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How the Mighty Fall

Halifax Bank of Scotland are set to topple - Lloyds TSB to the rescue - merger talks started today.

http://www.reuters.com/article/ousiv/idUSWLA972420080917

You Have Money Dan???  We need to talk, best buddy of mine - there's this horse -it's running at Newbury in the 3 30 -it can't lose, a dead cert .......................................................

You just beat me to it Mike - US shares are literally in 'free fall' with investors switching to goverment bonds.  It's Global meltdown time - survival of the fittest.  If you have cash - sit on it.

They are printing money - the world banks have just pledged a whopping $247 Billion of which Japan, GB, Canada, USA and others are putting into to calm the markets. It will have one very interesting effect - mass inflation.  In effect investors are placing dollars into hedging funds - or government bonds - the government in turn is using these currencies to prop up that which has been taken out of the share market - or put simply - printing currency.  Whooops.


Sept. 18 (Bloomberg) -- The Federal Reserve almost quadrupled the amount of dollars central banks can auction around the world to $247 billion in a coordinated bid to ease the worst crisis facing financial markets since the 1920s.

The Fed increased the amount of dollars that the European Central Bank, the Bank of Japan and other counterparts can offer from $67 billion ``to address the continued elevated pressures in U.S. dollar short-term funding markets.'' The Bank of England, the Bank of Canada and the Swiss National Bank also participated.

Policy makers have struggled to revive confidence in markets this week as investors stockpiled money on concern more financial institutions would fail after the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. and the U.S. government bailout of American International Group Inc. The cost to hedge against losses on U.S. government debt climbed to a record yesterday.

``There's a complete lack of faith in the markets,'' said Jim O'Neill, chief economist at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. in London. ``There's a lot of cash hoarding and people losing trust in banks, so the central banks are acting to relieve that. This might not be the last time they have to act.''

Markets welcomed the announcement, which was made in statements from each central bank at 9 a.m. Frankfurt time at the start of European trading. The cost of borrowing dollars overnight slid to 3.84 percent from 5.03 percent yesterday. It was 2.15 percent last week and reached the highest since 2001 on Sept. 15.

Limit Doubled

The Fed, which is adding $50 billion into its own banking system today, will spray dollars around the world via swap lines with other central banks. They can then auction them in their own markets. The ECB, Bank of England and Swiss National Bank allotted a total of $64 billion for one day today.

``The timing, so early in the trading day, shows both the severity of the strains in the interbank market and as well the authorities' determination to resuscitate orderly functioning of the money markets,'' said Julian Callow, head of European economics at Barclays Capital in London.

Where now for capitalism?

http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7621771.stm

Either way, the Fat Lady is not singing 

It is interesting to compare how our Western economies
fared in the recent turmoil with Russia .

Surge forces Russian market close
http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7624802.stm

The really significant part of the article ....

"Mr Putin said his country's economy was much more developed than before and had a much higher safety margin.

"We have no systemic problems in the Russian economy. All basic economic indicators are alright," he said.

High oil prices helped Russia recover from the economy's collapse in 1998. Analysts say the country is now virtually free of debt, boasts massive currency reserves and has a more diversified economy."

Guess we had better stop poking Russia in the eye with sharp sticks 
 

Does this have anything to do with halifax deciding to take my overdraft off me?
I had an arranged overdraft that wasnt too big and i asked them a month ago if they could automatically reduce by a set amount each month, they told me they dont have the capabilities to do that and id have to action it myself.

About a week ago i went to the cash point and it was empty (i class the overdraft limit as 0)! I phoned up and they said - due to some charges (ive only had about 3 bank charges in the last 3 years and the last one was from feburary!!!) weve decided to remove the overdraft and now you owe us the outstanding amount, which now has a lot higher rate of interest than the overdraft. They wanted the money straight away so i told them "no way" and they arranged for me to pay it back at a set amount every month.

So, they can allow me to pay it off monthly when its convenient to them and the debt has a higher rate of interest but when i asked for exactly the same setup a month back "they dont do that".
Now im in exaclty the same position as i was but theyre going to squeeze another 50 odd quid in interest out of me!
Is this halifax trying to pinch some pennies back?
Gripe over....

They all will be trying anything tto screw extra revenue
from retail and business customers, government rescues
,
shareholders, investors, savers, rights issues.

The current advice for ordinary folks is to thoroughly
check out alternative banks etc .... and just move
your cash (if any left ) elsewhere.

All the trades unions are getting bolshy again ... even the
cops want proper payrises and the right to strike. If we,
the consumers, went on a major purchasing strike, then
there would be mayhem in the financial and other
"rob-you-blind" sectors like energy.  Kind of a
"whoops there goes another rubber tree bank".

I somehow think a lot of folks will be moving back
to the traditional financial "Friendly Societies" and
the more recently trendy local Credit Unions.

Its going to be an interesting time in the next few months.

Some funny political punchups going on at the moment.
Liked "Two Jags" kicking "Jug Ears" in the nuts on TV 

Also laughed at the remark some politician made that
" the Conservatives had changed from proud Etonians
and closet homosexuals ... to proud homosexuals and
closet Etonians". Vince Cable is the only LibDem MP
left with any sense and competence.

I suggest we should all start "Digging for Victory",
melt down all the banks into Spitfires and tanks
and declare the UK a neutral nation and tax haven.
That should sort it. Anyone not liking it or British
traditions could feck off back where they originated.

Rule Britannia, Britannia rule the waves ...etc.,etc.