Current Account »

• Out of the mouth of babes…

  April 4, 2012 @ 1:59 pm | by John Collins

  Sometimes it just takes a child to see the blindingly obvious. Jurre Herman, an 11-year-old from the Netherlands, has won a special mention in the Wolfson economics prize, for his simple plan for how Greece might leave the euro. Pitched against the great and the good of professional and academic economists, he drew a simple but surprisingly insightful diagram of how Greece could return to the drachma and pay off a lot of its euro debts in the process (image after the break).

  (more…)

• What has Europe ever done for us?

  January 30, 2012 @ 2:22 pm | by John Collins

  Quite a lot if you look at the graphic below. With impeccable timing, the Institute of International and European Affairs, which describes itself as “Ireland’s leading think tank on European and International affairs”, has published an info-graphic giving an overview of the actions that the European authorities have taken to date to tackle the crisis. The timing is good of course as it ties in with today’s latest “crisis summit” in Brussels where European leaders are expected to agree the wording of the fiscal pact. Click the graphic below to see the larger, more legible, version.

  

• Davos reaches out to the masses

  January 9, 2012 @ 2:27 pm | by John Collins

  

  A member of the Swiss special police forces stands on the roof of a hotel in Davos as the annual meeting in the alpine resort got under way last January. Photograph: Reuters

  With everyone from Bono to Archbishop Diarmuid Martin, Peter Sutherland to George Soros, heading to the exclusive Swiss ski resort of Davos every January, it’s little surprise that the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum has been accused of being a little exclusive. Although the number of bankers in attendance has fallen off since the crisis of 2008, the annual event, which takes place from January 25th-29th this year, can still be considered Glastonbury for the world’s monied and powerful elite.

  The Forum is now using social media to try and change those perceptions and this year is pushing its Ask a Leader programme hard. Using its YouTube channel the public is being asked to submit questions it would like to see answered  by “heads of state and government, leaders from business and civil society, heads of international organizations, as well as media and academics”. The submitted questions will be voted on with the most popular getting a response from a special video booth at the event.

  It’s hard to see how the views of the hoi polloi will make much impact at the end of the month but those who feel excluded from the proceedings in Davos can’t say they weren’t asked for their opinion.

• Are we set for a “grand bargain” or a “grand fudge”?

  October 25, 2011 @ 1:02 pm | by John Collins

  Crunch time for the euro, European economies and even the global economy tomorrow when the continents leaders resume their talks in Brussels at 6pm on Wednesday. While there’s a real sense of deja vu about this big set piece, it is the thirteenth crisis summit in two years, this is increasingly looking like the last chance saloon if Europe doesn’t want to slip into a lost decade of stagflation.

  So what are the options on the table and what are the complications of each? (more…)

• Fake or philistine: the jury’s out

  September 28, 2011 @ 12:28 pm | by John Collins

  Alessio Rastani, the London day trader, has become a viral hit around the world following his rather in your face interview with BBC News on Monday. Rastani isn’t just a business story – even my Pricewatch colleague Conor Pope has got hot under the collar about this guy.

  If you haven’t seen the interview with the “independent trader” (echoes of Del Boy and Rodney?) who claims to dream of another recession and that Goldman Sachs rules the world, here’s the clip:

  

  Almost immediately after the appearance speculation began to mount that Mr Rastani was a fake and bore a striking resemblance to a Yes Man that had pretended to be a spokesman for Dow Chemical. As a result the BBC press officer was forced to issue a statement stating that Rastani was not a fake. Never missing an opportunity to have a pop at the Beeb the Telegraph published an article claiming he was a fake, although if you read the article he’s actually an attention seeking lowly day trader rather than a fake.

  My take: Rastani went on the show to get a reaction. Most of what he said isn’t new (remember Rolling Stone journalist Matt Taibbi’s description of Goldman as “a great vampire squid wrapped around the face of humanity, relentlessly jamming its blood funnel into anything that smells like money”) it’s just that he managed to get so much into his three and a half minute slot and was so unapologetic about it.

  The best comment on the whole thing comes from Fiona Walsh, our London Briefing columnist:

  “By Tuesday evening, his 3½-minute interview had clocked up almost half a million hits on YouTube and, such was the candour of his comments, there was widespread speculation that it was a hoax. Seasoned City hands thought otherwise, however, and marvelled that someone had at last revealed what we all know to be true – that traders are in business to make money.

  Only an independent trader would have been be foolish (or publicity-hungry) enough to speak as unguardedly as Rastani; anyone employed by one of the major investment banks would have been sacked before he left the studio.

  In fact, the only part of the interview that did not ring true was the bit where Rastani said he wanted to help people. That part surely was a hoax.”