Not a good start for the banking sector in the market this week.. as of a quarter past 9 this morning, the FTSE is down some 42 points, mainly due to losses in bank shares..
It would seem that we're heading.. perhaps unwillingly.. towards more and more government ownership of 'private sector' concerns.. With this latest input of taxpayer funds, the government now owns some 77% of Lloyds/HBOS..
An utterly ridiculous situation.. there is simply no chance the Banks now supported by the public will be able to return the cash they've been given..
And is raises the question.. how much of this money will simply disappear into the financial 'black hole'.. leaving the taxpayer stilll wondering what, if any good, has been done?
Take Lloyds/HBOS.. If you happen to have an overdraft, and you exceed it by, lets say, £45 for a week. Bank charges will be leveed against you to the tune of £35 for the initial 'unplanned overdraft', plus £10 a day to a maximum of $100 per month..
Yet we own these institutions..
It's exceedingly doubtfull the man on the street would take such a whack out of his disposable income for a debt, which can be as little as £5..
Yet our banks feel no compunction..
It's daylight robbery, and it's a practice the banks should be brought to task for..
not to mention the Government regulators..
More to come..
Monday, March 09, 2009
Thursday, March 05, 2009
'Quantitative Easing' is what they're calling it..
It doesn't seem to have helped much, lowering interest rates to 0.5% should be the final drop posted by the Bank of England..
One hopes they warmed up the printing presses when we predicted they would some months ago.. they'll see a fair amount being rolled off as the government prepares to buy off some of the banks assets.. and while we're told the purchases will be Government Bonds held by the banks, it's a certainty some 'toxic assets' will find themselves being owned by the taxpayer..
And here is the financial 'black hole' discussed earlier..
The hope is that with a further injection of £75 billion or so into the banks, that it will increase lending, promote expansion, and bring us back to our old spending habits..
Quantitative Easing.
It's been tried once before, in Japan..
It showed initial success, but petered out when the extra cash did.
If any financial system is based on the fundamental principle of huge profits for those who initially finance any venture, with downstream remuneration for those who produce, there must be within that workforce a sense of equity.. a work ethic based on pride in the job..
The Unions have a fair bit of tearing down to own up to.. introducing the 'right' to a job, and a pay rate out of step with the skills required for the work involved..
Just as Management has had it's hand in enraging the workforce with it's unreasonable 'bonus' systems.. it's mishandling of the market to such an extent that plants are shutting left and right..
And our World Leaders expect to have a handle on this soon..?
From Barack's ridiculous claim of 6 months.. to Gordon's somewhat realistic 5 years.. we are in for an economic meltdown of amazing proportions..
When the Treasury resorts to printing more cash when all the indicators point to a worsening situation..
We're in deep water, indeed..
And poor Gordon..
His first visit to the US.. and no Gala Ball.. no meeting in the Rose Garden (mind you it was covered in deep snow and -12C at the time)..no pomp or circumstance one would associate with the British leader meeting his American counterpart..
And.. is Gordon wondering at the 'special partnership' being downgraded to 'a special relationship'..
While Gordon's reception in both the Senate and the House was good.. It seemed when Gordon was face to face with Barack..His views on 'Globalisation' were pushed to one side by Barack's plans to insulate the US.
Britain has been America's staunchest ally since WW2.. but there are signs this new American Administration would re-evaluate the situation..
We'll see what kind of reception Angela and Nicholas get, when they make their first official visits..
An interesting final note.. at least one pundit has called this economic situation 'the worst in a hundred years..
Who.. one wonders.. will be the first astute..and brave enough.. to use the 'Big D' word..
And one more thought.. why, if the plan is to inject more money to jump start lending, and eventually bail out businesses..
Perhaps some of that cash could be put to better use by say..eliminating personal debts.. eliminating personal overdrafts and matching savings at say..50p on the pound.. Help the man on the street on a level they can appreciate, and Gordon will be remembered as the man to at least 'tried' to do something for the British public.. rather than 'The Man Who Would Be King', who was Chancellor for ten years, effectively putting us here..
This would ensure the banks would be back in the lending on a level which would guarantee cashflow on the mainstreet.. stimulate employment.. do all that which the banks were already have meant to do with the unimaginable amounts of cash they've already been given..
Ahh.. if dreams only came true..
It doesn't seem to have helped much, lowering interest rates to 0.5% should be the final drop posted by the Bank of England..
One hopes they warmed up the printing presses when we predicted they would some months ago.. they'll see a fair amount being rolled off as the government prepares to buy off some of the banks assets.. and while we're told the purchases will be Government Bonds held by the banks, it's a certainty some 'toxic assets' will find themselves being owned by the taxpayer..
And here is the financial 'black hole' discussed earlier..
The hope is that with a further injection of £75 billion or so into the banks, that it will increase lending, promote expansion, and bring us back to our old spending habits..
Quantitative Easing.
It's been tried once before, in Japan..
It showed initial success, but petered out when the extra cash did.
If any financial system is based on the fundamental principle of huge profits for those who initially finance any venture, with downstream remuneration for those who produce, there must be within that workforce a sense of equity.. a work ethic based on pride in the job..
The Unions have a fair bit of tearing down to own up to.. introducing the 'right' to a job, and a pay rate out of step with the skills required for the work involved..
Just as Management has had it's hand in enraging the workforce with it's unreasonable 'bonus' systems.. it's mishandling of the market to such an extent that plants are shutting left and right..
And our World Leaders expect to have a handle on this soon..?
From Barack's ridiculous claim of 6 months.. to Gordon's somewhat realistic 5 years.. we are in for an economic meltdown of amazing proportions..
When the Treasury resorts to printing more cash when all the indicators point to a worsening situation..
We're in deep water, indeed..
And poor Gordon..
His first visit to the US.. and no Gala Ball.. no meeting in the Rose Garden (mind you it was covered in deep snow and -12C at the time)..no pomp or circumstance one would associate with the British leader meeting his American counterpart..
And.. is Gordon wondering at the 'special partnership' being downgraded to 'a special relationship'..
While Gordon's reception in both the Senate and the House was good.. It seemed when Gordon was face to face with Barack..His views on 'Globalisation' were pushed to one side by Barack's plans to insulate the US.
Britain has been America's staunchest ally since WW2.. but there are signs this new American Administration would re-evaluate the situation..
We'll see what kind of reception Angela and Nicholas get, when they make their first official visits..
An interesting final note.. at least one pundit has called this economic situation 'the worst in a hundred years..
Who.. one wonders.. will be the first astute..and brave enough.. to use the 'Big D' word..
And one more thought.. why, if the plan is to inject more money to jump start lending, and eventually bail out businesses..
Perhaps some of that cash could be put to better use by say..eliminating personal debts.. eliminating personal overdrafts and matching savings at say..50p on the pound.. Help the man on the street on a level they can appreciate, and Gordon will be remembered as the man to at least 'tried' to do something for the British public.. rather than 'The Man Who Would Be King', who was Chancellor for ten years, effectively putting us here..
This would ensure the banks would be back in the lending on a level which would guarantee cashflow on the mainstreet.. stimulate employment.. do all that which the banks were already have meant to do with the unimaginable amounts of cash they've already been given..
Ahh.. if dreams only came true..
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