After going to bed around 4 am it is not surprising that I missed the press conference of the Prime Minister with Chancellor of the Exchequer following the release of their statement on the immediate measures to shore up the British banking system as the first step in dealing with the system failures which have created the present situation and taking the first step in piloting the British economy out of the world recession. This was followed by a remarkable organised Prime Minister's Question Time, which delighted the Labour Party and thrilled those on the left wing whereas it was evident that the Tory party was reluctantly forced to remain silent with those on the extreme right angry and bitter and what they could see was the betrayal of unregulated monetarism developed by Margaret Thatcher. There was a gasp in the Commons as it was the Conservative party Leader who called upon the Prime Minister to say that those in the failed banks would not receive any bonuses this year.
But first the British Action which is very different from the USA package and where the House of Commons demonstrated to the Republican party how they got it wrong when the matter went before Congress. I can imagine their reaction if a similar package was presented to them.
First the British government is spending £25 billion buying preference shares of the 8 biggest banks. Secondly the Government is offering another £25 billion to be able to increase their capital base but this will be in the form of loans repayable. In relation to North Rock the measures taken by the bank has resulted in repaying more earlier. In both instances therefore this is money which should return to the government. However to qualify for this assistance the banks must agree to a package of changes. Eight of the major British banks have agreed to participate. Abbey, Barclays, HBOS. HSBC, Lloyds TSB, Nationwide building society, the Royal Bank of Scotland and Standard Chartered. This means that that government has influence on aspects of the individual policy and practice of the banks in stated areas such as the future approach to remuneration of Directors and the payment of bonuses to staff. This is likely to affect the dividends paid to share holders with possibly a freeze or reduced levels and a freeze or limiting of incomes of those at the top except where there is evidence of making a significant contribution to changing and improving the situation. The additional funds from the shares will provide the funds to enable banks to go back to the basic functions over the next three years. The government will be able to sell the shares to the market when the economic situation improves, potentially at a significant profit as well as gaining dividends when these are issued. The government will not interfere with the day to day running so that inter bank competitiveness will continue and the salary bonus dividend structure will remain in the hands of the Directors and Chief Executive officers but the principles by which they act in future have to be agreed in advance. A further £250 billion in loan guarantees will be available from the Bank of England at commercial rates to encourage banks to lend to each other and a further £100 billion on the existing £100 billion will be available direct to companies from the Bank of England in short term loans to ensure the trading continues and jobs are protected. In total the British Government is therefore providing sums similar to that in the USA although our economy is about a fifth of the size of that in the USA and government income accordingly proportionate. It is anticipated that a number of major European governments will follow the British lead.
The Prime Minister and Chancellor resisted the temptation to remove the independence of the Bank of England in relation to Interest rates but in a significant moved also followed by other European countries there was a reduction of half a percent in interest rates which was followed by the main mortgage lenders cutting their rates by a similar amount.
These development were then support by the leaders of all the political parties in Britain not just the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats but the Scottish Nationalists for example and even George Galloway heaped praise although asking if he would go further and put in a people's representative in every board room! The Tory Party and members in the House of Commons faced a major problem. If they made party political points they could appear unpatriotic and lose public sympathy. They therefore gave their support by asking questions which enabled the Prime Minister to explain at length the nature of the plan. The only difference was the request to punish the people at the top, an attempt to regain support from the public, however the Prime Minister kindly pointed this was potentially self defeating, just as on interest rates there was more than one way to kill the cat, irrespective of the number of lives.
The Tories sat with glum faces and one former leader Michael Howard was raging. Labour and other party back benchers could not contain their glee and there were outbursts of scorned derision, childish in the circumstances as Cameron felt he had no alternative but support the socialist measures or risk losing the present political advantage in the polls. It was reported that several leading Conservatives were drawing a parallel when Margaret Thatcher found herself with the Falkland's War. They will continue to have to bite their tongue while the crisis continues which will make the subsequent attack on why the Government did not introduce better regulation before now less effective. However the difficult is that it was Thatcher who commenced the approach in the late 1970's followed by all governments and their cabinets for the next three decades. Those who argued that the system was morally and fundamentally flawed were accused of being cranks and pro communism.
Yesterday there was an interview with a lady who had invested the money from the sale of a property in the Icelandic bank that had gone into liquidation and was thought to have lost half because of the limit of the protection announced only on Monday. However one other development was the announcement that that all individual deposits would be reimbursed 100% of deposits. The position of local authorities who invested is under discussion.
For the second time in two days I have heard the spiritual, jazz blues number I feel like a motherless/fatherless child.
I enjoyed the individualised view of New York in the first of the World's Great Cities series, in which he covered the usual sights from Central Station to Central park, to alas grand zero, to the cost of staying in the best hotels and Broadway preparing to go on stage with 330000 seats. He goes out with the trash clearers where the collection is put on a barge to the out of town depot be sorted and crushed and then taken by train 300 miles to a monster tip. It also put on a harness to clean windows off the side of skyscraper of which here are over 3000 in New York, He visited correctional institution preparing up state offenders among the two million or so to prepare for discharge through day release. The establishment overlooks central park. He attended a call to prayers at the central Mosque with surprisingly 300000 Muslims in the city, and a Russian Jewish wedding, the birth of baby.
As I write this the Q E 2 is sounding her horn and fire works sound off as she leaves the Tyne for the last time on her round Britain voyage. I was able to see the great ship as I went to B and Q to get some daffodils and Tulips to add to those kept from last year.
Last night I decided I need to give the kitchen a good clean and made a start while I washed up and washed clothing and then dried. However with staying up for the Presidential debate it was a slow start. I had a bacon and tomato sandwich around midday and another toasted mid afternoon, and hen peppered frying steak with some pasta shells filled with spinach. It was too peppery for my taste so will not be tried again.
The evening ended with another dose of American Italian catholic Gangsters which called The Funeral and which could be sub titled Sins of the father's. I was interested when I discovered that the daughter of Ingrid Berman had a small part in the film. She looks and sounds like her mother and has many of her mannerisms. It also starred Chris Walken, Chris Penn and Benicio del Torro. Some critics claim it is a thinking man's God father, which amazed me because these are uneducated yob killers who not even fool the priest into accepting them as practicing Catholic and with no redeeming features. It was a merciful ending for everybody when one decides to kill himself, along with the surviving brother and other relatives on the night before the funeral of the third.
But first the British Action which is very different from the USA package and where the House of Commons demonstrated to the Republican party how they got it wrong when the matter went before Congress. I can imagine their reaction if a similar package was presented to them.
First the British government is spending £25 billion buying preference shares of the 8 biggest banks. Secondly the Government is offering another £25 billion to be able to increase their capital base but this will be in the form of loans repayable. In relation to North Rock the measures taken by the bank has resulted in repaying more earlier. In both instances therefore this is money which should return to the government. However to qualify for this assistance the banks must agree to a package of changes. Eight of the major British banks have agreed to participate. Abbey, Barclays, HBOS. HSBC, Lloyds TSB, Nationwide building society, the Royal Bank of Scotland and Standard Chartered. This means that that government has influence on aspects of the individual policy and practice of the banks in stated areas such as the future approach to remuneration of Directors and the payment of bonuses to staff. This is likely to affect the dividends paid to share holders with possibly a freeze or reduced levels and a freeze or limiting of incomes of those at the top except where there is evidence of making a significant contribution to changing and improving the situation. The additional funds from the shares will provide the funds to enable banks to go back to the basic functions over the next three years. The government will be able to sell the shares to the market when the economic situation improves, potentially at a significant profit as well as gaining dividends when these are issued. The government will not interfere with the day to day running so that inter bank competitiveness will continue and the salary bonus dividend structure will remain in the hands of the Directors and Chief Executive officers but the principles by which they act in future have to be agreed in advance. A further £250 billion in loan guarantees will be available from the Bank of England at commercial rates to encourage banks to lend to each other and a further £100 billion on the existing £100 billion will be available direct to companies from the Bank of England in short term loans to ensure the trading continues and jobs are protected. In total the British Government is therefore providing sums similar to that in the USA although our economy is about a fifth of the size of that in the USA and government income accordingly proportionate. It is anticipated that a number of major European governments will follow the British lead.
The Prime Minister and Chancellor resisted the temptation to remove the independence of the Bank of England in relation to Interest rates but in a significant moved also followed by other European countries there was a reduction of half a percent in interest rates which was followed by the main mortgage lenders cutting their rates by a similar amount.
These development were then support by the leaders of all the political parties in Britain not just the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats but the Scottish Nationalists for example and even George Galloway heaped praise although asking if he would go further and put in a people's representative in every board room! The Tory Party and members in the House of Commons faced a major problem. If they made party political points they could appear unpatriotic and lose public sympathy. They therefore gave their support by asking questions which enabled the Prime Minister to explain at length the nature of the plan. The only difference was the request to punish the people at the top, an attempt to regain support from the public, however the Prime Minister kindly pointed this was potentially self defeating, just as on interest rates there was more than one way to kill the cat, irrespective of the number of lives.
The Tories sat with glum faces and one former leader Michael Howard was raging. Labour and other party back benchers could not contain their glee and there were outbursts of scorned derision, childish in the circumstances as Cameron felt he had no alternative but support the socialist measures or risk losing the present political advantage in the polls. It was reported that several leading Conservatives were drawing a parallel when Margaret Thatcher found herself with the Falkland's War. They will continue to have to bite their tongue while the crisis continues which will make the subsequent attack on why the Government did not introduce better regulation before now less effective. However the difficult is that it was Thatcher who commenced the approach in the late 1970's followed by all governments and their cabinets for the next three decades. Those who argued that the system was morally and fundamentally flawed were accused of being cranks and pro communism.
Yesterday there was an interview with a lady who had invested the money from the sale of a property in the Icelandic bank that had gone into liquidation and was thought to have lost half because of the limit of the protection announced only on Monday. However one other development was the announcement that that all individual deposits would be reimbursed 100% of deposits. The position of local authorities who invested is under discussion.
For the second time in two days I have heard the spiritual, jazz blues number I feel like a motherless/fatherless child.
I enjoyed the individualised view of New York in the first of the World's Great Cities series, in which he covered the usual sights from Central Station to Central park, to alas grand zero, to the cost of staying in the best hotels and Broadway preparing to go on stage with 330000 seats. He goes out with the trash clearers where the collection is put on a barge to the out of town depot be sorted and crushed and then taken by train 300 miles to a monster tip. It also put on a harness to clean windows off the side of skyscraper of which here are over 3000 in New York, He visited correctional institution preparing up state offenders among the two million or so to prepare for discharge through day release. The establishment overlooks central park. He attended a call to prayers at the central Mosque with surprisingly 300000 Muslims in the city, and a Russian Jewish wedding, the birth of baby.
As I write this the Q E 2 is sounding her horn and fire works sound off as she leaves the Tyne for the last time on her round Britain voyage. I was able to see the great ship as I went to B and Q to get some daffodils and Tulips to add to those kept from last year.
Last night I decided I need to give the kitchen a good clean and made a start while I washed up and washed clothing and then dried. However with staying up for the Presidential debate it was a slow start. I had a bacon and tomato sandwich around midday and another toasted mid afternoon, and hen peppered frying steak with some pasta shells filled with spinach. It was too peppery for my taste so will not be tried again.
The evening ended with another dose of American Italian catholic Gangsters which called The Funeral and which could be sub titled Sins of the father's. I was interested when I discovered that the daughter of Ingrid Berman had a small part in the film. She looks and sounds like her mother and has many of her mannerisms. It also starred Chris Walken, Chris Penn and Benicio del Torro. Some critics claim it is a thinking man's God father, which amazed me because these are uneducated yob killers who not even fool the priest into accepting them as practicing Catholic and with no redeeming features. It was a merciful ending for everybody when one decides to kill himself, along with the surviving brother and other relatives on the night before the funeral of the third.
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