Alan Duncan Wins Few Friends For Stating the Truth
Alan Duncan has been criticised fior stating that the price of oil will rise. With all the volatility in the Middle East and the strong rise in demand the price just has to go up.
I’d far rather have a politician give us the truth, than give us platitudes and hope it will be alright in the end.
The Queen’s Visit to Ireland
It is being reported that the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh will visit Ireland in the near future.
It would seem that they are looking forward to the visit, as are most of the Irish people. The report in the Irish Independent contains this.
The Queen will be accompanied by Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, and it is reported that privately both are keenly looking forward to their visit.
It must seem strange to them that the organisation of such a visit has taken so long, but relations between the two countries can be ultra-sensitive with neither side wanting to put the other in an awkward position.
Now that the Queen has accepted an invitation from President McAleese, all the formalities have been completed and history can be made. Predictably, not everyone will welcome the Queen’s presence and this tiny minority will no doubt try to detract from the overwhelmingly positive atmosphere surrounding the event.
But most Irish people have already made up their mind — this visit is welcome and shows how the relationship between the two countries has matured and deepened in recent years, particularly since the end of the Northern troubles.
The visit also occurs at a difficult time economically for both countries and Britain was among a group of European countries that contributed funds towards Ireland’s €85bn rescue package agreed in November.
That act of generosity, while motivated in part by economic self- interest, bonded the countries closer together and showed that Britain regards Ireland as an old friend, rather than an old foe.
It is perhaps not strange, that the Queen has not visited Ireland before. But there are only two other significant countries she has not visited; Israel and Greece. Israel I can understand, but Greece!
King says “Bank Reforms Must Not Fail”
The headline of this post is taken from an article on the BBC web-site.
Meryn King makes a lot of good points, but on the other hand why shouldn’t banks fail? And when they do why should those behind that failure be rewarded with large bonuses?
When Northern Rock failed, we were able to rescue what was left and it is now back in the land of the living. But the managers were really criminally responsible for what they did. Did they know that the government would bail Northern Rock out, so they just didn’t care? It doesn’t matter but those irresponsible managers weren’t prosecuted. And where are they now? I bet they live comfortably in large houses somewhere, when a lot of their unfortunate employers are struggling badly in damp flats.
I should add here, that years ago I part-owned a finance company. I was worried about what would happen if something catastrophic happened to one of the principles. As its lending was basically sound, all we would have needed to do, was just run the company into the ground collecting the debts and cutting expenses to the bone to get all of our money back. I think this is what was done with Northern Rock, so when a bank goes bust, everything is not lost.
If we look at HBOS and RBS, then they should have been treated the same way as Northern Rock. But the failure of two banks in NuLabor heartlands couldn’t be allowed to happen. In the end however, Lloyds was brought into the mess to save NuLabor’s face and a good sound bank was ruined. The only things that are important in my way of thinking about banks, is that the money of innocent customers is safe and companies and individuals that need to borrow have access to funds.
In part, since the banking crisis, things have got better, as customer money is now safe, but obtaining funds for a reputable purpose has got difficult. Unless of course you have no credit rating, so you can go down the pay-day loan route and bankrupt yourself.
I suspect too, that people are now less likely to bank in countries like Iceland. Why incidentally, does the UK government have to bail out the Icelandic banks, so those greedy individuals who put their money offshore get their money back? I prefer to bank with a building society and speculate using Zopa. And with Zopa, I’m getting five or six percent by following a conservative strategy.
So King’s statement that reforms must not fail is correct, but those reforms must not ruin the banks, as NuLabor ruined Lloyds.
And those reforms must not bring companies like Zopa into the grasp of the FSA. But I suspect there will be pressure for this, as the Zopa model is low-cost for borrowers and lenders, and I can see it growing to be very large. Will the major clearing banks allow this? I doubt it and they will have the King’s ear.
Money Transfer – Libyan Style
A ship containing a £100 million of Libyan bank notes has been seized by the UK Border Agency according to this report.
We could burn it to generate electricity or perhaps the government could give us all a few notes to perhaps use for a sensible purpose like stopping tables from rocking. Or perhaps as stand-by toilet paper!
The Land Bank Scam
I first came across these land investment scams about three years ago, when my late son built a web site for a company that was selling small strips of land with the promise of future planning permission. They were targeting mainly Asian families and were pulling in a lot of punters.
I told him to stay clear of this type of company and on telling a respected estate agent, he said it was a big problem and no-one seemed to be doing anything about it.
So why has it taken so long to reach the headlines? I suppose NuLabor had other priorities, like clinging to power.
Even now, type “land banking” into Google and there are quite a few sites out there trying to sell you bits of worthless land. But now, there are also lots of warnings from respected financial commentators like the Guardian and agencies like the FSA. Read the latter items and ignore the sales pitches.
Needless to say, but my son was never paid for his work.
A Bad Idea
What idiot thought it would be a good idea to have a pop festival on Blackheath?
I’m not against the idea of the festival, but surely the event was going to raise the ire of the residents, who would use every trick, legal or otherwise, in the book to stop it. So the venture will probably run out of money well before it is due to go ahead!
Perhaps the person who thought of the idea has more money than sense!
But I do like the name of the company behind the festival. They are called Nimby Events. So perhaps it’s just a publicity stunt!
How To Make Money From Light Bulbs
You sell them to the Ministry of Defence according to this report from the BBC.
It has always been thus? I can remember stories like Lockheed selling toilet seats to the USAF for hundreds of dollars, when they could be bought for just a few dollars in many stores.
The military has always been a soft touch and not just in the UK.
The Good News on the Weather
The Times today, has an item entitled, If you thought winter was dull, you were right.
The South East of England suffered its gloomiest winter on record, the Met Office said. The region received 40% fewer hours of sun than usual between December and the end of February. London was particularly grey, with only 98.2 hours of sunshine at Heathrow – its darkest winter since monitoring began in 1957.
In a reversal of the usual winter pattern, the North West was much brighter than usual. Northern Ireland received 223 hours of sunshine, 62% above average, while Scotland was 20% above average. However, those sunny skies were accompanied by high-pressure systems and freezing weather. It was the most brutal early winter since 1890. Temperatures plunged to -21C (-6F) at Altnaharra, Highlands, for example. But while most winters grow colder this one turned warmer and February was remarkably mild.
Another surprise was how dry the season was. Despite the snow, precipitation was 22% below normal. “This is typical of cooler winters, when the weather becomes blocked by high pressure, which brings cold winds but little precipitation,” said Barry Gromett of the Met Office. “Snow doesn’t actually contain as much water as you think; a 10cm snowfall is equivalent to 1cm rain.”
So this is good news for me, as it explains why I’m feeling so lousy. No sun! My cardiologist, who said I needed two weeks in the sun, was right.
The Pope Sets A Good Moral Example
This was said in this week’s Popbitch.
The Pope, apparently, smokes Marlboro Red
So smoking is OK to give you cancer, but using condoms to stop sexually transmitted diseases is wrong.
But then I did read it in Popbitch, which may mean it’s just a rumour. So if it isn’t true, we might see the Pope suing for defamation.
Now that would be fun!
The Anonymous Widower 