WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 14, 2009
Gordon's Big Porkie
At PMQs Gordon told Dave that around the world "no one except him is proposing we cut public spending at this time". Not true Gordon, the Irish Times reported yesterday that the Taoiseach, Brian Cowen, has told senior trade union officials that the state’s borrowing figures are unsustainable, billions will be cut from exchequer spending this year. Guido will bet a lot of Guinness that as a result Ireland will be out of the recession before Britain.
Merrill Lynch has just issued a warning that "In our view, the UK faces a unique set of challenges making the sovereign and the banks especially vulnerable... We believe the issue for the UK is that asset quality deterioration across all lending types is pretty much certain." Credit markets are roughly assigning a 10% probability that the UK will default on government debt within the next five years. If government spending is not controlled, Gordon really could bankrupt us...Jonah Jinx Hits Wales
Gordon Brown Visits Media Wales
WalesOnline - 9 January, 2009
After arriving under a heavy police escort just before 3pm, Mr Brown was given a tour of our multimedia newsroom by Media Wales' managing director Keith Dye ...
Trinity Mirror Redundancies
Press Gazette - 13 January 2009
Keith Dye, managing director of Media Wales has been made redundant and leaves today, following 24 years at the group. Media Wales’ finance director...Cabinet of No Business Talent
No doubt the fact that not a single member of the Cabinet has run anything like as risky as a whelk stall is the reason Gordon has brought in Mervyn Davies from Standard Chartered (one of the few bankers who has had a good Credit Crunch).
Perhaps the Tories can now bring Digby into their tent since his Lordship is available...Business Lending Package, Too Late and Too Little
Guido's main concern about the Tory plan to insure bank-to-business lending was that it would encourage risky lending in a failing economy. The lenders would not really have to worry too much about the risk because the taxpayer would pick up the tab. The government's scheme will provide banks with guarantees covering 50% of the risk on existing and new working capital up to £20 billion. It shares the risk between the banks and the taxpayer, encouraging the banks to lend for the same profit for half the risk. This is in some ways smarter than the Tory plan.
The small business component is for a £1.3 billion of bank loans with a government guarantee of 75% to cover working capital. Presumably this is to reflect the riskier nature of small business lending. This is a drop in the ocean and will barely be noticed. We are six months into the credit crunch. The options were admittedly not very palatable. Why did it take so long to put a plan into place? Could it be Mandelson wanted to get the politics right to fit his timetable of spin? No rush..
Wednesday, 14 January 2009
The dangers of shaking hands with Jonah Brown cannot be overestimated. Keith Dye was proud to welcome Brown on a visit to his offices, it was the pinnacle of his 24 year news career:
Tragedy struck a mere four days later. Beware the dead hand of the accursed One-Eyed Son of the Manse...
Iain Dale, James Forsyth and Peter Oborne are all ruminating over the complete lack of business experience in the Cabinet. Being a lawyer or a journalist or a PR man doesn't count (unless you were a business owner). The Shadow Cabinet has people with real business experience (that is why they are millionaires), however neither Cameron or Osborne can really claim to have had to worry about the P & L, covering the monthly wage bill or making the quarterly VAT payment. All Gordon knows about business is how to tax it.
Posts
