Comment, analysis and other offerings from Wednesday’s FT,
Martin Wolf: Why cautious reform is the risky option
Americans are obsessed with the case launched by the Securities and Exchange Commission against Goldman Sachs. At last, many hope, wrong-doers will be punished. But this misses the point. The problem is more what is allowed than preventing what is not, writes the FT columnist.
David Marsh: Greek crisis begets a German backlash
In April 1998, Germany’s parliament voted through the euro with only minimal opposition, writes Marsh, senior adviser to Soditic-CBIP LLP. Now, the German-in-the-street is making up for lost time. Popular antagonism to public funding for struggling euro members makes Chancellor Angela Merkel highly cautious on emergency aid for Greece.
Lex on Greek risk
There seems to be no end to the bad news still awaiting Greece. No sooner had it activated its putative €45bn bail-out from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund than the edifice started to crumble, capped by the country’s downgrading on Tuesday to junk status by Standard & Poor’s.
John Gapper’s blog: Selected moments of frankness from Goldman
It was a marathon day in the Senate subcommittee for Goldman Sachs’ executives, and it was a pretty long one for anyone watching. A lot of the proceedings were taken up with senators and Goldman executives speaking at cross-purposes. In among all this, however, were a few flashes of insight and spontaneity from the witnesses.
Brussels Blog: Why not ask China and Russia to aid Greece?
Financial assistance from the eurozone and the IMF for Greece could be topped up by aid from other countries. For China, with its gigantic foreign exchange reserves, it would be a drop in the ocean. Russia, historically a good friend of Greece because of their shared cultural and religious heritage, could also help. But it would be a demoralising experience for the eurozone.
Market Insight: Gerard Lyons – China is undermining the dollar by the back-door
There is a ticking time bomb under the dollar, says Lyons, who is head of global research at Standard Chartered. When it explodes depends not just on the US economy but also on policy actions in Beijing and Washington. Over the last year the Chinese have undermined the dollar by the back-door, questioning it as a store of value and medium-of-exchange.
News analysis: Brother, can you spare me a nickel?
It may not command the attention of oil, gold or even copper but nickel is on a roll: it has outperformed almost every other commodity so far in 2010. Nickel, used as an alloy in stainless steel, has jumped 42 per cent since the start of the year compared with gains of less than 5 cent for aluminium and copper.
View of the day: Sterling could benefit from a hung parliament
Sterling weakness is likely to be short-lived if the UK election on May 6 results in a hung parliament – but investors may have cause for concern if any party wins an outright majority, says Mansoor Mohi-uddin, managing director of foreign exchange strategy at UBS.