Reply to: Snot Goblin; not my fault!

[Sysman]

Number 2 doesn't always protect the customers. Sometimes it f***s them.

The run on Northern Rock was akin to the effect of shouting "Fire!" in a theatre.

[Doggy Styles]

Excellent question.

The latest reliable figures I have are that the UK’s net debt reached £697.5bn at the end of December, equivalent to 47.5pc of gross domestic product. Of course, the government are borrowing like it's an olympic sport at the moment so that will very soon be out of date, if it isn't already.

It's a complicated calculation, but based on that figure interest works out at around £45bn per annum.

****. That's nearly a grand out of taxes for every man, woman and child in the country. Every year. Even before we start paying for public services.

Brown! What have you been doing for the past 12 years? To my office immediately!

[PM-Junkie]

Anyone got offical data on what HMG's interest debt obligations are on a daily basis?

Excellent question.

The latest reliable figures I have are that the UK’s net debt reached £697.5bn at the end of December, equivalent to 47.5pc of gross domestic product. Of course, the government are borrowing like it's an olympic sport at the moment so that will very soon be out of date, if it isn't already.

It's a complicated calculation, but based on that figure interest works out at around £45bn per annum.

[Solidec]

Anyone got offical data on what HMG's interest debt obligations are on a daily basis?

[Mich the Tester]

Please stop quoting Cybertwatty, it defeats the purpose of having him on my ignore list.

OK, then I'll quote you and answer him.

'Lender of last resort'; the clue is in the last two words. Last resort, in other words, when every other option is exhausted. This option should not be encouraged and indeed positively discouraged as there is indeed a serious 'moral hazard' involved in bailing out banks.

[DiscoStu]

Hmmm, but if their best course of action is to get their money out as quick as possible, then at least a few of them will be saved. The point is that Peston's job is to tell us the news and that's what he did. He didn't overstretch the bank, he didn't f**k up the UK's public finances, he just exposed the incompetence of those who did and we should be glad that people like him work for the BBC. We could of course choose the Chinese option where journalists are slammed in the nick or even executed for publishing stuff that's inconvenient, but I prefer it this way.

WHS

[Mich the Tester]

Number 2 doesn't always protect the customers. Sometimes it f***s them.

Hmmm, but if their best course of action is to get their money out as quick as possible, then at least a few of them will be saved. The point is that Peston's job is to tell us the news and that's what he did. He didn't overstretch the bank, he didn't f**k up the UK's public finances, he just exposed the incompetence of those who did and we should be glad that people like him work for the BBC. We could of course choose the Chinese option where journalists are slammed in the nick or even executed for publishing stuff that's inconvenient, but I prefer it this way.

[DiscoStu]

Please stop quoting Cybertwatty, it defeats the purpose of having him on my ignore list.

[Cyberman]

Agreed

That sounds like a conspiracy theory of almost David Icke proportions.

Not really, when you consider that Mervyn King, the governor of the Bank of England stated that he was not prepared to help banks due to 'moral hazard'. Why would he say this when his first duty is 'Lender of the Last Resort' !!??.

This helped to cause the first run on a bank in living memory, and his incompetence has been further underlined by the fact that Northern Rock would have cleared all of its loans by now(it has repaid 14 Billion), but for the extra debt caused by the run !!!

[Doggy Styles]

If you have information that a major high street bank is about to go under, you can do two things;
1 protect the shareholders and management by keeping your mouth shut
2 protect the customers by telling everyone the news

Number 2 doesn't always protect the customers. Sometimes it f***s them.

[Mich the Tester]

If HMG and the Treasury are too incompetent to avoid leaks somebody there should be sacked.

Agreed

Personally I believe that they were all in on this in order to publicise what baddies the private sector are and to attempt to show HMG in a good light

That sounds like a conspiracy theory of almost David Icke proportions.

[Cyberman]

If you have information that a major high street bank is about to go under, you can do two things;
1 protect the shareholders and management by keeping your mouth shut
2 protect the customers by telling everyone the news

Seeing as 2 is, and should be the default action for a journalist, Peston was right. If banks and the treasury are too bloody incompetent to manage their own finances and the flow of information to and from their own employees then I'm glad we have people like Robert Peston to expose that.

If HMG and the Treasury are too incompetent to avoid leaks somebody there should be sacked. Personally I believe that they were all in on this in order to publicise what baddies the private sector are and to attempt to show HMG in a good light.. My, my, my, how that backfired !!!!

[Mich the Tester]

He is being leaked market sensitive information probably via his friends in the Treasury. Sometimes in this world just because you have information you do not go spreading it around if you know that it is going to cause major damage or hurt to people.

I cannot remember what the story was but there was an occasion last year where the press all agreed not to publish certain information because it would have caused untold damage. There is an element of personal responsibility here that sadly seems to be totally lacking in left-wing circles of Labour and the BBC.

If you have information that a major high street bank is about to go under, you can do two things;
1 protect the shareholders and management by keeping your mouth shut
2 protect the customers by telling everyone the news

Seeing as 2 is, and should be the default action for a journalist, Peston was right. If banks and the treasury are too bloody incompetent to manage their own finances and the flow of information to and from their own employees then I'm glad we have people like Robert Peston to expose that.

[s2budd]

"You're the pillock if you think it is good for XXXX to know sensitive information and leak it"

I am sure that is just what Nixon said.

[Cyberman]

He's a journalist. If he has the information he should publish it. It's up to the owners of that information to guard it better.

He is being leaked market sensitive information probably via his friends in the Treasury. Sometimes in this world just because you have information you do not go spreading it around if you know that it is going to cause major damage or hurt to people.

I cannot remember what the story was but there was an occasion last year where the press all agreed not to publish certain information because it would have caused untold damage. There is an element of personal responsibility here that sadly seems to be totally lacking in left-wing circles of Labour and the BBC.