France's finance minister has declared a crusade against executive pay at state-controlled companies, describing a wage cap of €450,000 (£365,000) a year for bosses as a matter of "justice and morality".
Pierre Moscovici said the pay squeeze would come into effect over the next two years and deliver on a campaign promise by France's new Socialist president, François Hollande, who sought to tap into widespread public anger over executive salary packages
"Earning €450,000 a year doesn't seem to me a deterrent if we want to have quality men and women at the head of our companies," said Moscovici. He added that the measure was needed to "make state companies more ethical" and respond to "the demands of justice and transparency" at a time of economic crisis.
The government expects to publish a decree on the pay cap next month. Turning the screw on executives, it will then introduce a bill in parliament later in the year to address stock options, so-called "golden parachute" clauses and other components of executive salary packages.
The limit will apply to all companies in which the state holds majority ownership, including the postal service, nuclear power giant Areva, electric utility EDF, railway company SNCF and public transport operator RATP.
Hollande set clear limits on executive pay on the campaign trail, saying no executive at a state company should earn more than 20 times the lowest-paid worker's salary. Fewer than 20 executives currently have salaries over the limit, the finance ministry said.
"I'm convinced the strict salary framework at public companies will inspire the stabilisation of certain practices in the private sector," Moscovici said, promising that all salaries for top executives at state firms would now be made public.
The UMP, the party of former president Nicolas Sarkozy, dismissed the cap as political posturing. "It's a campaign promise. They're pretending to fix our problems by reducing executives' salaries. It falls under the category of 'ostentatious morality'," said UMP leader Jean-François Copé. "They make the French people believe they are fixing the problems with the budget and the economy by reducing the salaries of our country's executives. It's extremely hypocritical. This doesn't fix anything."
First Derivatives and FOREX CLUB Announce Strategic Partnership - Yahoo Finance
MOSCOW, June 14, 2012 /PRNewswire-Asia/ -- First Derivatives plc ("FD"), a leading provider of software and consulting services to global investment banks, brokers and hedge funds has today announced that it has entered a strategic partnership with FOREX CLUB, a leading(1) online broker. The partnership will enable FOREX CLUB clients to benefit from global access to the largest liquidity pools in the market provided by 12 leading global banks and institutional levels of pricing, execution and spreads in foreign exchange trading.
(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120517/533090 )
The agreement is FD's first partnership with a privately owned retail FX broker based in Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States ('CIS'). By introducing FD's Delta Flow(TM) trading technology, which uses a Direct Bank Access (DBA) model, FOREX CLUB's global client base are plugged directly into the heart of the foreign exchange market ensuring best quality execution, spreads and pricing.
Using the latest standardised connectivity from centralised data centres in the world, FOREX CLUB is now able to provide its clients with ultra-low latency and unlimited connectivity, thereby delivering an institutional level of service across all its platforms including StartFX2, MT4, ActTrader(TM) and Rumus.
John Beckert, MD e-Trading & Risk Management Solutions at First Derivatives, said: "Our business development model is predicated on the need to focus on those clients who can demonstrate a market vision underpinned by a solid business plan. This is vital to our growth as well as our clients. Collaborating with a firm such as FOREX CLUB enhances our ability to deliver market leading enterprise wide solutions to the broker sector of the market. We pride ourselves on partnering with clients for mutual business success and long-term profitability. On this basis, we welcome FOREX CLUB as our newest partner. By leveraging our best-in-class technologies and consultancy, we believe that FOREX CLUB is well-placed to strengthen its competitive position in the retail forex market. At the same time, their decision to adopt our Delta Flow(TM) trading technology underlines our commitment to providing innovative and cutting edge solutions to the forex trading markets."
Demetrios Zamboglou, Head of Hedge & Quant at FOREX CLUB, said: "We are delighted to have reached an agreement with First Derivatives to be our primary trading technology partner. This demonstrates our commitment to becoming a global leader in online retail FX trading. By ensuring direct client access to multiple pools of liquidity from the top global banks, we strengthen our competitive edge by giving clients tighter spreads and best execution practices."
Notes for Editors
(1) FOREX CLUB was rated in Forex Magnates' Q4 2011 and Q1 2012 Industry Reports as one of the top ten global brokers by retail forex volume.
About Delta
Launched in 2008 by First Derivatives plc, Delta is a comprehensive suite of high performance real-time trading, CEP, market data and risk management applications. Flagship trading products include Delta Flow, Delta Algo, Delta Margin and Delta Stream which are used in high volume, low latency environments.
About First Derivatives, PLC
First Derivatives is a global provider of software and consulting services to the financial services industry. With almost 16 years' experience working with leading financial institutions, it continues to deliver technologically advanced products and services that anticipate and respond to the evolving needs of global capital markets.
First Derivatives currently employs over 670 people worldwide and counts many of the world's top investment banks, brokers and hedge funds as its customers. It has operations in London, New York, Stockholm, Shanghai, Singapore, Toronto, Sydney, Dublin, Newry and Hong Kong.
For further information please visit www.firstderivatives.com
About FOREX CLUB( http://bit.ly/LiUWPz )
Established in 1997, FOREX CLUB is the brand name for a group of companies that provides clients from over 120 countries with platforms and services for trading forex, CFDs and other online trading and educational products. It offers clients high-quality tools in training, analytics and education, as well as personal support. FOREX CLUB has over 600 employees worldwide servicing 45,000 traders. The company was one of the industry's first to offer zero spread trading and commission refunds on all unprofitable trades exclusively on StartFX 2, the company's proprietary platform.
The company remains committed to the developed standards set forth by government regulators around the world. The company's Russian broker is a founding member of CRFIN( http://www.crfin.ru ), the Russian self-regulatory organization.
The structure of FOREX CLUB Group of Companies includes a range of brokers and training centers, including Forex Club International Limited, Akmos Trade, FOREX CLUB (FSFM license #004857) and the International Trading Academy.
Forex: GBP/USD sideways below 1.5600 - FXStreet.com
Forex: NZD/USD recovers 0.7750 after RBNZ holds fire - NASDAQ
FXstreet.com (Barcelona) - The Reserve Bank of New Zealand just published its cash rate decision, and as expected, the Central Bank decided not to change the rate, which continues to stand at 2.5%.
As John Kicklighter, Senior Currency Strategist for DailyFX.com, notes: "RBNZ says inflation contained, growth outlook fading and stimulative policy stance appopriate. Neutral but with a dovish slant."
The NZD/USD, which has been on a steady slide after a topside failure off 0.7800, is currently having heavy demand to recver the 0.7750 handle after it found its NY low at 0.7720.
FOREX-Euro buoyed by short-covering, Italy bond sale eyed - Reuters UK
* Euro holds firm despite Spanish ratings downgrade
* NZD retreats from highs, RBNZ softens rate-hike tone
* Italy bond sale in focus
By Ian Chua
SYDNEY, June 14 (Reuters) - The euro clung on to most of its overnight gains early in Asia on Thursday, while commodity currencies like the Australian dollar came under renewed pressure following a negative close on Wall Street.
The euro last stood at $1.2574, having risen as high as $1.2611 on Wednesday as investors trimmed very bearish positions on the single currency. But a three-notch downgrade of Spain's credit ratings by Moody's saw the short-covering come to an abrupt end.
"This is now the lowest rating among the three main agencies for Spain. This may augment the recent stress in the European bond markets today and likely put the Italian bond auctions today under greater scrutiny," analysts at BNP Paribas wrote in a note.
Italy is due to sell up to 4.5 billion euros of bonds later on Thursday. The bond sale comes a day after the country's one-year borrowing costs hit a six-month high of 3.97 percent at a debt auction.
However, traders said there is little conviction in the market as the overarching focus is on Greece's election this weekend.
Canada's finance minister said the results have the potential to create a "disruptive moment" on the eve of the G20 summit in Mexico, but that policymakers will deal with that problem if it arrives.
The election outcome is too close to call for now. Syriza, the leftist party opposed to austerity measures, and the New Democracy group, which backs Greece's international bailout, are locked in a tight race.
Against the yen, the euro stood at 99.90, not far off an overnight peak around 100.11. The dollar fetched 79.45 yen, having traded in a slim range of 79.30 and 79.75 on Wednesday. Reflecting a firmer euro, the dollar index drifted down to 82.143 from a session high of 82.581.
Commodity currencies had a tougher time with the Australian dollar once again retreating from parity against the greenback. It last stood at $0.9951.
The New Zealand currency slipped to $0.7763 from a one-month high of $0.7808. The kiwi lost a few pips after the Reserve Bank of New Zealand said a weak economy and an uncertain global outlook meant rates need to stay at record lows.
As expected, the RBNZ kept rates unchanged at 2.5 percent for a 10th straight meeting.
"We didn't think the Reserve Bank would cut rates, but that they would be ready to react strongly if we did get quite a serious development in the European debt crisis," said Nick Tuffley, chief economist at ASB Bank.
"They are waiting to see what that outcome will be. If Europe continues to muddle through, we don't believe rates will go up until March next year at the earliest." (Editing by Wayne Cole)
FOREX-Euro advances for 2nd day, but gains seen limited - Reuters
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