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30 October 2008

This week in "Brussels"




Articles from 23 October 2008 - 30 October 2008

German Banks to participate in rescue plan - FT
In the next four to five days a whole host of institutions will make use of the aid, German Finance Minister Steinbrück said, and expects large non-public sector banks to make use of the government funds.  View Article

Commission calls for wider economic policy co-ordination
The Commission Communication sets out a three part approach which will be developed into an overall EU recovery action plan that includes a new financial market architecture at EU level.  View Article

Financing package for Hungary
The IMF, the European Union, and the World Bank announced a joint financing package for Hungary totalling € 20 billion to bolster its economy.  View Article

UK Financial Stability Review
The Report analyses the turmoil and the actions taken by the UK authorities and other countries. “We need a fundamental re-think of how to manage systemic risk internationally", Deputy Governor Sir John Gieve said.  View Article

ASEM summit statement on financial crises
In a common statement ASEM members called on the international community to strengthen co-ordination and co-operation and recognized the need to improve the supervision and regulation.  View Article

OECD Gurria - From the financial crisis to the economic downturn
“Market’s invisible hand had gone astray”, Gurría said noting that there is wide agreement that markets need more effective monitoring and regulation, and stronger corporate governance.  View Article

Kimmit encourages SWF to invest in US market
US Deputy Treasury Secretary Robert Kimmitt called on Gulf Arab countries to continue investing in the US to help restore financial stability.   View Article

House Committee of Government Oversight and Reform holds hearing on the Role of Federal Regulators
Current and former financial regulators told Congress that they made fateful mistakes that helped drive the global financial system to the brink of disaster. “We have learned that voluntary regulation does not work”, SEC chair Cox said.  View Article

FSA Japan strengthens restrictions on short selling
The FSA Japan decided to temporarily prohibit naked short-selling and to take additional measures to strengthen the restrictions on short-selling of stocks.  View Article

FSA Japan to facilitate stock purchase by Japanese-style employee stock ownership plans
The FSA Japan will facilitate stock purchase by Japanese-style employee stock ownership plans and requested the Japan Securities Dealers Association to promote the active use of the plans.  View Article

Aso to table new economic stimulus package - Kyodo
Japans Prime Minister Taro Aso is to unveil a new 2 trillion yen economic stimulus package later Thursday to tackle fallout from the global financial crisis.  View Article

Sato - global financial crisis and Japan’s experience in the 1990s
Short-term measures and the re-design of the regulatory framework in the medium-term need to be implemented simultaneously to avoid moral hazard or distortions in the system in the long run, Sato said.  View Article

Japan to raise capital injection fund to $110 bn
Japan will sharply increase the maximum amount of public funds that can be injected into ailing domestic banks from two to 10 trillion yen, economic and fiscal policy minister Kaoru Yosano said.  View Article

Japan to resume buying shares from banks
The Japanese government has decided to ask the Bank of Japan to start buying shares held by the country's banks as a way to help stabilize financial markets, the Nikkei business daily reported.   View Article

FT: China presses insurers to buy shares
Beijing has ordered China’s insurance companies to buy more publicly traded shares to support the ailing stock market. “Insurance institutions should function as institutional investors”, the regulator told FT.   View Article

AMF working paper: Block Trades, Fragmentation and the MiFID
The paper presents a study of the reasons that prompt fragmentation in market infrastructure in response to differing investor requirements and the foreseeable consequences for the quality and efficiency of that infrastructure.   View Article

ESCB and CESR consult on clearing and settlement systems and central counterparties
The consultation paper contains numerous recommendations which deal with Central Securities Depositaries and Central Counterparties. The recommendations should promote pan-European post trading arrangements and limit systemic risk.  View Article

MLex: EC pushes for more governments to open bond trading platforms
Commission regulators are prepared to take action against member states for failing to open up government bond markets to multiple trading platforms, as such restrictions may breach European anti-trust laws.  View Article

BATS Exchange Goes Live
BATS Exchange announced to go live competing with its primary competitors, Nasdaq and the New York Stock Exchange.  View Article

Accounting: It’s time to put the brakes on convergence - FT
Uniting all countries under a single set of global accounting rules has long been the goal of the IASB. But the IASB has now shown it is not ready to be the premier accounting standard setter in the world, the article says.  View Article

EFRAG letter to the IASB on IFRS for Private Entities
EFRAG reiterated its comments about the need for substantive and useful recognition and measurement simplifications, in particular drawing attention to a recent survey undertaken by the German standard-setter.   View Article

October 2008
Graham Bishop’s Personal Overview: October may well be seen as a pivotal moment in the development of the European project. The EU has achieved a cohesive reaction that has crossed several important hurdles to developing a common economic policy.  View Article

Commission consults on review of Merger Regulation
The Commission launched a public consultation on the functioning of the rules for merger control evaluating how the rules on jurisdictional thresholds and referral mechanisms have worked in practice during the last four years.  View Article

Commission approves Portuguese support scheme for financial institutions
The Commission approved the Portuguese rescue package aimed at stabilising financial markets. The total budget of the scheme is €20 billion.   View Article

Commission approves Swedish support schemes for financial institutions
The Commission approved the Swedish rescue package to stabilise financial markets by providing guarantees to eligible financial institutions.  View Article

Commission approves German support scheme for financial institutions
The Commission approved the German rescue package intended to stabilise financial markets by providing capital and guarantees to eligible financial institutions.  View Article

MLex: UK Parliament paves way for Lloyds TSB-HBOS deal
The UK Parliament has passed a new law allowing the government to step in and approve mergers that might otherwise pose competition concerns, in the interest of financial stability.  View Article




© Graham Bishop


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