Category Archives: Uncategorized
The missionary position, by Christopher Hitchens
I got Hitch-22, Christopher Hitchens’ autobiography, a month ago. I was about to start, but then I realised that most of what I knew about Hitch is what I have seen of him on Youtube—any video starting with “Hitchens destroys” … Continue reading
Danske Bank and HSBC
We have learned today that Danske Bank is being charged for its money laundering scandal. It seems that its branch in Estonia (the only one there) handled around €200bn of Russian and other ex-Soviet money—apparently a large part of it … Continue reading
More on central clearing and the leverage ratio
I talked some days ago about client clearing and some research that I have done on whether some new regulations (mainly the leverage ratio—LR) might increase its costs and reduce the willingness of banks to provide such services. I have … Continue reading
Orwell’s Notes on Nationalism
I have recently found myself reading some of the greatest British thinkers and writers of the 20th century. Bertrand Russell’s History of Western Philosophy looks at me every time I sit on my desk—I am still in the pre-Socratics. Christopher … Continue reading
Client clearing
When Lehman went bankrupt, it had over 900,000 derivative transactions with other counterparties. While many of these transactions were closed down in the following weeks, a significant number of bilateral over-the-counter derivatives were the object of dispute for months, even … Continue reading
Emerging scholars conference
The programme for the Emerging Scholars in Banking and Finance conference is complete! This conference, organised by the Centre for Banking Research at Cass—of which I am a member—brings together emerging scholars in banking and finance to present their papers. … Continue reading
Seven myths about education, by Daisy Christodoulou
Since my daughter was born, almost a year and a half ago (already!), I have been concerned about how to educate her. My own experience suggested that even the education from some of the best primary schools might still fall … Continue reading
