Rob Cox and Breakingviews columnists dig into whether the New York Fed’s asset sales promote prop trading or plain old banking skills.

Feb. 29 – French presidential candidate Francois Hollande’s proposed 75% tax on incomes of over €1 million looks like nonsense, would be unworkable and could damage his credibility say Reuters Breakingviews.

Feb. 29 – Markets should benefit from extra cash as European banks take up around €500 bln in 3-year loans

Feb 28 – Jeffrey Goldfarb and Breakingviews columnists debunk the idea that boards need to pay top dollar because there’s some sort of global war for talent.

Feb. 28 – The closure of two tax loopholes is a setback for Barclays’ “good citizen” image; and the “buy China” autodrive isn’t as unfair as it looks, says Reuters Breakingviews.

Feb 27 – Breakingviews columnists discuss why, in one way, Warren Buffett should take a lead from Rupert Murdoch.

Feb. 27 – European leaders need to recognise that if Europe is to grow then a trade off is needed between long term structural reforms and short term austerity measures says Reuters Breakingviews Hugo Dixon.

Feb. 27 – Scale, diversification & good management helped HSBC in 2011, but the euro zone crisis still looms large; and Alibaba.com shareholders should guard their treasures, says Reuters Breakingviews.

Rob Cox is joined by “Confidence Game” director Nick Verbitsky to discuss his movie’s significance four years after the collapse of Bear Sterns.