FSA RIP © fintag

News comments:
A day of joy. The burden that is Gabriel and the temporary staff who know nothing, is coming to an end. The FSA is to be turned over to the Bank of England who will no doubt create something even more complicated. The UK needs a regulator, just like every other jurisdiction, but not one that changes its rule book nearly everyday and sees compliance cost as a good thing. I tried to print it out once and it was 7 feet high, I kid you not. How can the finance arena be regulated with an in-comprehensive rule book with no rules but only interpretation and guidance and call centre staff who know nothing?

Take Pillar 3 disclosure. Should this be on your website or assumed that anyone interested would just email you for it? Why do hedge fund managers need to put up capital that varies over time and have to write an annual icaap report that states the capital you have told the FSA you have is actually wrong?

Roll on UCITS IV and the passporting of regulation. I look forward to the day when my management company in is Gibraltar and I no longer have the sort of compliance costs that could add an extra weeks holiday to all my staff.

No longer is regulated and authorised by the Financial Servies Authority seen as a badge of honour.

Not that BP care. The oil industry is not regulated. The US based Minerals Management Service tries to have a go but with different bodies all over the world, regulatory arbitrage is rife. I am sure Obama will do something silly but with elections coming up he is torn between SUVs and bicycles. The man would make a great but inept John Grisham character or an FSA call center operative.

Today's shorts:
Young People Don't Pay Their Debts (telegraph)
FSA Banned For Being Obsessed With Collecting Data And Filing It Away (bloomberg)
USD5 Billion Newcits (hedgefundsreview)
Hollywood Futures Almost Here (independent)

Today's longs:
BP To Hire New PR Companies (bloomberg)
Brit Unis Run Worlds Largest Flash Trading Hedge Fund (yahoo/reuters)
Fred Launches Libya Fund (finalternatives)
King Kong (cityam)

Banter:
BP to be renamed American Petroleum.

Odds on Switzerland winning the World Cup 10-1.

Marshall Wace to be given the first ever corporate knighthood for helping the LibDems into power.