The Globe and Mail - Eric Reguly Columns

Credit crisis: the lance that bested Sir Fred

Tue, 14 Oct 2008 00:00 EDT

No one could accuse Fred Goodwin, the CEO of Royal Bank of Scotland, of being bland. Investors and analysts have called him arrogant, abrasive, a megalomaniac. He was certainly a deal junkie and a vicious cost cutter - the British media dubbed him ''Fred the Shred.''

Hedge funds lose their edge

Mon, 13 Oct 2008 00:00 EDT

Hedge funds were adept at making money, and lots of it, in any market - up, down, sideways. They would sell short, buy long and use put options for protection. Great gobs of leverage were used to amplify returns.

Hedge funds lose their edge

Sun, 12 Oct 2008 22:54 EDT

Some hedge funds will collapse

Credit squeeze puts Deripaska on the ropes

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 00:28 EDT

The global financial crisis is bringing Russia's highest-flying oligarch down to earth

Credit squeeze puts Deripaska on the ropes

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 00:00 EDT

The global financial crisis is bringing Russia's highest-flying oligarch, Oleg Deripaska, down to earth.Sources who know Mr. Deripaska say his company, Basic Element, has been hit by a ''liquidity crisis'' that is forcing it to unload assets - its investment in Canada's Magna International was one victim - that it picked up not long before the Russian markets and economy got clobbered by the credit crunch and the commodity price plunge. BE may also seek state loans to help refinance its debts, a scenario reported in Moscow and not denied by the Moscow firm.

Europe rides madly off in all directions

Thu, 9 Oct 2008 00:00 EDT

Europe's piecemeal approach to repairing its financial system descended into near farce yesterday as Britain vowed to sue Iceland for not insuring the deposits of its banks' British customers and various countries rolled out their own bank bailout plans.

Crisis strengthens Manulife's hand in AIG bid

Tue, 7 Oct 2008 00:00 EDT

The chances of Manulife Financial Corp. winning parts of American International Group Inc. are rising sharply as the credit crisis hurts the ability of rival insurers to knock the Canadian company out of the picture, industry sources and analysts said.

Crisis strengthens Manulife's hand in AIG bid

Mon, 6 Oct 2008 21:03 EDT

American insurance giant is under pressure to sell businesses quickly to repay an $85-billion (U.S.) Federal Reserve loan that spared it from bankruptcy

Europe races to shore up faltering banks

Mon, 6 Oct 2008 00:00 EDT

The German government led a €50-billion ($74-billion Canadian) bailout of the country's second-biggest commercial mortgage lender late last night and promised to guarantee all personal bank deposits in a bid to stem a spreading European financial crisis.