Wednesday, March 2, 2016

Missed Brexit

I wasn't paying attention and I passed right by:

"London Stock Exchange in merger talks with Deutsche Borse" by Michael J. de la Merced and Jack Ewing New York Times  February 24, 2016

A merger of Deutsche Borse and the London Stock Exchange would help London maintain strong financial ties with the continent at a time when Britain’s role in Europe is being questioned. Britons will vote on June 23 whether to leave the European Union, often referred to as the Brexit.

Nicolas Véron, a senior fellow at Bruegel, a research organization in Brussels, said “It’s a way to develop a Pan-European dimension even in the event of a Brexit.”

Meaning the vote is basically meaningless. Bankers are going to end run you again.

Deutsche Borse previously sought mergers with the London Stock Exchange, in 2000 and again in 2005. But changes in the stock trading landscape mean the latest try may have a larger chance of success.

With most trading now electronic, exchanges are no longer as tied up with national identity as they used to be. Political leaders are less likely to interfere.

They do interfere. The political pawns facilitate things for them!

“It’s a very competitive space now where more consolidation needs to happen,” Véron said....

That's exactly what we don't need, seeing as that is what has caused so many problems and led us down the path to ruin as the New World Order (or whatever term you like, if you like) is being built.

--more--"

Also see:

Britain sets referendum on EU membership for June 23

London’s mayor backs Britain leaving 28-nation EU

"A vote to leave the European Union would be ‘‘a great leap into the unknown’’ at a perilous time for Britain and the West, Prime Minister David Cameron said Monday. The uncertainty over the United Kingdom’s future in the bloc sent the pound plunging on currency markets as the political battle for Britain’s future entered high gear ahead of a June 23 referendum. Cameron told the House of Commons that in the face of threats, including Russia’s muscle-flexing President Vladimir Putin and Islamic State group attackers in the Middle East, ‘‘this is no time to divide the West.’’ 

They rigged the vote in Scotland; what makes you think they don't do it here with the much larger stakes at risk?

EU chief says British exit would change Europe forever for the worse

Wiretap agreement with Britain would protect rights, attorney general says

Related: Brexit 

Did you see the bottom of it? 

Lynch is a liar!

NDU: Britain’s future, migrant split reveal growing EU divide

Also see: 

Scotland Yard to be razed for homes

British publisher to launch first new national newspaper in 30 years

Facebook, in Accounting Change, Could Pay Millions More in British Taxes

Sorry I missed 'em.

UPDATE:

"Buckingham Palace has filed a complaint with a British press standards group over a front-page story in Rupert Murdoch’s Sun tabloid, which reported that Queen Elizabeth II voiced doubts about the United Kingdom remaining in the European Union. The complaint with the Independent Press Standards Organisation cited an accuracy clause in the group’s Editors’ Code of Practice, according to a statement from the palace. Former UK Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg also rebutted the Sun’s report on Wednesday. It cited a “highly reliable source” in saying the queen told Clegg and other attendees at a lunch during the last parliament, which ended in 2015, that she was concerned about the direction the EU the was taking."

Also see:

"The London Stock Exchange Group and Deutsche Borse said Wednesday that they had agreed to merge in an all-stock deal that they hope will create a European champion in a rapidly consolidating industry."

I hate to be the one to break it to you, but consolidation is the death throes of capitalism.

Fa$ci$m awaits.

British budget includes tax on sugary drinks