Comment, analysis and other offerings from Monday’s FT,
Comment: hedge funds show the way on bonuses
The world’s finance ministers, meeting in London at the weekend, zeroed in on bonuses as the symbol of financial sector excess. They may be a convenient target, but we are in danger of some very bad law-making, warns Paul Marshall, chairman of hedge fund manager Marshall Wace.
Online special report: After Lehman, has the financial sector changed?
As the first anniversary of the collapse of Lehman Brothers approaches, see selected FT reports and analysis in this in-depth special on FT.com
Big Picture: Regulators could ruin the ETF game
Experienced parents are familiar with the situation. There is a happy silence and an absence of small children from the immediate area. One parent looks at the other and says: “Go see what they’re doing and tell them to stop it.” In the same way, US regulators and other authorities seem to be threatening the happy playtime of commodity-linked exchange traded products.
Tony Jackson: How reliable is the equities bounce?
The enormous surge in equity markets over the past six months has been slightly perplexing for those of a cautious turn of mind, but the narrative has at least been clear. First came relief that the world was not ending. Then came expectation of a bounce in corporate earnings. This raises two questions. First, how reliable is that bounce? And second, when we peer into the middle distance, how sure are we the crisis is over?
Lex on tax amnesties
First the squeeze, then the sting, notes Lex. The UK government’s latest attempt to persuade tax evaders to fess up to undisclosed offshore accounts is disingenuously dressed up as a “disclosure opportunity”. Properly called, it is a tax amnesty. And if the latest crackdown around the world has sowed fear that banking secrecy will no longer be guaranteed, amnesties may reap a rich crop.
Lina Saigol: Merger may be the only choice for T-Mobile
When it comes to M&A, it takes courage to ask for help. That’s what Deutsche Telekom must acknowledge as it tries to find a solution for its biggest problem: what to do with its underperforming T-Mobile UK operation. The German telecom group is in talks with competitors including Vodafone and Telefónica to sell the UK’s fourth-biggest mobile operator. But offloading it now with a price tag of about £4bn will mean a return of less than a third on its investment after a decade of ownership.
FT.com video: Can the equity rally continue?
Nick Nelson, head of European equities at UBS, explains why he’s still optimistic about share fundamentals.