Credit Crunch?

Good to see it isn't all bad news. Phew!

The ridiculousness of the market.

Did anyone see this? Porsche, a company worth around about $7bn has managed to acquire options of up to 75% ownership of Volkswagen, a company worth up to $115bn, by playing the hedge funds at their own game. Of course, now the hedge funds are complaining about it which is a real shame for them. I particularly like the comment made by the former Deputy Chancellor of Germany, Franz Munterfering, re certain people in the financial services industry:

"Some financial investors spare no thought for the people whose jobs they destroy. They remain anonymous, have no face, fall like a plague of locusts over our companies, devour everything, then fly on to the next one."

Masters of the universe, if you will. Or not.

Credit crunch and the UK made easy.

Interesting graphic here:


So, in bailing out the ailing banking system in the UK by spending at least £500bn, the government is over-stretching its spending projections by 81%. Where's Prudence when you need her? What's the bets that it'll be health and education that get squeezed (or squoze if you are Utahn, apparently), rather than say defence (now there's a misnomer) expenditure? And how many of these banking executives will be losing their jobs for messing up so spectacularly? How many won't get their bonuses this year? How many will do the honourable thing and resign their positions in light of their outstanding failure? Aye, nane. And whose money will they be spending? The taxpayers'. For the £50bn part-nationalisation component of the bailout alone it is going to cost each taxpayer £2000. I wonder if the banking executives will notice it in their annual bonus this year? I'm guessing not.

In spite of the goatee beard.

Ian Bell has written an interesting article in today's Herald on Marx and the current disastrous US financial situation here. It reminded me of the several visits I've made with friends to Highgate Cemetery to see Marx's tomb below:


Surrounding the tomb are the graves of numerous erstwhile left leaning people who in all likelihood, alongside Marx, would view the current situation in the US and beyond as nothing more than expected, and with some justification. There is no little irony in seeing the free market trumpeting Republicans intervening left right and centre and bailing out companies that are now seeing the spoils of their lackadaisical (at best) approach to financial management coming home to roost. But of course, we've to feel sorry for the managing directors. Not the millions of people who are facing homelessness and unemployment as a result of being conned into thinking that they could afford mortgages way above their income. The 'credit crunch' will make its way into history textbooks in time and whoever decides to take up the analysis of it will likely have to set aside some time to analyse the myriad terms, industries, sub-industries and tangles that the sub-prime market impacts on.

Oh, and another thing. The facility set up by Goldman Sachs et al to help stabilise the market (HA!) reminds me of a similar action taken 40 years ago in Basle when the international monetary system was having some difficulties. Who says what I do isn't relevant?

WHO states the obvious.

Here.

Well knock me down with a feather eh?

It's that man again.

I've mentioned him before here, but upon reading about him again I discovered what his name actually means, and it's a doozy.
Born Joseph-Désiré Mobutu, he changed his name to Mobutu Sese Seko wa za Banga. Which is I suppose fair enough, but its meaning is fantastic: 'The all-powerful warrior who, because of his endurance and inflexible will to win, will go from conquest to conquest leaving fire in his wake.' How good is that? My name on the other hand means Champion Big Hill Son of Kenneth. Not quite as exciting. As if Mobutu's name change wasn't enough, he also decided to have some official rumours spread about his abilities including his supernatural feats of killing a lion with his bare hands at the age of 7 and the battle he fought against Zaire's enemies where bullets and spears bounced off his chest, to name but two. What a guy. I've realised that I've perhaps taken the wrong approach to self-advertising and should ramp it up a bit to get on in life. Any suggestions about what I should call myself or what I should tell people?

More about the big man here.

Edited!

I wrote another letter to The Herald this morning which has been published. However, they've chopped it up and part of it doesn't really make sense. Let's see now shall we:

My letter:

Dear Sir,

Whilst I wholly agree with RJ Ardern's letter regarding the replacement
of the rolling stock on inter-city rail routes in Scotland, I fear
he/she is whistling into the wind with calls for increased capacity on
the single-line tracks in the Highlands. These calls have been ongoing
since 1951 when the Scottish Council (Development & Industry) produced
a report on Highland Transport Costs which called for the same thing.
The same calls were repeated in 2005 in the Smart, Successful
Highlands and Islands report as well. As yet, neither have been acted
on. The fact is, since the Second World War successive governments
have been unwilling, although not unable, to sufficiently improve
transport links in what is one of Scotland's primary tourist earners
for whatever reason.

It's an old story of course, but one that is worth telling again. If
Scotland is to move forward economically then an integrated transport
system is paramount to achieving this, not just in the Highlands, but
over the whole country. The replacement of rolling stock is only one
of many requirements for a transport infrastructure for a forward
moving dynamic economy, but an important one nonetheless. Relying on
Westminster to implement these measures has shown to be futile - we're
still waiting.


_________________________________________

The Herald's version:

While I agree with R J Ardern's letter regarding the replacement of the rolling stock on inter-city rail routes in Scotland (April 21), I fear your correspondent is whistling in the dark with calls for increased capacity on single-line tracks in the Highlands. These calls have been ongoing since 1951 when the Scottish Council Development & Industry produced a report on Highland transport costs which called for the same thing.

The same calls were repeated in 2005 in the Smart, Successful Highlands and Islands report. As yet, neither has been acted on. The fact is, since the Second World War successive governments have been unwilling sufficiently to improve transport links in what is one of Scotland's primary tourist earners.

If Scotland is to move forward economically then an integrated transport system is paramount, not just in the Highlands, but over the whole country. The replacement of rolling stock is only one of many requirements for a transport infrastructure for a forward-moving, dynamic economy. Relying on Westminster to implement these measures has shown to be futile.



_________________________________________

Whistling in the dark? That makes no sense. And of course the link for posterity here.

I like to bother the Fourth Estate.

But only when people like Doug Maughan insist on doing it first:

Small economies

May I suggest Doug Maughan tells us what Iceland, Switzerland and Qatar all have in common that Scotland doesn't (Letters, February 13)? Could it be that they are all small countries that exercise control over their own economies? I wonder if that has helped them "prove" his longstanding assertion that we are better served allowing our economy to be controlled as part of a larger entity? I think not.

And the link for posterity of course:

http://www.theherald.co.uk/features/letters/display.var.2042930.0.Small_economies.php

Nintendo Wii.

My sister has been hunting for one of these consoles for Christmas, which of course means she has roped me into looking for one. To cut a long story short, I found her one on the German Amazon site for about 200 quid. Which is a fair bit cheaper than what the profiteering bastards at PC World are selling their stock for. Have a look here. Unbelievable. I know the laws of supply and demand, but that's still an outrageous price. I suppose any idiot that is prepared to pay that for it deserves to be ripped off.