The £61.6bn secret pick-me-up

Today's revelation of the Bank of England's secret £61.6bn emergency loans to the Royal Bank of Scotland and HBOS last October is further evidence (if we needed any more) of how close we got to a complete banking collapse http://bit.ly/61-6bn.

The fact that Gordon Brown, Mervyn King and a few banking bosses have been sitting on this undisclosed information for over a year may only briefly rile us but the we'll probably all move on quite quickly. Why? A lot of us might concur that there was indeed no option but to use the BoE's capability as a lender of last resort to help out in a desperate situation. We might also not want to jinx the recovery by becoming too outraged. Pragmatically, what is the point of complaining anyway because Gordon Brown is unlikely to be in power after the next general election.

Isn't this amazing how a startling revelation, a government secret unveiled, actually ends up making us feel more passive and powerless to change the situation? My prognosis may be wrong. Paxman has raised a few eyebrows tonight but in the end that might be just enough for us to feel that our spleens have been vented (if only by proxy).

Gordon Brown sorts out my personal finances

I had a vivid dream last night that Gordon Brown was sitting at my breakfast table, besuited and ready to sort out my personal finances. The dream stopped before he got anywhere. Are my finances doomed? Well, just like dreaming of death isn't necessarily a bad thing, I'd like to think that my dream of Gordon could be taken as a good omen. As answers.com explains about a "death dream":

"When you dream of death it usually means that you have gone to sleep worrying about something and hardly ever a bad sign or omen. If you are about to die in your dream it can signify a mild illness or health issue coming your way. If you dream of your own death happening it usually signifies quite the opposite such as good health after an illness or a financial gain, it may also mean that you get close to someone whom you are attracted to especially if you have known each other for a long time."

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_do_dreams_about_death_mean

So there you go... I reckon good fortune is heading my way. I am sorry to say this is not reciprocal for Gordon or New Labour. The halloween tea leaves are telling me 2010 is going to be a stinker.

The Scrappage Saviour

Peter Mandelson has announced (with 'passion') to the New Labour Party conference that the car scrappage scheme is to be extended. We are all going to be saved. I can just feel it in my bones.

Are we ready to forgive?

John Waples raised an interesting question about which bankers The City may forgive for recent, and rather, public misdemeanors. There doesn't seem to be a cast-iron principle in Waples's assessment but the perceived seriousness of the crime committed seems to be an important factor. So, "Fred the Shed" will remain out in the cold but Andy Hornby, former CEO of HBOS plc, is back already and in charge of Boots.

Who should be allowed "back in"? What does it say on the cv and the letter of introduction:

"I was CEO when the bank collapsed but it was the economy stupid. Give me a job, please!"

I think that's about right don't you?

Tired of talk about green shoots?

I am. Not because the economy may not be picking up in some sectors, in some countries. No, that's not the reason (and a lot of "nots" - can you have triple negatives, gramatically speaking?). It's the lack of serious analysis about what has actually happened to the economy in the last 2 and a bit years that grates. Two weeks ago the BBC were discussing the idea that France and Germany were out of recession and even today, with the news that Japan had elected the (relatively) new Democratic Party to power, radio broadcasts were tinged with signs of optimism that the battered Japanese economy might be turning. Of course countries are going to turn eventually and spasmodically. Economies have been on their knees for the best part of 2 years, haven't they? Banks have been propped-up and meltdown was narrowly averted. That's the official, and not unreasonable, analysis, if I am not mistaken but we still get excited by a few green shoots.

We've planted 5 pumpkin seeds in the garden but only 2 are growing. Let's say we lose one to "natural selection" (or a fox attack) and the other makes it through to bear some fruit, possibly. That's probably the sum of it. In the UK we are waiting for the knight on a white charger of the housing market to pick up (and I am told it is, little by little) whilst at the same time we know all the political parties are planning very serious cuts to the public sector whilst unemployment rises monthly.

In this context the green shoots discussion is just a cover for a group of media hacks, politicians and economic analysts to excuse the complete lack of analysis that means...

...IT WILL ALL HAPPEN AGAIN.

The worst of the recession is behind us... Boo!

Apparently the worst of the recession is over http://bit.ly/6FyBF but quantitative easing (QE) is not working. There are mutterings of extending QE from £150bn to £200bn. There seems to be a desperate and mucky scrabble to declare "war is over" when no one seems to have come up with a peace plan. Who has got a viable long term solution out of the mess? It ain't over until the fat prime minister sings and that ain't going to happen.

Expenses debacle sideshow

We all want probity from our elected representatives. There you go, that's was both easy to believe and write. The storm over MPs expenses could be easily solved by adding £30,000 to their salaries, as Matthew Paris suggests. There are many technical solutions to ExpenseGate but the only political solution is for someone, anyone might do, to start fighting for leadership, for our hearts and minds and try and offer up real some solutions to the big issue of the day: the recession. It's May and summer is promising heat and back-to-back reporting on MPs receipts and expense claims, meanwhile the Bank of England is injecting another £50bn into the UK economy because quantitative easing isn't working.