BERN, SWITZERLAND – Comco, Switzerland’s competition commission, has opened an investigation into more than 10 international banks and companies and the country’s two largest, UBS and Credit Suisse, for possible “collusion between derivative traders [that] might have influenced the reference rates Libor and Tibor. Furthermore, market conditions regarding derivative products based on these reference rates might have been manipulated, too.”
The investigation follows what Comco calls an application to its leniancy programme, or self-denunciation, without providing details of who provided the information. The investigation could take several months. The banks targeted by the investigation include: Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Citigroup Inc., Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft, HSBC Holdings plc, JP Morgan Chase & Co., Mizuho Financial Group Inc., Rabobank Groep N.V., Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc, Société Générale SA and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation.
Libor, the London interbank lending rate and Tibor, in Japan, are rates set daily based on bank data, which serve as underlying lending rates. The Swiss National Bank defines Libor as:
“The Libor (London Interbank Offered Rate) refers to the interest rate for unsecured money market loans to prime banks. Each bank business day, specific banks report to the British Bankers’ Association (BBA) the interest rate at which they would be able borrow unsecured funds of a reasonable market size on the London interbank market shortly prior to 11 a.m. The relevant top and bottom-quartile interest rates are disregarded when fixing the Libor. An average is calculated on the basis of the remaining interest rates, and the figure obtained in this manner is fixed and published as the Libor for the day in question. Libor rates are fixed in different currencies and with varying maturities.”
The investigation comes three weeks after European Union anti-trust boss Joaquin Almina said the EU is stepping up its efforts to ensure that derivatives markets remain free and competitive. Antoine Colombani, spokesperson for the European Commission is cited by Bloomberg as stating in January that “Last October we carried out unannounced inspections at the premises of a number of undertakings active in the sector of euro interest rate derivatives based on Euribor benchmark rates,” but that it had not opened a formal investigation.
“Regulators in the US, UK and European Union have been examining how Libor is set, while Japan’s securities watchdog has probed Tibor,” according to Bloomberg.
Comco’s statement notes:
“The London Interbank Offered Rate (Libor) and the Tokyo Interbank Offered Rate (Tibor) are reference rates which are aimed at reflecting the interest rate level in the interbank deposit market. The British Bankers’ Association (for Libor) and the Japanese Bankers’ Association (for Tibor) calculate these reference rates on a daily basis, for a range of currencies, based on submissions by respective panel banks. Derivative traders working for a number of financial institutions might have manipulated these submissions by coordinating their behaviour, thereby influencing these reference rates in their favour. Moreover, derivative traders might have colluded to manipulate the difference between the ask price and the bid price (spread) of derivatives based on these reference rates to the detriment of their clients.”
Comco says that assessing ‘the effects of the alleged practises on Swiss clients and companies is one of the aims of the investigation”.
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – The Financial Times wondered Sunday if the UK will drop out of the European Union, but most media weren’t willing to take it quite that far. Europe was nevertheless adjusting this weekend to a new set of relations after Britain vetoed a new EU treaty that would bind the members more closely financially. The UK was the only one of the 27 member countries to do so. UK Prime Minister David Cameron goes before parliament Monday 12 December to explain why he vetoed the treaty. He said after last week’s vote that it left the financial services industry unprotected.
Ireland has said it will start bilateral talks with London soon, with the Irish Times reporting that “The Government intends to launch an intensive diplomatic engagement with Britain to ensure London is not left isolated as a result of its refusal to agree strict new fiscal rules in the European Union.”
Links to other sites: Guardian, Irish Times, Le Monde interview with Nicolas Sarkozy (Fr), Telegraph
Uganda landmine survivors met in March 2012 (photo ©2011 Landmine Monitor / D Osman)
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – There is some good news on the landmine front, the “Landmine & Cluster Munitions Monitor 2011″ (full report online), issued 23 November reports, but it is dampened by news that three countries laid landmines this year, with two of them, Israel and Libya confirmed.
Myanmar is the third suspect, and four non-state armed groups laid mines as well.
Record ordnance cleared
On the brighter side:
- at least 200km2 of mined areas were cleared by 45 mine action programs in 2010, the highest annual total ever recorded by the Monitor; 198km2 in 2009, the previous record, and 160 km2 in 2008
- more than 388,000 antipersonnel mines and over 27,000 anti-vehicle mines were destroyed during this clearance
- programmes in Afghanistan, Cambodia, Croatia, Iraq, and Sri Lanka together accounted for more than 80% of recorded clearance
- an additional 460km2 of former battle area was reportedly cleared, destroying in the process more than 1.2 million items of unexploded ordnance; largest totals: Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, and Lao PDR.
Eighty percent of the world’s nation, 158 countries, have now joined the Landmine Ban Treaty. Donor contributions for mine action rose to $637 million, a record high, with 31 countries contributing. Five main mine action donors—the US, European Commission, Japan, Norway, and Canada—accounted for 64% of all funding.
Eighty-seven states have completed the destruction of their stockpiles, including Iraq, who was added to the list in June 2011.
5% increase in new victims
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – Iceland’s president, Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, is making waves by saying Europe bullied the country into bailing out Icesave bank, which had large numbers of UK and Dutch investors, a bailout that was hugely unpopular at home, while the US was “absent” and India and China were helpful as the country faced serious debt problems. His remarks were initially made at the end of last week in an interview with the Financial Times following news that Iceland’s government has agreed to allow a Chinese investor to buy a large chunk of the island for an eco-tourism resort. He then repeated his remarks during a key radio broadcast Sunday, and he is asking the European Union to investigate the role of the UK and The Netherlands in the bank bailout.
The IMF has been involved in helping sort out the country’s debt problems and Iceland is eyeing European Union membership.
Links to other sites: China Post, The Financial Express, VOA blog
BERN, SWITZERLAND – Swiss officials, like those in the European Union, say they must wait for a new United Nations resolution before allowing financial institutions to release frozen assets of Libyan dictator Muammar Qaddafi and his entourage, but several countries are meeting in Doha today, 24 August, to discuss an emergency request for $2.5 from Libya’s National Transitional Council.
The UN Security Council’s resolution in early 2011 to block Qaddafi assets led to an estimated $100 billion being frozen, in several countries, according to the Financial Times, which lists the US as the largest holder, at $37b, and the US $12, with Germany holding another $7.3b.
The exact amount frozen in Switzerland has not been confirmed by the Swiss government, but it is likely to be a fraction of the total blocked, possibly less than CHF1 billion, according to earlier figures released by the government. Libya withdrew much of the money it had in Swiss banks and other financial institutions in 2008 after Hannibal Qaddafi, the younger son of Muammar, was arrested at a Geneva hotel for attacking one of his employees.
Former ICRC head Cornelio Sommaruga (1987-99) with Swiss President Micheline Calmy-Rey, guests of the Foreign Press Association in Geneva (photo: ©2011 Song Bin)
Update 24 May GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – The caution that often typifies Swiss politicians’ speech disappeared for a moment Friday night when Swiss President Micheline Calmy-Rey, asked if Switzerland would like to become a member of the European Union, said bluntly and for the first time, according to local journalists, “I have to say no; the majority is not in favour of it.”
The Swiss voted against joining the EU in 1992, but the two have grown closer in the past 20 years, mainly through a web of more than 120 bilateral agreements.
Ed.note: The Swiss “Security report 2011″ published 24 May confirms the president’s point, showing only 19 percent of Swiss backed the idea of joining the EU, in 2011.
EU, Swiss grow closer, want simpler system for agreements, but Swiss will remain outside group
She was fielding questions 20 May during the annual presidential dinner hosted in Geneva by the Foreign Press Association. She had touched on the growing ties between Switzerland and the EU when the question came up.
“Issues are dealt with through bilateral channels”, she noted, without referring directly to 2010 tensions, when EU leaders called for a review of the situation, saying the hefty number of bilateral agreements was becoming unwieldy, just as Switzerland was asking for a third round of negotiations to begin.
“Swiss laws are influenced by EU laws. And the EU says we must take into consideration future European law; we’re discussing it.” Calmy-Rey’s remark Friday night appeared to confirm comments made in February by European Commission President José Manuel Barroso after he met with her. Barroso said at the time that they agreed the system needs to be streamlined, simplified.
Swiss regulations increasingly in line with European
Swiss President Calmy-Rey with EC President José Barroso, February 2011
Switzerland is increasingly adapting regulations and laws to match European-wide ones. Bern announced Friday that importing cars from the EU is likely to become easier soon, for example, with Switzerland preparing to accept European certificates of road-worthiness. It plans to adopt EU standards for fixed child seats and dusk lights on new cars.
Sticky tax issues could have solution “soon”
Asked to elaborate on comments made Thursday in Bern about tax discussions with Britain and Germany, she said “We hope to have solutions soon.”
Calmy-Rey, who is also Switzerland’s foreign minister, met this week with Germany’s foreign minister Guido Westerwelle. Thursday, after their working meetings, she said that “with the withholding tax model, a constructive solution has been found that protects the interests of both sides” and that they hope to finalize an agreement before the summer parliamentary breaks.
Germany and other European countries, notably France and the UK, are seeking ways to collect tax from their citizens’ holdings in Switzerland.
The tax arguments also include accusations by Switzerland’s neighbours that some cantons are offering tax deals to foreigners that smack of illegal subsidies.
IMF job not likely to go to a Swiss
The president laughed at what she called the expected question when the director’s job at the IMF (International Monetary Fund) was mentioned, saying that Switzerland is “realistic enough” to know its chances of putting its candidate in the job are slim.
Calmy-Rey told the group of journalists she is not unhappy with coverage of Switzerland by foreign media, but she wishes that in addition to chocolate and cows they would write more about innovation and research in Switzerland, two areas where the country excels.
Murphy TV, 1951, at Science Museum in London, England
Bern, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Switzerland is extending tougher energy regulations to more home appliances, including television sets, and to fluorescent lighting and public lighting. The country’s energy label will be aligned with that of the European Union at the same time, Bern announced Friday 6 May.
The government has opened a public hearing on the new standards, with comments accepted until July 2011. Revisions to existing standards, to be finalized later in the year, will take these into consideration.
Switzerland previously tightened regulations for refrigerators and washing machines, in June 2009, but this will now cover a larger group of appliances to ensure they are more energy efficient, in part because of technical progress. These improvements have pushed most appliances into category A, up until now the label showing the highest level of energy efficiency. The EU has decided to create three additional categories, A+, A++ and A+++, to distinguish degrees of energy efficiency among appliances.
Switzerland will adopt the same standards. It will also realign the application of the standards, which are expected to go into effect in January 2012, to European law: in Switzerland, regulations apply to imports and manufacturing, but not at the sales point, whereas in Europe, energy efficient standards for home appliances apply also at the point of sale.
For a trip into the past, with TV sets: a history of television
Two countries who lost money now suing Iceland
Iceland’s citizens voted by more than 60 percent 10 April not to pay back Britain and The Netherlands for losses incurred when Landsbanki went under in 2008. The bank’s failure was part of the country’s economic failure, an early victim to the global economic crisis. British and Dutch investors were covered by domestic deposit insurance for the money they had in the bank’s Icesave unit, under European Union rules. The two governments are out $5.8 billion and have now vowed to take Iceland to court to collect the money.
The three came to an agreement on repayment, in December 2010, but Iceland’s President Ólafur Ragnar Grimsson ordered a national vote on the agreement, soundly rejected, just as a first one was. The no vote, The Netherlands has suggested, could put at risk Iceland’s application to join the European Union.
Links to other sites: BBC, Financial Times (registration), The Netherlands.com
Neuchatel, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - The number of people employed in Switzerland rose by 1.4 percent from January 2010 to January 2011, the Federal Statistics Office says in a report released 29 March. Growth in employment in the European Union during the same one-year period was 0.3 percent.
Unemployment, using the ILO (International Labour Organization) definition fell in Switzerland from 4.8 to 4.2 percent. In the EU it rose, using the ILO definition, from 9.3 to 9.5 percent.
The number of employed Swiss rose by 0.4 percent, to 3.35 million, while the number of employed foreigners rose by 4. percent to 1.27m. Unemployment among foreign workers rose more rapidly and by a greater percentage during the global economic crisis.
Largest-ever single pledge session as refugee group increases internally displaced and stateless refugees work
UNHCR said in July 2010 that 16 people had died trying to cross the Evros River, with the border between Greece and Turkey a popular but treacherous transit spot (photo, ©2010 UNHCR)
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – The UN refugee agency, UNHCR, celebrates its 60th anniversary 14 December 2010, with words of thanks from High Commissioner Guterres, who recently told a group of donors, mainly governments, that “taking into account the global economic and financial situation [this] is I believe a very clear demonstration of your support and your commitment.” He also called on them to redress the balance, with poor countries bearing too much of the burden of helping refugees, and many countries not doing enough to deal with statelessness problems.
Europe, in particular, was warned Friday 10 December not to make asylum more difficult in its efforts to stop illegal migration: UNHCR figures show a 72.5 percent drop in arrivals by sea in the Mediterranean during the first 10 months of 2010, compared to the same period in 2009, down from 32,000 to 8,800, with Italy, Greece, Cyprus, and Malta all seeing sharp drops.
“Our concern is that in its efforts to stem illegal migration, Europe should not forget that among those seeking to enter the EU are people who need international protection and are at risk of their lives,” spokesperson Andrej Mahecic says. “Europe is a destination for both migrants and asylum seekers. The two have different goals and needs. Migrants may be seeking employment or other economic opportunities, refugees are people fleeing persecution or violence. They cannot return home if things don’t work out.”
$3.32 billion needed to meet 2011 needs, says refugee agency
The appeal to Europeans follows news from UNHCR 7 December that it had received pledges of $576.5 million, the highest amount contributed through a single pledging session, which represents 17.3 percent of UNHCR’s $3.32 billion projected requirement for 2011.
Ashton, Jalili will meet in Geneva 6-7 December
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - Iran’s nuclear negotiator, Saeed Jalili, and the European Union’s foreign affairs minister, Catherine Ashton, have agreed to meet in Geneva Monday and Tuesday, 6-7 December, to discuss nuclear issues. It is the first such talk since October 2009. Ashton has the agreement of the E3+3 group, the United States, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany, for the EU to have nuclear discussions with Iran. Iran insists its nuclear programme is not negotiable.
Links to other sites: Fars News Agency, Iran, Reuters, Xinhua
Swiss banks’ stress tests shows “both banks would still have a solid capital base” in case of global recession
Basel, Switzerland (GenevaLunch.com) – Credit Suisse and UBS, Switzerland’s two large banks, would both have capital ratios of at least 8 percent, should they be subject to stresses from a global economic recession, Finma, the country’s financial regulatory body, said Friday evening 23 July.
Finma published the results of its stress tests on the two banks, conducted since 2008, in parallel with announcements by the European Union and 91 of its largest banks about the results of EU bank stress tests.
Seven of the 91 European banks failed the stress tests, five “caja” or savings banks in Spain, Germany’s Hypo Real Estate and Greece’s ATE bank, a result that led, according to the Financial Times, to investors signalling “their distrust of the assumptions underlying the tests and the surprisingly small number of banks to fail the tests.”
Finma explained in publishing its results that the stress tests were developed with the Swiss National Bank, the country’s central bank. “Analyses of this kind are a key component of its normal supervisory activities. Finma requires Credit Suisse and UBS to have sufficient excess capital and liquidity to enable them to absorb unforeseen events at any time. The large banks should therefore have a tier 1 ratio of at least 8 percent even under such stress scenarios. If this requirement were not met, Finma would work with the institution in question to consider reducing its risk positions and/or strengthening its capital base and then instruct suitable measures.”
The stress tests check the banks’ capacity to deal with specific scenarios. “The latest scenario covers different regions of the world over a two-year period. It assumes a global recession, accompanied by a slump in prices on the financial and real estate markets,” Finma says in its press release. “Developments in Europe have also been added, with specific and very sharp shocks assumed for some European countries. In view of UBS and Credit Suisse’s relatively low exposure to these countries, however, the impact of these particular shocks turns out to be small.”
The British government last week, and the French government earlier in June, have put the spotlight on a growing European financial problem: how to pay for pensions. Both governments have said they would like to raise the retirement age. Now the European Union will bring the debate centre stage, as part of a discussion paper to be published this week on the issue of public finances in the EU. The question will be raised of whether Europe can continue to let its workers retire earlier than people in other parts of the world even though life expectancies are similar, reports the Financial Times, which has seen the EU paper.
“The need for reform is underlined by the worsening ratio of people working to those in retirement. Currently in Europe, there are four people of working age for every person over 65: by 2060, there will be only two workers for every retiree,” according to the FT.
The European Union’s finance ministers have agreed to a generous package of €500 billion in aid for Greece and the eurozone, the bulk of it in the form of loan guarantees. The European Commission will provide f €60b in emergency funding for members having “difficulties caused by exceptional circumstances beyond their control”, said Elena Salgado, Spain’s finance minister, who announced the deal. The IMF has agreed to provide an additional €250b package.
Stock markets rose on the news, with analysts saying it will stabilize the euro.
Links to other sites: BBC, Financial Times, Reuters, Wall Street Journal
Negotiations between EU (European Union) officials and Zimbabwe’s government to be held in Brussels have been delayed this week due to the airspace shutdown in Europe, with official still trying to set a date. Zimbabwe resumed flights to Europe too late for the talks to start Monday 26 April, as planned. The discussions are designed to encourage a re-engagement between the EU and Zimbabwe. The relationship between the two has been strained since the EU put up sanctions to freeze Zimbabwe’s assets and ban arm imports. The talks will address the sanctions placed on Robert Mugabe and the Zanu-PF party and the EU’s desire to see greater democracy and reform in Zimbabwe.
Links to other sites: AllAfrica, CIA, Deutsche Welle, Timesonline, South Africa
© Chappatte, distributed by Globe Cartoon. More cartoons on Chappatte’s web site. Geneva-based Patrick Chappatte works for the International Herald Tribune, for Geneva newspaper Le Temps, and for NZZ am Sonntag. All cartoons reproduced with permission.
Hamid Karzai, the president of Afghanistan, has pointed a finger at the United Nations, and in particular at Peter Galbraith, the then deputy head of the UN mission Afghanistan, as the source of “massive” election fraud in 2009. The disputed presidential elections, which Karzai won despite having a high number of votes for him rejected by Western officials, were the centre of international attention with heavy suspicions of fraud. Karzai also blamed the European Union for being behind the fraud, in remarks made Thursday 1 April.
Links to other sites: Al Jazeera, BBC
The IMF (International Monetary Fund) said Friday 26 March that it is watching developments in Greece closely, after the euro zone countries agreed to provide Greece with loans, with help from the IMF. But IMF and European Union (EU) rules covering loans are not aligned and the situation may force the IMF to reconsider its position. The euro zone decision does not provide immediate relief to Greece, but can be activated “only once Greece is shut out of debt markets and not until eurozone stability is threatened,” the Telegraph reports, and few of the players seem happy with the EU decision, which creates uncertainty even while it appears on the surface to aid Greece.
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – The Libyan government told reporters that it has lifted its visa ban on European Union citizens, a move made in response to Switzerland’s ban on 155 Libyan citizens in December 2009. The news was announced by Libyan news agency Jana. The EU had earlier issued a statement to journalists at the summit that its ban on Libyans was lifted, after Switzerland said Thursday it had agreed to lift the ban, which other EU countries were obliged to respect. Switzerland’s visa ban was put in place after Libya failed to respect the terms of an August 2009 agreement that included freeing two Swiss businessmen. One of them, Max Goeldi, is serving a prison term in Libya, imposed in early 2010.
Links to other sites: Al Jazeera, Jana, TSR (Fre)
Bern, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – The Swiss government late Wednesday 24 March said it is “willing to lift the ban on entry into and transit through Switzerland for particular Libyan citizens as quickly as possible. In return, it expects Libya to lift its entry ban on citizens of countries from the Schengen area.” The Federal Council emphasized in its statement that it is willing to take this step to ensure the release of Max Goeldi, a businessman who has been held in Libya for 19 months.
The announcement came after a Brussels meeting between Switzerland’s foreign minister, Micheline Calmy-Rey, and Catherine Ashton, head of foreign and security policy of the European Union (EU.
Energy and CO2 emissions tightened for new cars
Bern, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – The energy efficiency requirements of new cars have been updated and will come into effect for all new cars sold in Switzerland from 1 July, the Swiss Federal Office for Energy (SFOE) announced 1 February. New cars are currently rated on a scale of A to G with the most energy efficient cars getting an A rating. Energy efficiency is equated with CO2 emissions as well, and the least polluting new cars will need to emit no more than 188g of CO2 per km driven, down from 204g/km two years ago.
Bern, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Switzerland’s Competition Commission (ComCo) wants credit card companies to reduce interchange fees in the hope that overall fees will come down for users. The provisional measure is set to bring Swiss fees in line with those in European Union, and comes into force in February, Comco announced 28 January.
The interchange fee is paid to the card issuer by the acquirer, generally a bank that concludes a contract with a business that accepts credit cards from its customers. The fees are included in the merchant’s overall fees, and passed on to the customer.
Comco Chairman to step down
Coal plant, northern Germany (©2010 Andrew Kerr and WWF-Canon)
Lausanne, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - WWF Switzerland has filed a complaint with the European Union over the continuing support by some Swiss electricity companies of coal-based electricity production in northern Germany. Romande Energie is among several Swiss electricity suppliers who participate in the coal-based activities at Brunsbuettel in northern Germany.
Corrections 14:05 Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – The UNHCR (UN High Commissioner for Refugees) has denounced Cambodia’s forced return to China of 20 ethnic Uighur asylum-seekers before their claims were heard. The Geneva-based organization said it was “deeply distressed” at the news and concerned that “a disturbing pattern of such cases is increasingly evident around the world.”
Human rights groups condemn deportation
The 20 were deported Saturday 19 December as illegal immirants, reports Reuters AlertNet, an information service for humanitarian organizations. The move coincides with a trade visit to Cambodia by Chinese Vice-president Xi Jinping 21 December. Reuters AlertNet quotes a faxed statement from the Chinese Foreign Ministry, received by Reuters: “Recently, Cambodia deported 20 Chinese citizens in accordance with immigration laws for illegal entry into Cambodia. China received these people in accordance with usual practices,” but the statement also links the immigration crime to smuggling.
Several human rights groups have condemned the deportations, and US State Department’s spokesman Gordon Duguid says the US is “deeply disturbed” by the decision and the lack of appropriate participation by the UNHCR which, he warns, will affect its relations with Cambodia.”Now that the group has been returned to China,” says Duguid, “we urge the government of China to uphold international norms and to ensure transparency, due process and proper treatment of persons in its territory.”
Update 16 December Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Bananas have come close to being the fruit that broke the Doha Round’s back, but they could in the end save the talks, says the International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD). The European Union (EU) and Latin American exporters initialed an agreement Tuesday 15 December at the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Geneva. It will settle their dispute over the banana trade and tariffs, which has been running for more than 10 years.
“An agreement on bananas is widely viewed as a critical condition for a conclusion to the stalled WTO Doha Round of trade negotiations,” says the Geneva-based ICTSD. The organization provides the international trade system with input on sustainable development aspects of trade.
A study published Tuesday by the ICTSD shows that “a new deal on European Union banana import tariffs will be a boon to Latin American exporters but would trigger a drop in exports of the fruit from African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries. But the blow to ACP banana exporters may be cushioned by the aid money that the EU has promised in conjunction with the deal.”
(Reuters video) The European Union has two new leaders, in posts created by the Lisbon Treaty, which goes into effect 1 December 2009 following final approval by Ireland and the Czech Republic. Herman van Rompuy, Belgian prime minister, was named President of the European Council, a two-and-a-half year job. He was elected by a majority vote by the 27 members states. A key part of his job is to chair meetings of the European Commission. Catherine Ashton was made EU high representative for foreign affairs. She has been the EU’s trade commissioner for the past year.
The election of the pair, both of whom have relatively low profiles in international affairs, has been praised by the US, France and Germany but those who were hoping to see the first European president play a strong role are expressing disappointment. Turkey’s leaders are unhappy with Rompuy, who resisted Turkish membership and the UK media reaction has been more puzzled than enthusiastic.
Links to other sites: BBC, Die Welt (Ger), Guardian, UK, Le Monde (Fre), Le Temps (Fre), Times, UK
Armed hedges, in France
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - Unigestion, a Geneva-based asset manager specializing in alternative investments like hedge funds, has opened an office in Paris, France in order to be able to offer its clients a fund that is not Swiss. Chief executive officer Patrick Fenal says in an interview with Bloomberg 21 October that Unigestion lost a mandate from a potential client because the company is Swiss. The new fund is managed by a French team in Paris and is registered in France.
Most Swiss private banks are already present in the major European Union financial centres, and can market their own funds to EU citizens directly. A source at Lombard Odier Darier Hentsch, a Geneva private bank, told GenevaLunch that he did not see how Unigestion’s move could improve its marketing success with clients, except for the one potential client, already lost.
The Irish goes to the polls today to vote on the Lisbon Treaty, the second referendum in 15 months called to approve the treaty. The first was voted down. The vote will have “far-reaching implications for the future of the European Union” notes the Irish Times. RTE reports that voting is delayed on Tory and Inishbofin islands because of bad weather; the islands vote ahead of the rest of the country to ensure their ballots can be returned, even if bad weather arrives. Some three million people have the right to cast a ballot in the referendum. RTE also provides a “consolidated text” of the treaty to make it accessible to voters. The Vatican jumped into the fray with a statement by Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, Vatican secretary of state, urging the Irish to vote against the treaty, suggesting it does not allow European countries to maintain their own identities and cultures.
Links to other sites: Telegraph, UK, Turkish Weekly
European Union leaders, meeting in Brussels Thursday 17 September a week ahead of the G20 summit in Pittsburgh, in the US, agreed in principle that the G20 should establish curbs on banks’ bonuses paid to employees. The group has left the details to be worked out at the G20 meeting, agreeing only that there should be “binding rules backed by national sanctions”, reports Bloomberg, that the bulk of bonus payments should be deferred so they could be pulled back in case of later poor performance, and that in any event they should not be contractually agreed.
Citigroup CEO Vikram Pandit told journalists in answer to a question that $100 million, which is 2,000 times median household income in the US, is too much for a bank to pay out in bonuses to one employee. The question arose because of the case of one Citigroup trader who is potentially contractually due the money, but Citigroup, which is at the top of the list of banks receiving government payouts, is under review by Kenneth Feinberg, known as President Barack Obama’s pay czar. Financial Times, Reuters
Afghanistan’s President Hamid Karzai has officially received nearly 55 percent of the vote in recent elections, according to official tallies published Wednesday. The winner will nevertheless be declared officially only in several weeks. The European Union reacted sharply, saying that one-quarter of the votes could be fraudulent, a criticism Karzai angrily rejected. World leaders are divided over how to react to allegations of fraud from several quarters. Al Jazeera, BBC, Yahoo News/Reuters
