I would like to introduce my new blog. Postings will relate to all matters financial and economic with special emphasis on investment banks, past and present. Having been at the sharp end of investment banking since 1976 there is much I can share on the relevance of investment banks, their recent failings, and there important role in the future of global banking. Without them we have little or no liquidity in the movement of available capital to where it is needed, or in the liquidity of trade finance. However, as 2007/08 has shown, controls are needed to ensure that they focus on their important role rather than wasting time in casino banking.

Over the coming weeks I would like to share my experiences and observations throughout the global financial markets to explain some of the myths, and also illustrate some of the beneficial features of the role of investment banks in global finance and stability.

Having watched for some 30 years the various transitions of the proposed integration of European nation states, in whatever form, and watched with dismay the politically created debacle in the Eurozone,  I would like to explore a model for an integration of Europe that might resonate with the citizens of Europe, and put Europe back at the centre of global politics and economics.

I will also comment on current events such as the inevitable failings of some of the so-called BRICS and why the optimism was built on sand. For example corruption is as rife in Brazil today as when I first went there in 1979. The current President has not enacted any of the fiscal or social reforms so desperately needed in that economy. The riots on the streets are real frustration that so much was promised, but nothing has been delivered. So what next?

The other area that I will cover is when I find reporting misleading, or just wrong. I have discussed this subject in the attached ‘About this Blog’ page.

When I get my head around using the blog features I will break the content into logical libraries of content to make it easier to find what you would like to read.