November 27th, 2010 You know that things must be getting desperate in Ireland when significant numbers of the country’s population want to draft in Michael O’Leary, the controversial and famously outspoken Ryanair chief executive, to help run the country. According to a Reuters report the no-nonsense Cork-born airline chief, whose opinion of the country’s politicians [...]
November 24th, 2010 In the last few days, quite a few people have been asking me what I think of Eric Cantona’s call for a silent revolution against the banks, which recently started to go viral on the internet. Presumably inspired by their post-crisis behaviour and the pernicious grip they still exert over governments, businesses [...]
By Ian Fraser Published: CA Magazine Date: November 23rd, 2010 Scotland’s corporate finance experts have had to learn to adapt to a new economic environment, and the lesson is sinking in that recovery will be a marathon, not a sprint, writes Ian Fraser Scotland’s dealmakers have picked themselves up and dusted themselves off since the [...]
November 21st, 2010 There may be widespread scepticism about the integrity of Lloyds Banking Group, but many UK publications seem willing to give the financial behemoth the benefit of the doubt (maybe this is in the national interest or because they’re frightened the bank will pull its “For the journey” ads). So it’s reassuring that [...]
November 13th, 2010 Here’s Next Media’s excellent hip-hop video about US-China “currency wars”, complete with murderous pandas and a drowning President Barack Obama. I particularly liked the latter’s line:- In times of uncertainty they all want USDs; So what if our fiscal picture’s discombobulated – The world’s resources are dollar-denominated. Via @alanbeattie
November 13th, 2010 Mark Fisher, the low-profile “blustery Yokshireman” renowned for his ability to imitate the sound of a revving Ferrari when serving as henchman to Sir Fred Goodwin at Royal Bank of Scotland, has fired more people than perhaps anyone else in history. As Nils Pratley explained a couple of weeks ago in his [...]
November 12th, 2010 Joseph Stiglitz, the Nobel prize-winning economist, has cast doubt on the notion that free-floating exchange rates are good for growth. Speaking at the MPIM Asia conference in Hong Kong on Thursday, Stiglitz said he believes the current system of free-floating rates advocated for decades by the developed world is past its sell-by [...]
November 10th, 2010 The mood ahead of the G20 summit in Korea is turning ugly. America’s actions – especially its policy of deliberate dollar devaluation through quantitative easing – are looking increasingly irresponsible and even reckless to its creditors, some of whom are starting to snap. The Federal Reserve’s policy of buying $75bn of Treasury [...]
By Ian Fraser Published: Sunday Herald Date: November 7th, 2010 Jack Perry, former chief executive of Scottish Enterprise, has landed a role as a member of the advisory committee of Barclays’ private client division in the UK and Northern Ireland. It is Perry’s third post since leaving the development agency last November. He is a [...]
By Ian Fraser Published: Sunday Herald Date: November 7th, 2010 Cairn Energy’s plan to raise £5 billion through the sale of its majority stake in Mumbai-listed Cairn India to Vedanta Resources is at risk of hitting the buffers after a refusal by certain banks to back the deal on environmental grounds. London-listed Vedanta Resources, controlled [...]