Northern Rock and The Liberal Democrats

Have been watching the news with interest this week and three things caught my attention with which I would like to comment on. More happened that I can't say much about: the airplane crash in Thailand and the ongoing crisis in Iraq with the murder of eight Iraqis by a private American security firm.

Northern Rock.

I love that name and it is splashed over the chests of Newcastle United FC and Newcastle Rugby FC. Northern Rock are in the news for all the wrong reasons and even more so, now that the Bank of England has decided to bail it out.

So what has happened? Based on what I have read and know. It appears that Northern Rock borrowed too heavily in the international money markets to fund most of it's mortgage lending in the UK. Traditionally, banks (or building societies) can fund mortgage lending from it's own deposits, or monies from customer's savers accounts. Now thanks to the shutdown in international lending caused by the ongoing credit crisis (sub-prime loans) , Northern Rock was unable to fund its day-to-day needs in the money markets. In other words, it had not enough float. So it went to the Bank of England for a loan.

What I found funny (if one can use that) is that people started to panic when Northern Rock did this, quite sensible in my view. Customers then panicked even more when the Government told people NOT to panic and customers panicked even more when the Government guaranteed everyone's savings.

No doubt, if the Government said nothing, people would have panicked even more.

Re-assurances should be just that! Anyway, the stock market was quite harsh with the NR shares but they bounced back today by 19% - if someone had the nerve to buy a day ago and then sell; they would have made a handsome profit.

Still, makes me want to find out more about how my bank is exposed and how risky it has been; after all it's my own money that they are risking. I might have to look into diversifying even more.


The Liberal Democrats.

Ah, where do I start? Menzies Campbell is looking like a tired leader and I never supported his nomination. Charles Kennedy was the leader and should have remained. Another leadership contest would kill off the LibDems. I am still planning to vote for them but they need some balls and charisma to deliver and alternative to the electorate.

I think their environmental agenda could be a winning strategy but they need to stick to it. They are proposing an increase in the overall tax burden to pay for more transport, alternative energies and using taxation to modify our behaviour. Also, trying to enforce a more rigorous building standards that encompasses heating and water efficiencies.

At the heart of their proposals is a green tax switch, increasing taxes on carbon emissions and other resource usage that causes global warming, and handing the money raised back in income tax cuts. Specifically the LibDems would:

• Replace Airport Passenger Duty with an Aircraft Tax based on the emissions of each aircraft.
• Introduce more steeply graduating Vehicle Excise Duty for new vehicles based on carbon emissions, with a higher level for the highest emissions band.
• Reform the climate change levy, indexing it annually and eventually changing it into a simpler carbon tax.
• Index fuel duty to inflation except in periods of oil price spikes.

Sounds good. Should go further in my view but they are walking a tricky line. Most people have aspirations to spend more, to buy bigger, to move up the conspicuous spending ladder. Anything that appears to deny people this 'right' would be cause an instant pull back in support and leave the LibDems in isolation.

At the end of the day - people want to do something good for the environment but are very hesitant in paying for it! It is time for most of us to wake up that if we're serious about the environment, about our future then we need to make hard choices. It starts at the home and with little things. I know so many people who can not be bothered to turn off their standby settings or even recycle bottles and cans. If we can't do these little thing, there is no hope for a brighter, greener future. There will be a future however, I am not a doom sayer or anything but I think the world in 100 years will be less interesting in terms of environment - everything will work but a certain 'something' will be missing. Maybe the feeling that an opportunity to do something good, worthwhile and altruistic was missed by us all.

Ghana floods

Not much has made it on the news but the summer has been a hot one and now there has been torrential rain.

http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/YSAR-775T6J?OpenDocument&RSS20=22-P


Open University Graduation

Yah. Msc in Development Management. Done. Next!!!