OneGuyFromBarlick

Forgive my naivety, David, but isn't the Tory government trying to boost local government rather than destroy it. Not that I think they would be boosting it for good reasons of course - more that they want to transfer responsibility off themselves. But destroying local government would prevent that.

In very simple terms what Paul Krugman is postulating is that should a country enter a depression phase, generally because Joe Public has lost confidence in the financial situation and can't spend like they used to do, (put your own reasons in here), then the last thing the government should be doing is institute more austerity. We are now getting into the ridiculous position where Mark Carney is thinking of dropping interest rate and introducing more quantitative easing to stimulate spending while at the same time George Osborne is cutting back on spending. Total nonsense.

I'm not going to go back to all my reasons for saying that current policies are economically illiterate but the present treatment of Local Authorities is a case in point. While they publicly trumpet their support for more independent local government and take every opportunity to devolve responsibility of vital services to them they cut the funding. This can only be characterised as schizophrenic. 'Powerhouse' becomes 'Workhouse' and somewhere in the background of their thinking is a vague conviction that there are still 'efficiency' dividends to be gained from council's capital assets and increasing use of outsourcing. A complete lack of sympathy and understanding which is unfortunately par for the course.

Tizer, maybe the Tories pay lip service to localism, but the reality is the reverse.

Education is an example; LEAs are being stripped of their role, with Academies overseen by regional commissioners (unelected etc etc...). The local education authority would remain responsible for ensuring adequate numbers of school places, but without the means to do so. Oh, and parents excluded from the equation as they are kicked off school governing bodies.

So called 'devolution deals' appear very dodgy to me, with lots of cost shunting going on, but not the means to raise the money to meet the costs. The government are passing on the responsibility to make cuts. (And, with elected mayors ruling massive areas and populations, I'd argue that such a structure was hardly 'local' government.)

On the finance front, the drastic cuts in places like Pendle threaten the viability of such small district councils, with the prospect of huge remote bodies making decisions - again, not something I'd recognised as local government..

A more minor (apparently) consequence of the decreased flow of cash to councils is the closing down of swimming pools. But it's not really so minor - learning to swim is an essential safety factor for all children and being able to swim regularly and locally is important for health and avoiding obesity.

Someone somewhere will be looking at local sales taxes again......

Too big to fail?....
`HSBC avoided US money laundering charges because of 'market risk' fears'
"US officials refused to prosecute HSBC for money laundering in 2012 because of concerns within the Department of Justice that it would cause a "global financial disaster", a report says. A US Congressional report revealed UK officials, including Chancellor George Osborne, added to pressure by warning the US it could lead to market turmoil. The report alleges the UK "hampered" the probe and "influenced" the outcome. HSBC was accused of letting drug cartels use US banks to launder funds. The bank, which has its headquarters in London, paid a $1.92bn (£1.48bn) settlement but did not face criminal charges . No top officials at HSBC faced any charges."
More here: HSBC

It's a good measure of the deterioration in ethics in the financial sector. Customer rights and common justice are casualties as the Lords of the Universe garner more and more power to themselves. Ossie's relaxation of regulation is nothing new, there have been two story lines, one for the general public to reassure them 'something is being done' and another secret agenda whereby 'arrangements' are made in back offices which allow the growth of the money laundering business in London to expand.

The markets are expecting a .25% cut in the base interest rate today.....

The Bank surprised everyone by leaving interest rate unchanged. New Chancellor Hammond says no need for an emergency budget. The message is that all is OK, steady as she goes. I hope they are right!

Well what a surprise...
`Top HSBC manager charged in forex probe'
"A top HSBC executive has been charged with fraud in the US. Mark Johnson, the company's global head of foreign exchange trading was arrested on Tuesday night and is due to appear in court later. A former colleague, Stuart Scott, has also been charged. The two traders are accused by the US government of using inside information to profit from a $3.5bn (£2.6bn) currency deal. HSBC has so far declined to comment. The US Department of Justice (DoJ) accuses the traders of "front-running". That is misusing confidential information provided by a client who planned to convert $3.5bn into British pounds. It is claimed that the two executives bought sterling themselves before handling the order, because they knew that such a large transaction would push up the value of the currency, and allow them to make money."

Typical Tiz, anything for a profit.
Not strictly on piste but I bought a half pint mug of tea at Black Country Museum and was shocked to find that the price for one tea bag, half a pint of boiling water and a dash of milk was £3.50. That's right, £3.50..... They certainly had their profit margins 'right'!

Much discussion in the media about changes in interest rates triggered by, at present, speculation about Brexit. See THIS for a BBC report that RBS and Nat West are warning business customers (Not personal accounts) that they may have to charge for accepting deposits. This possibility is, to someone my age. incredible. It strikes a blow at the old fashioned concept that a positive balance is rewarded by the banks who use the money to invest wisely and make a profit. It's a sign of the dire straits the banks and the financial system have manufactured over the last decade. It is entirely due to deregulation allowing mismanagement and is a terrible indictment of the competence of those in charge. I feel as though I am standing in a quicksand!

More bank closures. This time Lloyd's are at it. (LINK). 3,000 jobs and 200 branches to go. The excuse is of course that 'everyone' is using their phones and computers. This is a lie, there are many with no internet access and many more who trust personal contact more than impersonal dealings with a computer. Long gone are the days when the customer was king.

This is about energy companies rather than bankers but I don't want to start another topic for them...after all, many of the failings are the same or similar. This story is an example of why I've lost my trust in companies and other large organisations and believe many of them are badly managed these days.

`Energy firms told to refund customers after gas meters mistake' LINK
"Energy firms have been ordered to refund thousands of gas customers affected by a meter reading mistake. The error - caused by companies confusing measurements from older imperial meters with modern metric ones - is believed to have affected several thousand households."

Funny how the 'mistake' resulted in an overcharge......

The current worries about company pension funds shouldn't blind us to the continuing problems with the new regulations on private pension funds. The evidence is that many are cashing in pension pots using dubious 'advisers'. The government help promised to make decisions has turned out to be almost totally useless. This is a classic case of a legislative measure enacted for idealogical reasons that is going to have dire consequences in the future.

Stanley wrote:Funny how the 'mistake' resulted in an overcharge......

I thought the Meter Serial Number was supposed to identify the CuFt or CuM measurement. Careless data input when changing companies, mine did it, after a red bill chasing after 10 days after I told them they billed incorrectly on-line, and no compensation for their cock-up, I was not happy. Many people would not realise themselves what meter they have ( though a 9 fold higher bill I would have thought a bit obvious...)

I've posted this here for want of anywhere more appropriate...but I'll bet the banks have a big part to play in it!
`Kafkaesque rulings that can destroy lives' LINK
"In a major investigation, the Daily Mail today reveals the Kafkaesque nightmare faced by families whose finances are wrecked by court rulings they know nothing about. Used in vast numbers by parking firms, banks and utility companies, county court judgments (CCJs) have been issued for debts as small as 1p. Too often, letters warning about court action go to old addresses, and little if any effort is made to trace the victims. When no reply is received, the draconian CCJ is issued not by a judge, but – at the stroke of a pen – by an anonymous official in a grey office block on the outskirts of Northampton. Many victims go years without knowing the judgment exists, and only find the black mark on their credit history when their mortgage application is refused."

I heard that report and agree entirely Tiz. In the olden days 'due diligence' was done by a bank manager who knew you. Today it is done by a minion with an internet connection. Is it any wonder that there are anomalies? But of course it saves so much time and expense......

They can't even protect them selves from their own fire extinguishing systems! (Admittedly this incident was in Bucharest.) LINK
`Fire drill knocks ING bank's data centre offline'

It's technically interesting - apparently the release of extinguishing gases is so loud it can damage the hard disks in the bank's computer system. So keep your fingers crossed that your money in your bank isn't `extinguished'!

Tiz, you've reminded me of a fire related cock-up I came across.... When the new Coates factory was being built at Ellenroad there was a large store room where raw materials were kept. Some of these ingredients for the manufacture of printing inks were closely related to the ingredients of the explosive TNT. The consequence was that all the electrics, the wiring lights and even the telephones had to be of the same standard as those in the Mines Regulations for Explosive Atmospheres. So far so good until an alert insurance inspector spotted that the fire alarm buttons were standard pattern and due to the fact that when actuated you broke the glass which allowed a circuit to be broken and this ensured a spark they all had to be replaced with a different pattern. Red faces all round.....

Those gas-based automatic fire extinguishing systems must be commonplace now wherever big computers are used - which is in nearly all large organisations. It makes you wonder about the safety of all that data - I hope there are reliable backups remote from the main computers!

Never underestimate the capacity of people to be stupid.

I wonder why our regulators don't take action like the US authorities do?
`US asks Deutsche Bank for $14bn to settle mortgage investigation'
The US Department of Justice is asking Deutsche Bank to pay $14bn (£10.6bn) to settle an investigation into mortgage-backed securities, the bank has said. Deutsche Bank said it "has no intention to settle these potential civil claims anywhere near the figure cited".... LINK

US regulators have also ordered a formal recall of the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 after the reports of fires caused by faulty batteries. Elliot Kaye, chairman of the US Consumer Product Safety Commission, has said Samsung should not have tried to do the recall by itself: "Anybody who thinks that a company going out on its own is going to provide the best recall for that company, and more importantly for the consumer, needs to have more than their phone checked."

It'll be interesting to see if anything comes of this:
`Executive pay to be investigated by MPs'
"MPs have launched an inquiry into corporate governance, focusing on executive pay, worker representation in the boardroom and the lack of women in senior positions.".... LINK