Financial Times Commentary 3/4

Comment Monday March 04 2013

Financial Times - Comment

A taste for mutually assured destruction

The $85bn sequestration looks likely only to entrench the American political partisanship it was supposed to circumvent, writes Edward Luce http://link.ft.com/r/G8OTZZ/WHCDR2/ZBHOFE/MSXU2R/EKU5OX/50/h?a1=2013&a2=3&a3=4

Bonus issue marks start of a long battle

If the eurozone has a collective interest in anything, it is to stop the City from acting as its main financial centre, writes Wolfgang Münchau http://link.ft.com/r/G8OTZZ/WHCDR2/ZBHOFE/MSXU2R/PNCSWC/50/h?a1=2013&a2=3&a3=4

Let the market decide our energy sources

Thanks to the discovery of massive quantities of natural gas, we have alternatives to petrol. No subsidies are needed, say Robert McFarlane and George Olah http://link.ft.com/r/G8OTZZ/WHCDR2/ZBHOFE/MSXU2R/XB4197/50/h?a1=2013&a2=3&a3=4

Transatlantic trade deal is a US priority

After years of stalled trade negotiations, the US and EU must show leadership and make tough choices to boost the world economy, writes Max Baucus http://link.ft.com/r/G8OTZZ/WHCDR2/ZBHOFE/MSXU2R/Z8XTJM/50/h?a1=2013&a2=3&a3=4

There is no shame in being a bureaucrat

Colour-blind and gender-neutral, bureaucratic systems bring fairness in a way more discretionary systems can never match, says Gus O’Donnell http://link.ft.com/r/G8OTZZ/WHCDR2/ZBHOFE/MSXU2R/UL73I5/50/h?a1=2013&a2=3&a3=4

Six Moments of Crisis

Gill Bennett’s fascinating history of critical UK decisions shows they were messier than they look in hindsight, writes Philip Stephens http://link.ft.com/r/G8OTZZ/WHCDR2/ZBHOFE/MSXU2R/EKU5OT/50/h?a1=2013&a2=3&a3=4

Bonuses are a symptom of banks’ problems

EU move overlooks measures that might create a system that can allocate savers’ capital to productive investment opportunities, writes John Authers http://link.ft.com/r/G8OTZZ/WHCDR2/ZBHOFE/MSXU2R/MJ6EMU/50/h?a1=2013&a2=3&a3=4

No end in sight to Italian gridlock

Comic’s Five Star Movement meets to plan next move but leader Beppe Grillo has had no contact with President Giorgio Napolitano http://link.ft.com/r/G8OTZZ/WHCDR2/ZBHOFE/MSXU2R/PNCSWB/50/h?a1=2013&a2=3&a3=4