Morning Coffee: Oh Canada, Sings Bank of England
Imagine if the next James Bond was played by Dudley Do-Right. That’s essentially what happened yesterday when the British government appointed Canadian-born Mark Carney, the current Governor of the Bank of Canada, to run its central bank, a role never before offered to a foreigner.
But unlike some twisted casting experiment, Carney’s appointment is being met with cheers from most English pundits. The Harvard-educated Carney, a 13-year veteran of Goldman Sachs, “has the right mix of central bank and financial markets skills,” said Chris Apostolou, a former economist who’s now the managing director at London-based Arbitrage Search and Selection.
With England desperate for economic growth, Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne was likely eyeing the candidate “most willing to blur the lines of fiscal and monetary policy, and to try radical ideas which are still seen as experimental,” Apostolou said. Carney appears to be that man.
The appointment marks a first in more than one sense. The Treasury posted the job opening in The Economist in September, according to The Wall Street Journal, casting a wide and daringly public net to help fill the post. The British government had never before attempted such a stunt.
Ironically, Carney booked his interview years ago with the Bank of Canada by applying to a similar ad in The Economist, according to the Globe and Mail. It seems as if the traditional method of filling top finance posts through the old boy’s club may be ending.
Mary Schapiro, chairwoman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, has resigned. Democratic commissioner Elisse Walter will temporarily take over the post until a permanent successor is named. The favorite appears to be Treasury official Mary John Miller, with Sallie Krawcheck, a former exec at Citigroup and Bank of America, also in the picture.
UBS was fined nearly $50 million by British authorities and will likely be slapped with several restrictions by Swiss authorities for the 2011 rogue trading incident that cost the firm $2.3 billion.
Roughly 2 million Americans will lose their unemployment benefits when federal programs expire at the end of the year. This may change if a compromise over the impending fiscal cliff is agreed to.
Goldman Sachs chief executive Lloyd Blankfein will attend a Nov. 28 meeting with Republican lawmakers to discuss what should be done to avoid slipping off the fiscal cliff.
Corzine ‘Off the Hook’ (Bloomberg)
Congress found disgraced MF Global chief executive Jon Corzine played a major role in the firm’s collapse but “let him off the hook” by not pursuing criminal charges.
Private equity managers, fearing higher taxes in 2013, have begun shifting assets to trusts in an effort to keep the money from Uncle Sam.
DB Hiring Traders (Financial News)
Deutsche Bank is looking to hire upwards of 50 new sales traders at its Birmingham, England office.
Buzz Around the Office
If you haven’t seen it, you need to. The New York Jets season captured in a single play.
List of the Day: Staying Optimistic
Miserable at work? Heed this advice to avoid letting it ruin your life.
- Try to avoid taking your work home with you.
- Keep your shields up.
- Concentrate on the positives, no matter how trivial.
