Text size [+][-] Saturday November 21 2009GLOBAL EDITION
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Herman Van Rompuy lacks the star power that other candidates for the first president of the EU Council may have had. But the former Belgian PM has a chance to make the job an effective one, if he wastes no time showing he can stand up to the Franco-German entente.
The UK regulator is to have new powers to restrict short selling. The prospect of the authorities directly intervening in the market is alarming. If shorting poses a threat, an intelligent disclosure regime should suffice to ensure an orderly market.
It’s hard for investors or the media to do more than turn their noses up at the three-way scrum between North American fertilizer groups. But the $9bn-worth of bids has helped Wall Street banks, lawyers and PR firms keep the lights on. Its passing will leave a fee void.
The influential US congressman wants to keep on standby the FDIC’s bank debt guarantee programme, saying it “made a profit for the federal government”. With FDIC still on the hook, that sounds a bit like the book profits now, worry later attitude on Wall Street before the crisis.
by Jeffrey Goldfarb
Until now, they’ve largely shrugged at how much of revenue firms pay staff. At last, some Goldman investors are carping for lower bonuses and higher retained earnings – to drive up the share price. The added political storm makes it a perfect time for banks to revisit the model.20 Nov 2009
by Pierre Briançon
Herman Van Rompuy lacks the star power that other candidates for the first president of the EU Council may have had. But the former Belgian PM has a chance to make the job an effective one, if he wastes no time showing he can stand up to the Franco-German entente.20 Nov 2009