Headline July 05, 2014

'''O" LORD-GOD! : 

A HEFTY -DEPOSIT -PLEASE : 

''' !WOW! SWISS ACCOUNT "'

The job of clever people is to ask difficult questions. The job of very, very clever people is to ask deceptively simple ones

WHAT BETTER   -time and moment, O'' good and kind, Sires:

But the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, to send such a prayerful application right UP there, where it matters.

And it is this very prayer, that  I have been working on for the last many days, -much to the chagrin of  Rabo, Dee, Mariam, Haleema, Aqsa, Haider, Hussain, Ali, Ehsan, Saima, Paras, Sorat, and  Oosama   

And what these heroes don't say to my face, is what they toss around with glees of laughter:

'\"That I am losing my marbles'/"

Be that it may.......Well, what they don't know is that I learnt this latent wish from- no one other than, the great- 

WOODY ALLEN, who once remarked that believing in God would be much easier if He would show Himself by making a large deposit in a Swiss bank account in the director's name.

Parking riches in the Alps  sadly 'O  has become a less heavenly experience in recent years.

And all this, because America has become such a  ''spoil-sport''  after a direct assault on its  tax-dodging citizens and these sophisticated money-men who serve them.

Now where the hell does that leave the blessed of the Developing World?

Fearful, that other banks could suffer the same fate as Wegelin; a venerable private bank that was indicted in New York in 2012 and put out of business, the Swiss government has been seeking an agreement with America:

That would allow the industry to pay its way out of trouble in one go. Instead, it has to make do with one covering banks that are not already under investigation, which excludes some of the country's biggest institutions.

"The deal is cleverly structured".

Of Switzerland's  300 banks  ,   285  will avoid persecution, if they provide certain information about American clients and their advisers, and pay penalties of  20-50%-

 Of the clients undeclared account balances, depending on when the account was opened and other factors.

Banks that persuade clients to make disclosures before the programmes start will get reduced fines. Banks will not have to take part but the legal risks are daunting for those that don't-

Even if they hold little undeclared American money.

Those with no  foreign clients will have to produce independent reports proving they have nothing to hide if they want a clean bill of health.

One Swiss Newspaper called it:

''The start of an organised surrender''.

The Bankers Association 'seeeeees'  it as a necessary evil :  the only way to end legal uncertainty,  albeit at a cost that will strain some institutions.

Small and medium-sized Swiss private banks are already struggling. In 2012 their average return on equity  was  3%. the numbers of private banks  fell by  13,  to 148, mostly because of voluntary liquidations.

KPMG,  a consultancy, expects this to fall by a further  25-30%  by 2016 as receding legal threats encourage the return of mergers.

As America arm-twists Switzerland's banks into more painful deals, millions of you the world over who care about capitalism and economics, may have some very, very profound questions like, Why do these, -such like banks exist?

Just over  80  years ago,  a young British Economist wondered : why do companies exist?

The answer he gave remains as fascinating today as it was back then.

In awarding him the Nobel prize for economics in 1991, the Swedish Academy singled out two papers for particular praise; one published in 1937  and based on a lecture which he gave in 1932:

When he was only 21 years old, and one published in 1961.

But it was work on the  Firm  that marked him out for greatness. Most economists had been content to treat Firms as black  boxes. Mr Ronald Coase wondered what the black boxes-

 ¬Were doing there in the first place!

The Honour and Serving of the Post continues. Thank you for reading and don't forget to share forward.

With respectful dedication to the Students, Professors and Teachers of the world. See Ya all on !WOW!  -the World Students Society Computers-Internet-Wireless:

''' The Sweet Smell Of Success '''

Good night and God bless!

SAM Daily Times - The Voice of the Voiceless