Quote of the day
“The government said they would attach strict conditions on bonuses and it is very clear they are doing nothing of the kind. The banks are just making complete monkeys of them.”
- Vince Cable, Lib Dem Treasury spokesman, reacts to the news that RBS has set aside hundreds of millions of pounds for staff bonuses, despite being bailed out with £20 billion of taxpayers’ money
Witanagemot Blogs
Brown’s to busy begging for cash from the Arabs. They need enough money to last till the general election in June 09 – at any interest rates.
It will be interesting to see which public building are handed over to the Arabs as part of the Trearury’s new Islamic bonds.
Indeed. He was trying to tell the media yesterday that all the oil-rich states should really try to help everyone else through this crisis – as if somehow his pleading will in any way affect their behaviour.
Gordon just says these things so that blame attaches to someone – anyone – other than him.
The distressing thing is, it seems to work.
This is the substantive paragraph of the Guardian piece
“Staff costs at RBS’s investment banking division include salaries already paid in the first six months of the year, national insurance and profit-sharing contributions as well as funds earmarked for end-of-year bonuses. The sum set aside is 20% lower than the equivalent figure for the first six months of 2007.”
I don’t see a problem. Also got to remember that Cable’s comments came on the heels of a similar comment he made about Barclays and their private deal to recapitalise. The only problem was Barclays hasn’t taken any government money. Cable has as much a fake reputation for economics as Gordon Brown does.
Actually Brown is begging the middle East to throw cash at the IMF so that when Brown has to go cap in hand to the IMF, like in the seventies, they have some money to give him.
Doug is right. Misleading piece that..
From the Guardian too.Who’d have thought?
“Dog bites man”. You are making the elementary mistake of taking something the government said as if it were potentially true, or even remotely likely to be so. They always lie, it’s a labour thing.
Vince Cable is too good for the LibDems! With his withering remarks, Gordon Brown is getting it from both ends of the oppsition benches.
A very good remark. These bonuses are just like monopoly money. Hard work has nothing much to do with it.