All posts by Julien Alexandre

Events

Panel discussion “Law, Ethics and the business world”, 25th October 2012

Panel discussion with Ivan Van de Cloot (Itinera), Geert Noels (Econopolis), Benoît Frydman (ULB & Sciences-Po Paris), Marc Beaujean (P&V Group) moderated by Steven Rombaut (VRT journalist).

Topics:

– The issues of fraud and of “white collar” crime (Savings & Loan, Salomon Brothers)
– National and cultural legal traditions put the emphasis either on the spirit or the letter of the law
– Transparency and “symmetry of information” are necessary for market operations.
– Insider dealing runs counter this (however there is no insider dealing on the commodities markets, why the difference — allowing arbitrage?)
– Profitability is often allowed to prevail against transparency: “dark pools” and high frequency trading are tolerated despite their undermining of transparency
– During the current financial crisis conflict of interest (e.g. the Libor affair) and moral hazard (e.g. socialization of losses) have been rampant
– Changes in the law reflect historical trends, so does evolution of accounting rules
– Has fraud been a cause or an auxiliary factor in the subprime crisis?

Videos

Speculation. Its causes, consequences, and history – Fourteenth guest lecture by Paul Jorion – 28th March 2013

Video

– Speculation is justified by the fact it provides “liquidity”. What do we mean by “liquidity”?
– Does speculation provide it?
– The motives for speculation
– The costs of speculation: economic and social
– The successful campaign to allow speculation (1850-1890)
– Stock exchanges. Should we go back to “fixing” and dispose of continuous pricing?

Guest lecture by Paul Jorion on Thursday,28th of March 2013, at Vrije Universiteit Brussel

Videos

Financial instruments in an ethical perspective: plain vanilla and derivatives – Twelfth guest lecture by Paul Jorion – 14th March 2013

Video

– Price as information
– What can be said with certainty about the future?
– Transparency as an alternative to regulation
– “Terrorism” futures
– The conflict between perfect information and insider trading
– Dark pools and transparency
– High Frequency Trading and transparency
– Crony capitalism

Guest lecture by Paul Jorion on Thursday,14th of March 2013, at Vrije Universiteit Brussel

Videos

Sources of income: labour and capital – Ninth guest lecture by Paul Jorion – 22d February 2013

Video

– Rent, wage, interest and profit
– Proudhon’s notion of a “windfall”: labour as a catalyst of a natural process
– François Quesnay (1694-1774): “classes laborieuses” / “classes oisives”
– Hamilton vs. Jefferson (1789-1804)
– What are the principles for taxation of labour and of capital?
– Accounting arbitrage; fiscal arbitrage

Guest lecture by Paul Jorion on the 22nd of February 2013 at Vrije Universiteit Brussel

Videos

Profit and Ethics. Aristotle’s chrematistic – Eighth guest lecture by Paul Jorion – 21th December 2012

Video

– How come Aristotle’s theory of money is part of his Politics and his theory of price, part of his Ethics?
– What is profit?
– How can money generate money?
– Merchants vs. household heads
– Money and happiness
– A history of the “Fair price”.
– Time vs. instant. Book value, Mark-to-Market , Mark-to-Model

Guest lecture by Paul Jorion on the 21st of December 2012 at Vrije Universiteit Brussel