Wall Street Journal (June 9)
With the unfolding FIFA scandal, the legitimacy of Russia’s successful bid to host the World Cub may be called into question. To some, the bribery is irrelevant. “Why not at least threaten a boycott of the Cup for as long as Russian troops remain in Ukraine? The average Russian couldn’t care less that the deputy prime minister is under international sanctions for Moscow’s seizure of Crimea. But soccer-mad Russians would care, a lot, if the games were taken from them.”
Financial Times (July 12)
“The banking sector hardly needs another scandal.” In just two weeks, Barclays has been sanctioned for market fixing Libor submissions, the Royal Bank of Scotland had a system failure which hindered customer account access, and now HSBC is being hauled in front of Congress for money laundering. “With the world’s biggest banks entangled in investigations, it is foolish to think that the industry, already scraping the bottom of the barrel of public goodwill, has put the worst behind it.”
The Economist (July 7)
The latest banking scandal may have been a tipping point in the court of public opinion. “The attempts to rig LIBOR (the London inter-bank offered rate), a benchmark interest rate, not only betray a culture of casual dishonesty; they set the stage for lawsuits and more regulation right the way round the globe. This could well be global finance’s “tobacco moment”.
The latest banking scandal may have been a tipping point in the court of public opinion. “The attempts to rig LIBOR (the London inter-bank offered rate), a benchmark interest rate, not only betray a culture of casual dishonesty; they set the stage for lawsuits and more regulation right the way round the globe. This could well be global finance’s “tobacco moment”.
Tags: Banking, Global finance, LIBOR, Regulation, Scandal, UK
Wall Street Journal (July 6)
The scandal over manipulation of the London Interbank Offered Rate (Libor) is “more proof of the failing wizardry of the First World’s monetary-cum-banking arrangements.” During the crisis, regulators relied on “questionably legal improvisations” to keep the whole system afloat. A rise in Libor could have set off a panic. “The larger lesson isn’t that bankers are moral scum, badder than the rest of us. The Libor scandal is another testimony (as if more were needed) of just how lacking in rational design most human institutions inevitably are.”
The scandal over manipulation of the London Interbank Offered Rate (Libor) is “more proof of the failing wizardry of the First World’s monetary-cum-banking arrangements.” During the crisis, regulators relied on “questionably legal improvisations” to keep the whole system afloat. A rise in Libor could have set off a panic. “The larger lesson isn’t that bankers are moral scum, badder than the rest of us. The Libor scandal is another testimony (as if more were needed) of just how lacking in rational design most human institutions inevitably are.”
Wall Street Journal (February 9)
Cheating is not “a new phenomenon in Japan’s national sport,” but the current scandal rocking the sumo world is different because “hard evidence in this case is forcing Japanese to confront the reality and seriousness of the problem.” The reality is the incentive structure needs to be changed. One possible solution is pay sumo wrestlers with prize purses, “like boxers, far more if they win than lose, rather the current system of giving them monthly salaries plus relatively small incentive payments.”
The Economist (July 8)
French President Nicolas Sarkozy is wrapped in scandal. Two of his ministers resigned over expenses: one for claiming €12,000 of Cuban cigars, the other for chartering a €116,500 private jet. Now there are allegations his campaign accepted €150,000 in illegal contributions. The Economist says, “if Nicolas Sarkozy wants France to change, he needs to start at the top.” It adds, “Sarkozy has already been tried and convicted by public opinion of another crime: he has betrayed his promise to change France’s political culture.”
