International Law

Apart from the size of the loss (about ?4.9 billion (US $7.2 billion)) attributed to the Societe Generale rogue trader Jérôme Kerviel, the most interesting aspect of the affair is the speculation over whether the Societe Generale Bank's systems were defective and the flow of other information coming out of the French bank.

This story from The Economist asks whether Kerviel is an evil genius or folk hero.

Forbes has excerpts of transcripts of his police interview.

The fraud overshadowed the bank's announcement of a ?2bn loss from the US sub-prime mortgage crisis, in addition to ?375m of writedowns. (FT.com)

The Times Online reports that the UK Financial Services Authority is quizzing banks operating in the UK  on their equity derivatives exposure, ahead of announcements relating to the Northern Rock collapse.

Other stories: The Australian, FT.com