financial supervision architecture sounds so much more substantial than … September 22, 2010
Posted by Bradley in : financial regulation , comments closedA regime (too directive?), a scheme (too much like the frauds it might be designed to prevent)… But the building metaphors in financial regulation seem to hark back to the days when financial institutions constructed (and owned) big solid buildings to show how sound they were. I’m not sure the metaphors have so much power. Anyway, the European Parliament has approved the new financial supervision architecture for the EU.
new chairman of uk consumer financial education body – too trusting? September 21, 2010
Posted by Bradley in : financial regulation , comments closedYesterday the FSA announced that Gerard Lemos is to be the chairman of the Consumer Financial Education Body. He seems to be a big believer in trust:
In other ways perhaps trust has even grown. Trust is not a zero sum game. I encounter what I might call new horizontal social movements of trust everywhere: millions of people have joined local book clubs. They didn’t need encouragement from the government or business; there is a global movement of people who sing in choirs from Jesmond to Johannesburg. And in politics, which is supposedly the place where no one trusts anyone anymore, environmental issues have galvanised hundreds of millions of people, leaving international organisations far behind and struggling to catch up.
transnational consultation: residential mortgage underwriting September 20, 2010
Posted by Bradley in : consultation , comments closedThe Financial Stability Board is examining residential mortgage underwriting practices and seeks:
feedback from financial institutions, industry associations, consumer groups and other stakeholders on their experiences regarding residential mortgage underwriting practices, either in a particular country or across several countries. This could include comments on: gaps in regulatory and supervisory oversight; areas where regulations or guidance from different agencies might overlap; current or best practices for measuring a borrower’s ability and willingness to repay; how market practices have evolved in recent years; and challenges faced by underwriters or originators that operate in several countries.
Responses by 25 October 2010.
vatican’t deal with the 21st century September 15, 2010
Posted by Bradley in : life , comments closedVia the BBC, on reports that said that Cardinal Walter Kasper said that arriving at Heathrow airport was like landing in a “Third World” country:
Vatican sources said …. his “Third World” comment referred to the UK’s multicultural society.
And that is supposed to make it better?
transnational regulation September 14, 2010
Posted by Bradley in : events , comments closedThe lecture I am about to give is here: Transnational Regulation and the Global Financial Crisis 2007-2010.
tree house September 7, 2010
Posted by Bradley in : life , comments closed
It seems the neighbours object.
um international law lecture series August 31, 2010
Posted by Bradley in : events , comments closedToday is the first of this year’s international law lectures at UM. Niccolo Trocker will be speaking on the topic International Litigation: The Perspective of a Civilian Lawyer. The lecture will be in Room D201 in the Law Library from 12.30-1.50pm. And there’s food.
On September 14th I will be speaking on the topic Transnational Regulation and the Global Financial Crisis 2007-2010.
irresponsible consumers and health August 30, 2010
Posted by Bradley in : consumers , comments closedThe EU Parliament is concerned about health literacy (or a lack of it) in the EU. One of the issues the Parliament has focused on is doctors’ communications about prescription medicines. But it seems that parents may be quite (surprisingly) cavalier in their attitudes to giving over-the-counter medicines to their children. Although the study was carried out in Australia the authors seem to think this problem is more general.
news on egg recall August 21, 2010
Posted by Bradley in : disclosure , comments closedWhy does the BBC’s story on the US egg recall link to the US Egg Safety Center (an industry source) for information on which eggs have been recalled rather than to the list available from the FDA (a government source)? Unsurprisingly, the US Egg Safety Center’s announcement contains reassurances which don’t appear on the FDA list, such as “Less Than One Percent of All U.S. Eggs Affected” and:
The chance of an egg containing Salmonella Enteritidis is rare in the United States. Several years ago, it was estimated that 1 in 20,000 eggs might have been contaminated, which meant most consumers probably wouldn’t come in contact with such an egg but 1 time in 84 years. Since that time most U.S. egg farmers have been employing tougher food safety measures to help protect against food-borne illness. Chief among these methods are modern, sanitary housing systems; stringent rodent control and bio-security controls; inoculation against Salmonella Enteritidis; cleaning and sanitization of poultry houses and farms; and testing.
governmental securities law violations August 19, 2010
Posted by Bradley in : financial regulation , comments closedWhen I wrote about governmental manipulation of the financial markets, this wasn’t quite what I had in mind. New Jersey is the first state to be charged with violation of the federal securities laws by the SEC (New Jersey settled the case), although it isn’t the only jurisdiction to have been criticized about financial disclosures with respect to securities issuance recently (e.g. the Greek credit default swaps issue). And given that the SEC’s charges related to disclosure about the funding of pension plans, there may be more such cases to come.