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THE INVESTOR
|
09
25TH ANNIVERSARY
Cloned sheep
paved the way
for scienti c
research into
development
of personalised
stem cells
Barings Bank collapsed
after derivatives
broker Nick Leeson
lost £827 million
speculating on Asian
stock exchanges
F
B
arings, the UK’s oldest
merchant bank, collapsed
following one of the rst
scandals involving a‘rogue
trader’. Nick Leeson, a derivatives broker
with the bank, lost more than £800
million speculating on Singapore and
Tokyo stock exchanges.The loss, which
was discovered during an internal audit
after Leeson asked for extra funds in a
bid to extricate himself from mounting
losses, was bigger than the bank’s
assets and its collapse was inevitable.
It was eventually sold to Dutch bank
ING for £1. Leeson initially ed with
his wife but returned to face charges
and was sentenced to six and a half
years in prison, serving four of them.
Dozens of bank executives were sacked
or resigned.A report on the scandal
by the Board of Banking Supervision
made recommendations for improving
the supervision of banks by the Bank
of England, including that it ensure
its sta understood management and
control structures at banks, closer
collaboration with overseas regulators
and regular meetings with internal audit
departments. In fact, nancial services
regulation has been transformed since
then, more because of the greater
complexity, size and global nature of
banking than because of the lessons
learned.Yet rogue traders continue
to be uncovered, albeit that no
other has yet been so drastic as
to destroy such a venerable bank.
5 J
ULY
1996
Dolly the sheep was
born at the Roslin
Institute, University of
Edinburgh. She was
the first animal ever to
be cloned from an
adult cell. Named after
country and western
superstar Dolly Parton,
she was part of a
series of experiments
aimed at finding better
ways to produce
genetically modified
animals. Although
animals had been
cloned before, Dolly
was ground-breaking
as her birth – from a
surrogate mother –
proved that specialised
cells could be used to
create an exact copy of
the animal they came
from. It paved the way
for scientific advances
across medicine and
biology, including
the development
of personalised
stem cells.
M
Labour won its rst general election in
23 years, installing Tony Blair as Prime Minister.The
victory was a landslide, with Labour winning 418
seats – 101 of them held by women MPs – giving it
a majority of 179, the largest for any government in
more than 60 years.The election marked the start of
New Labour, with Blair saying in his victory speech:
‘We ran for o ce as New Labour, we will govern as
New Labour.’ He pledged reforms in education and
the NHS, as well as to restore trust in politics in the
country – a pledge which would be just as relevant
today. Labour won two more general elections under
Blair, in 2001 and 2005, with a reduced majority on
each occasion. His successor, Gordon Brown, failed
to win a majority in 2010 and stood aside for
a Conservative coalition with the Liberal Democrats.
18-year wait for power ends as Tories
are toppled by New Labour project
ONAWING
ANDA BLAIR
WELL HELLO,
DOLLY
TO INFINITY AND BEYOND...
WOODY AND BUZZ LIGHTYEAR ARE THE
STARS OF THE FIRST EVER FEATURE-
LENGTH COMPUTER-ANIMATED FILM
Company lists on the
London Stock Exchange
1992–2017