The Bracken column is named after Brendan Bracken, the founding editor of The Banker in 1926 and chairman of the modern-day Financial Times from 1945 to 1958.

While the current crisis continues to wreak the worst financial havoc seen since the Second World War, it is at best premature and most certainly hazardous to try to draw any conclusions.

The Bracken column is named after Brendan Bracken, the founding editor of The Banker in 1926 and chairman of the modern-day Financial Times from 1945 to 1958.
The consensus explanation for the global financial crisis is that reckless lending to high-risk borrowers in the US created the credit crunch. This personalises the crisis (bonus-driven behaviour) and simplifies the solution (more state regulation). But this diagnosis is false and the consequent remedy would not prevent the next property boom and bust.

The Bracken column is named after Brendan Bracken, the founding editor of The Banker in 1926 and chairman of the modern-day Financial Times from 1945 to 1958.
There is a good deal of support for Jacques de Larosière’s February 2009 report on how to 'repair' the EU's financial supervisory and regulatory structures, balancing just enough centralisation with national safeguards to get widespread support. But he barely considers the key question of who will provide funds to tackle a banking crisis if the decisions to save or let a bank go affect more than one country. While funding is a domestic problem, it is also a domestic political tool to be shaped in line with national objectives, national priorities and national beneficiaries.

Incoming US presidents often face significant financial headwinds. Barack Obama is facing a force-five hurricane. The world economy has swiftly transitioned from a position of reckless financial risk-taking to a situation that may be even worse – no financial risk-taking. To add to these difficulties, the emerging challenge is deflation. By David Smick.

Four firms dominate the auditing business globally and, between them, would appear to have more than 280,000 employees dedicated more or less exclusively to audit and assurance, generating approximately $48bn in fees. By Stephen Kingsley.

Europe and the US must not be afraid to take a firm line with Russia as it returns to full strength, writes Simon Serfaty.