Category — Current Affairs

For those of you who love conspiracy theories…of particular interest over the last few months has been the resurgence of the banking sector from the lows in March.

Perhaps the fact that bankers were forced to take much of their bonuses in Stock rather than cash had something to do with this? Bonuses are generally paid in March, coincidentally the low point for most bank shares.

If I was, say, a Barclays employee it would have been very nice to pick up stock options down at around 70p (price now 240p). In conversation with an investment banker friend of mine he was rather chuffed to discover that, at current valuations, his bonus this year is now worth far in excess of anything he received in the past.

Admittedly he must wait a few years to cash it in. Ah well, ‘plus ca change, plus c’est la meme chose’.

Also see today’s Spread Trading Comment.

Good luck!

DB

The public’s faith in our politicians is at an all time low and it’s hardly surprising as at the moment there doesn’t seem to be anything that they can do right. Their rules seem to be very inconsistent compared with anyone who claims expenses in the private sector and on top of this they are easily open to abuse.

After a year of anger being vented on the City it seems only fair that the attention is turned onto government for their haphazard expense claims. Whilst it appears that 90% of politicians are guilty, it’s our Gordon’s party who are taking the brunt of the criticism and one cannot help but think that it is justly deserved.

The trust that has been lost will be near on impossible to replace and worst of all it will be up to the politicians to over haul the rules. Such a mess surely calls for a simple answer along the lines of reducing the ways and amounts MPs can claim on expenses and increasing their basic salaries.

It would almost be worth considering a salary scheme based on where their constituency is and paying slightly more to those MPs who live further away from London.

In case you missed Gordon Brown’s manic-give-the-kids-nightmares smiles on his MP’s Expenses YouTube video…here is the video.

We will not take any responsibility for you not being able to sleep at night.

Enjoy the weekend.

DB

If you are looking for something different then we give you…Gordon Brown.

Yes, we have updated our political quotes page.

In case you didn’t see Gordon Brown’s bizarre / manic / give-the-kids-nightmares smiles on his MP’s Expenses YouTube video…here is the video.

We will not take any responsibility for you not being able to sleep at night.

Enjoy the weekend.

DB

Gordon Brown has unexpectedly stepped down as Prime Minister. In an emotional farewell he praised himself for his running of the economy.

Onlookers noticed a hint of bitterness as the former MP for Dunfermline East suggested that much of the UK’s economic ills were the fault of the previous Chancellor.

Gordon Brown stated that “before I was crowned PM, the Chancellor was in power for ten years and two months…making him the longest-serving Chancellor in modern history”

He went on to blame the previous Chancellor for his failed ‘Five Economic Tests’ and the infamous ‘end to boom and bust’ speech.

Golden Balls

Mr Brown continued his unprecedented attack on the Chancellor, who served from 1997 to 2007, for selling more than half of the UK’s gold reserves at the bottom of the market.

Former PM, Tony Blair, heaped praise on his fellow Scot, “Gordon is special”. With a tear in his eye Mr Blair continued, “I wish Gordon had dropped VAT to 15% when I was in office, life would have been so much easier”.

Dour

Looking back over the years he has certainly been a respected Statesman:

“I don’t know whether this is going to come as a disappointment to him, but he can’t actually fire me”, Peter Mandelson on being asked if he was worried about being sacked when Gordon Brown became Prime Minister

“Peter said he had no desire to destroy Gordon, but he had no doubt whatsoever Gordon was determined to destroy him”, The Alistair Campbell Diaries

“He’s not the dour Scottish man that you described”, George Bush on meeting Gordon Brown

Circuit Training

We look forward to some inspiring talks as Gordon hits the after dinner speech circuit.

It is not often that I have ever, or will ever, feel sorry for Fred the Shred but the desperation of politicians to try to claw back his pension is a tad disgraceful.

Gordon Brown’s assertion that he will use legal means to recoup some of the pot if possible is a very dangerous game and one that should be countered by all pension holders. In a year’s time Sir Fred will be forgotten but if a successful legal claim is made against a lawfully agreed pension then this will sit on the statute books forever.

Aside from anything else if Sir Fred can lose his pension for failure or incompetence then ‘Our Gordon’ and ‘Captain Darling’ should think very carefully indeed before going down this route.

More trading thoughts from Simon Denham >> Spread Trading.

For a look at trading RBS >> RBS Spread Betting.

Good Luck!

DB

The above comments do not constitute investment advice Clean Financial accepts no responsibility for any use that may be made of them.