliant investment bank that operates in both Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, has been invited to participate as the only private company from the Arab World in the first-ever Business Forum on Islamic Finance, organized by the IE Business School, one of the top ranked business schools in Europe in collaboration with the King Abdul Aziz University in Jeddah.

The forum, which is being held today (Wednesday, March 18, 2009) at the IE Business School in Madrid, Spain, is sponsored by Expansion newspaper, the most influential and widely read daily financial Spanish newspaper, and will be attended by a powerful gathering of decision makers from the Spanish and Latin American business communities. Al Khabeer Merchant Finance Corporation in Saudi Arabia and its sister company Al-Khabeer International in Bahrain was invited by its Executive Director Mr. Amar Shata to attend the forum to present a working paper on Islamic finance outside the Islamic world, focusing on its impact in strengthening ties between the Arab and Western Worlds. >>> © 2009 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com) | Wednesday, March 18, 2009

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Jobless Total Rockets to Two Million
TIMESONLINE: The number of people signing on for jobless benefits jumped at the fastest rate since 1971 last month as the number of people out of work rose to more than two million, the highest level since Labour came to power in 1997, official figures show.

The number of people claiming jobless benefits rose by a record 138,400 last month, taking the total number in dole queues to 1.39 million, figures from the Office for National Statistics show.

The wider survey-based measure of unemployment showed that the number of people out of work jumped by 165,000 in the three months to January, to 2.03 million, the highest level since Tony Blair became Prime Minister.

Some City economists forecast that unemployment is set to spiral much higher, to about 3.3 million, levels not seen even during the 1980s recession.

Sterling fell to fresh seven-week low against the euro of 93.96 pence, while the pound hit a session low against the dollar at $1.3848 as investors digested the bleak figures. >>> Grainne Gilmore | Wednesday, March 18, 2009

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Simon Heffer: President Barack Obama: Perhaps He Can't Fix It...

THE TELEGRAPH: President Obama has been in power for just over 50 days, but already critics believe his plans to save America from disaster are doomed

Photo by Reuters courtesy of The Telegraph
Even in the worst economic crisis since the 1930s, New York knows how to throw a party. For most of yesterday hundreds of thousands of people made a sea of green that paraded up Fifth Avenue to mark St Patrick’s Day. Tens of thousands lined the street to watch them. The all-day party, fuelled by imports of Guinness and whiskey, seemed the more intensely engaged upon as an escape from omnipresent financial gloom.

Away from the party, the mood in America’s cultural and business capital is more firmly anchored in stark reality, and quite different from the euphoria that pervaded it when I was last here, on election day. President Obama still enjoys the popularity that comes with not being George Bush, especially in a city top-heavy with Democrats. But his initial response to the global calamity that he found on entering the Oval Office has not inspired popularity’s more sober elder brother, confidence. Large constituencies, notably business, are voicing their scepticism openly. The President’s much-vaunted $787 billion stimulus package is being widely interpreted, even by some of those (such as Warren Buffett, America’s second-richest man) who openly supported Mr Obama for the presidency, as a serious failure. And we are only just past the first 50 days.

Mr Obama is lucky that his Republican opponents in Congress are disorganised, incoherent and without ideas of their own. The White House branded Rush Limbaugh, the populist talk radio host, leader of the opposition, following an assault Limbaugh had made on the President’s neo-socialist policies. This remark was designed not just to humiliate elected Republicans for their impotence, but also to attempt to terrify the American public at the thought of a man widely seen as a demagogue and an extremist leading a main political movement. It should worry Mr Obama that while the former part of the strategy has hit home, the latter hasn’t. >>> Simon Heffer | Wednesday, March 18, 2009

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Seattle P-I to Publish Last Edition Tuesday

SEATTLE PI.COM: The Seattle Post-Intelligencer will roll off the presses for the last time Tuesday.

The Hearst Corp. announced Monday that it would stop publishing the 146-year old newspaper, Seattle's oldest business, and cease delivery to more than 117,600 weekday readers.

The company, however, said it would maintain seattlepi.com, making it the nation's largest daily newspaper to shift to an entirely digital news product.

"Tonight we'll be putting the paper to bed for the last time," Editor and Publisher Roger Oglesby told a silent newsroom Monday morning. "But the bloodline will live on."

In a news release, Hearst CEO Frank Bennack Jr. said, "Our goal now is to turn seattlepi.com into the leading news and information portal in the region."

The new operation will be more than a newspaper online, Steven Swartz, president of Hearst Newspapers, said. The so-called "community platform" will feature breaking news, columns from prominent Seattle residents, community databases, photo galleries, 150 citizen bloggers and links to other journalistic outlets.

On Jan. 9, New York-based Hearst put the Seattle P-I up for sale and said that the paper would stop printing if a buyer were not found within 60 days.

Despite community concern, no buyer emerged. The P-I lost $14 million last year.

"The thing that should not be missed here is that the P-I is not going away. The P-I is going online," Oglesby said in an interview. "Nobody is happy about the newspaper going away. That's a sad thing. The editorial voice is still going to be here." >>> Monday, March 16, 2009

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Good News! Barack Obama Attacks 'Outrage' of AIG Executive Bonuses
TIMES ONLINE: President Obama expressed outrage today over hefty bonus payments awarded to executives from the stricken insurance giant AIG and said that he had directed his Treasury Secretary to take all legal measures to block them.

The insurer received some $173 billion in government bailout money and is now paying $165 million in employee bonuses, prompting a storm of political protest that has echoes of the row in Britain over Sir Fred Goodwin's pension from RBS[.]

“This is a corporation that finds itself in financial distress due to recklessness and greed,” Mr Obama said of AIG in remarks at the White House.

“Under these circumstances, it’s hard to understand how derivative traders at AIG warranted any bonuses, much less $165 million in extra pay. How do they justify this outrage to the taxpayers who are keeping the company afloat?”

Mr Obama said he had asked Timothy Geithner, the Treasury Secretary, to use the leverage the government had to pursue “every legal avenue” to push back against the bonus payments. >>> Philippe Naughton and Christine Seib in New York | Monday, March 16, 2009

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Anjem Choudary on the Downfall of the Western Economy

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Britain Showing Signs of Heading Towards 1930s-style Depression, Says Bank
THE TELEGRAPH: Britain is showing signs of sliding towards a 1930s-style depression, the Bank of England says today for the first time.

The country is displaying early symptoms of being trapped in a so-called “debt deflation trap” where families find themselves pushed further and further into the red every month, according to a Bank report published today.

The stark warning will cause serious concerns, since it was this combination of falling prices and soaring debt burdens that plagued the US in the 1930s.

The Bank is using its Quarterly Bulletin to highlight the threat posed to the economy by deflation – where prices fall each year rather than rise.

Although inflation is currently in positive territory, it is expected to become negative in the coming months.

The Bank is worried that this may combine with high levels of indebtedness to squeeze families further.

It says that families with high debts could fall prey to the debt deflation trap. This means that the cost of their debts, which are fixed, would rise compared to average prices throughout the economy. While inflation erodes debts, deflation makes them relatively higher.

The Bank’s paper suggests that Britain is particularly at risk because there is a high proportion of families with significant levels of debt, and many of them are on fixed mortgage rate, which means they will not benefit from rate cuts.

Britons’ total personal debt – the amount owed on mortgages, loans and credit cards – is, at £1.46 trillion, more than the value of what the country produces in a year.

Total personal debt has risen by 165 per cent since 1997 and each household now owes an average of about £60,000.

The Conservatives claim this is the highest personal debt level in the world. >>> By Edmund Conway, Economics Editor | Monday, March 16, 2009

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Vatican Says Islamic Finance May Help Western Banks in Crisis
BLOOMBERG: The Vatican said banks should look at the rules of Islamic finance to restore confidence amongst their clients at a time of global economic crisis.

“The ethical principles on which Islamic finance is based may bring banks closer to their clients and to the true spirit which should mark every financial service,” the Vatican’s official newspaper Osservatore Romano said in an article in its latest issue late yesterday.

Author Loretta Napoleoni and Abaxbank Spa fixed income strategist, Claudia Segre, say in the article that “Western banks could use tools such as the Islamic bonds, known as sukuk, as collateral”. Sukuk may be used to fund the “car industry or the next Olympic Games in London,” they say.

Pope Benedict XVI in an Oct. 7 speech reflected on crashing financial markets saying that “money vanishes, it is nothing” and concluded that “the only solid reality is the word of God.” The Vatican has been paying attention to the global financial meltdown and ran articles in its official newspaper that criticize the free-market model for having “grown too much and badly in the past two decades.”

The Osservatore’s editor, Giovanni Maria Vian, said that “the great religions have always had a common attention to the human dimension of the economy,” Corriere della Sera reported today. >>> By Lorenzo Totaro | Wednesday, March 4, 2009

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Verdacht reicht, um österreichische Konten einzusehen
DIE PRESSE: Grundsätzlich bleibt das Bankgeheimnis in Österreich bestehen. Allerdings dürfen künftig ausländische Behörden auch ohne laufendes Strafverfahren Einsicht nehmen - ein begründeter Verdacht reicht.

Nach internationalem Druck hat Österreich angekündigt, sein Bankgeheimnis zur Erleichterung von Ermittlungen wegen Steuerhinterziehung etwas abzuschwächen. Bei "begründetem Verdacht" einer ausländischen Behörde könnten künftig Kontodaten auch dann weitergegeben werden, wenn noch kein Strafverfahren wegen Steuerflucht eingeleitet worden sei, sagte ÖVP-Finanzminister Josef Pröll am Freitag in Wien. >>> Ag/Red | Freitag, 13. März 2009

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Milliardäre in der Krise: Die 50 reichsten Deutschen – und ihre Verluste
WELT ONLINE: Die Finanzkrise hat die reichsten Deutschen um Milliarden erleichtert. Zu den Verlierern gehört laut "Forbes" Maria-Elisabeth Schaeffler. Doch es gibt noch Gewinner: Drei Unternehmer schaffen es neu in die Top 50. Anderen macht der Absturz der Wirtschaft weniger aus: Einer der Aldi-Brüder kommt glimpflich davon.

Verliererin der Krise: Laut der "Forbes"-Liste der Reichsten ist Maria-Elisabeth Schaeffler zwar noch Milliardärin, hat aber Vermögen eingebüßt Foto dank der Welt
54 deutsche Unternehmer und Erben aus Firmendynastien sind Milliardäre. Dies ergibt die Auswertung der neuesten „Forbes“-Rangliste zu den reichsten Menschen der Erde. Doch die deutschen Superreichen mussten teilweise in der Krise massive Verluste hinnehmen, sei es, weil ihre Aktien an Wert verloren oder weil die Unternehmen in der Krise straucheln – wie der Autozulieferer Schaeffler. >>> Von Oliver Haustein-Tessmer | Freitag, 13. März 2009

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Die Schweiz lockert das Bankgeheimnis: Der Bundesrat will auch bei Steuerhinterziehung Amtshilfe leisten
NZZ Online: Die Schweiz ist bereit, unter gewissen Bedingungen auch bei Steuerhinterziehung Amtshilfe zu leisten. Mit dieser Lockerung des Bankgeheimnisses will der Bundesrat verhindern, dass die Schweiz auf die schwarze Liste nicht kooperierender «Steueroasen» gesetzt wird, wie Bundespräsident Merz erklärte.

Der Bundesrat macht beim Bankgeheimnis Konzessionen gegenüber dem Ausland. Wie Bundespräsident Hans-Rudolf Merz am Freitag vor den Medien ankündigte, ist er bereit, in Zukunft unter gewissen Bedingungen auch bei Fällen von Steuerhinterziehung Amtshilfe zu leisten. Die bisher geltende Unterscheidung von Steuerhinterziehung und Steuerbetrug wird also für ausländische Kunden von Schweizer Banken nicht mehr aufrechterhalten. >>> bbu | Freitag, 13. März 2009

WELT ONLINE: Steueroase: Schweiz lockert ihr heiliges Bankgeheimnis

Es kommt einer Revolution gleich: Die Schweiz lockert ihr striktes Bankgeheimnis – und will künftig unter bestimmten Bedingungen Amtshilfe bei Steuerhinterziehung leisten. So könnten deutsche Finanzämter an die Kontodaten von Steuersündern gelangen. Österreich und Luxemburg planen ähnliches.

Foto dank der Welt
Die Schweiz lockert nun auch offiziell ihr striktes Bankgeheimnis. Die Regierung sei bereit, unter gewissen Bedingungen auch bei Steuerhinterziehung Amtshilfe zu leisten. Das teilte das Finanzministerium mit. Auch sollen OECD-Standards für Hilfe bei Steuerverfahren eingehalten werden. Bisher wurde Amtshilfe nur bei Steuerbetrug, etwa nach dem Fälschen von Unterlagen, gewährt. >>> | Freitag, 13. März 2009

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Swiss Cut Rates to Historic Low, Signal Currency-Market Intervention
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: ZURICH -- Switzerland's central bank Thursday cut interest rates to a historic low and said it announced non-standard measures to boost liquidity and curtail the rise of the Swiss franc.

After its quarterly monetary policy meeting, the Swiss National Bank said it has set a new fluctuation band for the three-month Swiss franc London interbank offered rate of 0% to 0.75%, down from 0% to 1% previously.

The central bank's new interest-rate target is 0.25% -- matching a historic low from 2003 -- down from 0.5% previously.

The SNB said after its policy-setting meeting that it will start purchasing foreign currency on foreign exchange markets and buying Swiss franc bonds issued by private-sector borrowers.

The steps, coupled with the interest-rate cut, are aimed to prevent further gains of the Swiss franc against the euro, the SNB said in a statement. >>> By Martin Gelnar and Anita Greil | Thursday, March 12, 2009

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Westerners Help Financial Jihad Along
TIMES ONLINE: Sharia-compliant finance is prospering in Britain. But how can it stay insulated from the credit crunch?

As the credit crunch has mutated inexorably into a recession, with bankers having eclipsed politicians, lawyers and even journalists as public enemy number one, the growing number of Islamic finance institutions in Britain might just be sitting pretty.

The UK now has five fully Sharia-compliant banks and another 17 financial institutions have set up special branches or firms. They include the Qatar Islamic Bank (QIB), with its London-based European Finance House in Berkeley Square, and the Islamic Bank of Britain, which has headquarters in Birmingham.

Both have answered Gordon Brown’s call of two years ago for Britain to become the global centre for international Islamic banking; a report by the International Financial Services London even says that Britain’s Islamic banking sector is now bigger than that of Pakistan.

Islamic banks, says Steven Amos, the Islamic Bank of Britain’s head of marketing, are prospering. “Our core business will always be Muslims but the numbers of non-Muslims are really picking up. We’ve had massive interest — and that’s down to a number of reasons, all of which have kept us insulated from the credit crunch.”

He alludes to the nuances of Islamic banking — specifically that Islamic finance has to be Sharia, or Islamic law, compliant. Sharia is taken from the Koran, one of whose central tenets — that money has no intrinsic value — might sound alien to the denizens of the City.

One British businessman believes that adopting Sharia principles might be just what the West needs. Roger Smee, a former professional footballer and now businessman, says the West has “lost the plot. All we have as a success guide is a number of rich lists. Instead of looking down on what we are quick to reject as cumbersome legal restrictions, we should take a page out of the Middle East’s book and use the principles of Sharia to begin building real and sustainable economies.” Crossing Over to Islamic Banking >>> Alex Wade | Thursday March 12, 2009

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Er kann die Wallstreet nicht beruhigen
TAGES ANZEIGER: Vom Auftreten her ein Diplomat, von der Arbeitsweise her ein Technokrat: US-Finanzminister Geithner hat Mühe, sich als Krisenmanager durchzusetzen.

Was immer der 54-jährige Timothy Geithner zu erklären versucht: Stets wirkt er besorgt und an sich selbst zweifelnd. Diese Eigenheit, die seine Freunde seit seiner Jugend kennen, macht ihm heute – mitten in der gröbsten Finanzkrise seit 80 Jahren – die Arbeit schwer. Nur sechs Wochen nach Amtsantritt ist der Finanzminister bereits umstritten. Kritiker von links und rechts sehen ihn gar als Fehlbesetzung, nicht zuletzt, weil er im Netz der Old Boys an Wallstreet hängen geblieben scheint.

«Das Problem von Tim ist nicht, dass er die Schwere einer Krise nicht erfasst oder nicht stets die beste Lösung will», sagt eine Vertraute, die ihn seit der Hochschule am Dartmouth College gut kennt. «Seine Schwierigkeit war und ist, dass er besorgt erscheint, auch wenn er es gar nicht ist und lieber grübelt als sich öffentlich zu erklären.» Geithner ist in seinem Habitus viel mehr Vermittler als ein harter, schnell entscheidender Krisenmanager. >>> Von Walter Niederberger, San Francisco | Donnerstag, 12. März 2009

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Feeling Sorry for Yourself as the World Depression Begins to Bite? Don’t! Spare a Thought for the World’s Billionaires!
THE TELEGRAPH: The number of billionaires across the globe slumped by almost a third in the last 12 months as many of the world's richest men and women fell victim to the economic recession.

Photo of Bill Gates courtesy of The Telegraph
Those worth over £1billion fell from 1,125 in 2008 to just 793, as a combined $2.4 trillion (£1.74 trillion) was wiped off the value of their collective 2008 $4.4 trillion fortune.

As a result, the average billionaire saw their net worth fall from $3.9bn to $3bn in the year, as the value of investments, property and other assets all plunged.

The annual survey of who's who and who's worth what in the upper echelons of the world's entrepreneurial classes, the just-released Forbes 2009 World Billionaires list reveals the damage that has been wreaked on the fortunes of many.

Warren Buffett, the richest man in the world last year with a fortune of $62bn, lost $25bn as a result of declines in the value of his investments, many of which are in the insurance and financial sectors which have been hardest hit by the global recession.

Taking his crown is Bill Gates, who, in spite of reclaiming the top spot in the annual Forbes survey after a year's absence, still saw his Microsoft fortune fall by almost a third, down $18bn to $40bn. >>> By James Quinn in New York | Wednesday, March 11, 2009

leJDD.fr:

Galerie de photos: Les riches deviennent moins riches: Comme chaque année, le magazine Forbes publie son classement annuel des grandes fortunes mondiales. Le crû 2008 a un petit air de crise. >>> | Jeudi 12 Mars 2009

BBC:
Watch BBC video: Billionaires Drop Off Rich List: The financial crisis is taking its toll on the world's richest people, wiping 332 names off the Forbes Magazine's 'rich list' of world billionaires. >>> Caroline Hepker | Wednesday, March 11, 2009

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Deutschland begrenzt Managerlöhne
TAGES ANZEIGER: Längere Laufzeiten für Aktienoptionen, mehr Kontrollmacht für den VR – die deutsche Regierung legt den Topmanagern mit einem heute veröffentlichten Gesetzesentwurf die Zügel an.

Die deutsche Regierung will gesetzlich festhalten, dass die Vergütung eines Vorstands künftig in einem «angemessenen Verhältnis» zu seiner Leistung und zum Lohnniveau in seiner Firma stehen.

Die oft kritisierten Bonuszahlungen werden nicht in Frage gestellt, sie müssen jedoch stärker am langfristigen Erfolg des Unternehmens ausgerichtet sein. Aktienoptionen dürfen ausdrücklich erst nach vier statt bisher zwei Jahren eingelöst werden. Salärbeschlüsse werden transparenter >>> oku/sda | Mittwoch, 11. Marz 2009

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