Bit by Bit, Gordon Brown's Fantasy Is Being Pulled Apart by the Facts
THE TELEGRAPH: The scale of our problems is at last being recognised by the Bank of England, says Jeff Randall.

In China, they have show trials. The Communist Party's disciplinary inspection group doesn't mess about. Those it suspects of involvement in bribery and corruption are ritually humiliated, forced to confess and shot.

The process is often put on video tape. Alleged culprits can be seen crying on cue, apologising to the people and reciting an ancient saying, the rough translation of which is: "One mistake and sorrow for a thousand years."

In Britain, we do things differently. Which is just as well for the nine bankers (seven Britons, one American and a Spaniard) who this week appeared before the Treasury Select Committee, accused of wrecking the economy. Had the inquiry occurred in Beijing, it is likely that firing-squad rifles would have been loaded even before the chairman's opening remarks.

For, in addition to destroying shareholder value and causing mayhem in the markets, bankers have embarrassed the Government. By their folly, they have helped expose, albeit unwittingly, the ignorance of ministers, flaws in the Financial Services Authority and impotence at the Bank of England. This will never do. What's more, they have established beyond dispute the Prime Minister's inability to pick a winner. Or, put another way, the Curse of Brown. >>> Jeff Randall | Thursday, February 12, 2009

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Under Their Watch: Bush, Blair, Brown & Co. They're All the Same
THE TELEGRAPH: Millions of savers are braced for zero per cent accounts within days as the Bank of England is poised to cut interest rates to the lowest level in its 315-year history.

Experts have warned the return on savings could plumb new depths with the Bank expected to take unprecedented steps to regain control over the economy.

They widely believe the Bank will reduce borrowing costs to below their 2 per cent level - and possibly all the way down to 1 per cent - in its first meeting of the year next week.

More than 7 million people have saving accounts which already pay interest of 1 per cent or less. If a cut is passed on in full by banks, these accounts will dive towards negative territory for the first time on record.

Many elderly people who rely on the income from savings have found themselves struggling in recent months as returns fall. Savers Facing Accounts with No Interest >>> By Edmund Conway and Myra Butterworth | Saturday, January 2, 2008

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Interest Rates Cut: Bank of England Cuts Rates from 3 per Cent to 2 per Cent
THE TELEGRAPH: The Bank of England has cut UK interest rates from 3 per cent to 2 per cent, the lowest level since 1951 in an attempt to stop the economy sliding into a deep recession.


Rates have never been any lower since the Bank's foundation in 1694.
The aggressive move, which most economists had forecast, comes as a raft of data shows the state of the economy is worsening by the day.

Earlier today, Halifax, the country's largest lender said that house prices had fallen by 2.6 per cent in the last month alone, and have now lost more than £37,000 from their peak last summer.

Two important manufacturing and services surveys this week have shown factories and businesses are feeling the squeeze, while The Pier furniture chain became the latest retailer to collapse into administration.

Economists welcomed the move, saying it was the bare minimum required.

Hetal Mehta, Senior Economist from the Ernst & Young ITEM Club, said: "You could almost hear the sigh of relief up and down the country when the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee announced a 100 basis point cut in the base rate.

"As was the case last month, it was almost certain that interest rates would be slashed, but the big question was by how much. ITEM believes that the MPC was right to cut the base rate of interest to 2 per cent – anything less would have been a missed opportunity."

The move will save anyone on a £200,000 tracker-rate repayment mortgage just over £100 a month. Someone on an interest-only mortgage would save even more. >>> By Harry Wallop, Consumer Affairs Editor | December 4, 2008

THE TELEGRAPH: World Stability Hangs by a Thread as Economies Continue to Unravel

The political bubble is bursting. Spreads on geo-strategic risk are now widening as dramatically as the spreads on financial risk at the onset of the credit crunch.

Whether it is the Indian rupee, the Shanghai bourse, or Kremlin debt, the stars of the credit boom have fallen to earth. Investors are retreating into 3-month US Treasury bills – the ultimate safe-haven. The yield has fallen to 0.02pc, less than zero after costs. You pay Washington to guard your money.

The working assumption of the "Great Boom" is – or was – that we live in a benign era where most societies are converging towards some form of market liberalism; where trade and capital flows are unrestricted; where governments have enough legitimacy to keep order by light touch; where a major war is unthinkable.

This illusion is now being tested. >>> By Ambrose Evans-Pritchard | December 1, 2008

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Bank of England to Raise Interest Rates
THE TELEGRAPH: The Bank of England is set to raise interest rates to their highest level in more than six years, a move that will further squeeze homeowners and consumers.

The bank's Monetary Policy Committee is widely expected to push interest rates to 5.75pc as Governor Mervyn King and his fellow policy makers seek to bring inflation back under control and cool the economy. Bank of England set to raise interest rates (more) By Richard Blackden

Mark Alexander