Recent Articles
Why does it have to be so complex?
The last post on the Finance Addict looked at London’s role in many recent banking scandals and failures. (Is dangerous banking a new Olympic sport, one wonders?) As that post pointed out, many of these banks were actually not British yet they were ultimately undone by activities going on in their British subsidiaries.
A new paper by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York sheds more light on the incredibly complex bank organizational structures that sprung up after the repeal of the Glass-Steagall Act. Continue Reading
What happens when money “never stinks”?
Boris Johnson is the upper-class mayor of London. A former school mate of prime minister David Cameron, he’s considered a likable buffoon who might some day go on to lead the country. Here’s an excerpt from a recent interview with the Financial Times in which he discussed the impact of the Olympic Games. Continue Reading
Funny Money 7/20/12
The Finance Addict presents Funny Money
Your weekly dose of the best offbeat finance news & links from around the web.
- The cartoonish investments of Peregrine Financial Group
- “I just want to apologize in advance that I don’t have enough subpoenas for all of you“
- Lifestyles of the rich and shameless
- Apparently there are markets in everything
- I think he’s on to something
Sign up here to get Funny Money in your inbox every Friday!
Got some good links to share with Funny Money? Send it here!
Why banking can be too much of a good thing
Want to know whether an emerging market will be a good investment in the future? Then have a look at whether any of the major banks are investing there. The reason is twofold. First, big banks are trained to spot the new consumer, legal, regulatory and economic dynamics that would make a developing country a good investment for them. (And for you.) Second, a robust economy needs to have a well-developed banking system. In fact, you’d be hard-pressed to name one robust economy that doesn’t have a developed banking system. (And that also includes the illegal economy — see this and this.)
So a banking and / or market-based financial system is the spine of an economy — but is it ever possible to have too much of it? Continue Reading
