Brian Bollen's Blog

Navy win secures 30% DC contribution

The Merchant Navy Officers Pension Fund (MNOPF) is to close its Defined Benefit (DB) fund to future contributions from March 31.

CACEIS completes CAA migration

CACEIS has completed the migration of all Crédit Agricole Assurances portfolios to its new central European accounting platform.

China's bond opening welcome

The opening up of China's bond market is welcome, says Schroders' Head of Asian Fixed Income, Rajeev De Mello, following the People's Bank of China's announcement yesterday that it will be removing quotas on its bond market.

Clive James and the lack of self-awareness

I have just read a 1977 review by Clive James of The Honourable Schoolboy (by Jonh Le Carré), in which he laments the excessive length of the book.

The review is 2,900 words long, sprawling over six closely set A4 pages in MS Word. This compares with the 350-500 length on a single page that the longest of my own occasional book reviews stretch to.

Dare I suggest that at 2,900 words you are talking about a mini-thesis or dissertation, or simply showing off one's own erudition, rather than a review? The words pot, kettle and black spring to mind, Mr James, on the subject of excessive length.

For the record, though, I did enjoy the third volume of your collected Observer tv columns, and laughed uncontrollably at the one featuring Konrad Bartelski.

Glamis thou are

Mint – Blain’s Morning Porridge – February 24th 2016

Glamis thou are, and Cawdor, and shalt be. What thou art promised...

Back to the future for Custom House

Custom House Global Fund Services, an independent hedge fund administration specialist, has announced the launch of a new brand interface and the official transition of the firm to an independently owned fund administrator, following regulatory and government approvals.

If Goldman Sachs and HSBC are in favour...

If Goldman Sachs and HSBC are in favour of continuing UK membership of the European Union, then I am immediately suspicious. These are not institutions renowned for their commitment to anything other than the relentless pursuit of their own commercial success.

The market is the story of cycles

Mint – Blain’s Morning Porridge

The stock market is the story of cycles, and human behaviour is the story of over-reactions… 

Why are these lying bastards lying to us?

Ian Duncan-Smith says that continued membership of the European Union will increase the risks of terrorist attacks in the UK. Other notable politicians say that resigning EU membership will increase the risks of terrorist attacks.

Which of these lying bastards is lying to us?

EU membership not a trade prerequisite

Much is being made in pro-EU circles of how essential EU membership is in order to trade with the member countries. Utter nonsense. Switzerland, Norway, Japan and the USA, all surely trade with the EU. People will want to trade with us if we have goods or services they want to buy at prices they are prepared to pay. End of argument.

Brexit NOT a step into the dark

British exit from the European Union a step into the dark? That's what an FT editorial leader says today. Absolutely not, I beg to differ, for those of us born before 1973, when we signed up for membership of the Common Market trading bloc.

I, for one, well remember the days when the UK sat outside what eventually became the European Union. 

We might not exactly relish the days of coal mining strikes leading to power cuts in the middle of a Scottish winter, bakers' strikes leading to an absence of bread, rapidly rising inflation leading to an absence of disposable income and the near total absence of technology as we know it today (you could have a phone any colour wanted so long as it was black, ivory or green or red, as I recall, and were prepared to wait 18 months for it and share a party line with a neighbour and drive a British Leyland car, bits of which started falling off before it left the showroom). 

 

But we remember them...

 

Raise the political threat levels

Mint – Blain’s Morning Porridge

My policy on cake is pro having it and pro eating it…

Put those recession fears away

Financial markets have greatly overestimated the chances of a global recession, according to a note by NN Investment Partners (NN IP).

Recession on the way

Mint – Blain’s Morning Porridge

And here is the paper which bears his name as well as mine… that means peace for our time.. 

Kyc.com expands Asia Pacific footprint

Kyc.com, the joint venture between Markit and Genpact has expanded its service to Hong Kong and Singapore.

Facing up to V4 data challenge

A new paper from the SWIFT Institute - The Role of Big Data in Governance: a regulatory and legal perspective of analytics in global financial services, examines how financial firms are using the latest and most effective forms of analytics in the wake of increasing regulatory mandates.

Who would want Obama's job?

Mint – Blain’s Morning Porridge – February 17th 2016

That priceless moment when you're driving home from work at 3am and the road is blocked by a 20ft Triceratops!!! 

RBC wins Madison mandate

RBC Investor & Treasury Services has been selected by Madison International Realty, a global real estate private equity investment firm, for fund administration, depositary and shareholder services in support of its Closed End Irish Collective Asset Management Vehicle (ICAV) Real Estate Fund.

Time confirms nature

Mint – Blain’s Morning Porridge

Time destroys the speculation of me, but it confirms nature..

Make a desert and call it peace

Mint – Blain’s Morning Porridge

They make a desert and call it peace….