An anonymous banker, writing in the Telegraph yesterday, told about how he and his colleagues were helping manipulate the UK’s bank borrowing rate. The surprise is to find out how openly it was discussed. The discussion was so open the behaviour seemed above board. In no sense was this a clandestine gathering. But the anonymous […]
Posts under ‘Finance’
Be angry at bankers, be angrier at economists
Jul 2nd, 2012 by Ann Pettifor.Like millions of others I am outraged by the LIBOR scandal; the wrongdoings of the ‘submitters’ and other traders at Diamond’s Barclays Bank and their fellow travellers at the British Bankers Association. Which is why we at PRIME economics launched a government e-petition calling for a judicial public inquiry into the wrongdoings of banks, and for […]
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Banks need not just a few sackings, but wholesale restructuring
Jul 1st, 2012 by Michael Meacher.It’s not often one agrees with the Institute of Directors (IoD), but on this occasion they are right (as far as it goes) to say: “It is high time for a clear-out of the leaders who created this mess, and the should be replaced with new blood”. From the IoD’s point of view no doubt […]
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Banks inquiry – e-petition now over 10,000 strong
Jul 1st, 2012 by Ann Pettifor.Just after noon today the 10,000th person signed our e-petition [click here to sign] for an independent judicial inquiry into the banks’ misdeeds and ethics, and into the role of the British Banker Association. Our heartfelt thanks to all who have supported this initiative, which has undoubtedly had an impact on the political scene. The […]
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Diamond should be prosecuted and, if convicted, jailed
Jun 30th, 2012 by Michael Meacher.If there is one thing that produces boiling anger amongst the general public, it’s that the bankers who’ve brought this country to its knees have walked away unpunished. Despite criminal negligence, if not outright incompetence and irresponsibility, which has cost millions their jobs, pay cuts and loss of public services, they get off scot-free after […]
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We need an independent inquiry into the fraud, wrongdoing & ethics of British banks
Jun 28th, 2012 by Ann Pettifor.Following the gentle fines on Barclays Bank for its sustained manipulation of LIBOR interest rates, I have submitted an e-petition to government for a judicial public inquiry, which is already up on the government website and ready for signing – click here to access it. I hope that readers and followers who share my view that a full-scale […]
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Osborne genuflects to banks, but still can’t turn up economy
Jun 17th, 2012 by Michael Meacher.It is astounding that some political leaders can be so wilfully blind. Osborne, faced with a collapsing economy and banks that are unwilling to lend because they have such lack of confidence in the economy that they don’t believe they’ll get their money back, has now in utter desperation bowed to banks’ demands to water […]
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Spain shows how lethally fragile the euro really is
Jun 12th, 2012 by Michael Meacher.If the rallying call of Mariano Rajoy, the Spanish Prime Minister, is right – that “the credibility of the euro won” – then let’s hope we never have to experience a loss. It’s more a case of the first rule of politics – when you capitulate, declare victory. The Spanish deal cooked up over the […]
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How can the monstrosity of doomed austerity be stopped?
Jun 5th, 2012 by Michael Meacher.The evidence that prolonged austerity has failed is now overwhelming. The economy is experiencing the slowest and feeblest recovery from slump on record, and the longest depression since 1873. The double-dip recession is extending into a long contraction with no plausible scenario of growth in sight. Manufacturing, which initially rallied in 2010, then slipped slowly […]
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An open letter to the leaders of Europe: abandon the Euro’s ‘gold fetters’
May 30th, 2012 by Ann Pettifor.On May 15th, in what can only be described as an act of coercion, an impoverished and effectively insolvent Greece acceded to the handover of a bond payment – €436 million – to private financial ‘vulture funds’. The Greeks had little choice. However, in acquiescing to this handover – facilitated by its paymasters,‘the Troika’ – […]
