There is a definite whiff of panic in government - as well as in the markets - as the economy stalls, the reduction in the deficit falls behind schedule, and even the International Monetary Fund, for so long the bastion of fiscal orthodoxy, suggests that policy may need to be modified... more
Hats off to Bruce Packard, analyst at Seymour Pierce, for his trenchant views today on the bank stress tests - the results of which were published on Friday at 5pm. "No one at Seymour Pierce spent the weekend trawling through the European Bank Stress Tests," he writes. "For a start this would have violated the European Union Work Time Directive"... more
Bankers react angrily to Chancellor George Osborne's decision that High Street retail banking activities must be ring-fenced from riskier investment banking businesses... more
Having started work in the City in the Sixties, this is my fourth recession and seventh banking crisis and each of those seven banking crises has been followed by regulation "so it will never happen again"... more
It has a wildly glamorous art fair, a nice line in Art Deco architecture and the most impressive beach bodies in the world. Anne McElvoy takes a hedonistic tour of Miami, the Sunshine State's most colourful city... more
London is the world’s most 'open' city because of its welcoming attitude to foreigners and liberal immigration policies, according to a new league table... more
Two dapper Parisians have taken over Berkeley Square and filled it with Ruinart-quaffing hedge funders, Egon Schieles, cutting-edge chandeliers and glamorous gallery girls. Ooh la la, says Helen Kirwan-Taylor... more
The call from the Trades Union Congress for strikes and mass protests against spending cuts should not deflect ministers from their strategy of reducing the deficit... more
In Monday’s Chancellor’s debate on Channel 4, Alistair Darling hinted that the G20 was making progress towards some form of international agreement on how to tax banks... more
Banks which trade in the riskiest kinds of investments may be forced to raise the capital they set aside to cover potential losses by up to five times under plans being discussed by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) ... more
Damien Hirst has lost his touch and Nicholas Serota is a hero, says the famously secretive Charles Saatchi in a revealing new book in which he answers his critics... more
City Comment: If I were Tory Shadow Chancellor George Osborne, I would develop a passion for technology, the prison system, healthcare — even transport — anything in fact rather than economics and finance... more
G20 commentary: With the finance ministers' G20 summit this weekend and Barack Obama's first Presidential visit to the UK approaching fast, London is the destination of choice for the financial experts... more
pharmaceuticals: European drug stocks tumbled after Barack Obama targeted high drug prices in his 2010 budget, underlining the importance of U.S. sales to companies based in Basel, London and Paris... more
When Waterford Wedgwood went down, Robert Peston said, rightly, on the radio that the collapse of the pottery firm was a tragedy as it deprived Britain of a part of the manufacturing base it will need when the recession is over... more
Credit Crunch: Swiss bank UBS said it expects a small profit in the third quarter as it prepares to shed another 2,000 jobs, or 10% of its investment banking workforce... more
Companies pay the agencies to rate their securities, creating a conflict of interest. It is as if one side in a football match paid the referee... more
From chairman Lord Stevenson and chief executive Andy Hornby downwards, the HBOS directors deserve sore heads. They should be ashamed of themselves... more
The brilliant young German who became court painter to Henry VIII was a devout Catholic and could easily have lost his head. Dull conformity saved him from the axe, says Brian Sewell.... more
Sound check: German industrial metal band Rammstein literally play with fire in their live performances - and now they are about to unleash their singeing spectacle on London. Watch out for your eyebrows
Afternoon:
7°c
