are similar to Greece's Fitch rating. Caa with a 'K', for knockout. caak. sh*t
George Osbourne is lambasted for not rearranging the bank thing. The bonehead
writing in the Guardian (see below) actually thinks that Ozzie or anybody else would
do the right thing. I wonder how stunned he is, but he is correct.
The great thing is that the rest of the media is still selling the
"all is well" message
to keep the protests to a minimum
and to make sure that the poorest will lose the most
when it all comes crashing down.
They probably know the date and time.
to keep the protests to a minimum
and to make sure that the poorest will lose the most
when it all comes crashing down.
They probably know the date and time.
Trashing #2 the Universities minister,
One boot to the head from that guy's university
(see below)
(see below)
checkitout: 2 texts
The UK could be leading with a new economic approach, instead we follow
A consensus in favour of stimulus has disappeared – and Britain is leading the way in the wrong direction
o Will Hutton
o guardian.co.uk, Saturday 4 June 2011 21.36 BST
Two years ago the world was agreed that the aftermath of the banking crisis required the most delicate handling. World leaders were alert to the example of the United States in the 1930s and Japan in the 1990s after its financial crash. In both cases a too-early return to the principles of good housekeeping and premature public belt-tightening caused a terrible wobble in the recovery.
This time it would be different. Governments would spend and borrow to keep the recovery going, recognising their special responsibilities while both consumers and businesses were carrying enormous levels of private debt – and banks were crippled. They would spend to compensate.
Today that consensus has vanished. The varying stimulus packages in 2009, along with a worldwide bank bailout that cost some $14 trillion, worked almost too well. Everybody believes recovery is established and that they can focus on restoring their national balance sheets to order.
European governments, quailing before the markets' assault on Greece, Portugal and Ireland – with Spain and even Italy facing the tremors – are united in a belief that the defence of the euro requires budgetary stringency.
2
David Willetts's former tutor says: 'I have no confidence in him'
Universities minister faces votes of no confidence from Oxford and Cambridge dons calling for his removal from office
* Daniel Boffey, Policy editor
* guardian.co.uk, Saturday 4 June 2011 21.55 BST
Oxford and Cambridge dons attempting to force the resignation of the universities minister, David Willetts, have been given a boost by a declaration from the politician's former economics tutor that he had "no confidence in him".
The controlling bodies of the universities are due to stage a vote calling for the minister's removal from office amid growing unrest over the government's trebling of the limit on tuition fees and recent announcements on higher education policy.
Now, speaking to the Observer, Peter Oppenheimer, an emeritus professor at Christ Church, Oxford, and a tutor to the beleaguered minister in the mid-1970s, has admitted: "I have no confidence in him, absolutely. He was a highly intelligent and thoughtful person, very able – but no politician. He has got the kind of open-mindedness which enables him to see the value of a whole range of points of view, especially that of the person he last talked to."
Senior academics at Cambridge and Oxford are calling on Willetts, nicknamed "Two Brains" for his reputed intelligence, to reconsider the hike in undergraduate tuition fees, cuts to higher education and what they say are "incoherent" messages on university admissions. Almost 150 academics at Cambridge, including the renowned poet Jeremy Halvard Prynne, have signed a motion of no confidence in the minister. It will be sent to the university's council, which is expected to endorse it and the university will then need to tell the government that it has passed a vote of no confidence in Willetts by the end of this month.
The UK could be leading with a new economic approach, instead we follow
A consensus in favour of stimulus has disappeared – and Britain is leading the way in the wrong direction
o Will Hutton
o guardian.co.uk, Saturday 4 June 2011 21.36 BST
Two years ago the world was agreed that the aftermath of the banking crisis required the most delicate handling. World leaders were alert to the example of the United States in the 1930s and Japan in the 1990s after its financial crash. In both cases a too-early return to the principles of good housekeeping and premature public belt-tightening caused a terrible wobble in the recovery.
This time it would be different. Governments would spend and borrow to keep the recovery going, recognising their special responsibilities while both consumers and businesses were carrying enormous levels of private debt – and banks were crippled. They would spend to compensate.
Today that consensus has vanished. The varying stimulus packages in 2009, along with a worldwide bank bailout that cost some $14 trillion, worked almost too well. Everybody believes recovery is established and that they can focus on restoring their national balance sheets to order.
European governments, quailing before the markets' assault on Greece, Portugal and Ireland – with Spain and even Italy facing the tremors – are united in a belief that the defence of the euro requires budgetary stringency.
2
David Willetts's former tutor says: 'I have no confidence in him'
Universities minister faces votes of no confidence from Oxford and Cambridge dons calling for his removal from office
* Daniel Boffey, Policy editor
* guardian.co.uk, Saturday 4 June 2011 21.55 BST
Oxford and Cambridge dons attempting to force the resignation of the universities minister, David Willetts, have been given a boost by a declaration from the politician's former economics tutor that he had "no confidence in him".
The controlling bodies of the universities are due to stage a vote calling for the minister's removal from office amid growing unrest over the government's trebling of the limit on tuition fees and recent announcements on higher education policy.
Now, speaking to the Observer, Peter Oppenheimer, an emeritus professor at Christ Church, Oxford, and a tutor to the beleaguered minister in the mid-1970s, has admitted: "I have no confidence in him, absolutely. He was a highly intelligent and thoughtful person, very able – but no politician. He has got the kind of open-mindedness which enables him to see the value of a whole range of points of view, especially that of the person he last talked to."
Senior academics at Cambridge and Oxford are calling on Willetts, nicknamed "Two Brains" for his reputed intelligence, to reconsider the hike in undergraduate tuition fees, cuts to higher education and what they say are "incoherent" messages on university admissions. Almost 150 academics at Cambridge, including the renowned poet Jeremy Halvard Prynne, have signed a motion of no confidence in the minister. It will be sent to the university's council, which is expected to endorse it and the university will then need to tell the government that it has passed a vote of no confidence in Willetts by the end of this month.
