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Labour( Part) nationalises the Banks

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    #26
    Labour( Part) nationalises the Banks

    An economic and/or a financial crisis is also, of course, a political crisis. Not that you'd guess judging by some of the daft comments of recent weeks, the pick of which must have been "this is no time for politics", in the call for US election campaigning to be put on hold. So what the fuck is a "time for politics"? I seem to remember the recessions of the early 80s and early 90s sparking quite a lot of "politics". But is that all passe now, and is politics merely about who does "well" when they go on the telly?

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      #27
      Labour( Part) nationalises the Banks

      Eggchaser wrote:
      Given that the FTSE seems to be 5 odd percent down, one wonders what these fucking traders want.

      "Give us certainty!" they cried. They got the bailout.

      "Give us interest rate cuts!" they cried. Down 0.5%.

      Yet still, the markets slide all over the shop.
      Maybe more?

      Ever tried having a child say they want Castle Greyskull, and they get a He-Man figure? Doesn't go down well.

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        #28
        Labour( Part) nationalises the Banks

        Better than Man-E-Faces. I was so pissed off...

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          #29
          Labour( Part) nationalises the Banks

          An email just in, just for me, from the remarkably-eyebrowed one.

          Dear Tom

          You will have seen in the news today that the Government has launched a major scheme designed to restore confidence in the banking system.

          We know people are anxious about the future when they see the global financial turmoil which has intensified in recent weeks.

          Gordon and I are committed to do whatever is necessary to maintain stability, because stability underpins prosperity and jobs across the country.

          That is why today we announced a bold and comprehensive scheme to protect savers and rebuild the confidence to help businesses, people and the wider economy.

          A healthy banking system is the cornerstone of the economy - we rely on it to lend to households and businesses. Strong banks underpin a strong economy.

          Our scheme is therefore designed to:

          provide sufficient short-term bank funding now in the form of government lending that will be repaid;
          make available new capital to UK banks and building societies to strengthen their resources and to restructure their finances - in return for government owned shares in participating banks, and
          offer the guarantees that ensure that the banking system has the funds necessary to continue lending.

          These proposals, as well as supporting stability in the financial system, will protect depositors and safeguard the interest of taxpayers.

          And in the exceptional circumstances we see today, I have also stepped in to guarantee that no retail savers in the UK lose any money as a result of the closure of the Icelandic bank ‘Icesave'.

          Finally, at midday the Bank of England cut interest rates by half a percent to 4.5%. As a result, a number of high street banks have already passed on this saving to borrowers.

          We have acted today to get lending started again and the economy moving forward.

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            #30
            Labour( Part) nationalises the Banks

            Paying the mortgages? Are you sure, Tubby?

            I'd happily end the right to evict and have local councils take over properties on which mortgages had not been paid. I doubt I'd be paying any mortgages, though.

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              #31
              Labour( Part) nationalises the Banks

              Will Hutton certainly seems effusive in his praise.

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                #32
                Labour( Part) nationalises the Banks

                When things like this happen, it's a relief that the US and the UK didn't spunk getting on for 2 trillion dollars of our taxes on an illegal oil war and occupation so there's some money in the po... Oh.

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                  #33
                  Labour( Part) nationalises the Banks

                  It's also a relief we have a shit-load of gold that we can sell to raise some... Oh.

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                    #34
                    Labour( Part) nationalises the Banks

                    I just wish they'd stop having that cunt from The Taxpayers' Alliance on 5Live to whine on a daily basis. The way he goes on, you'd think having firstly any kind of taxation full stop, and then once you do bring in taxes, having the gall to spend it on anything other than the absolute bare mimimum required by right wing entreprenurial types was tantamount to raping babies and eating their mothers in the front of the eyes of their fathers.

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                      #35
                      Labour( Part) nationalises the Banks

                      I think the simple answer is that the government will borrow more to pay for the bank loans.

                      Government borrowing is cheaper and more secure, so they will borrow at (say) 3% and lend at 4%, thus making a 1% profit, if they ever get repaid.

                      Now life is not that simple as increased borrowing weakens the currency and increases inflation. So unemployment goes up.

                      But if we didn't do this things could get even worse.

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                        #36
                        Labour( Part) nationalises the Banks

                        I've been looking for news about the managers who have caused all this, but can't seem to find anything apart from a ridiculous non-argument about the size of their bonuses.

                        I thought that the principles of intervening successfully were that you sack those that fucked up and take control of the banks. HMG seems to have said the fucker-uppers should jolly well think pretty hard about taking a smaller bonus this year, and has non-voting shares that will allow the bank to do pretty much what it wants. I bet they called him 'Darling' in all their meetings, too.

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                          #37
                          Labour( Part) nationalises the Banks

                          There's room for a Blackadder V here, isn't there?

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                            #38
                            Labour( Part) nationalises the Banks

                            There's also the grotesque irony that, as the recession bites and joblessness and repossessions rise, those very banks who've just been bailed out by us will be turfing people out of their homes, and those poor sods will of course receive no such bail-out.

                            Which makes me think that there's some direct-action protest possibilities when such things start kicking in in numbers.

                            The conditions and guarantees attached to this don't seem all that strong to me (amounting seemingly to not a great deal more than saying 'hey, would you mind awfully going steady on the bonuses for a while eh chaps?'). Better than Paulson, sure, but not much better.

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                              #39
                              Labour( Part) nationalises the Banks

                              I'd be interested in GY and ursus's view on whether this was remotely similar to the Swedish support package from the 90s, as it has been billed. It seems to go a lot easier on the banks than that one, which was implemented by a right wing government.

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                                #40
                                Labour( Part) nationalises the Banks

                                I can't really tell from what I've read so far, because I don't know what the terms of the preferred equity and other details of conditionality are. My sense is that it is a bit more bank-friendly than the Swedish plan (which closed the worst off), but that's based on atmospheric press reports in the likes of the FT.

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                                  #41
                                  Labour( Part) nationalises the Banks

                                  Markets down again I see. Maybe they not only didn't get Castle Greyskull, but they found out that the He-Man that were going to get instead turned out to be Teela.

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