What's one way to cope with negative headlines about the collapse of capitalism and the greed of financial services companies if you happen to be a financial services company? Simple...change the company's name and airbrush the C-word from history. I reproduce in full an email release I have just received. Dear All,

Lola drew my attention to this on Robert Peston's 'blog. Assuming it's factually correct, the salient bits are as follows: ...about $1000bn of "old world" companies' borrowings in the form of tradable debt has to be paid back during the next 12 months - with something like $800bn of this owed by financial companies and $200bn by non-financial companies. That would be a colossal...

Profits have more than halved at BP as the company continues to suffer from the weak oil price and falling demand for energy. Little question for all those screaming that we should impose a windfall tax on the oil companies. Now that profits are falling, should we subsidise them?

The rush to exploit Canada's heavy tar-sand oil, which necessitates more energy to recover than conventional oils, could significantly increase global risks of dangerous climate change, warns a new report by the WWF and the Co-Operative Financial Services (CFS), a UK financial group.

Darling (pounding table): "Now look here - you're all rolling in cash and we are broke. So you are going to give us piles of cash?" Oil companies: "No we're not." Darling (muttering): "Windfall tax...." Oil companies: "Just you try - and we feck off to Ireland." Darling (meekly): Biscuit, anyone? Courtesy of Marquee Mark in a comment.

Petroleum Intelligence Weekly's annual ranking of the world's top oil companies - based on criteria like reserves, refining capacity, and sales - was just released, and there is just a bit of shuffling near the top. Four of the five top oil companies now are state owned - Saudi Aramco, Iran's NIOC, Venezuela's PDV, and China's CNPC. A few highlights: Saudi Aramco remains N...

The financial and economic mess continues to claim victims, including in the financial services sector and among company directors, but in some cases their remuneration has been excessive with regard to results and geared towards shortsighted targets. The public has been called on to bail out companies by billions in any currency, while many continue to join the ranks of the unemployed. Politician...

Gordon Brown has still to deal with the toughest problem of all - how to clean out a contaminated system In 1988, when two City financial whizzkids, Stephen Partridge-Hicks and Nicholas Sossidis, invented "structured investment vehicles", they inadvertently ignited the fuse that blew up the world's financial system in the Crash of 2008. Their company, called Gordian Knot, helped banks devise ...

Although the global extent, length and depth may be in dispute, everyone agrees the world is suffering a serious financial and economic crisis. The financial sector in a number of countries, including the US, is close to being technically bankrupt. Beyond the financial sector a number of industries in the UK and elsewhere are teetering on the edge. These include sectors responsible for infrastruct...

The financial services industry in the UK is at a crucial juncture. Our new research report “Not with a Bang but a Whimper” – published tomorrow –  highlights the decline in the UK’s competitiveness as a domicile for this sector, and the increasing likelihood that both companies and workers will take the leap and choose to base themselves elsewhere. Many will see...