Ex-ECB Member Bini Smaghi Says Fixing Greece May Take 10 Years By Finbarr Flynn - 2012-05-20T13:11:17Z Greece’s structural problems may take up to 10 years to fix and the country may need assistance from the World Bank to make needed adjustments, former European Central Bank Executive Board Member Lorenzo Bini Smaghi said. “I think what needs to be done is to have a longer term perspective,” Bini Smaghi said in an interview with Dublin- based RTE. “Greece will not be solved in one or two years, it will take maybe 10 years.” Greece’s bailout can’t be renegotiated and the country must continue with adjustments to lower its wage level to be competitive, Bini Smaghi said. European leaders needs to commit to taking political action to ... Continue reading →

JPMorgan CIO Risk Overseer Said to Have Record of Trading Losses By Lisa Abramowicz - 2012-05-20T22:50:01Z Irvin Goldman, who oversaw risks in the JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) unit that suffered more than $2 billion in trading losses, was fired by another Wall Street firm in 2007 for money-losing bets that prompted a regulatory probe, three people with direct knowledge of the matter said. JPMorgan appointed Goldman in February this year as the top risk official in its chief investment office while the unit was managing trades that later spiraled into what Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon called “egregious,” self-inflicted mistakes. The bank knew when it picked Goldman that his earlier work at Cantor Fitzgerald LP led to regulatory sanctions against Cantor, according to a ... Continue reading →

Enlarge image Karachi Wholesale Drug Market Laborers transport goods in a wholesale drug market in Karachi. Laborers transport goods in a wholesale drug market in Karachi. Photographer: Asim Hafeez/Bloomberg Enlarge image Pakistan Plans Drug Agency as Spurious Drugs Take Lives A packet of AGP (Private) Ltd.'s Zyrtec pills, left, sits alongside a counterfeit product in this arranged photo in Karachi. A packet of AGP (Private) Ltd.'s Zyrtec pills, left, sits alongside a counterfeit product in this arranged photo in Karachi. Photographer: Asim Hafeez/Bloomberg Enlarge image Pakistan Plans Drug Agency as Spurious Drugs Take Live A packet of Pfizer Inc.'s Lipitor, bottom, sits underneath a counterfeit product in this arranged photo in Karachi. A packet of Pfizer Inc.'s Lipitor, bottom, sits underneath a counterfeit product in ... Continue reading →

Man of mystery ... Peter Drake. Photo: Sharyn Rosewarne The scene was the Grand Ballroom of the Rydges Hotel, at Sydney's World Square, a venue considerably grander by name than by nature. The occasion: the meeting of the LM First Mortgage Income Fund where unitholders gathered in utter dismay at how their fees were still going through the roof while their life savings remained frozen. They were also there to vote on a change to their fund’s constitution, a change which might finally permit them to escape from this gruesome investment with a few meagre dollars still intact. Advertisement: Story continues below Alas, they were further dismayed to find that the meeting had somehow suddenly become non-binding. This was now a meeting about a meeting. ... Continue reading →

For clues to how the German economy stands out from the European debt crisis, look no further than Champions League finalist Bayern Munich. Germany’s most successful club on the field will go into the match in two days at its own Allianz Arena having not made a loss off it for 19 straight seasons. It plays Chelsea, the English team that’s been propelled to the top of European soccer thanks to more than $1 billion of cash from Roman Abramovich. The Russian oligarch has covered financial losses during every one of the nine years since he bought the London club. “We have always had one philosophy and that’s not to spend more than we generate,” said Bayern Munich Chief Executive Officer Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, among the ... Continue reading →

Facebook IPO Said to Meet Weaker-Than-Expected Investor Demand By Serena Saitto, Jeffrey McCracken and Zijing Wu - Thu May 10 23:05:31 GMT 2012 Enlarge image Facebook IPO Said to Meet Weaker-Than-Expected Demand A Facebook Inc. IPO announcement flag flies outside of JPMorgan Chase & Co. headquarters in New York on May 4, 2012. A Facebook Inc. IPO announcement flag flies outside of JPMorgan Chase & Co. headquarters in New York on May 4, 2012. Photographer: Peter Foley/Bloomberg Facebook Inc. (FB)’s initial public offering has so far generated lower-than-expected demand from institutional investors who are concerned about the company’s growth prospects, people with knowledge of the matter said. Some investors expressed reluctance after Facebook said on May 9 that advertising growth hasn’t kept pace with the ... Continue reading →

Echo Entertainment Group Ltd. (EGP) is poised to become the target of the largest casino takeover in more than five years, thanks to its monopoly in Sydney and 16 million potential Chinese gamblers. As allegations of sexual harassment at Echo’s showpiece Sydney casino The Star pushed its shares to an all-time low this year, Melbourne-based rival Crown Ltd. doubled its stake in Echo to 10 percent and asked for regulatory approval to buy more. Even after the move sparked a record rebound in Echo’s shares, the Brisbane-based company is still trading at 1.9 times sales, less than one-third the average for Asian gaming companies, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. With the only casino in Sydney, Echo offers suitors a chance to tap so-called VIP ... Continue reading →

Vodafone Said to Be Near Deal to Buy Cable & Wireless By Matthew Campbell and Jonathan Browning - Sun Apr 22 19:40:55 GMT 2012 Enlarge image Vodafone Said to Near Agreement to Acquire Cable & Wireless A sign stands outside the headquarters of Cable & Wireless Worldwide Plc in Bracknell, U.K., on April 19, 2012. A sign stands outside the headquarters of Cable & Wireless Worldwide Plc in Bracknell, U.K., on April 19, 2012. Photographer: Simon Dawson/Bloomberg Vodafone Group Plc (VOD) is nearing an agreement to acquire Cable & Wireless Worldwide Plc (CW/), adding a U.K. fixed-line network to its mobile-phone system, according to people familiar with the situation. The world’s largest wireless operator is offering between 35 pence and 39 pence a share, the ... Continue reading →

Ramsey’s struggles are ironic given the fact that Sky Sports has just started a seven-year deal channel-sharing deal with the BBC to cover Formula One in the UK. It is understood that neither BBC Sport nor Sky Sports will address the off-track issues in Bahrain in their coverage this weekend, with BBC News and Sky News to cover that angle. Assuming they can get in, of course. Nicholas Kristof, The New York Times columnist and two-time Pulitzer prize-winner, has frequently complained on Twitter of his problems getting a visa for Bahrain. The issue of news journalists being unable to get into the country came as Labour MP and veteran human rights campaigner Ann Clwyd (Cynon Valley) raised the issue of the race in the House ... Continue reading →