Metro Bank targets 10pc of London market July 23, 2010 METRO Bank, which will be Britain’s first new High Street lender to launch in more than 100 years, has a long-term goal to grab up to 10 per cent of the capital’s retail and commercial banking market. “It is a reasonable aspiration to say that, after 10 years, we will have between five and 10 [...]
City’s competitive edge blunted by bank levy June 27, 2010 THERE can be no doubt that Asia holds the key to the future growth of the global financial services industry, providing a whole host of new opportunities for the international business community, including many UK firms. And it is in all of our interests to help these rapidly emerging markets succeed and grow. That is [...]
Sweden’s failed Tobin tax experiment July 18, 2010 BAD ideas have a habit of never really going away. There were renewed calls at the weekend for a Tobin tax on financial transactions, a deeply flawed concept which remains popular in influential circles. Supporters should acquaint themselves with an excellent study published in the mid-1990s by the Canadian government’s depository services programme, which remains [...]
Live above the rooftops in City’s sleekest building March 18, 2010 THE Heron, the City’s first residential development in 30 years, will be second to none, from Hong Kong to LA, in terms of style, views and overall quality of design and finish. This assertion is made in a matter of fact way by Lisa Ronson, head of marketing at The Heron’s mothership, Heron International, and [...]
Obama turning US into a bureaucracy July 21, 2010 LET us hope Barack Obama actually read the Dodd-Frank Financial Reform Bill he signed into law last night. Astonishingly, it is 2,319 pages long and instructs government agencies to create new rules in 243 separate areas, guaranteeing many thousands more pages of guidance. That is as excessive as it sounds and confirms yet again that [...]
Obama turning US into a bureaucracy July 21, 2010 LET us hope Barack Obama actually read the Dodd-Frank Financial Reform Bill he signed into law last night. Astonishingly, it is 2,319 pages long and instructs government agencies to create new rules in 243 separate areas, guaranteeing many thousands more pages of guidance. That is as excessive as it sounds and confirms yet again that [...]
Still ahead of the curve: Art Laffer rises as Obama hits America’s rich September 12, 2010 WE SPEAK across the gleaming sweep of a boardroom table. Arthur Laffer has grabbed time for an interview while visiting CQS, a hedge fund. He is 70 this year, and the man who transformed the case for lower taxes with one sketch is in demand on this rare visit from the US. Today Laffer has [...]
Budget focus should not be on banker bashing June 20, 2010 Tomorrow George Osborne will deliver one of the most important Budget announcements in recent memory as he outlines plans to deal with the harsh financial realities facing our nation. The chancellor has already taken steps to trim the structural deficit but there is more to do if we are to maintain our reputation for fiscal [...]
Budget focus should not be on banker bashing June 20, 2010 Tomorrow George Osborne will deliver one of the most important Budget announcements in recent memory as he outlines plans to deal with the harsh financial realities facing our nation. The chancellor has already taken steps to trim the structural deficit but there is more to do if we are to maintain our reputation for fiscal [...]
China’s FX shift won’t spark a sustained rally June 21, 2010 IT WAS a decision that had been long awaited by the financial markets, analysts and policymakers alike. But the announcement by the Chinese central bank to gradually return the Chinese currency to a managed floating exchange rate was issued with little ceremony on Saturday evening Beijing-time. Despite its vagueness, the statement was leapt upon yesterday [...]