April 29, 2010

But what were the regulators smoking?

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Sir in “Double or quits for the eurozone” April 29, you say that “Credit raters made things worse by again following the markets they are su...

Triple-A securities did not turn into junk, they were junk made into triple-As, simply because there are not enough real triple-As to go around.

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Sir John Gapper writes “this crisis was of a severity beyond others in the past, and triple-A securities were at its heart” ‘Time to rein in...
April 28, 2010

If the incentives are correctly aligned all bonuses make sense.

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Sir, John Kay in “ When a bonus culture is just a poor joke ” April 28, that he would have felt insulted if as a teacher he were to receive...

I refuse to follow Martin Wolf down the road to financial obscurantism

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Sir when comparing the ease or even gusto with which Martin Wolf has supported government spending to bail out the economy, imposing no publ...
April 24, 2010

Plain stupid or shameless… have a pick

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Sir on your front page in “Moody’s admits to failings over crisis”, April 24, Stephanie Kirchgaessner and Kevin Seiff report that “The chief...
April 23, 2010

Why should George Soros be licensed to kill and not the bankers?

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Sir George Soros in “America must face up to the dangers of derivatives” April 23 describes these as “a licence to kill” and he is wrong. Ju...

Undue influence?

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Sir amazed I read on FT’s front page “”Bankers influenced rating agencies… unduly” April 23. I ask, did not the regulators unduly influence ...
April 22, 2010

I expected the Canadian bankers not wanting to live in never-risk-land.

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Sir when the heads of the six major Canadian banks, those banks which better health makes them the object of envy of so many regulators and ...
April 21, 2010

Why, for a change, not listen to those who proved beyond reasonable doubt they knew?

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Sir, in November 1999 I wrote in Economía Hoy, Caracas the following : “The possible Big Bang that scares me the most is the one that coul...
April 19, 2010

ABACUS 2007-AC1: The whole truth and nothing but the truth!

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Sir I refer to the extensive report by Patrick Jenkins and Francesco Guerrera, “Goldsman versus the regulator” April 19. Yes Goldman Sachs ...
April 17, 2010

Where were the regulators on April 26, 2007?

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I just read in the Washington Post that the CDO discussed in the suit against Goldman Sachs, ABACUS 2007-AC1, and in which investors lost mo...
April 16, 2010

Growth requires a willingness to take risks!

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Sir Martin Wolf holds like most would do that “Growth is the fix for British Finances” April 16. To that effect he mentions among other, the...

Plain “bad” regulators!

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Sir Gillian Tett is obviously right in that this crisis was not the fault of “maths” or “economics” but of the “bad” maths and economics tha...
April 15, 2010

EITI, unwittingly, is an obstacle to other cursed-citizen's requests.

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Sir I refer to your Oily transparency April 15. In the debate on what to do with an oil curse the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiat...
April 14, 2010

But freedom does not require formality and survives even in prisons

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Sir Russell Napier holds that “Tower of debt will force a roll back of the free markets” April 14. I do not understand where he gets such an...
April 13, 2010

What a great short phrase!

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Sir it is always a pleasure seeing someone able to describe perfectly a difficult situation in just one sentence. Therefore I would wish to ...
April 12, 2010

Zapatero is just another Rolly Polly Doll

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Sir we read in you interview of Spanish leader José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, “A legacy in limbo” April 12, that he is “ready to be judged on...
April 09, 2010

Secretariat of the European Systemic Risk Board… wow!

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Sir on April 8, 2010, in the Financial Times I read the European Central Bank seeking candidates to occupy several positions in the Secretar...
April 08, 2010

When spotting bubbles, make sure you look at the right one!

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Sir Kenneth Rogoff writes “Spotting the tell-tale signs of bubbles approaching” April 8, but ignores the risk of looking at the wrong bubble...
April 07, 2010

Right battlefield, wrong combatants!

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Sir John Plender in “ Rules will decide the New York vs London Battle ”, April 7, considers that one reasonable safe bet is that a new Basel...

Mexico needs to speak out against China´s renminbi manipulation

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Sir I find myself 100 percent in agreement with Martin Wolfs “Evaluating the renminbi manipulation” April 7, since manipulation is what it c...

Financial Times, if you do believe in small state and open markets, you are certainly not showing it.

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Sir in your editorial of April 7, “The UK must look beyond the crisis” you state with some hubris “The Financial Times stands for a small st...
April 03, 2010

And how would US’s California stand up to EU’s Spain?

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Sir Spencer Jakab makes a very valid point in “California and Kazakhstan – just who is the underdog? April 3. Sadly though, he used an oil c...

But the AAA-ratings-bubble was the fault of very few!

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John Authers is correct in that “Bubbles are the fault of the many – not the few” April 3, but that is of course with the exception of the A...
April 01, 2010

The financial regulators should parade down 5th Avenue wearing their cones of shame

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Sir David Roche writes “Watch out for sovereign black holes in the credit universe” April 1, as if the world should have to be warned now. W...
March 31, 2010

A German Eurozone would suffer the reserve currency curse.

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Sir Martin Wolf (who seems to be as obsessed with lacking German demand as I confess to be with the lousy Basel regulations for banks) write...
March 27, 2010

But Greece should insist they only speak with ECB... for now.

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Sir in “Europe manages a wise compromise” March 27 when you quote Churchill in that “the eurozone makes the right decision in the end, thoug...
March 26, 2010

What we need is to face up to the shattered myth of a rational regulator!

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Sir here we stand before the ruins of a financial regulatory system that limited its purpose to avoid defaults and put too much trust in cre...

There are many looking for the Holy Grail of the “vision thing”.

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Sir, amen was all my initial response to Martin Wolf’s “Back to the future imperils Britain” March 26, but then, thinking about the need of ...
March 25, 2010

Greece would be nothing compared to the big AAA-bomb already dropped!

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Sir, of course Goldman Sachs´ Erik Nielsen is correct saying that “ECB must re-examine its dependence on rating agencies”, March 25, since “...

The resource cursed citizens merit more sympathy and respect

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Sir, you have published some quite thoughtful articles on the resource curse lately but, though I tried hard, I could not find one single va...

But it is also high time to stop rewarding perceived prudence.

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Sir John Plender is very right in that “It is time to stop punishing prudence” by treating equity more fair when comparing to how debt is re...
March 24, 2010

But some excessive virtues might not be a too bad vice for the world economy.

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Sir yes, yes and yes I would absolutely agree with Martin Wolf that Germany must increase its demand, if only he could be able to hint at ex...
March 23, 2010

But might the US have become sicker now?

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Sir the more divided a nation is, the sicker. I as a Venezuelan should know. That is why I cannot join you in such unchecked felicitation f...

Yes we need regulatory dynamism... in the right direction of course

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Sir I much appreciate Tony Jackson’s call “ Let’s get some dynamism into dynamic provisioning ” March 22. He is absolutely right, as I have...
March 18, 2010

Regulators, please do no harm, you’ve done enough!

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Sir Viral Acharya in “Why bankers must bear the risk of ‘too safe to fail´ assets” March 18, points out that “though AAA –rated tranches and...

Those who cannot handle a test failing never test

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Sir Tim Harford correctly proposes that “Political ideas need proper testing” March 18. What he fails to understand though is that the main ...
March 17, 2010

But Germany could always make an offer no one could refuse!

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Sir Martin Wolf in “China and Germany unite to weaken the world economy” March 17, writes that “Since… Germany… has no chance of expelling a...

It’s good but please do not call it a financial regulatory reform!

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Sir you are correct in what you hold in “Reform is in sight” March 17, namely that “When money is loose and prudential rules are lax, banks ...

Play it maestros!

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Sir I do agree with all of Martin Wolf´s good and absolutely cut clear “Chermany calling”, March 17, except for his last phrase “Forget all ...
March 16, 2010

Why do you have to sound so envious of Germany?

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Sir you might be absolutely right but with yours “Europe will not save its way to growth” March 16, you come out, for the umpteenth time in ...
March 10, 2010

Is a bailout the right pillar for a political union?

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Sir Martin Wolf is quite clear on that much of Germany´s strength is based on other´s weaknesses and so he reaches the conclusion that in or...
March 09, 2010

FT seems to be seriously obfuscated by some European issues.

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Sir, in a world where there seems to be no sustainable way of taking average world per person consumption to even a frugal German level, I m...
March 04, 2010

Naïve regulators went to sleep like babies.

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Sir in “Do not rush to switch off the life support” March 4Robert Skidelsky and Marcus Miller refer to “flaws in regulatory philosophy that ...
March 01, 2010

If you can pay out on a credit default swap you are not naked.

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Sir Wolfgang Münchau opines that it is “Time to outlaw naked credit default swaps” arguing that “the case for banning them is as strong as t...
February 26, 2010

But I’d better whistle in the dark or sing too!

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Sir there we are, sky-walking on a slack-wire over a high ravine in windy weather with no safety net under us, and Martin Wolf comes along w...
February 24, 2010

Bank regulators need a better understanding of risk

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Sir Martin Wolf holds that “The world economy has no easy way out of the mire” February 24. Who could argue with that... except perhaps in t...
February 22, 2010

Smoking more so as to be able to quit smoking more sounds like the wrong way to go.

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Sir Wolfgang Münchau makes reference to a paper co-authored by the chief Economist of the IMF that proposes increasing the inflation target ...
February 19, 2010

Obama heads in the absolute wrong direction!

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Sir Tom Braithwaite reports “Obama to renew call for stricter capital levels” February 19. This is just what the US, and the world, least ne...

The flaws of the euro were part of the plan for a Europe

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Sir in November 1998 I expressed clearly my surprise on Europe entering a monetary union before being a political union and especially about...
February 18, 2010

Reflect on the dangers that the very real possibility of a bad global coordination could signify.

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Capital is intrinsically coward and loves anything triple-A rated. Therefore, when on top of this natural love, the regulators awarded the t...
February 17, 2010

Are there not any other routes and, if not, when do we get to the point of no return?

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A dollar spent by a bureaucrat is a dollar spent but a dollar lent by a banker does not necessarily mean a dollar spent. I believe that allo...
February 16, 2010

The small businesses are unfairly discriminated against by the regulators

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Sir, Richard Milne in “The cogs are clogged” February 16 writes about the difficulties of the smaller enterprises to secure the funding they...

We need more solidarity among the free.

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Sir Gideon Rachman rightly calls China´s manufacturing sector a headache to Mexico naming it as one of the reasons “Why Mexico is the missin...
February 12, 2010

But a piñata is made to be broken!

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Sir James Rickards’ “How markets attacked the Greek piñata” February, 12 represents a truly provocative piece of advice… until we run into t...
February 11, 2010

What is ‘socially desirable’ to regulators can be very ‘socially undesirable’ to us

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Sir, Sir Martin Jacomb holds that “views on what activities are ‘socially desirable’ should play no part in the regulatory structure” but fa...
February 04, 2010

Mexico should be up in arms against China and its weak renminbi.

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Sir Arvind Subramanian, based on Dani Rodrik’s estimates, makes a solid case for how “It is the poor [emerging countries] who pay for the we...

Please tax me too with this too big to fail tax!

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Sir as an Executive Director of the World Bank during a risk management conference in 2003 I told the regulators “Knowing that the larger th...
January 28, 2010

Without understanding the regulatory arbitrage one cannot get the real measure of the banks

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Sir John Gapper in “Volcker has the measure of the banks”, January 28, quotes Viral Acharya, a professor at New York University’s Stern Scho...
January 26, 2010

First reform the regulators!

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Sir I agree fully with Martin Wolf when in “Volcker’s axe is not enough to cut banks to size” January 26m while referring to the latest refo...
January 22, 2010

Regulations should not confuse the market.

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Sir you say in “A declaration of war on Wall Street”, January 22, “The government’s key policy lever should be to make sure that institution...

Other financial reforms are much more needed than rebuilding of Glass-Steagall styled walls.

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Sir “ Obama’s bank plan is a start” by Viral Acharya and Matthew Richardson, January 22 though describing in much detail the “highly geared...
January 21, 2010

International coordination is not necessarily good coordination

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Sir Gillian Tett writes “during the past few months, dozens of faceless bankers and bureaucrats have been scurrying around, in joint interna...
January 19, 2010

The eurozone is heading towards a marriage of convenience... at gunpoint

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Sir Martin Wolf’s “The Greek tragedy deserves a global audience”, January 19, makes it perfectly clear that, with respect to the eurozone, i...
January 18, 2010

The real riggers were the regulators and perhaps now the taxman

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Sir Philip Stephens in “How the big banks rigged the market” January 18 considers that the reason for the huge profits of some banks is that...
January 15, 2010

We need a new morning, before darkness sets in!

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Sir Gillian Tett holds that “Deleveraging out of the debt mire will be an unsavoury task” January 15 mostly because “it remains a very open ...

Who puts obscenity limits on the taxman’s bonuses?

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Sir in “Obama attacks ‘obscene bonuses’” January 15 it says that the President pledges “to recover every single dime the American people are...

Iceland’s puts no end to this type of sagas

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Sir I agree with Martin Wolf that having to pay for the Icesave cost the way it has been presented by the British and the Dutch governments ...

No one likes being told they are laggards

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Sir Joshua Chaffin reported on January 15 that Günther Oettinger, Germany’s nominee for the European Commission concluded from what happened...
January 08, 2010

How do we make sure there is no hanky panky?

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Sir in reference to your “Apocalypse later” January 8 may I draw your attention to a recently released Consultative Document by the Basel Co...
December 31, 2009

The monsters that thrive on hardship haunt my dreams

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Published in FT As a son of a Polish soldier who had to endure more than five years in a German concentration camp, I also connect to Ma...
December 29, 2009

Do not help the regulators to get off the hook.

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I have always thought that bank regulations should primarily focus on stimulating the banks to take the kind of risks that are more useful t...
December 28, 2009

Do we really need regulators who cannot define a purpose for their regulations?

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Sir Simon Gleeson writes that the “hardest” is for the regulatory system is “deciding exactly what you are trying to achieve, “Regulatory sy...
December 22, 2009

Banker’s fears should pale in comparison to ours.

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Sir Gillian Tett writes “when banks have made loans to western sovereign nations – or simply bought their debt, in the form of bonds – they ...
December 18, 2009

There should be a growth market in tea-parties.

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Sir Gillian Tett is too forgiving when she describes as a “perverse situation” that “the Europeans banks are now net sellers of insurance ag...

Sheer regulatory lunacy!

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Sir Anousha Sakoui in “S&P in rating threat to covered bonds” December 16, writes that these bank issued will be rated among other based...
December 16, 2009

Let all citizens of all countries in on the climate change human race challenge!

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Sir Jeffrey Sachs “Hold the rich nations to their world” December 16 clearly views fighting against climate change as a government issue. Bu...
December 12, 2009

Who is guilty of having seeded expectations of climate change reparations?

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Sir Christopher Caldwell is right in denouncing that “many of the developing world’s representatives have come to Copenhagen seeking reparat...
December 10, 2009

Never forget who really paid for the bonuses.

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Sir, on your front page Patrick Jenkins, Brooke Masters and Francesco Guerrera reports on the “Banker’s fury at UK bonuses supertax”, Decemb...
December 08, 2009

Do the poor not have the human right to share the obligations of the human race?

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Sir Jeffrey Sachs in his letter “Poor pay for the sins of the rich” December 8, writes about “Pushing the developing countries into a climat...
December 07, 2009

To solve climate change, concentrate on that and shy away from green pork and fighting injustice, those are other battles.

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Sir, you end your editorial “Copenhagen: we can´t risk failure” December 7 saying “The forces of negativity and scepticism, whether self int...
December 04, 2009

There is still a lot learning to do about the real meaning of “getting out of the way of markets”

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Sir Martin Wolf writes “Gone, too, must be the assumption that governments should merely get out of the way of markets”, “A weakened Britain...
December 03, 2009

Is communism being infiltrated through financial regulations?

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Sir José Maria Brãndao de Brito, in “New rules on liquidity could do more harm than good”, December 3, refers to how “the Committee of Europ...
December 02, 2009

In Copenhagen, let us hope they finally make up their minds, and, if it is serious, scrap the cap and trade and fully enlist the poor

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Sir though I agree with much of Martin Wolf’s “Why Copenhagen must be the end of the beginning”, December 2, what I most would like to see h...
November 30, 2009

Is Greece becoming Germany´s fart-payer?

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Sir Wolfgang Münchau writes “ Greece can expect no gifts from Brussels ” November 30, and which makes us reflect on what it would have look...

In a world with reduced lebensraum it might be time for the Dollar II

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Sir Jeffrey Gartner tells us “We must get ready for a weak-dollar world” November 30. It sounds like wishful thinking since what we need to ...
November 27, 2009

If all the bright students went to Wall Street… who became the regulators?

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Sir Avinash Persaud declares “risk is a chameleon” and then describes many absolutely perfect reasons why no one should build a bank regulat...