Times Online – Alex Salmond is under renewed pressure over his links with Sir George Mathewson, the former HBOS chairman, after it emerged that Sir George’s investment group’s hedge fund is running businesses from the Cayman Islands.

John McFall, the Labour chairman of the Treasury Select Committee, questioned Mr Salmond’s continuing use of Sir George as his chief economic adviser yesterday following the revelation.

Mr McFall said: “I am highly surprised that someone who appears to be avoiding paying tax in this country is an adviser to Alex Salmond. It is not in Scotland’s interests and sends very mixed messages to both bankers and the Scottish public.”

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Tags: alex salmond, cayman islands, economic adviser, hbos, investment-group, john mcfall, labour, mathewson, mr mcfall, mr salmond, revelation, scotland, scottish public, sir george, treasury select committee

Times Online – They are the financial world’s most secretive and unaccountable men — but also among its wealthiest and most influential. Today, four of the sharpest speculators in the hedge fund industry will be thrust into the spotlight when they appear before a Commons committee to defend themselves.

Christopher Hohn, the multi-millionaire founder of The Children’s Investment (TCI) fund, and Paul Marshall, the City financier who chairs Marshall Wace, will be appearing before the Treasury Select Committee hearing into the banking crisis.

They will be joined by Douglas Shaw, the head of alternatives at BlackRock, the biggest listed asset manager in America, and Stephen Zimmerman, the former Merrill Lynch executive who co-founded NewSmith Capital Partners. John McFall, the MP who chairs the committee, will be in charge of the hearing. Mr McFall, an ally of Gordon Brown, is likely to push his witnesses hard on short-selling.

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Tags: ally, asset-manager, banking crisis, committee hearing, commons committee, douglas shaw, financier, gordon-brown, john mcfall, marshall wace, merrill-lynch, millionaire, mr mcfall, newsmith capital partners, paul marshall, speculators, stephen zimmerman, tci fund, treasury select committee