Davos 2011 - David Cameron

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Davos WEF 2011: Osborne calls time on banker bashing – George Osborne has given a clear signal the Government wants to halt the long period of “banker bashing” by admitting “we need to move on”. >>> Kamal Ahmed, in Davos | Friday, January 28, 2011

What the hell is this chancellor is talking about? Who the hell is he to tell us what we are supposed to think? If this chancellor wants people to stop banker-bashing, then he needs to take action to halt the despicable bonuses which these people are stealing from the system. This is the disgusting face of ‘unbridled’ capitalism. – © Mark

Davos WEF 2011: Sarkozy Says France and Germany Will 'Never Let the Euro Fail'
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: France and Germany will never turn their backs on the euro, French President Nicolas Sarkozy has said in his most robust defence of the troubled single currency to date.

Addressing the World Economic Forum in Davos, he told speculators to be prepared for big losses if they bet against the euro. “[Germany’s] Chancellor Merkel and myself will never – do you hear me, never – let the euro fall,” he said.

“The euro is Europe. And Europe spells 60 years of peace. Therefore we will never let the euro go or be destroyed… To those who bet against the euro, watch out for your money because we are fully determined to defend the euro.”

President Sarkozy’s intervention comes with the single currency under greater strain than at any time in its short history. Davos has been abuzz with talk of a two-speed Europe, with billionaire investor George Soros warning that the “euro could possibly fall apart” under the strain.

Greece and Ireland are implementing painful pay cuts and other deflationary measures because they can not devalue, while Germany powers ahead. Ken Rogoff, the Harvard economist, has suggested Greece should be allowed to fail in an orderly fashion because its debts are insurmountable.

However, President Sarkozy said: “To imagine that we might pull out shows a complete misunderstanding of the European psychology. It has to do with our identities as Europeans.” >>> Philip Aldrick, Economics Editor, in Davos | Thursday, January 27, 2011

Financial Crisis Was Avoidable, Inquiry Finds
The commission’s report finds fault with two Fed chairmen: Alan Greenspan, right, a skeptic of regulation who led the central bank as the housing bubble expanded, and his successor, Ben S. Bernanke, who did not foresee the crisis but then played a crucial role in the response to it. Photograph: The New York Times
THE NEW YORK TIMES: WASHINGTON — The 2008 financial crisis was an “avoidable” disaster caused by widespread failures in government regulation, corporate mismanagement and heedless risk-taking by Wall Street, according to the conclusions of a federal inquiry.

The commission that investigated the crisis casts a wide net of blame, faulting two administrations, the Federal Reserve and other regulators for permitting a calamitous concoction: shoddy mortgage lending, the excessive packaging and sale of loans to investors and risky bets on securities backed by the loans.

“The greatest tragedy would be to accept the refrain that no one could have seen this coming and thus nothing could have been done,” the panel wrote in the report’s conclusions, which were read by The New York Times. “If we accept this notion, it will happen again.”

While the panel, the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission, accuses several financial institutions of greed, ineptitude or both, some of its gravest conclusions concern government failings, with embarrassing implications for both parties. But the panel was itself divided along partisan lines, which could blunt the impact of its findings.

Many of the conclusions have been widely described, but the synthesis of interviews, documents and testimony, along with its government imprimatur, give the report — to be released on Thursday as a 576-page book — a conclusive sweep and authority. >>> Sewell Chan | Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Bank of England Chief Mervyn King: Standard of Living to Plunge at Fastest Rate Since 1920s
Households face the most dramatic squeeze in living standards since the 1920s, the Governor of the Bank of England warned, as he reacted to the shock disclosure that the economy was shrinking again

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Families will see their disposable income eaten up as they “pay the inevitable price” for the financial crisis, Mervyn King warned.

With wages failing to keep pace with rising inflation, workers’ take- home pay will end the year worth the same as in 2005 — the most prolonged fall in living standards for more than 80 years, he claimed.

Mr King issued the warning in a speech in Newcastle upon Tyne after official figures showed that gross domestic product fell by 0.5 per cent during the final three months last year. The Government blamed the unexpected reduction — the first since the third quarter of 2009 — on the freezing weather that paralysed much of the country last month.

But there were fears that the country was poised to slip back into recession, defined as two successive quarters of negative growth. Economists said the situation was “an absolute disaster”. Read on and comment >>> Robert Winnett, Deputy Political Editor | Tuesday, January 25, 2011

George Osborne: Budget Cuts Keep Down Interest Rates
George Osborne has said the Government's austerity package will keep down interest rates for borrowers after economists questioned his strategy following a sharp contraction in the economy

Read on and comment >>>

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UK Economy Shrinks 0.5pc
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Britain's economy shrank unexpectedly in the final three months of last year as heavy snow compounded a slowdown in growth.

Gross domestic product fell 0.5pc in the fourth quarter, the most in more than a year, the Office for National Statistics reported on Tuesday. The decline compared with growth of 0.7pc in the third quarter.

George Osborne insisted that the Government will press ahead with planned cuts to public spending, despite warnings from forecasters that the economy may be too weak to withstand the package.

Blaming the growth figures on the cold weather, Mr Osborne maintained that a weakening in efforts to tackle the deficit would pose a greater bigger threat to the nation's future prosperity.

"There is no question of changing a fiscal plan that has established international credibility on the back of one very cold month. That would plunge Britain back into a financial crisis," the Chancellor said.

"We will not be blown off course by bad weather." Read on and comment >>> | Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Bank Reform Needed, Says Deputy Prime Minister Clegg

BBC: Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg has told the BBC the UK banking sector must be reformed so taxpayers are never again liable for its mistakes. >>> | Sunday, January 23, 2011

Inside One Hyde Park
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: The £650 million One Hyde Park development – the most expensive in London's history – has been unveiled for the first time.

The Golden Ticket at Goldman Sachs

DealB%k >>>

How Does Goldman Sachs Make Its Profits?

Goldman-Sachs-Gewinn bricht um die Hälfte ein
Zentrale von Goldman Sachs in New York: Einbußen im Anleihegeschäft. Bild: Spiegel Online
SPIEGEL ONLINE: Der spektakuläre Facebook-Deal hat Goldman Sachs den Ruf des Trendsetters eingebracht. Doch jetzt sorgt die US-Investmentbank mit überraschend schlechten Zahlen für negative Schlagzeilen: Das Institut hat im vierten Quartal gut die Hälfte seines Gewinnes eingebüßt - die Aktie rutschte ab.

New York - Mit Spannung haben Börsianer auf die Zahlen von Goldman Sachs gewartet. Doch das Quartalsergebnis der mächtigen Investmentbank enttäuscht die Analysten. Einbußen im Anleihehandel haben der US-Großbank einen kräftigen Dämpfer versetzt. Das Institut büßte im vierten Quartal 2010 gut die Hälfte seines Gewinnes ein. Der Nettogewinn sei auf 2,23 Milliarden Dollar gefallen, teilte die Bank an diesem Mittwoch mit. Zum Vergleich: Im Vorjahresquartal waren es unterm Strich noch 4,79 Milliarden Dollar gewesen. >>> mmq/Reuters/dpa-AFX | Mittwoch, 19. Januar 2011

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Goldman Sachs fourth-quarter profits slide: Goldman Sachs will pay its employees almost 10bn pounds in pay and bonuses even as annual profits at the bank fell. >>> Richard Blackden, New York | Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Merkel Rules Out Return to Deutsche Mark
Chancellor Angela Merkel says there's no going back to the beloved deutsche mark. Photo: Spiegel Online International
SPIEGEL ONLINE INTERNATIONAL: German Chancellor Angela Merkel has snuffed out speculation about reintroducing the deutsche mark in Germany as a response to the current euro crisis. In a magazine interview, she renewed her support for the common currency and rejected the idea of splitting the euro zone in two.

Chancellor Angela Merkel has categorically stated that Germany will not abandon the euro and reintroduce the deutsche mark. Her comments are intended to quell speculation that Germany's love of the common currency is flagging in the wake of expensive bailouts of troubled euro-zone members Greece and Ireland.

In an interview to be published in Germany's weekly Stern magazine on Thursday, Merkel also rejected the idea of splitting the euro zone into north and south zones, reaffirming Germany's commitment to an economically united Europe.

"There can be no return to the deutsche mark," she said, adding that Germany would "continue to do everything necessary to guarantee a stable euro." She told the magazine that, while she took citizens' concerns very seriously, she was convinced that "we in Germany can handle everything." >>> jap - with wires | Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Tunisia Riots Because It Lacks Jobs and Opportunities - Analysts

Jobs Takes Sick Leave at Apple Again, Stirring Questions
THE NEW YORK TIMES: SAN FRANCISCO — Steven P. Jobs, the visionary co-founder and chief executive of Apple, is taking a medical leave of absence, a year and a half after his return following a liver transplant. The leave raises questions about both his long-term prognosis and the leadership of the world’s most valuable technology company.

Mr. Jobs, 55, who recovered from pancreatic cancer after surgery in 2004, has not appeared at public events since October, and has looked increasingly frail in recent weeks, according to people who have seen him.

An Apple spokeswoman, Katie Cotton, said Apple would have no further comment beyond a brief public statement in which Mr. Jobs announced he was turning daily oversight of the company’s operations over to the chief operating officer, Timothy D. Cook. >>> Miguel Helft | Monday, January 17, 2011

Jordanians March Against Inflation
AL JAZEERA ENGLISH: Thousands vent anger in Amman and other cities against government's inability to rein in prices and poverty.

Thousands of Jordanians have taken to the streets of the capital Amman and other cities to protest against rising commodity prices, unemployment and poverty.

The protesters are calling on the government headed by Samir Rifai, the prime minister, to step down.

Demonstrators, including trade unionists and leftist party members, carried national flags and chanted anti-government slogans in downtown Amman.

They called Rifai a "coward" and demanded his resignation.

"Prices, particularly gasoline and food, are getting out of hand,'' Buthaina Iftial, a 24-year-old civil servant, said.

"We're becoming poorer every day,'' she said, holding a poster with a piece of Arabic flatbread attached.

Police and plainclothes officers formed rings around the demonstrators to contain the protests. There were no reports of arrests or violence. >>> Source: Agencies | Friday, January 14, 2011

PM Is Protecting Banker Bonuses, Claim Lib Dems
THE INDEPENDENT: The Liberal Democrats are making a final attempt to persuade David Cameron to rein in bankers' bonuses amid growing public anger over the imminent payout estimated at £7bn.

Liberal Democrat MPs believe that Mr Cameron, rather than the Chancellor, George Osborne, has emerged as the main obstacle to tough action against the bankers. They are furious that Downing Street signalled a climbdown this week while talks continued with the big banks on a new settlement covering bonuses and lending to small businesses and first-time buyers.

"You don't wave the white flag in the middle of tough negotiations," Baron Oakeshott of Seagrove Bay, a Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesman, told The Independent yesterday. "This is the moment of truth on fairness for our Coalition. We can't allow a bonus bonanza in the age of austerity." >>> Andrew Grice, Political Editor | Friday, January 14, 2011

THE SUNDAY TIMES: Golden goodbye for bank bosses: Outgoing chief executives at HSBC, Lloyds and Barclays will pocket millions from highly lucrative advisory contracts >>> Iain Dey | Sunday, January 16, 2011 (£)

Bank of London and the Middle East Launches [sic] Sharia'a [sic] Compliant Premier Deposit Account in Sterling, US Dollars and Euros for Investors
iSTOCKANALYST: Bank of London and The Middle East plc (BLME), London's leading wholesale Sharia'a compliant bank whose main shareholders are Boubyan Bank, National Bank of Kuwait, the Securities House and the Public Institution for Social Security, announced today the launch of its Premier Deposit Account (PDA) in Pound Sterling, US Dollars and Euro for Kuwait investors. >>> Source: Middle East Company News | Wednesday, January 12, 2011

New Move to Make Yuan a Global Currency
A Chinese clerk counts yuan next to U.S. dollars. Photograph: The Wall Street Journal
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: China has launched trading in its currency in the U.S. for the first time, an explicit endorsement by Beijing of the fast-growing market in the yuan and a significant step in the country's plan to foster global trading in its currency.

The state-controlled Bank of China Ltd. is allowing customers to trade the yuan, also known as the renminbi, in the U.S., expanding the nascent offshore market for the currency which began last year in Hong Kong.

The decision is the latest move by China to allow the yuan, whose value is still tightly controlled by the government, to become an international currency that can be used for trade and investment.

"We're preparing for the day when renminbi becomes fully convertible," Li Xiaojing, general manager of Bank of China's New York branch, told The Wall Street Journal. He said the bank's goal is to become "the renminbi clearing center in America." >>> Lingling Wei | Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Mark Steel: We Owe It to Bankers to Feel Their Pain
THE INDEPENDENT: At last someone has dared to defend the oppressed people of the banking community. Bob Diamond, chief executive of Barclays, who himself has to suffer the trauma of an £8m bonus, said yesterday that the bankers' "period of remorse and apology should be over". And you feel his pain, because the first words to cross your mind when you see a banker are "remorseful and apologetic". Then you're left worrying, "Oh, how I wish the poor souls were slightly less burdened with remorse about their bonus, and didn't apologise with such agonising sincerity about putting it into their wife's name in a series of untraceable accounts based in uninhabitable islands off Ecuador."

But at last they've learnt to stand up for themselves, and Bob Diamond has emerged as their Martin Luther King. Soon the whole banking community will declare: "Say it out loud, I'm 27 million quid in the black and I'm proud." >>> Mark Steel | Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Barclays Boss Bob Diamond Says Banks Should Be Allowed to Fail
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Bob Diamond, Barclays' chief executive, has told a committeee of MPs that badly-run banks should not be bailed out by taxpayers.


"It is not acceptable for taxpayers to bail out banks," Mr Diamond said during questioning by the Treasury Select Committee. He added that "badly managed" banks should be allowed to fail. >>> Louise Armitstead, and Amy Wilson | Tuesday, January 11, 2011