Bankers versus Governments -Bonuses etc
So can the major governments dictate to the banks on how to reward their staff and waht businesses they should be in? I doubt it very much. If the banks don’t generate profits from astute investment skills, then governments lose tax revenues, businesses cannot borrow money and the economy stagnates or continues to flounder. Leave the banks to do what they do best. By all means banks should learn the principles of sound lending, but apart from that all this rhetoric, particularly in the UK, where the parties are canvassing your vote in the impending election, the banks are being used as the scapegoat for government failings.
New Year Promise?
According to many pundits the Euro is due for a bad year, which should mean better news for ex-pats who receive pensions later on. It might mean interest rate rises too, which will be good for savers, less so for people with mortgages, although the seriously depressed housing market in Spain will lessen the affect , as no-one wants mortgages in Spain right now. The adverse UK winter MAY make people think about that home in the sun…..we shall see.
2009 Review
FTSE 100 gained 22% over the year ending at 5418. A staggering 56% increase from March to the year end. The record growth since 1997. Euro exhange rate up from 1.02 to 1.12, which represents some comfort to expats in Spain, but I am sure they would prefer to see it go higher. Despite Mr Zapatero’s comments, Spain will continue in the doldrums for quite some time.
Copenhagen Waste of Money?
I like many others believe that climate change is not influenced by what we do. We as a species are temporary custodins until we become extinct like the dinosaurs, so why waste effort on trying to enforce things that will not work? King Canute proved centuries ago that mankind cannot control the elements
