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Tony Jackson studied classics at Glasgow University and Oxford, then trained as a securities analyst at the Edinburgh broking firm of Wood, Mackenzie.
He moved to the Financial Times in 1983, where his posts have included head of the Lex Column and New York bureau chief. He now works as a part-time columnist for the paper.
Aged 59, Tony is married to fellow FT journalist Maggie Urry. - -
Bank regulators should learn from health and safety
Regulatory reform of the world’s banks is becoming a painful thing to watch. The main object is disappearing under a mass of suffocating detail. Perhaps policymakers should turn for guidance to an unlikely source – health and safety
Addicts left in charge of fixing the system
It is by now apparent that we are in another asset bubble. The chief cause, is action by governments to repair the damage from last time round. Though the pattern has become familiar, it is chilling that this outbreak should come so soon after the biggest bubble in living memory
Take the lead on regulation to call the bankers’ bluff
Britain’s banks, the chairman of Barclays said recently, would be harmed if the UK imposed tough regulation not applied elsewhere. This is a deft application of the principle of divide and rule
Age-old problem of pensions and a shrinking workforce
In 25 years, the UK will have 2.8 people of working age to every one retired, versus 3.2 today. An old story, you might think. Except that the story keeps getting worse
Hired guns’ bonus expectations shoot industry in the foot
The bank bonus culture, so sumptuously on display last week at Goldman Sachs, remains under fire from politicians
Crystal ball stays hazy on bonds or equities question
For what it is worth, I have serious doubts about the recovery story. I find it hard to credit that a crisis of such momentous proportions could be followed so promptly by business as usual
Emerging markets story symptomatic of wider issue
Every now and then in the investment business, you come across a statement that brings you up short: a warning signal that a high-water mark has been reached
TBTFs are a malign growth that must be confronted
A couple of months ago, I aired a proposal for tackling banks judged too big to fail: an insurance fund, paid for by the banks, to compensate taxpayers who have rescued them
Maybe the banks are in worse trouble than we realise
I hate to say it, but we may just possibly have it wrong about the banks. Received wisdom says they are reverting to their bad old ways, and that punitive measures are called for – the first and most concrete being higher capital requirements.
The delicate game of target valuations
In today’s less febrile conditions, we must return to basics. In particular, consider two concepts that are sometimes confused – the control premium and synergy
