Magical Money Can’t Fix Europe’s Banks

November 22, 2011

Europe’s financially strapped banks are finding new cash – in their own spreadsheets. Regulators should stop the smoke and mirrors.

Comments Off

The Emperor’s Speech

March 17, 2011

Americans can be excused if we do not understand why a constitutional democracy would have a royal head of state. But in times of dire need, people who were raised in a monarchy know why they want one. Japan’s Emperor Akihito provided the latest lesson on the role of a modern sovereign when he appeared on television, for the first time, to rally his stricken people in a pre-recorded speech …

The Euro Lifeboat

December 2, 2010

Citizens of Germany, Greece and Ireland are all learning an important lesson: When you share a lifeboat with someone, you can’t each go your own way. Germany is the biggest contributor to the $113 billion bailout that the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund cobbled together for Ireland last weekend. The seven-year package of loans, totaling 85 billion euros at an average interest rate of 5.8 percent, guarantees …

Comments Off

Restoring Confidence In Europe’s Banks

June 25, 2010

The financial crisis that gripped the world in late 2008 was, most of all, a crisis of confidence. What we knew about the condition of America’s biggest financial institutions was bad enough, but what we didn’t know was terrifying. This is why the “stress tests” that financial regulators publicly performed on 19 of the country’s largest financial firms last year were so helpful. In some cases the news was good, …

Comments Off

The Dog That Did Not Bark

May 20, 2010

Something pretty significant did not happen yesterday, and because it did not happen, not many people paid attention to it. But it is pretty significant nonetheless. Greece did not default on a public debt of €8 billion that came due yesterday. It had the cash to pay its creditors on time, courtesy of the massive rescue package that its fellow members of the euro zone made available earlier this month. …

Comments Off

A Financial Thunderstorm, Not A Hurricane

May 5, 2010

The Greek financial crisis sent markets around the world reeling yesterday, as the soothing effects of the Eurozone’s $143 billion bailout package wore off after just one business day. If Greece falls, and then perhaps Portugal, will we be looking at the sort of global paralysis that set in when the Bear Stearns domino hit the Lehman Brothers domino, which hit Merrill Lynch, which hit American International Group, ad infinitum? …

Comments Off

Changing The Faces Of Corporate Boards

February 16, 2010

In Norway, more than 40 percent of all company board members are women, compared to just about 15 percent of American board members. Are Norwegian women more ambitious than American women? Is the business culture there more welcoming to women? Maybe, but the real reason there are more female directors in Norway is because the government said there had to be. In 2002, when women held less than 7 percent …

Comments Off

Finance Oracles See Trouble Ahead For Greece

Finance Oracles See Trouble Ahead For Greece December 23, 2009

(Photo ©iStockphoto.com/mbbirdy) When most people think of Greece, they imagine warm ocean breezes and tranquil seaside fishing towns. But these days, when European leaders talk about Greece, the mood is anything but calm. After years of imbalanced budgets, government corruption and widespread tax evasion, Greece is now on the brink of a full-on financial crisis. The country’s debt totals 110 percent of gross domestic product. This year’s deficit is expected …

Comments Off

Put Pirates And Kidnappers Out Of Business

November 30, 2009

Pirates used to hunt ships for the treasure they carried. These days, the crew usually is the most valuable cargo. A gang of Somali pirates recently received a reported $3.3 million ransom in exchange for the 36-member crew of a Spanish trawler they had captured. The International Maritime Bureau reports that more incidents of piracy occurred in the first nine months of 2009 than in all of 2008. A total …

Comments Off

Sorry, you can not to browse this website.

Because you are using an outdated version of MS Internet Explorer. For a better experience using websites, please upgrade to a modern web browser.

Mozilla Firefox Microsoft Internet Explorer Apple Safari Google Chrome