It’s Big Brother meets the financial press. Vote for your favourite City talking head by clicking through to their column below. Eviction day is Monday – with the first pundit departing us on October 22nd.
DAY ONE – The housemates are on the sofas, awaiting the first airing of their columns to the voting public. But wait, there’s early drama. There has been a contravention of the Click or Clunk rules.
The daily musings of Mr Anthony Hilton in the pages of London’s Evening Standard have not been updated online – or at least not in sufficiently timely fashion. Alas Hilton, an early favourite with the bookies given his timely on-the-day analysis, must leave the house.
And we’ve got a problem also with Mr Alex Brummer. The Daily Mail’s City Editor may habitually find himself behind the curve, but as far as Brummer’s daily column is concerned his newspaper’s website is still stuck in the middle of last week.
No matter. We will press on with those whose pixels we’ve been able to reach.
James Harding in the Times – on questions for the FSA at the Treasury committee today
3. Why did the FSA ease the capital requirements on Northern Rock as late as June, thereby enabling the bank to keep chasing new customers even as it was struggling to finance its business? Does the FSA place too much weight on the health of the balance sheet and not enough on the liquidity of the business?
4. Is it true that the Bank of England and the FSA have run an emergency drill to prepare for an outbreak of avian flu, but not for the possibility of a retail bank run? Why?
Nils Pratley in the Guardian – on pensions and the bid for Sainsbury
Discussions with the trustees are on-going, mumble, mumble, and they are confidential in nature, mutter, mutter. That’s a rough summary of the Qataris’ position on pensions at Sainsbury’s, and yesterday the family members told the would-be bidders that the procrastination has to stop. Quite right, too: the Gulf state may be rich in natural gas, but it currently looks like a caricature of a penny-pinching private equity firm.
Damian Reece in the Telegraph – on Andrew Witty’s appointment at Glaxo
When big companies fight shy of talking about significant changes, especially personnel changes, it normally reveals a lack of corporate confidence which can have any number of causes. However, it generally comes down to there being too many awkward questions surrounding the appointment.
Jeremy Warner in the Independent – on pensions and the bid for Sainsbury
Would Mr Taylor risk bidding, knowing that the family was against him? The last private equity bid for Sainsbury came to grief on exactly the same rocks.
Back then, the Sainsbury family was accused of frustrating a deal other shareholders would have wanted to accept. The family didn’t seem to care about it last time, so there’s no reason to believe they’d be bothered by the charge this time either. Both David and John Sainsbury believe themselves to answer to a higher purpose than mere money. Safeguarding the legacy, and the stakeholders who benefit from it, is more important to them than the dosh. They won’t blink. The question is what will Mr Taylor do?
Tempted to read more? Keep your favourite columnist in the game by clicking one or more of the links above to read their full columns.
More from the Click or Clunk house tomorrow.