Northern Rock is the Government's surrogate for lending money to revive the economy. They're going to up their lending by up to £14 billion or so in the next couple of years. The BBC report says that the new money will be a mix of new deposits, repaid loans AND GOVERNMENT MONEY.
Although the last part is, of course, my capitalisation (sic), it's a clear indication that the Brown administration is going to waste more money. Only a government would want to increase a mortgage portfolio at this time.
Ok, it's only a fraction of the £127.3 billion the UK Treasury will borrow this year but it's a bad signal for the market. At least we know it won't be the 100% loans, as dear old Gordon's decided this is a really bad things. But just how bad will it be when the Bank of England starts printing money & the government of Her Majesty of the United Kingdom chip in from the sidelines with a few more bob.
I say that HM Queen Elizabeth II should step in and appoint a caretaker government right now as the current lot have proven themselves to be utterly useless.
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
The UK Needs more Public Holidays
Yesterday's dump of snow brought an impromptu day off to many in the South of England. Most of us enjoyed stomping around in 15 to 30 centimetres of soft, fresh snow, making the most of the unexpected day off. In the parks, people built snowmen, tobogganed down any available incline and marveled at the drifts of snow hanging on the tree branches.
Today as I trudged into work, albeit on an emptier than usual London Underground, the thought slid into my brain that here in the UK we could do with a couple more sanctioned days off. The English and Welsh get two days for Easter, the first and last Monday in May, another day in August, two more for Christmas and Boxing Day and one to celebrate Janus. A grand total of 8. Going back in time, at least on Wikipedia, we used to get 37 days (a mixed bag of religious observations), but I guess that back then we didn't have employment rights guaranteeing us time off.
In the other nations of the Union, Scotland get nine days while Northern Ireland get ten. Even the old USofA get ten days of public holidays. A quick troll through No. 10's website (note how prettily the party apartchiks use the BETA term to indicate this isn't really a live site, only it is because it's in the public domain and therefore "live" to everyone!) reveals how many petitions are out there for these extra days. Even two years ago, the BBC was in on the act.
To date, Government spin has suggested that additional days off celebrating national identities, like St George's day or St David's day, make it difficult to create an agenda that meets everyone's liking. I'd like to suggest that the Government has "done nothing" (a familiar phrase trotted out these last few months) to put forward one or two more days off for the "hard working families" in this country.
I guess that leaves us still in the "hard working" category with no additional benefits in sight. I wonder if el Gord will use his remaining days in power to gift us extra days off to enjoy his recession?
Oh dear.
Today as I trudged into work, albeit on an emptier than usual London Underground, the thought slid into my brain that here in the UK we could do with a couple more sanctioned days off. The English and Welsh get two days for Easter, the first and last Monday in May, another day in August, two more for Christmas and Boxing Day and one to celebrate Janus. A grand total of 8. Going back in time, at least on Wikipedia, we used to get 37 days (a mixed bag of religious observations), but I guess that back then we didn't have employment rights guaranteeing us time off.
In the other nations of the Union, Scotland get nine days while Northern Ireland get ten. Even the old USofA get ten days of public holidays. A quick troll through No. 10's website (note how prettily the party apartchiks use the BETA term to indicate this isn't really a live site, only it is because it's in the public domain and therefore "live" to everyone!) reveals how many petitions are out there for these extra days. Even two years ago, the BBC was in on the act.
To date, Government spin has suggested that additional days off celebrating national identities, like St George's day or St David's day, make it difficult to create an agenda that meets everyone's liking. I'd like to suggest that the Government has "done nothing" (a familiar phrase trotted out these last few months) to put forward one or two more days off for the "hard working families" in this country.
I guess that leaves us still in the "hard working" category with no additional benefits in sight. I wonder if el Gord will use his remaining days in power to gift us extra days off to enjoy his recession?
Oh dear.
Monday, February 2, 2009
Snow Time
As an unusual wintery weather pattern rolls across south east England it's reassuring to see the country grind to a halt once more. That's right, it's snowing again in London and it's considered to be the "worst" flurry since 1991, when I remember being in the office pretty much on my own as the permanent staff living in the commuter belt couldn't get to the office.
Today, I couldn't get into the office; according to our fabulous Mayor Boris we've had the right snow, just too much of it! It's a great economic conundrum for this country. After all, the number of days lost to "extreme" weather in the south is, on average, one or two days a year. So businesses and the government don't invest in costly infrastructure using the assumption that disruptive days don't come round very often. This seems the pragmatic option, the stoic British stiff upper lip and carry on regardless.
Mind you, the people of the south are also ill-prepared for such weather. When we were out for a walk today we wore hiking boots, ski-gloves, winter water-proof jackets, scarves and hats. Many of our neighbours were wandering around in sneakers or fashionable shoes not designed for the icy sludge on the footpaths. Quite a few of them stumbled and slid at the merest hint of an ice patch.
It's unlikely there'll be more snow tonight, such a shame. I've enjoyed the day at home throwing snow balls at my kids, taking photos of our yard covered in snow and popping to the supermarket to secure our food supplies for the day.
I consider this to be the best type of day; tomorrow we'll be back at work.
Today, I couldn't get into the office; according to our fabulous Mayor Boris we've had the right snow, just too much of it! It's a great economic conundrum for this country. After all, the number of days lost to "extreme" weather in the south is, on average, one or two days a year. So businesses and the government don't invest in costly infrastructure using the assumption that disruptive days don't come round very often. This seems the pragmatic option, the stoic British stiff upper lip and carry on regardless.
Mind you, the people of the south are also ill-prepared for such weather. When we were out for a walk today we wore hiking boots, ski-gloves, winter water-proof jackets, scarves and hats. Many of our neighbours were wandering around in sneakers or fashionable shoes not designed for the icy sludge on the footpaths. Quite a few of them stumbled and slid at the merest hint of an ice patch.
It's unlikely there'll be more snow tonight, such a shame. I've enjoyed the day at home throwing snow balls at my kids, taking photos of our yard covered in snow and popping to the supermarket to secure our food supplies for the day.
I consider this to be the best type of day; tomorrow we'll be back at work.
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