Tag: Finance
A setback to ‘capital markets union’ – a glimpse of silver...
Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.
-- George Santanyana
First, a quiz:
Match the three authors with the three quotations which follow
...
How fintech could become far greater – by reforming financial services
Listen to John discuss with Mike Baliman the truly vast potential that still exists for Fintech to disrupt financial services.
Modern business, modern markets
Our markets need to adapt to the changed nature of 21st century business if they are to remain relevant in a world in which capitalism has little need of capital.
Opening bell at the London Stock Exchange
In fact it was an acrylic electronic tablet that was used to start the trading on June 29th, to celebrate the launch of the...
Berkshire business model is simple and effective, yet rarely copied
Buffett's method is to find well-run companies and give them more freedom than they would enjoy on public markets. Yet other conglomerates use financial engineering and impose “transferable” management skills.
Central problem with banks is “too complex to fail” not “too...
Recent stumbles by Bernie Sanders illustrate a misdirection in his attack on the banking establishment. The central problem is not so much “too big to fail” but “too complex to fail”.
Balance sheets understate the scale of complexity in the financial system
JPMorgan and Deutsche Bank account for about 20 per cent of total global derivatives exposure. The risks associated with these exposures are largely netted out. But how well? Your guess is as good as mine, and probably not much worse than those in charge of these institutions.
The business of attacking companies is hard to admire but publicly...
In cases of fraud official action inevitably damages both the business and its share price, and no agency will be right all the time. Short selling hedge funds are not right all the time either, but when they are wrong they lose their own money.
HBOS report yields three important lessons for all businesses
British regulators have finally published their report into HBOS, the bank formed from the merger of Halifax with Bank of Scotland, more than seven years after its collapse. The 600-odd pages contain much detail on events and personalities. But there are general lessons for all businesses. Avoid the diversifier’s fallacy. Beware the winner’s curse. Fear adverse selection.
Limited liability led to limited care for other people’s money
The financial sector in the 1980s and 1990s was characterised by a rush to incorporation. The mantra of “shareholder value” restored the nexus between finance and business that Smith had feared and Brandeis denounced. And the stage was set for negligence and profusion to prevail once again.
