Brian Bollen's Blog

Care to rub shoulders with Pippa Middleton?

Care to rub shoulders with Pippa Middleton? The opportunity could be available at the ParaSnowBall 2015, an ice-cold evening of dazzling winter sport and sparkling entertainment at London's Cumberland Hotel on Wednesday March 18.

Hosted by Radio 5 Live's John Inverdale, the evening kicks off with a drinks reception at 7.30pm followed by dinner at 8.00pm. Carriages not till 2.00am.

State Street wins Hartford $93.6bn mandate

State Street has been appointed by US mutual fund provider Hartford Funds to assist in providing custody and accounting services for $93.6 billion in assets the firm has under management. The total includes $20.6 billion in mutual funds supporting variable annuity and investment products.

RMB marches onward and upward

The long march of the Chinese currency continues in a way that surely has the late Chairman Mao Tse Tung spinning in his red grave. Financing dirty filthy foreign trade with the running dogs of capitalism was never the objective of the trek from Kiangsi Hunan in the south to Shensi Yenan in the north, which cemented Mao's position as the dominant Communist leader (all decadent imperialised Chinese spellings courtesy of Tommy Connelly, Modern Studies teacher par excellence at St Patrick's High School, Coatbridge, 1971-72; his one-man show re-enacting The Long March remains indelibly inscribed in my memory to this day).

Landesbank Baden-Württemberg joins EurexOTC Clear IRS

Deutsche Börse Group reports that Landesbank Baden-Württemberg (LBBW) has become a further clearing member of EurexOTC Clear for Interest Rate Swaps. By connecting to Eurex Clearing’s central counterparty (CCP) for OTC derivatives, the bank is preparing for the clearing obligation for OTC derivatives in Europe, which is set to take effect gradually from the summer of this year.

BNP Paribas names head of Brazil

BNP Paribas Securities Services reports it has named Andrea Cattaneo as head of Brazil. Cattaneo joined in 2004 and became global head of solutions for asset managers in 2011.

Mint – Blain’s Morning Porridge

And still those voices are calling from far away, wake you up in the middle of the night.. 

What have we got this morning? Everyone is smiling about the Greek package being approved. Happy happy markets –for a brief while anyway.. The market has chosen to read Yellen’s testimony as dovish, while I wonder if she actually means “we won’t raise rates any time soon… until we change our minds”. 

Bye Bye Magnus Bocker

Magnus Bocker, the CEO of the Singapore Stock Exchange, will not seek an extension of his appointment beyond his current contract, which will be completed on June 30 2015.  He has been in the post since December 1 2009.

Activist hedge funds drive improvements

Activist hedge funds globally are driving improvements in the share price, operating performance and governance of the companies in which they invest, according to a new paper by AIMA, the global hedge fund industry body.

A view from inside the MPC

Martin Weale explains his voting record as an external member of the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee from March 5 2014 to February 16 2015.

Look upon my works ye mighty

Mint – Blain’s Morning Porridge

Look upon my works ye mighty, and despair. Nothing beside remains; round the decay...

I’m probably going to upset a large number of people this morning, including some very good friends, but markets are what markets are – they ain’t fair. And when they change they can change suddenly and violently. Yesterday’s apex predator can quickly become tomorrow’s fossil. When troubles come they come not as single spies, but in mighty battalions.

Investindustrial Advisors turns to Investran

Investindustrial Advisors has chosen SunGard’s Investran private equity software solution to provide a centralised accounting and reporting solution across its funds and to enhance its investor reporting capabilities.

English ecstasy at beating Scotland...at cricket

Mint – Blain’s Morning Porridge

The outlook for English cricket must be dire if the whole nation goes into ecstasy because they beat Scotland...

Securities lending: Cui bono?

The question of whether the securities lending game is worth the candle is thrust firmly into the spotlight with the news this week from Philadelphia that Counsel for Plaintiffs have reached a $36m settlement with Northern Trust Company and Northern Trust Investments (subject to court approval).

Capricorn, Viteos migrate from BNY Mellon

Capricorn Fund Managers has selected Viteos for a complete middle office services solution on a co-sourcing model.

Before things can better

Mint – Blain’s Morning Porridge

Before things can better, first they must get worse..

Some folk were caught by surprise by the dovish Fed FOMC minutes – Yellen’s concern about the effect of the strong dollar on US corporates was enough to boost bonds. “Lower for longer” was how the bond optimists read the impact on US interest rates. We still think upside growth surprises and pressure on wages, employment and the deflationary sideshow means we’re on course for tightening sooner rather than later. Watch that space.

NSD develops conversion services

Russia's National Settlement Depository (NSD) says it has introduced a limited conversion payment service. This integrates the purchase and sale of foreign currency and cash transfer, allowing a reduction in the number of instructions and payment documents that its clients need to submit.

BME launches securities solutions

Bolsas y Mercados Espanoles reports the launch of BME Securities Solutions, which it describes as a set of post-trade, clearing and depository services for financial institutions.

Cock up at BNP Paribas Securities Services

Patrick Colle, CEO of BNP Paribas Securities Services, confirms that two senior executive appointments announced just under a year ago have finally become effective.

When did the lunatics take over the asylum?

For as long as I can remember, I've been hearing about the evils of financial inflation.

Inflation bad. Rapid inflation worse. Inflation around 25% the work of the devil. Therefore, you'd think, zero inflation, or deflation (falling prices) must be good? Right? A no-brainer?

Nope. The biggest evil confronting the developed world today is, apparently, the threat of inflation dropping to zero, or turning negative. Negative inflation, say minus 1%, will knock the earth off its axis and must be prevented from happening.

Remind me, please, just when did the lunatics take over the asylum?

How do you hold a moonbeam in your hand?

Mint – Blain’s Morning Porridge

Believe me, I would rather be writing about life on the inside of ping-pong ball than trying to second guess what’s going to happen re Greece.. BUT BUT and BUT Again.. Whilst everyone is watching the bright young Greek idealists batter against the monolithic bureaucracy of Brussels and wondering if the banks are about to go pop, there are much more important and really critical things going on in terms of growth, stock upside and bond downside potential.