March 30th, 2011 Here is Lord MacGregor, a former Conservative chief secretary of the Treasury, unveiling the hard-hitting and long-awaited conclusions of the House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee’s report into audit profession. This is an inquiry I’ve been following with great interest and which I’ve written on Qfinance (Scrap mark-to-market accounting or face further […]
March 29th, 2011 A report just out from the New Economics Foundation reveals that the UK has learnt nothing from the financial crisis of 2008-11. The report, co-authored by the foundation’s Andrew Simms and Lydia Prieg, reminds us that the coalition government — still very much in the thrall of bankers and the City of London — […]
March 28th, 2011 One of the biggest financial scandals of recent weeks involves the alleged “rigging” of Libor rates by a group of the world’s largest banks. One theory is that banks colluded to lowball interbank borrowing costs to deceive investors and quell fears about bank creditworthiness as the financial crisis intensified in 2007-08. The story […]
By Ian Fraser Published: The Sunday Times Date: March 27th, 2011 Keith Anderson, of Scottish Power Renewables, is aiming to become a leader in offshore wind turbines Not content with having outpaced his rivals in wind energy, Keith Anderson wants to conquer the waves. Scottish Power Renewables, based in Glasgow, is the largest renewable energy […]
March 23rd, 2011 I’ve just stumbled upon a job ad. And it’s not just any job ad. It was placed by Florida-based newspaper the Sarasota Herald-Tribune on specialist recruitment site Nicar-L on March 14th. We want to add some talent to the Sarasota Herald-Tribune investigative team. Every serious candidate should have a proven track record […]
March 22nd, 2011 In this episode of the Keiser Report, the inimitable Max Keiser and his co-host, Stacy Herbert, cover a broad range of macro topics — including the bright side of inflation and the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan. They examine Saif al-Islam Gaddafi’s claims that he bankrolled Nicholas Sarkozy’s election campaign, and that […]
March 22nd, 2011 The extractive industries are one of the biggest sources of foreign direct investment for many emerging economies — often accounting for over half of total government revenues. However it is well known fact that, all too often, the money does not end up in the right hands. Indeed, the recent social and […]
By Ian Fraser Published: Sunday Herald Date: March 13th, 2011 FSA and Business Secretary Vince Cable among those handed evidence linked to Operation Hornet investigation into alleged £1 billion scam. An alleged £1 billion HBOS fraud was known to former directors of the state-rescued bank, but they failed to act on the information, sources close […]
By Ian Fraser Published: Newsnet Scotland Date: Wednesday March 12th, 2011 George Osborne is a very different animal from the more bombastic Gordon Brown but judging by this afternoon’s performance, there are some similarities. Both like to stuff their budgets full of minor fiscal tinkering, unleashing a torrent of bamboozling fiscal tweaks and superficial measures […]
March 11th, 2011 By Ron Robins Developed world bankers believe that continued ultra-low interest rates—cheap money—and flooding markets with liquidity will ensure that their institutions and their countries will soon return to economic prosperity. But didn’t the same policies a few years ago help bring us financial ruin and economic collapse? Have the bankers forgotten […]