The coming sandstorm

TrevorsDen

The Times this morning was pushing how likely it was that Britain would keep the EU financial portfolio from France.

But now
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article6934718.ece

"France has taken control of the EU's key internal market and financial services job after a last-minute lobbying offensive from Nicolas Sarkozy in what will be seen as a huge blow for Britain's Europe policy. "

Disaster piles upon disaster.

Gordon Brown must have a shedload of old cars in his garage because no one would ever buy a used one off him.

Tuppy

Heeeeeeeeeeeere comes the double dip. Get ready for Monday, it'll be nasty.

Riccardo

Want to know why those City boys think they're so much cleverer than the rest of us? That's right, because they're paid a stack of cash to gamble with other people's money. These figures are the inevitable result of the bonus culture.

Holly ......

I just love this.
Don't say anything, lets just see what Flash does next.
Maybe now you media types might just start sticking up for us little people and help us get rid of this lot BEFORE they bail anyone else out.
Why don't you encourage Brown to hold an IN/OUT referendum on Europe.
That would be one in the eye(good or dodgy) for all the other political parties.
Guaranteeing Labour their fourth term.

Holly ......

Lord Lucan...I mean Pearson is the new UKIP leader.

EC

What we must realise is that our hard working British bankers are shrewd, clever and talented people and they are worth every penny of their salaries and bonuses.

British bankers say that such demand for their particular skills in the world job market, that unless they continue to receive millions in salaries and bonuses then they might forced to go elsewhere.

Crikey! Then where would we be...

Naomi Muse

Gordon Brown, who lunched the bankers every Tuesday until the crunch, MUST have known these figures or something like them.

As he must have known he should have ring fenced the shoring up funds to only apply to investments into the UK companies and not foreign investment.

More S to hit fan on Monday when the US trades again and then when Eid is over.

2trueblue

Naomi, are we talking about the same Brown who told us we were best placed to face the downturn? Lets face it, there is so much we have not been told and Brown and his lot have not got a clue. We are in the worst economic position and they sell us out to Europe who have been waiting to kill the city. What a bunch of idiots, it is worth at least 8% of our gdp.

Snowman

The reaction of the world's markets has been well over the top. This has the power to destabilize nothing but the inflated egos of the Arab oil producing countries.

Moraymint

It's as I've been thinking and saying for the past 12 - 18 months: we're heading for the mother of all global economic crises.

Note: most people think we're just climbing out of a recession. Deluded.

Deleveraging and Peak Oil are about to transform our lives in an unprecedented fashion: if you're not prepared for what lies immediately ahead of us now, you're in trouble.

It's perversely amusing to think that most people (in the UK anyway) still believe that we're experiencing just a little local difficulty. Oh what it is to be a dumbed-down nation, eh?

Kittler

Top of the League once again. Bonuses well deserved.

Naomi Muse

2trueblue. Indeed. For some reason I continue to be amazed that there is so much brass neck and self-delusionment in Gordon Brown and his cohorts.

I should, by now, be a full blown cynic, I suppose.

Can we now work on impeaching Brown for having misled us all and stop him making more money when he leaves office?

Geoff Miller

Gordon Brown was/is responsible for GB Ltd.

What CEO would allow such unbalanced exposure in a debt portfolio? Why did he allow such massive increases in personal, corporate and National debt? Why did he allow something like 25% of British manufacturing capacity to close down in 10 years and a massive shift into "services/finance". Why so much dependence on cheap imports, o'seas food and energy?

Why because it created a bubble and an illusion of prosperity.

Enough to keep you in power for 13 years - along with a massive increase in dependant public Sector employment, immigration and benefit claimants - the vast majority of whom vote Labour.

The next 10 years should be fun.

A major economic crash is almost inevitable - the speed, duration and "debt hangover" of which will depend upon the rate of Government borrowing and "fiscal easing".

I'm getting my money out of the UK.

2trueblue

Naomi, I think that we still believe and behave horourably and find it difficult to see that this is not neccessarily the norm. Our politicians have shown us that they simply open their mouths and not much that is uttered wil be done. No, do not think you have to join the cynics totally, just keep good company!

Geoff, where will your money be safe?