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LE MONDE-ÉCONOMIE, The LIBOR affair…… a scandal postponed from 2008, Monday 16 – Tuesday 17 July 2012
My most recent column in the French daily paper Le Monde : Le scandale du Libor, c’était en 2008. Translated from the French by Tim Gupwell.
When the LIBOR affair first broke in April 2008, the press comments were laconic to say the least. Last month, when the fire that had been smouldering flared…
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PROGRESS, TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE, by François Leclerc
Guest post. Translated from the French by Tim Gupwell
When there seems no way out, and the future seems unclear, it is then that promising visions of the future seem to abound.
The Bundesbank, accompanied by all those who take their cues from it, never miss an opportunity to remind us of the…
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PERPLEXING MATTERS, by François Leclerc
Guest post. Translated from the French by Tim Gupwell
Two days ago, Christian Noyer, the Governor of the Bank of France, confidently commented on the decision taken by the BCE to put an end to all remuneration on the liquidities parked in the Eurosystem by the commercial banks. The banks prefer placing their…
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WELL SPOTTED, BRAVO!, by François Leclerc
Guest post. Translated from the French by Tim Gupwell
As already highlighted the Spanish government is already benefitting from a de facto rescue plan under another name. To save appearances, the new austerity measures put forward for vote in parliament have not been the object of a memorandum jointly signed with those providing…
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THE NEW “STEWARDSHIP OF FINANCE” CHAIR AT THE VRIJE UNIVERSITEIT BRUSSEL
The new “Stewardship of Finance” chair at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel
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TIME WILL TELL… AND MAYBE IT ALREADY HAS , by François Leclerc
Guest post. Translated from the French by Tim Gupwell
In the hope of solving the problems once and for all, Mariano Rajoy has decided to take drastic measures in Spain. Taken as a whole, he asserts that the measures that he is going to have adopted by the Cortes (the Spanish Parliament) represent…
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THE NEW “STEWARDSHIP OF FINANCE” CHAIR AT THE VRIJE UNIVERSITEIT BRUSSEL
In September of last year, Paul De Knop, rector of Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), set up a project for a teaching and research chair on the subject of finance seen from an ethical perspective. He put together a multidisciplinary team presided over by Michel Flamée, professor of law at the VUB, and including representatives from…
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REFRESHER COURSE: HOW AL CAPONE FELL
Translated from the French by Tim Gupwell
Idea association being an excellent means of investigation… here is a reminder of this article dating from 26th March 2010.
Everybody knows the history of Al Capone, who was never caught by the American state for his racketeering activities but was brought down by an investigation…
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THOSE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE CRISIS WHO ARE RARELY TALKED ABOUT
Translated from the French by Tim Gupwell
The question of whether a debt contract can be considered as money is central to my book L’argent mode d’emploi (2009). I expose the violence exerted by Joseph Schumpeter (1883-1950), when he imposed the idea that such was the case, and I demonstrated the inanity…
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GUILTY PARTIES WANTED !, by François Leclerc
Guest post. Translated from the French by Tim Gupwell
In accordance with the predictable script, the bond market is under pressure again. The cost of servicing Spanish and Italian debt has continued to increase as their financing plans move forward in little measured steps. The effect of all this is to place an…
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THE MANIPULATION OF THE LIBOR
Translated from the French by Tim Gupwell
In my Friday morning video (in French), I said that when a pirate (Rupert Murdoch) does business with a ship wrecker (the City of London), it tends to weaken the entire system, and I went on to add that this is particularly the case when…
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THIS SYSTEM IS ITS OWN WORST ENEMY, by François Leclerc
Guest post. Translated from the French by Tim Gupwell
In the little game of who won and who lost, what conclusions can be drawn from the recent European council? Interpretations differ widely: some highlight the German Government’s about-turn, who themselves retort that the essence of their position has been preserved intact; others congratulate…
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THE WINDOWS MUST REMAIN CLOSED, by François Leclerc
Guest post. Translated from the French by Tim Gupwell
By rejecting the quartet’s plan, (which has, moreover, already been watered-down) before the summit has even been held, the German deputy foreign affairs minister, Michael Link has placed himself in the avant-garde of all those opposing any attempt at a compromise. The “iron chancellor’s”…
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“KANT WAS RIGHT!”
Translated from the French by Tim Gupwell
A female reader of my blog asked me to give her some tips for her upcoming business school exam. This is how I replied.
It seems important to me to focus on the possibility that any measures proposed can be generalized. It was Martin Wolf who…
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STICKING TO ONE’S PRINCIPLES…, by François Leclerc
Guest post. Translated from the French by Tim Gupwell
What was the plan being drawn up last week in Rome which Merkel refused to sign up to? The other three participants, Mario Monti, Mariano Rajoy and François Hollande advocated using the EFSF, and in the near future the ESM, directly, to bail-out the…