USA: Wall Street is on track to pay its employees $144 billion this year, breaking a record for the second year in a row, the Wall Street Journal reports. Despite financial reform intended to curb compensation, and a steep decline in trading volume, pay in the financial services industry has shown few signs of fading: here. And here.
Over recent decades, recoveries from U.S. recessions have become steadily weaker and weaker. Over these same decades, executive pay has been steadily soaring. Could these two trends be somehow related? Here.
Income Rises on Lower Revenue at JPMorgan Chase: here.
US corn prices rose by 8.5 percent on Friday, the largest one-day increase since 1973: here.
How Hank Paulson’s Inaction Helped Goldman Sachs: here.
Congressional report criticizes Bush/Paulson bank bailout: here.
The US state of California last week passed a budget for fiscal year 2010-2011 that includes more severe austerity measures against the poor and working class. The agreement came 100 days after the end of the fiscal year, the longest delay on record: here.
Britain: Student, lecturers and university staff unions yesterday angrily condemned former BP boss Lord Browne’s recommendation that universities in England should be able to charge unlimited fees: here.
The Browne plan would devastate the humanities: here.
UK housing benefit cuts threaten thousands with homelessness: here.
Over three million workers participated in a strike yesterday against the pension cuts of French President Nicolas Sarkozy, with workers in several industrial sectors voting to extend strike action: here.
French commuters struggled onto packed subways and buses on Wednesday as an open-ended strike against President Nicolas Sarkozy’s plan to raise the retirement age to 62 entered its second day: here.
Greece: A strike by hundreds of workers demanding unpaid wages and protesting against layoffs prevented tourists from visiting the Acropolis on Wednesday: here. See also here.
Sri Lankan government to intensify austerity measures: here.
EU to examine auditing firms
Belgium: European Union officials announced on Tuesday that they will examine whether the dominance of four big firms in the auditing of financial results contributed to the credit crisis.
EU markets commissioner Michel Barnier questioned whether firms that both examine a company’s financial statements and provide consultancy work for the same company can truly be independent.
He pointed out that “the auditing firms didn’t see the crisis more than anyone else,” even though they checked the accounts of banks such as Lehman Brothers long before they collapsed in 2008.
http://www.morningstaronline.co.uk/index.php/news/content/view/full/96356
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“financial crisis”
“rich become richer, poor becom poorer”…….
therefore enequal diplomacy……..
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