The news isn't good, is it. From the excellent blog Burning Our Money - (as is the image) well worth reading their whole blog-post and associated links...if you're not too depressed.
"How the eff did we get here?..."
Worth pointing out that what happens in the US does tend to happen to us sooner or later and there I think that Obama will have to do something very efective and very quickly: "Are We Going To Sit On Our Hands?" says Market Ticker.
Out of interest and if anyone has the time to sit and read/listen there is a good explanation of most of what has happened, what is going on and what will/may happen from "obsessive financial observer" Chris Martenson; chapter titles etc HERE
"How the eff did we get here?..."And despite pumping limitless further billions of our friggin' money into a massive bank bail-out, it's so useless, bank shares have collapsed even more.That's not all...one of the links is to the Daily Telegraph colomnist Iain Martin telling us what many of us are already thinking:
Meanwhile all our bankrupt "government" can say is that they're the innocent victims of American incompetence and evil bankers.
"Gordon Brown brings Britain to the edge of bankruptcy""They don't know what they're doing, do they? With every step taken by the Government as it tries frantically to prop up the British banking system, this central truth becomes ever more obvious."
Worth pointing out that what happens in the US does tend to happen to us sooner or later and there I think that Obama will have to do something very efective and very quickly: "Are We Going To Sit On Our Hands?" says Market Ticker.
"Any premise that the "global bank bailout" scam could possibly work was dashed to pieces this morning."[19/01/09] Now we have proof through time that the approach taken was wrong - and I, along with the few other voices in the wilderness demanding that open, honest accounting along with bankruptcy were the only and proper course - were right...When in a hole the first rule is to STOP DIGGING."
Out of interest and if anyone has the time to sit and read/listen there is a good explanation of most of what has happened, what is going on and what will/may happen from "obsessive financial observer" Chris Martenson; chapter titles etc HERE
4 comments:
I read the links, I'd already read the Telegraph one because it had been mentioned on the BBC boards. I agree with a lot of it but I must add that one thing about the economy has always worried me and the Burning Blog quotes the ONS stats on it - the financial sector. We've been told consistently for as long as I can remember that London needs to be the centre of the financial universe (at least in Europe) because of the value of so-called 'invisible' exports and yet nobody has (or could have?) seen the folly of putting so many of our eggs into one basket.
Britain has roughly the same population as France and yet we employ four times the number of accountants as they do - what does this tell you, either we just love figures more or regulation is strangling us - ironically most auditors have Michael Heseltine to thank for their jobs as he was in charge when we signed up to the EU Directive that burdens us to this day. Now I'm not blaming him because things have got worse, much worse under Labour. If you look behind the state of the economy and, what appears to be an unrelated new story, the death of Baby P, you will discover one common factor - box ticking.I've said it before we have moved away from being a nation of shopkeepers to becoming a nation of box tickers and form fillers - if the criteria is right everything must be right is the overriding culture.
The cock-up to do with the banks and the bail-outs is so demoralising. I found myself quoting Kenneth Clarke to a colleague this week about the folly of throwing good money after bad - KC was actually talking about the NHS about twenty years ago - but the principle remains the same, why launch a bail out in October without knowing the full extent of the problem only to have to pour more money into black hole in the next financial quarter?
The other point that is coming through loud and clear from talking to people in business is that we have talked ourselves into this recession big time. People haven't suddenly given up the idea of spending money but they've been frightened into stopping spending. Looking at the clients we prepare management accounts for, December was a disaster.
P.S - I agree with Chris Martenson, the only problem is that you are either naturally cautious, conservative and generally unwilling to accept change unless it involves a 360 degree social impact (think Mrs Thatcher) or Labour which has the habit of changing things for changes sake (everything from PM question time to the FSA).
Is there a third way? Yes but I think that Wat Tyler would get stabbed today on Brixton High Street if he tried to organise a peasants revolt.
I didn't see this one on the MB...loads of others though!!! Times, Independent etc. Spoilt for choice!!!
You know Wat Tyler is also the name of the guy at Burning oM? Wasn't wat Tyler stabbed at your old neck of the woods? Mile end...I know the Mayor stabbed him!!!!
That anonomous was me by the way! I couldn't sign in yesterday for some reason. I forgot to add that when I read the BoM piece of course I thought how similar it was to what you posted last year!!!
Too many accountants? Turkeys voting for Christmas!!! :-)
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