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'fresh Spanish rumblings on Rock of Gibraltar'

2012-01-31T13:19:00.001-08:00

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/david-cameron-ready-for-fresh-spanish-rumblings-on-rock-of-gibraltar/story-e6frg6so-1226258189426

David Cameron ready for fresh Spanish rumblings on Rock of Gibraltar
The Australian
DAVID Cameron is braced for fresh demands from Spain to start talks over
the sovereignty of Gibraltar after the country's new Foreign Minister
pledged to raise the issue at the EU summit in Brussels. Mariano Rajoy,
Spain's new centre-right Prime ...

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ESMA Consultation Paper throws ETF Net Far and Wide

2012-01-30T04:55:00.001-08:00

http://www.portfolio-adviser.com/news/regulation/regulator-casts-net-wider-than-etfs

The European Securities and Markets Authority has published its long-awaited consultation paper on ETFs, extending proposals to all Ucits vehicles engaging in ETF-like practices.

The move to widen the scope of the consultation paper was made by Esma after the ETF industry said it should not be unfairly singled out by the European regulators.

Esma said it had taken into account 65 contributions to its July 2011 discussion paper on the topic and in outlining draft future rules was "proposing to reinforce the legal framework applicable to ETFs and other types of Ucits".

"The aim of these guidelines is to enhance investor protection and limit the risk of certain practices by strengthening, in particular, the standards applicable to collateral received in the context of activities such as securities lending," said Steven Maijoor, Esma chairman.

Specifically, Esma proposed investors should be provided with more information if the Ucits ETF does not track an index and is “actively” managed.

For index-tracking Ucits of all types, it said there should be additional disclosure requirements on issues such as the index to be tracked, the method of replication and the tracking error. The regulator is also seeking feedback on what an appropriate regime for secondary market investors would be.

Also within the paper, Esma mapped out further requirements for securities lending and collateral management, which included that diversification of counterparty risk and haircut criteria should be strengthened.

Further debate needed

Some issues have been held back for further consideration, such as general concern surrounding the increasing number of "complex" products sold to retail investors and the lack of regulatory convergence on the management of such products.

Esma reiterated the need to tackle this issue and added it would continue to contribute actively to the regulatory response to these problems.

MJ Lytle, managing director at Source, said: "After a year's debate, here's a balanced paper. It is long, it is in depth and it lays out the issues that have been raised from all quadrants and really does not feel like it has a slant. Esma very clearly wants to explore these issues as deeply as possible to make a good decision.”

The consultation period will run until 30 March, with comments from the industry welcomed. Esma expects the final guidelines to be ready for adoption by mid-2012.

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'Wealth management : lipstick on a pig' ?

2012-01-30T03:31:00.001-08:00

http://www.moneymarketing.co.uk/1044955.article?

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'Was Germany the root cause of the eurozone debt crisis?'

2012-01-29T14:29:00.001-08:00

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-16761087

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“Germany is the locomotive of pain for other people’s problems,”

2012-01-29T12:19:00.001-08:00

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financialcrisis/9046875/The-great-EU-conjuring-trick.html

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Spanish fear for Gibraltar

2012-01-29T12:02:00.001-08:00

http://www.theolivepress.es/spain-news/2012/01/29/spanish-job-fears/
Fears for Spanish jobs in Gibraltar
Olive Press
Up to 150 further jobs could be at risk in the coming weeks, with 70 per
cent of those affected coming from La Linea, according to the Association
of Spanish Workers in Gibraltar (ASCTEG). “The financial crisis has hit
the neighbouring population later ...

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Romney the Barbarian

2012-01-29T11:57:00.001-08:00

http://www.buzzfeed.com/buzzfeedpolitics/romney-the-barbarian

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Malta and Gibraltar sign tax information agreement

2012-01-26T10:54:00.001-08:00

http://www.independent.com.mt/news.asp?newsitemid=138806

'Malta and Gibraltar have signed a Tax Information Exchange Agreement (TIEA) which provides for a full exchange of information on tax matters.

The High Commissioner in London, Joseph Zammit Tabona, who signed for the Maltese government, said the agreement reinforces links and strengthens bilateral relations, particularly in the fields of financial services and business.

Gibraltar’s Minister with responsibility for Financial Services, Gilbert Licudi, said Malta and Gibraltar share very important social, cultural and political links. “A significant part of Gibraltar’s population are descendants of Maltese nationals which means that our heritage is intrinsically bound together. There is already an element of business activity that we share with Malta. We trust that this agreement will encourage the development of an even closer business relationship.”

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Clooney Defends making Coffee Commercials ...

2012-01-25T15:49:00.001-08:00

http://www.thedailybeast.com/videos/2012/01/23/clooney-defends-being-a-sellout.html

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The Real SOPA Battle: Innovators vs. Incumbent oligopolies

2012-01-23T03:04:00.001-08:00

HARVARD BUSINESS REVIEW http://pulse.me/s/577Ru

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Read My Lips : 'Spain will not achieve Deficit Targets..'

2012-01-22T11:17:00.001-08:00

http://seekingalpha.com/article/320859-spain-doubts-it-can-reach-deficit-targets?

'I have been saying for a few months now that all of the periphery would miss their targets as depression took hold. However, the language in the October 2011 EU summit agreement is unforgiving for Portugal and Ireland:

We invite both countries to keep up their efforts, to stick to the agreed targets and stand ready to take any additional measure required to reach those targets.

Here’s how I put it in October:

Translation: continue fiscal austerity until you reduce your deficits significantly. If the depression this creates causes you to miss your fiscal targets, redouble your efforts under the watchful eye of the Troika.

Portugal is out making additional cuts and increasing taxes (link in Spanish). Nevertheless, Olli Rehn has already indicated that Portugal runs the risk of not making its 2011 fiscal targets (link in Portuguese). Even Spain, not under an IMF program, will miss fiscal targets.

So, it is only a matter of time before what is happening in Greecehappens at a minimum in Portugal and probably in Ireland as well. How will the Portuguese react?

-On the Troika’s Coming Occupation of the Periphery

I think Ireland is the model here. But Spain comes second. If these countries can’t make their targets, it tells you that the austerity and drip, drip monetisation approach will ultimately prove anti-growth.

Belgian newspaper De Standaard reports that the new Spanish government is fearful. My translation from Dutch below:

The new Spanish government of conservative Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy has expressed doubts about the feasibility of its budget target for the first time. It is based on outdated growth assumptions, it is said.

Spain agreed with the European Commission to reduce the budget deficit this year to 4.4 percent. But that target is based on the outdated growth prospects of the former Socialist government of José Luis Zapatero said Spanish Finance Minister Cristobal Montoro.

The Zapatero government assumed economic growth of 2.3 percent for this year. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) expects from Spain, however, a negative growth of 1.7 percent for this year and 0.3 percent for 2013.

Yet according to Montoro, Spain will maintain its objective of reducing the deficit as quickly as possible to under three percent.

The Spanish government will therefore among other things force heavily indebted autonomous regions to enforce budgetary discipline. They now have to present their budget proposals to the Government for approval.

The Rajoy government put forth a good week after taking office in late December it’s first austerity package. It wants to reduce spending during the first quarter of this year by 8.9 billion and plans to increase taxes to bring in some 6.2 billion euros more.

Notice Rajoy’s government did not say specifically it believes it will make this year’s target. I don’t think the Spanish will be able to get it done. Let’s see how this unfolds.'

Source: Spanje twijfelt aan begrotingsdoelstelling � De Standaard

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'A Dummy's Guide To The EU Crisis'

2012-01-22T10:44:00.001-08:00

http://seekingalpha.com/article/321074-a-dummy-s-guide-to-the-eu-crisis-and-our-moral-hazard-rally?

'Step 1

After joining the EU and adopting the Euro (there are EU members that did not adopt the EUR), the GIIPS issued too much debt in good times when their borrowing costs were low. Their bond yields were low because as part of the economically sound EU, their bonds were now considered virtually risk-free, because markets assumed that the EU leadership, like the US Federal government, would never allow a member state to default. Supporting the risk-free view were rules forbidding nations from taking on excessive debt (ignored even by Germany). The result was bloated public sectors and/or housing bubbles.

Stage 1: Fatal Debt Inflammation Infects The Periphery

The most common theme among the countless 2012 global macroeconomic forecasts is that the EU sovereign debt and banking crisis is the likely determinant of how 2012 goes. So it’s critical for any investor to really grasp the current situation in order to make the right moves this coming year....'

http://seekingalpha.com/article/321074-a-dummy-s-guide-to-the-eu-crisis-and-our-moral-hazard-rally?

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#News ' Shares gain as Europe funding worries recede ...'

2012-01-20T03:45:00.001-08:00

Investors Europe Shares gain as Europe funding worries recede Digg
Asian shares extended gains to fresh two-month highs on Friday as solid
euro zone sovereign debt sales and signs that Greece may be moving closer
to a vital ...
http://digg.com/news/business/investors_europe_shares_gain_as_europe_funding_...

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Death by Digital Dagger - Another Brownie Bites the Dust

2012-01-20T03:00:00.001-08:00

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-16627167

'....The name Kodak has been synonymous with the world of cameras since the firm was founded by George Eastman in the 19th Century.

His vision to keep Kodak at the forefront of photography by the masses has seen its peaks and troughs.

George Eastman saw Kodak take off after pioneering roll film in 1886 - an alternative to cumbersome photographic plates normally only developed by chemists and specialists.

The opaque backing paper allowed roll film to be loaded in daylight. It is typically printed with frame number markings which can be viewed through a small red window at the rear of the camera.

It allowed people to carry around films without their exposure to daylight affecting their use.....'

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‘Maths PhD not enough to work out bank fees’

2012-01-18T04:08:00.001-08:00

http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/business/industries/banking/article3288613.ece?CMP=EMCeb1

“Exorbitant” bank overdraft charges are so complex that even a postgraduate maths student could not work them out, a study has claimed.

Which? asked customers to work out the overdraft charges on a range of mock bank statements and found that not one respondent was able to calculate all the fees correctly, including a maths PhD student. The 12 respondents managed to get only seven of forty-eight calculations right between them.

The way in which unauthorised overdraft penalties are applied varies greatly between banks. Which? found the highest fees to be from First Direct and its parent HSBC, at £150 a month. This would apply to customers with the First Direct 1st Account and HSBC Bank Account who were overdrawn for 21 days in a row and made 12 payments while in the red. Barclays’ fee for a customer in the same situation is £66.

Nationwide Building Society’s FlexAccount had the highest charge for customers overdrawn for a short period, at £50. This would apply if a customer was overdrawn for two days and made one payment while overdrawn. The Halifax Reward Account would charge the same customer £10.

Which? also highlighted the impact of daily unauthorised overdraft charges, which are as much as £6 a day in the case of Royal Bank of Scotland and NatWest. These equate to an annual interest rate of 2,190 per cent on a £100 overdraft.

Banks are required to publish examples of their charges in six common scenarios on their websites. But annual statements detailing all charges, text message alerts and buffer zones may not be introduced until March 2013.

Peter Vicary-Smith, the chief executive of Which?, said: “While the Government has announced reforms to tackle unfair overdraft charges, they simply don’t go far enough.

‘It’s extremely disappointing to find that bank charges are still too high, too complex and impossible to compare.”

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'More Sites Going Dark Over SOPA and PIPA, But Not Twitter...'

2012-01-18T03:53:00.001-08:00

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2398969,00.asp

'Opponents of the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the PROTECT IP Act (PIPA) are gearing up for tomorrow's Web site blackouts. A number of high-profile sites, from Reddit to Wikipedia, have pledged to shut down on Jan. 18 in protest of the bills, but organizers said today that as many as 7,000 sites are planning to go dark at midnight.

One site that won't shut down, however, is Twitter.

According to sopastrike.com, Web sites joining the protest include Boing Boing, WordPress, and the Cheezburger network sites. From 8am to 8pm Eastern, these and other sites will return only a banner with information about SOPA.

In a conference call with reporters this morning, Tiffiniy Cheng, co-founder of Open Congress, said the "confirmed participants" list on sopastrike.com are sites with which organizers have had internal discussions about the blackout. A much lengthier list is at the bottom of the site, but those sites have not been verified.

One of the sites on that longer list is Twitter.com, but Dick Costolo, Twitter's CEO, said this weekend that the micro-blogging site will not be participating.

"That's just silly. Closing a global business in reaction to single-issue national politics is foolish," Costolo tweeted after a journalist asked whether Twitter, Facebook, or Google would have the "cojones" to go dark tomorrow.

But while Twitter will not be shutting down on Jan. 18, Costolo insisted that "Not shutting down a service doesn't equal not taking the proper stance on an issue. We've been very clear about our stance."

Last month, the co-founders of top tech firms like Google, Twitter, Yahoo, and eBay penned an open letter in opposition to SOPA and PIPA.

"We've all had the good fortune to found Internet companies and nonprofits in a regulatory climate that promotes entrepreneurship, innovation, the creation of content and free expression online," they wrote. "However, we're worried that the PROTECT IP Act and the Stop Online Piracy Act—which started out as well-meaning efforts to control piracy online—will undermine that framework."

What's Next for SOPA/PIPA?
On Saturday, Rep. Darrell Issa—a SOPA/PIPA opponent and author of the competing OPEN Act—cancelled a Wednesday hearing about Domain Name System (DNS) blocking after House Majority Leader Eric Cantor pledged not to bring SOPA to the floor for a vote.

"Majority Leader Cantor has assured me that we will continue to work to address outstanding concerns and work to build consensus prior to any anti-piracy legislation coming before the House for a vote," Issa said in a statement.

As a result, SOPA is off the table—for this week at least—so the focus has been turned to PIPA, the Senate version of SOPA. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has placed PIPA on the Senate schedule for Jan. 24, though he and bill sponsor Sen. Patrick Leahy appear willing to make concessions.

Sen. Leahy said last week that he wanted to examine the effect of DNS blocking before implementation. And during an appearance on Meet the Press this weekend (video below), Sen. Reid admitted that PIPA "could create some problems," so work needs to be done. He pledged to work with Leahy to craft what is known as a manager's amendment, which will alter some of the more onerous parts of the bill. But at this point, PIPA is still on track for later this month.

Rep. Lamar Smith also made changes to SOPA; last week he said he would strip DNS blocking from the bill so that the Justice Department could not force ISPs to block offending Web sites. Without DNS blocking, SOPA would still allow officials to "follow the money" and cut off payment options to foreign illegal sites, like credit-card processing or PayPal accounts. Search engines like Google and Bing would also still be required to remove infringing Web sites from their search results. Copyright holders could also still bring claims against foreign Web sites that steal their technology, products, or IP.

Even without DNS blocking, opponents said during the call today that they still have issues with both bills.

Sherwin Siy, deputy legal director for Public Knowledge, said his organization is troubled by the broad definitions in the bills, provisions that allow private right of action, and the blanket immunity provided to those who take voluntary action against suspected copyright infringers.

"Both of these bills provide immunity to intermediaries who act against suspected infringers. They could cut someone off and not be liable for any infringement," Siy said. "All they have to do is say they acted in good faith and say they have reasonable evidence of infringement."

An ISP like Comcast, Siy said, could conceivably cut off YouTube.ca because it competes with their cable offerings, or Google could go after dailymotion.fr by saying only that it suspects the site of hosting infringing content, simply because they are located overseas.

"It also creates a very different balance of power," Siy said.

Erik Martin, the general manager of Reddit, had similar concerns. There's some "technologically ignorant language in there," he said.'

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China ' Economic growth slowest in two years'

2012-01-18T01:49:00.001-08:00

http://www.cdeclips.com/en/business/fullstory.html?id=71603

'BEIJING / SHANGHAI - The economy, buffeted by weaker export demand and cooling real estate investment, grew at its slowest pace in more than two years, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

Analysts predict that the latest figures may prompt the government to introduce stimulus policies.

Full-year GDP growth was 9.2 percent. But, crucially, GDP growth was 8.9 percent for the October-to-December period from a year earlier. This was the slowest quarterly increase since the second quarter of 2009, following the global financial crisis.

GDP growth in 2010 was 10.4 percent, according to the NBS....'

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Lehman V.2 ? : 'Euro crisis threat ‘worse than Lehman'’ Times

2012-01-18T01:43:00.001-08:00

http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/business/markets/article3290280.ece

'0720 Sam Fleming, Economics Editor, reports: The euro crisis is a greater threat to developing economies than the crash of Lehman Brothers, the World Bank has warned. In its Global Economic Prospects report for 2012, the Bank lowers growth forecasts for developing nations to 5.4 per cent and for wealthy nations to 1.4 per cent.

It urged developing countries to “prepare for further shocks while there is still time”, amid deep concern about the potential for the euro crisis to worsen further and spill worldwide. The euro area is predicted to suffer a 0.3 per cent contraction this year, following growth of 1.6 per cent in 2011. Growth in China will cool to 8.4 per cent from 9.1 per cent.

Developing nations have less room for manoeuvre now than they did in the slump of 2008-09, leaving them exposed to developments in the single currency region, it explained. The Washington-based lender said that capital flows into developing countries had already weakened amid a retreat by global investors. In the second half of 2011 flows tumbled to $170 billion (£110 billion), it said, just over half the level of a year earlier.

The World Bank fears that if the crisis is not successfully contained, “the world could be thrown into a recession as large or even larger than that of 2008-09”. '

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Black Out #SOPA

2012-01-18T01:15:00.001-08:00

http://www.blackoutsopa.org/

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FECIF : Who will pay for my pension ?

2012-01-17T12:44:00.001-08:00

"Dear All,

‘Legal Pension’ or ‘State Funded Pension” may have become history years from now….

Otto von Bismarck invented the Social Security System in 1884. He set the age of retirement at 65 and back then, very few people lived that long as life expectancy was 46.3 years. The century we live in now, life expectancy has increased by 30 years for men (nearly 40 for women). Our view of work is still however dictated by the 65 number.

According to a report from the United Nations, Europe has the highest proportion of people aged over 60 of any region in the world and that is forecast to rise to almost 35% by 2050 from 22% in 2009. In so called developed countries, the average lifespan will reach almost 83 by 2050, up from about 75 in 2009. Life expectancy in Europe is increasing at the rate of 5 hours/day according to Charles Cowling, managing director of JLT Pension Capital Strategies Ltd in London.

According to Mercer’s McGuinness, “Pension managers and governments are relying on economic growth to safeguard the promises they make. If the Eurozone grows too slowly to bolster public and private vaults, the retirement plans may become unaffordable.”

According to a report by Economist Magazine in March, last year there were 4.2 people of working age for every pensioner in France. The ratio will fall to 1.9 by 2050. In Germany, the proportion will decline to 1.6 from 4.1 in the same period. Do I need to emphasize the pressure this will put on Germany ? What they will likely do is to cut back on benefits. And private pensions funds are on pressure too as benchmark euro-rates are at their lowest level since 13 years meaning that they will have to hold more assets to provide for projected long-term payout.

“Pension plans in countries such as Greece or Portugal may benefit from exiting the euro as higher interest rates that would likely accompany a return to their national currencies would cut the cost of liabilities, while assets invested abroad would almost certainly gain in value”, according to Mercer, a unit of Marsh&McLennan Cos.

On December 19^th 2011, the Bundesbank predicted German growth will slow to 0.6% this year before recovering to 1.8% in 2013.

The National Statistics Institute in Madrid said today that Spanish output at factories, refineries and minds adjusted for the number of working days declined 7% from a year earlier, the most since October 2009.

Retirement age at 70 or even 75 ? That’s the path we may have in front of us….Not everyone may object to this…some people may have the desire to never retire but those who’d like to spend more time going fishing or to spend time with their family, will need to think of how they’re going to secure that pension and think about how to invest for their future benefit of life….

Countries of the Next 11 Emerging Markets don’t face the same burden. The median age of the population in Turkey for example is approximately 29 years (65 years and over : 7.2%), in Indonesia the median age is 27.3, in Nigeria only 19.2 years (65 years and over 3.1% of population). Hence, the burden on the economy in terms of retirement provisions and medical care for elderly people is far less than is the case in developed countries, leaving room for educational development, a young consumer society and domestic growth."

Kind regards,

Vincent J.Derudder

Chairman

Fédération Européenne des Conseils et Intermédiaires Financiers

Generali Tower - Business Center - 12^th Floor
Avenue Louise 149/24
B - 1050 Brussels (Belgium)
Tel.: +32 2 535 76 22
Fax: +32 2 535 75 75
Email: fecif@skynet.be
Web: www.fecif.eu

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Gibraltar Stock Broker : 'Investors face increased tax bill after law change in Spain'

2012-01-17T11:10:00.001-08:00

http://www.international-adviser.com/news/products/investors-face-increased-tax-bill

A temporary amendment to the personal income tax law in Spain could leave investors in non tax-compliant offshore bonds facing a higher tax bill in 2014, according to Skandia International.

On 1 January, the Spanish personal income tax regime was temporarily modified resulting in a rise in income tax for 2012 and 2013. While the changes will have “little or no impact” on those who hold tax-compliant offshore bond policies until at least 2014, those using non compliant tax-compliant products will pay up to 3% more each year in tax both this year and next.

Skandia said, from the 1 January this year to the end of 2013, gains on tax-compliant offshore bonds will be taxed at a rate of 21% (as opposed to the normal rate of 19%) which is then withheld by tax-compliant providers. There will be no further personal income tax liability for the policyholder if the gains amount to less than €6,000 (£4,981, $7,661) savings income in a tax year – including interest earned on savings accounts and dividends received in the same tax year. A further 4% personal income tax liability will need to be accounted for by the policyholder on the next €18,000 savings income and a further 6% if the overall savings income for that tax year is above €24,000. If the policy suffers a loss over the tax period, the loss can be offset against other income tax liabilities.

In contrast, non tax-compliant policies are required to withhold tax every year and so will be further affected by the increase during the next two years, said Skandia. Furthermore, in instances where the provider of a non-compliant policy fails to withhold tax correctly, and in a timely manner, policyholders may become subject to penalties for non-reporting, and these can range from 50% to 150%.

However, Skandia conceded that non tax-compliant policies have their merits as such policies can offer other features which can make them attractive to certain types of investors – for example, by providing access to a wider investment universe of assets and the ability offset losses on an annual basis.

Rachael Griffin, head of product law and commercial development at Skandia International, said “In today’s world, the choices available to investors can be overwhelming. It is crucial they understand the implications of choosing the right product in order to utilise the available tax advantages to the full.

“For example, tax-compliant bonds reduce the burden of reporting on individuals classed as tax-resident in Spain and can be affected by changes in tax regimes to a lesser degree than non tax-complaint alternatives. The recent changes introduced on 1st January 2012 illustrate these advantages perfectly.”

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'The Law Of The Stupid. NIE Numbers in Spain...'

2012-01-17T03:32:00.001-08:00

http://bit.ly/zXLWGK

'Foreign investors are vital to the Spanish economy: They are Spain’s best hope for dealing with the glut of new homes on the coast, something even the incompetent former Government recognised with its futile European road-shows last year. So why, then, is the state making it harder than ever to get an ID number, known as a número de identidad de extranjero, or NIE number for short, without which foreigner investors can’t buy?

I ask the question, but don’t expect an answer from me because I’m as baffled as anyone. At a time like this the Government should be bending over backwards to make it easier for foreigners to buy property in Spain, not creating new obstacles.

NIE numbers for property buyers are nothing new, so what has changed? The fact that you can no longer use a power of attorney to authorise someone else to request a number on your behalf. That used to take the pain out of the process (whilst adding to the cost), but now you have to go in person and waste half a day in some grim government office staffed by surly bureaucrats and police.

As Graham Hunt of Houses for Sale in Spain writes in his blog piece The Law Of The Stupid. NIE Numbers in Spain:

“The applicant also needs to present themselves, at least here in Valencia, at a police station in the middle of an industrial estate on the outskirts of Valencia and queue up to be treated like a piece of dirt by the civil servants working there.”

Is there any alternative? Yes, you have the option of requesting a number from the Spanish embassy or consulate at home, if you live near one, which most people don’t. That, however, can take months, which is no use to most people buying a property.

For most people, the only option is to waste a morning of their life suffering at the hands of the Spanish bureaucracy, with the biggest queues and longest waits reserved for buyers from countries outside the EU, like Russia and China. As Graham says, “This means that millionaires wanting to invest a lot of money in Spain are treated like dirt on their first experience of the country.”

Once again, the Spanish bureaucracy comes up trumps.

+ More information on Spanish NIE numbers....'

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Trade Rock Hopper with Rock Trader at Gibraltar's Investors Europe. . . .

2012-01-17T03:18:00.001-08:00

http://bit.ly/Rock-Hopper

Rockhopper rose 10% by the 4:30 p.m. market close to 303.75 pence, the highest since February. Desire Petroleum Plc, which owns acreage next to Rockhopper, climbed 4.4 percent

The Sunday Times newspaper reported over the weekend that Cairn is in talks with Rockhopper, without saying where it got the information. The Financial Times said on Monday that discussions last year didn’t lead to a deal, though talks could resume in the next few weeks.

Rockhopper Chairman Pierre Jungels said last month the company has a range of options for the Sea Lion prospect and that it will open a data room to seek partners. The company needs about 2 billion dollars to develop the find off the Falklands.

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'Investors in Europe shrugged off Standard and Poor’s much-anticipated downgrading...'

2012-01-17T00:57:00.001-08:00

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/finance/2012/0117/1224310358138.html

INVESTORS IN Europe shrugged off Standard and Poor’s much-anticipated downgrading of nine euro zone countries, as stock markets in Europe swung into positive territory from mid-morning.

There were no hiccups at an auction of French debt, as France’s borrowing costs fell. French bonds gained as the country auctioned �1.895 billion in one-year securities at a yield of 0.406 per cent, compared to 0.454 per cent at a sale of similar-maturity securities earlier this month. The European Central Bank was also active in the bond market yetsterday, buying Italian and Spanish government debt.

Having earlier downplayed the Standard and Poor’s move, the Sarkozy administration also received a boost from ratings agency Moody’s yesterday, which announced it had decided to retain its triple-A rating on French sovereign debt.

Meanwhile, in a speech in Paris, French central bank governor Christian Noyer said Standard and Poor’s decision to strip France and Austria of their triple-A status and downgrade an additional seven euro zone countries late on Friday evening was an “additional challenge” for the region, but that the 17 member states that share the single currency have the “right strategy” for tackling the debt crisis.

The euro hit a near 17-month low against the dollar and an 11-year low against the yen in early tradeover that the mass downgrades would damage the lending capacity of the euro zone’s bailout fund.However, it recovered its early losses, with some of the gains attributed to speculators taking profits on their short positions on the currency.

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Financial Services : 'Same problems as the FSA..'..'expensive, bureaucratic , high handed..'

2012-01-16T01:08:00.001-08:00

http://tgr.ph/FSC_like_FSA ? There is a danger that the culture of the new Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) could "largely mirror" the expensive, bureaucratic and "high-handed" Financial Services Authority (FSA), the Treasury Select Committee has warned.

'In a hard-hitting report, the Parliamentary committee called for a substantial overhaul of the draft legislation to avoid mistakes made by the FSA.
Andrew Tyrie, the chairman of the Committee, said: "If we are not careful, the FCA will become the poor relation among the new institutions. But it is the one that will matter most to millions of consumers."
He added: "The plain fact is that the FSA did not succeed in protecting consumers from spectacular regulatory failures. The mis-selling of PPI and endowment mortgages are just two examples.
"The FSA is not only expensive, for which the consumer always pays, but many have told us that it has also become bureaucratic and dominated by a box-ticking culture. The creation of the FCA is an opportunity to create something much better."
The Committee said it had concerns for the future accountability of the FCA after receiving a devastating report of the FSA's culture from the "most senior figures in the fiffinancial services industry".
Although the complaints were anonymous, the MPs said the "scale and substance of the criticisms makes it improbable that they do not reflect an underlying problem".
The Committee said it had experienced the FSA's high-handedness itself when one of its reports last year was rejected by the regulator "within hours".

"The fact that a non-elected public body would so hastily dismiss recommendations from a parliamentary committee raises concerns about the accountability and culture of the FSA," it said.
Despite the evidence that the FSA lacked accountability, the MPs said it seemed the "FCA will largely mirror the current arrangements under the proposals as they stand".
The report called for rules to be included that will force the FCA to publish board meeting minutes as well as face tougher scrutiny from Parliament.
The MPs also criticised the draft legislation for being confusing. They called for the FCA to have a more clearly defined duty to promote competition in financial services. "We were disappointed that HM Treasury did not make promoting competition a primary objective for the new authority," the Committee said.
The final Bill should contain clear definitions between retail and wholesale consumers and practitioners, and the "balance of protection and consumer responsibilities that attach to these different groups".

The MPs were also still concerned about the clarity of the relationship between the FCA, the Prudential Regulation Authority and the Financial Policy Committee.
It was vital the FCA is efficient and less expensive than the FSA, the MPs said. "The Government should include in the Bill requirements for far more extensive cost-benefit analysis."

The Committee also noted that low salaries had made it hard for the FSA to retain staff but it stopped short of recommending better pay.

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