The FINANCIAL — With the number of female business owners still trailing levels seen amongst their male counterparts, a new research report from Barclays Wealth & Investment Management finds that women are much better represented amongst high net worth business owners…article
In describing the women in Shakespeare’s plays, Packer takes us back to their gritty roots as warriors and ambitious wives. She shows us also how they suffered when they told the truth. Article
Interview……Thomsen: The Greek government has fully recalibrated its economic program, with policies modified to deal with current challenges, and with the support of additional financing and debt relief from Greece’s European partners….. article
An amazing mea culpa from the IMF’s chief economist on austerity..article
Design Sofia Mamalinga/ WTW Cartoonist/Greece
Design Sofia Mamalinga
WTW Cartoonist/Greece
The more we learn about the manipulation of the London interbank offered rate, the more expensive the scandal becomes for the financial institutions involved. If banks want to control the damage, they would do well to come clean sooner rather than later about the full extent and effect of their misbehavior. Article
Jeroen Dijsselbloem, describing himself as a reverse Father Christmas, told a Dutch newspaper “I have to make sure that no presents are handed out, and that everyone pays up on time.” Article
Jeroen Dijsselbloem / designed Dieter Huthmacher
They were where the rest of the world is right now. In the United States it is politically incorrect to say that we can’t afford everything. But the Nordic countries are gaining strength economically because they have asked the big question about what we can afford and tried to answer it. The Economist has published an important report. Read it here.
On the surface, the nomination of Mary Jo White to head the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) by President Barack Obama ticks all the requisite boxes. Currently the head of litigation at Debevoise & Plimpton, a private law firm, Ms White will add a female voice to Mr Obama’s second-term team, which is so far dominated by men. More importantly, the former federal prosecutor for the Southern District of New York has experience policing Wall Street, which fell under her jurisdiction. But the appointment is not without controversy. The Bloomberg site notes that Ms White participated in the defence of many people and institutions at the heart of the financial collapse. In October 2008 she was cited in a critical report by the SEC’s inspector general for receiving “relevant information” that was not publicly available. Is she a poacher turned gamekeeper or simply setting herself up for another lucrative turn through the revolving door? Article 
….In general, the notion of white-gloved ladies too frail and feeble to fend for themselves in the cutthroat world of finance is giving way to new trends showing that, both as personal investors and as high financiers, women are much more emboldened. They can now take on and even beat investment decisions made by men…article
