Wow! Did someone from Kremlin infiltrate the Basel Committee for Banking Supervision to seed bad advice?

Sir Courtney Weaver and Kathrin Hille report from Moscow that “Yevgeny Fyodorov, a deputy for the pro-Kremlin party United Russia… claimed US consulting and audit firms were working under the orders of their governments and could cause ´real damage´ to the Russian state by purposefully giving out bad advice.” “Duma hits back with proposal to ban Big Four auditing firms”, July 30.

Oh boy! That is precisely what I, in jest, implied in a blog of many years ago, when I suggested that a disappointed and revenge wanting Kremlin retiree, Carlos Molotov Pavlov, had infiltrated the Basel Committee for Banking Supervision in order to seed advice that would bring down the banking system of the west.

On Companies International, November 17

Whistling in the dark forest?

Sir Robert Anderson and Christopher Mason in reporting that “Newspapers face fresh pricing pressures” they quote a spokesman for Norske Skog (Norway’s forest), the worlds second largest newsprint producer saying “We see a momentum now for increased prices”. Surprising. Is that how one whistles in a dark forest?

82 percent of pirates?

Sir Kathrin Hille and Mure Dickie reporting on how “Chinese consumers flex their muscles in Microsoft piracy flight” they mention that according to Business Software Alliance China’s piracy rates are 82 per cent, and not the world’s worst. Can we really talk of piracy when 82 per cent of a country does it? Neverland? What do we call the other 18 per cent, law abiding Chinese? When might it be better for Microsoft to go underground and start to cater to the pirates? Has Microsoft analyzed what would happen to their worldwide income if they priced their Microsoft Office at $ 9.99 per year?

Whistling in the dark desert?

Sir Simeon Kerr and Robin Wigglesworth report on “UBS fund in $500 Mideast joint foray” November 17. Steve Jacobs of UBS tell them “clients had already expressed an interest in the Middle East, which is expected to outperform most other regions as the global slowdown deepens”. Surprising. Is that how one whistles in a dark desert?

Who gets the money?

Sir Jonathan Soble, (in Tokyo?) reports on an “astronomical fine” of $1.75bn levied on some glassmakers, because they “conspired to fix prices of windscreens and other automotive glass between 1998 and 2003.” Who gets the money?