We need to find a fairer way of providing Goods and Services to the rest of the people on Earth.Cryptocurrencies and/or Gold Standard of money....maybe the answer to fight hyperinflation caused by too much printing of paper/fiat currencies by Governments and Central Banks all over the World. (https://nomorefiatmoneyplease.blogspot.com)
King steps down as HSBC chief economist, replaced by Henry
Stephen King stepped down as HSBC Holdings Plc's global chief economist and was succeeded by Janet Henry, previously the bank's chief European economist.
PHOTO: REUTERS
[LONDON] Stephen King stepped down as HSBC Holdings Plc's global chief economist and was succeeded by Janet Henry, previously the bank's chief European economist.
Mr King, who served as chief economist for 17 years, will remain at the institution as senior economic adviser. Henry helmed European economic coverage since 2007 having previously worked as a global economist and in Hong Kong as an Asian economist.
"In his new capacity, Mr Stephen will work a three-day week and continue to publish on key economic themes," the bank said in an announcement to staff.
"He will service a carefully targeted list of HSBC's key strategic clients around the world and speak at selected HSBC conferences."
Mr King has published two books on economics and is working on a third.
The shifts, which took effect at the end of last week, were first reported by Reuters.
Ukraine sends new debt proposal to creditors in "decisive" week: ministry
[KIEV] Ukraine said it expected "decisive" negotiations this week after it sent a fresh debt restructuring proposal to a group of its largest creditors, with the threat of a moratorium on debt payments looming.
Talks to restructure US$23 billion of Ukraine's external public debt have dragged on for more than four months over a disagreement over the necessity of a writedown on the principal of the bonds; but on Friday a source said Kiev saw this week as a deadline for a deal.
The International Monetary Fund, whose US$40 billion bailout package for Ukraine depends on Kiev making US$15 billion in savings via debt restructuring, has repeatedly urged both sides to reach an agreement quickly.
The Finance Ministry said it had sent a new proposal to the creditor group on Tuesday morning. "Given the legal considerations around timely implementation of the proposal, this week will be decisive for the negotiations. Accordingly, the ministry has called on creditors to attend at the highest level a meeting in London on Thursday,"it said.
Ukraine has been pushed to the brink of bankruptcy by years of economic mismanagement, corruption and a conflict with pro-Russian separatists. Continued violence despite a ceasefire deal has hampered the government's efforts to get the country's finances in order.
Last week the IMF approved the second tranche of financial aid, worth US$1.7 billion, and said it would continue to lend to Ukraine even if a deal with creditors remains elusive and Kiev decides it cannot service its debt.
The Finance Ministry has threatened to halt payments if a deal is not reached soon.
A US$500 million bond matures on September 23. "They will try and find an agreement on Thursday, but if they don't I would be quite nervous about what would happen, then we are getting into a new territory," Jakob Christensen, senior economist at Exotix, told Reuters. "They (Kiev) have pressed on numerous occasions that they would look at imposing a moratorium ahead of the September issue if they could not find an agreement," he said.
Kiev insists a 'haircut' of the principal is essential, but it is unclear if its latest proposal amends its original desire for a 40 per cent writedown.
Reuters reported on Thursday that the latest proposals from creditors envisaged a 5 per cent haircut, in what seemed like a softening in their stance, although a source later said the proposal contains the possibility of no writedown if the economy picks up.
Eurobonds, which have risen steadily over the past weeks on expectations that an agreement will be reached, were trading unchanged following the Finance Ministry statement.
State-owned Oschadbank and Ukreximbank have already reached a restructuring deal with creditors, but their offers did not include a 'haircut' on the principal or coupon of bonds.
European negotiators are aiming to finalise a trade pact with the United States in 2016 in "an optimistic scenario", EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom said on Tuesday.
PHOTO: AFP
[BRUSSELS] European negotiators are aiming to finalise a trade pact with the United States in 2016 in "an optimistic scenario", EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom said on Tuesday.
If agreed, the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) would encompass a third of world trade and be the biggest such agreement.
"We will do everything we can to try to finalise during 2016. That's the optimistic scenario we're working on, but it's possible," she told reporters.
Following on from a tenth round of talks in July, Ms Malmstrom said she would meet US Trade Representative Michael Froman in Washington in September to prepare for more talks in October and also in December.
The European Parliament last month effectively gave Ms Malmstrom a mandate to continue negotiations when it backed a compromise on setting up a new European court to settle any disputes arising from any trade pact.
Some of Europe's many opponents to a trade deal with the United States see it as a threat to EU law and anticipate legal attacks by multinationals, especially on EU environment and food rules.
Ms Malmstrom said the aim was to set up a new procedure for dispute resolution.
"We're going away from private courts, moving away to pre-designed, pre-selected judges, having more transparency, having a system of appeal," she said.
The list of the world's largest banks by assets is dominated by China due to currency effect.
BLOOMBERG
THE list of the world's largest banks by assets is dominated by China due to currency effect. And US banks have been booted out of the top five due to different accounting standards.
The three Singapore banks have improved their ranking, with OCBC making the biggest jump, financial data provider SNL Financial said on Tuesday in its 2015 ranking of the world's 100 largest banks.
China now has four of the five largest banks in the world after weakening currencies pushed French and Japanese companies out of the top five this year. There is now only one bank in the top-five list that is not headquartered in China. It is London-based HSBC Holdings plc, said SNL.
HSBC ranks No 4 with US$2.67 trillion in assets, down from No 2 in 2014 with US$2.76 trillion in assets.
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The largest bank in the world continues to be Industrial & Commercial Bank of China, with assets calculated at US$3.45 trillion. Replacing HSBC at No 2 is China Construction Bank Corp, which moved up from third place last year, holding US$2.819 trillion in assets. The third-largest is Agricultural Bank of China, which shot up from seventh place in 2014, and the fifth-largest bank is Bank of China, which was previously ranked eighth.
SNL ranks the largest banks in the world by converting their total assets into US dollars using the exchange rate as at the end of the period measured. Most banks were ranked by total assets for the quarter ended March 31, 2015. Changes in the rankings since 2014 are partly due to fluctuations in the companies' reported currencies against the US dollar.
Paris-based BNP Paribas SA fell to No 7 from No 4 in SNL's 2014 ranking, as its assets declined to an equivalent of US$2.568 trillion as at March 31, 2015, from US$2.595 trillion a year ago.
"Currency conversion helped drive the decline, as the company's assets actually rose when measuring in euros, to 2.39 trillion euros (S$3.6 trillion) from 1.88 trillion euros," said SNL. Also exiting the top five, Tokyo-based Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group fell to No 8 from No 5, partly based on a lower valuation of its assets in US dollars.
The largest US bank, New York-headquartered JPMorgan Chase & Co, remains as the sixth-largest in the world, but it would rank No 1 if it followed the same accounting principles as the Chinese banks, SNL's analysis shows.
US banks report their financials under US GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles), while the largest Chinese banks report under the IFRS (International Financial Reporting Standards) accounting principle. Under US GAAP, banks report the net amount of derivative assets on their balance sheets, while IFRS companies must report the gross amount of derivative assets.
If JPMorgan filed under IFRS, SNL estimates it would add assets of US$1.249 trillion, bringing its total assets to US$3.827 trillion and making it the largest bank in the world. SNL did not perform the same analysis on banks that report under Japanese GAAP or other types of GAAP.
Bank of America Corp would rank third instead of ninth if it filed under IFRS, said SNL.
DBS Group Holdings, South-east Asia's largest bank, improved its position, to No 75 from No 78 with US$332.91 billion assets. OCBC had the biggest jump, going to No 79, up 13 places from No 92 previously, with US$294.64 billion assets. United Overseas Bank, which has US$228.62 billion assets, rose to No 96 from No 100.
The Singapore banks filed under Singapore Financial Reporting Standards.
Short seller Yu 'wildly bullish' on Greece in euro exit scenario
[LONDON] Daniel Yu, best known for betting against companies via his short-selling firm Gotham City Research LLC, says he's waiting in the wings for Greece to leave the euro - so he can start buying.
The short seller shot to fame by claiming to expose dubious practices at companies, and says that won't change any time soon. But now, he's eyeing Greek shares in the event the country repudiates its debt and exits the shared currency. When, not if, all of that happens, stocks will rise again, he says.
"I'm going to be wildly bullish if they leave, I'll look at anything and everything Greek," Mr Yu said by phone from New York. "If Greece leaves the euro, it basically means they're not going to pay their debt, and that's a good thing. Once you have debt relief, there are so many positive things that can happen to an economy."
Recently back from a trip to Greece, Mr Yu says the plight of the Mediterranean nation has now caught his attention. With the country running out of money, the International Monetary Fund and many economists agree that its debt is too large for it to pay. Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras surrendered to the demands of its creditors in a July summit billed as Greece's last chance to stay in the euro, but he said he capitulated because leaving the currency would have been too destructive.
Choosing to remain anonymous until recently, Mr Yu made waves last year after a bearish call on Let's Gowex SA. The Madrid Wi- Fi provider filed for insolvency about a week after Gotham said the stock was worthless because it inflated revenue. In April 2014, Mr Yu triggered a 39 per cent one-day drop in Quindell Plc, a UK technology company, after questioning its profits.
Famed short sellers making bullish calls is becoming somewhat of a trend: Jon Carnes, ranked the best short worldwide, said last month that he sees the Shanghai Composite Index more than doubling. Carson Block, the founder of Muddy Waters LLC, sent France's Bollore Group soaring in February after betting the stock could double.
In Greece, Mr Yu will likely find plenty of bargains. Its stock market, which just reopened after a five-week shutdown, has already lost more than 85 per cent of its value since 2007. A gauge tracking its banks trades at a record low, down for a sixth year.
"The tidal wave is a Grexit, it needs to happen," Mr Yu said. "The potential boost of confidence and hope they inspire when they leave the euro is vastly underestimated. We don't live in a world merely dictated by numbers and stats. Confidence and hope matter."
