Archive for May 17th, 2010
EU approves hedge fund transparency law
(Bloomberg): A panel of European Union lawmakers approved a proposal to force hedge fund managers outside the EU to agree to transparency standards in exchange for a so-called passport to market to investors in the 27-nation bloc. The European Parliament’s economic and monetary affairs committee voted for the measure today (Monday 17 May) in Strasbourg, France, as part of a package of tougher rules for hedge-fund and private- equity managers. The full EU Parliament is due to give its verdict on the draft legislation, which the US has opposed, in July. “It’s very important,” Jean-Paul Gauzes, the French lawmaker who sponsored the bill in the parliament, said in an interview.
“We have to bring order.” The overall law, which would also see investment managers subject to restrictions on bonuses and how much debt they can use, was passed with 33 votes in favour, 11 against and three abstentions. It was opposed by UK conservative members of the committee.
Pension dodgers face fines
(CNS): Private sector employers that do not meet their obligations under the national pension law to pay their employee pension contributions will now face on the spot fines. The goal is to avoid the need for protracted and lengthy court proceedings to impose sanctions on non-compliant employers but to enable the pension board to impose immediate financial penalties on those that don’t pay. Speaking to CNS from the Cayman Brac on Friday Minister Rolston Anglin said that fine systems had proved to be the best way of improving compliance and reducing bureaucracy.
Obama leads charge for global press freedom
(CNS): President Barack Obama has signed a law intended to protect free press around the world. Underthe Daniel Pearl Freedom of Press Act, the State Department will identify countries where press freedom is being violated. Pearl, for whom the law has been named, was a Wall Street Journal reporter who was beheaded by militants in Pakistan in 2002. Obama said the law would be a signal to governments around the world that their actions, including treatment of the media, are being watched. Speaking at the ceremony, the president said that naming the law after Pearl served as a reminder that there are those who would go to any length in order to silence journalists around the world.
Quick response from Port Authority
(CNS): While government entities have 30 calendar days to respond to FOI requests, the Port Authority of the Cayman Islands responded to a request about the salary of the Port Director, (not the Chair of the PA Board Stefan Baraud who is a volunteer) in just five days. The director earns between $15,000 and $17,000 per month (or $180,000 to $204,000 per year), according to the response. However, the information officer declined to specify the exact amount or details of the contract under the exemption in the FOI Law: ‘Records likely to endanger health and safety’, explaining that threats had been made to the port director’s life and that releasing this information might further provoke harassment.
Mickey gets the straight dope
(CNS): Police burned 14534.528399 lbs of marijuana between January 2005 and October 2009, according to a response to a freedom of information request made to the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service. The request was made by Mickey Mouse, an international household name and long time employee of the Disney Corporation who was publicly scolded by Premier McKeeva Bush at the televised press briefing last week for making FOI requests in the Cayman Islands. Mouse told CNS, "Although thereis information contained in the response from the Information Manager, I did not get copies of the records containing this information, which is what I requested and what the law provides for."
The ageing cartoon character also said he planned to make many more requests.
New minister marks day against homophobia
(Pink News): New Foreign Office minister for Europe David Lidington has released a message to mark International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia (IDAHO). Mr Lidington, a Conservative MP, said the Foreign Office was "committed to promoting British values" abroad, including LGBT rights. His message said: "The UK has a long and proud history of defending the basic rights and freedoms of the oppressed and vulnerable. "We are committed to promoting British values overseas and to placing human rights at the heart of foreign policy. "Everyone, including gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people should be free to enjoy the rights and freedoms to which people of all nations are entitled."
Street fight ends in stabbing
(CNS): According to eyewitness reports, the holiday weekend has been marred by a major street fight that broke out in the early hours of this morning (Monday 17 May), which resulted in a serious stabbing and landed one man in hospital. Police have confirmed that one man has been arrested and another taken to hospital following the incident, which was reported to them around 4:10am. The police said the fight took place in the area near the Marquis Plaza off the West Bay Road but they did not have full details of how the fight had erupted. Eye witnesses told CNS that the police were called to the incident and were already at the scene observing the disturbance when the man was stabbed in the neck.
EU goes after Credit default traders
(Bloomberg): Sovereign credit-default swap transactions face mandatory disclosure rules the European Union’s financial services commissioner said Monday Michel Barnier said he would deal with the sovereign CDS market “very severely.” Credit-rating companies should also be subject to tougher transparency rules when rating a country’s ability to pay back its debt, he said. “These people don’t like being out in the light of day,” Barnier said of sovereign CDS traders at a press conference in Brussels. “We’ll flood them with light.”German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicholas Sarkozy have called for curbs on speculating with sovereign credit-default swaps, which many blame for exacerbating Greece’s fiscal woes.
They have also called for a review of European Union rules regulating credit-ratings companies.
Liberal Democrat gets OTs
(CNS): The man who will now make the decision on any further borrowing requests from the Cayman Islands Government is a member of the Liberal Democrat arm of the UK’s new coalition government. Jeremy Browne MP has been appointed Minister of State with responsibility for South East Asia/Far East, Caribbean, Central/South America, Australasia and Pacific, Overseas Territories, human rights, consular, public diplomacy and the Olympics. The Liberal Democrat party has made no secret of its dislike for tax havens and members have been outspoken advocates on the need to close tax loopholes that allows big business to put money at arms length of the UK exchequer.
Bermudan press hits back at clamp down
(The Royal Gazette): Global press freedom organisations have denounced plans for a state-controlled council to oversee the media in Bermuda — while local journalists are calling for a rethink of the idea. Premier Ewart Brown tabled a bill in the House of Assembly on May 7 which purports to be for the creation of an "independent media council" but which would consist of a majority of members appointed on his recommendation. The Royal Gazette sent copies of the proposed legislation — which could be debated and passed by MPs as soon as Friday — to overseas media bodies, as well as politicians, journalists and others on the Island.