UK

  • 20 May 2013 at 2:13 PM

H.M. Treasury Calls An Independent Scotland The Worst Thing It Can Thing Of

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The British government is fighting dirty in its bid to win next September’s referendum on Scottish independence, with a new Treasury report calling Caledonia Cyprus without the beaches or Turks. Read more »

  • 23 Apr 2013 at 4:59 PM

The UK Begs To Differ

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The British government doesn’t understand what the IMF is saying, and doesn’t care about what the EU is saying. Read more »

  • 26 Mar 2013 at 3:53 PM

British Banks’ Capital Ratios Were Too High When They Took All Of That Taxpayer Money

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You know what would have made the financial crisis even more exciting? A proliferation of smaller British banks begging for a little help or full-on nationalization. In any event, the FSA is apparently going to keep busy right up until the moment that George Osborne shuts the lights. Read more »

  • 23 Apr 2012 at 4:53 PM

United Kingdom Couldn’t Be Prouder Of Scotland-Born Whorehouse CEO

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The last six weeks have been a fairly stressful time for Anna Gristina/Scotland. On March 6, she was arrested for allegedly running a brothel out of an East 78th Street apartment, where she provided hookers to “wealthy, powerful men” (“politicians, top-law enforcement, influential lawyers, bankers, entertainment execs and Fortune 500 businessmen”), which meant her plans for global expansion (the details of which she’d been hammering out with a broker friend just that morning) had to be shelved. On April 3, her request for reduced bail (set at $2 million) was denied for a fourth time. On April 9, it became clear she was probably going to have to send her pet pigs to a farm “upstate.” Right now, as she sits in a jail cell on Riker’s Island, it would be fair to assume Gristina/Scotland’s spirits are pretty low. And while it may be little consolation, she should know that everyone back home, across the pond, is not only rooting for her but swelling with pride over her accomplishments, which they speak of in terms generally reserved for local athletes bringing home Olympic gold medals. Read more »

  • 15 Dec 2010 at 1:21 PM

Some British Bankers Fighting For Their Rights More Than Others

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Perhaps rightfully so, British bankers have had it up to here [here] with their government. The anger stems from freaky ass rules officials would like to impose on financial services chippies (for instance, rules that would cap top execs’ cash bonuses at 20 percent of total total compensation and proposals to tax the shit out of them) and the general feeling that the government is too mean to bankers. So sick are they that enough is enough. Led by Barclays chief John Varley and British Bankers Association head Angela Knight, a “fresh effort” has been waged to say “we’re not going to take this anymore.” How serious is this thing? Serious enough to warrant a code name involving wizards. Read more »

  • 16 Nov 2010 at 12:43 PM

Ireland Might Get A Little Money To Tide Itself Over, If Country Can Swallow Its Pride

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The Journal reports that “European finance ministers working on an international aid package for Ireland want the U.K. to make bilateral loans to Dublin as part of a larger aid package that could total up to €100 billion ($136 billion) and include credit from the euro zone and International Monetary Fund,” according to people familiar with the matter. The deal for the banks would be around €45 billion to €50 billion, while “a broader package designed to restore confidence in Ireland’s public finances as well could range from €80 billion to €100 billion.” However, we’re not there yet, as some people are too proud to take a handout. Read more »

  • 15 Nov 2010 at 11:33 AM
  • Banks

Bonus Watch ’10: Bankers And Traders Working For UK Firms To Get Nada After Taxes?

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The numbers have been crunched and there’s good news and less good news. Read more »

  • 08 Sep 2010 at 4:05 PM

FSA To Slap Goldman On Wrist Re Abacus Tomorrow

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You’re a naughty bank– you’re naughty! Read more »

  • 14 Oct 2009 at 1:43 PM

UK Firms Can’t Have Women Around The Office On The Off Chance Someone Reaches Out And Touches Them

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Screen shot 2009-10-14 at 1.54.49 PM.pngFucking women. It’s not that financial services firms in the UK don’t want to employ them, or think they couldn’t do just as bang-up a job as the men. This is not one of those situations.* The Brits love the ladies and would like nothing than more to hire them, and maybe maul them a little on the job. And therein lies the problem. Not with the grabbing of asses, per se. Nothing wrong with that. The issue is with the obscene potential pay-out these chippies could collect in the event their colleagues or superiors decide through no fault of their own to get pawsy.

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