Once upon a time, economic prosperity was the result of a high savings ratio combined with sweat and risk taking. Victorian Britain pioneered it while the U.S. was built on it. Thrift created the funds that could be re-cycled via the banking system which, in turn, begat further wealth creation. Obviously, this commendable model contained…
It is a great comfort to know that those who were playing blind man’s buff while the economic crisis was fermenting now see a swift recovery on the horizon. Ben Bernanke, Chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve, said recently “the U.S. economy appears to be stabilizing on many fronts and that recovery is likely to…
In recent years, Budgets have been rather boring, a mirage of prosperity rendering them a sideshow. However, last month’s crossed the Rubicon. The Chancellor believes there will be a rapid economic recovery and while the economy will contract by 3.5% this year, he plumps for growth of 1.25% in 2010 followed by 3.5% in 2011.…
In order to fund its massive borrowing requirements, the government has been selling bonds (gilts) to investors. However, last month, for the first time in seven years, there were not enough buyers for the £1.75bn of bonds offered for sale. In short, not enough potential investors were prepared to stump up for the returns on…
Remember Prudence? Go on, think back, you know her. She was that fresh faced, well mannered girl. There was a time when you couldn’t miss her but she hasn’t been around for years now, which is a shame because we really liked her. Looking back, she never truly recovered after being jilted by that politician…
The UK is now facing a severe economic contraction. While we chose to ignore the comments of politicians and bankers on both sides of the Atlantic, who routinely alluded to the strength of the global economy, there is no question that, economically speaking, we are now in uncharted territory. Governments have attacked the problem by…
The American writer Gore Vidal, once remarked that “it was not enough to succeed, others must fail”. I suspect recent comments by the German Finance Minister, Peer Steinbrück, confirm Mr Vidal’s observation. With typical teutonic efficiency, the German language already had the perfect word to describe the problems affecting the Ango-Saxon economies; schadenfreude. After years…
Those old wives knew a thing or two. A stitch in time does save nine. The road to hell is paved with good intentions and if you give a certain type of individual sufficient rope, they usually end up hanging themselves. Interestingly, such people often show up in politics or finance. Several of the world’s…
It has taken six months but the final chapters of the Northern Rock saga are about to be written. The first run on a bank since the 19th century will end in nationalisation by a government that was desperate to avoid taking such action. There will likely be legal moves, spearheaded by the two hedge…