Debt and growth revisited: In a paper presented last January at the annual meeting of the American Economic Association, Carmen Reinhart of the University of Maryland and Kenneth Rogoff of Harvard, the authors of the celebrated history of financial crises, This Time It’s Different: Eight centuries of financial folly; conceit and money, looked at the link between different levels of debt and countries’ economic growth over the last two centuries. One finding: countries with a gross public debt exceeding about 90% of annual economic output tended to grow a lot more slowly.

Of all the politicians elected to high office in the West in the past few years, David Cameron seemed the least revolutionary. There was certainly none of the thrill of Barack Obama’s elevation. Even set against his peers in Europe, Mr Cameron seemed to offer less disruptive élan than Nicolas Sarkozy and a less intriguingly ruthless career than Angela Merkel. Here was a pragmatic toff, claiming the centre ground back from a Labour Party that had lost its vim.

Welcome to the fifth edition of this publication which has been compiled by the Salans Global Corporate Group comprising experienced lawyers from each of our 22 offices. Previous editions have dealt with: the establishment of companies and partnerships in key jurisdictions; the use of warranties in international acquisitions; the issue and transfer of securities in key jurisdictions;and governmental approvals and third party consents in corporate transactions.

The British insolvency system will get a new independent complaints body, a revamped regulatory system, increased transparency and an increased status for unsecured creditors under sweeping reforms recommended today. The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) prepared a wide-ranging market study after extensive consultations starting last year, in response to complaints that the system favours banks over unsecured creditors, allows insolvency practitioners (IPs) to charge excessive fees and allows them to abuse ‘pre-packaged administrations’. The report can be found at:

"How did I go broke?" the once-rich F. Scott Fitzgerald said to Ernest Hemingway. "Two ways – slowly then quickly." More and more wealthy Britons are being left surprised at the speed with which the golden horse-drawn carriage of their lives has suddenly become a train on a one-way ticket to Queer Street. The Duchess of York – who is facing bankruptcy, has been reduced to trying to sell her husband's influence like some eau de parfum and is now in danger of losing her home – is only the most recent case of financial meltdown among the well-heeled.

67/10 24 June 2010 The OFT has today recommended far-reaching reforms of the corporate insolvency regulatory regime to build trust in the market and ensure that it works in the best interests of creditors and the wider economy. Each year, Insolvency Practitioners (IPs) in the UK realise about £5 billion worth of assets and earn approximately £1 billion in fees from corporate insolvency procedures. An OFT market study published today found that while the market often works well, it may not work in the best interests of all creditors in over a third of administrations and creditors' volunt

Lehman Brothers International (Europe) (In Administration) ("LBIE") - Unsecured Claims Update As explained in our update of December 2009 (which you can view here), a bar date of 31 December 2010 has been set for submitting unsecured claims in the administration of LBIE.