The Finanser’s Week: 16th March 2020 – 22nd March 2020

The main blog headlines are …

#Coronavirus, cash and the breakup of the Eurozone

I’m sitting staring at the wall. It’s been a long time now since being in a face-to-face meeting, conference or catching a flight. I’m staring at the wall. Thinking. Thinking. Thinking … what’s the meaning of all this? What’s the meaning of life? What’s the …

The rush to digitalisation post-pandemic

I’m getting a lot of people asking questions about what I think the coronavirus will mean long-term in the financial markets, so I’ve tried to jump forward to look back. Obviously, the big thing about a pandemic is that people are being told to stop …

Did you take the world for granted?

It’s very strange times. I’ve taken travel for granted. For years, I’ve been used to open borders, easy connectivity and access to airports. The internet then fuelled that ease of movement and connectivity. Suddenly, via social media, my friends are in Tokyo, Kuala Lumpur, Sydney, …

Our world is just a fiction

For a while, I presented the idea that our world is a fiction. It is a fiction based upon beliefs. We have shared beliefs. We believe the world is the way the world is. But the world isn’t this way. Borders. Borders don’t exist. We …

The politics of pandemics

I was a little distraught over the weekend. With absolutely no warning, the Polish government closed the country’s borders. All flights and train travel banned. No inbound access at all, unless you are Polish or could provide Polish residency. No outbound access and, if you …

 

And the main news headlines are …

Former London bankers convicted after Germany's 'greatest tax robbery' - The Guardian
First case of its kind sheds light on complex fraud known as cum-ex trading Two former London bankers were handed suspended jail terms and one a €14m fine for tax fraud in a landmark trial that is likely to unleash dozens of similar cases across Germany. The ruling is the

Why America’s financial plumbing has seized up - Economist
Central-bank action is failing to stem the rout

Cardless in the coronavirus crisis  - Financial Times
My brief experience of joining the unbanked showed the challenges faced by millions

Bank of England boss: Don't fire staff because of pandemic - BBC
The Bank of England boss says firms should think carefully before firing staff

HSBC appoints insider Quinn as CEO amid growth headwinds - Reuters
HSBC Holdings PLC has appointed Noel Quinn as chief executive officer, handing the insider and interim boss the reins of Europe's biggest bank and ending months of speculation an external candidate could get the role.

UK banks set out details of Covid-19 mortgage holidays - Guardian
Households hit by coronavirus will not lose credit ratings if they delay payments Coronavirus – latest updates See all our coronavirus coverage Britain’s banks have revealed how they are going to implement Rishi Sunak’s promise of “payment holidays” of up to three months. In guidance issued after the chancellor pledged

Coronavirus: 'We have gone from £140,000 a year to nothing' - BBC
Small businesses across the country face bankruptcy as coronavirus fears put the brakes on the economy.

Climate change: The rich are to blame, international study finds - BBC
The Leeds University study looked at 86 countries and came to broadly the same conclusions about the rich.

Banks are running out of cash - New York Times
Large-denomination bills were in such high demand this week that at least one Bank of America branch wasn’t able to satisfy some customers pulling out tens of thousands of dollars at a time.

The plumbing behind world's financial markets is creaking. Loudly - Reuters
The coronavirus panic is jolting stock markets, with steep drops in major indexes grabbing the public’s attention. But behind the scenes, there is less understood and potentially more worrying evidence that stress is building to dangerous levels in crucial arteries of the financial system.