Calmly observing the panicking usual suspects 

 

And here, ladies and gentlemen, we present the latest fear porn item: the sinking ££. Oh wait – it’s been staying stable when Asian markets opened this morning, writes the DM (link). However, the banks are now ‘dithering’ and are ‘temporarily’ withdrawing mortgage offers (link). Therefore, “Tories fear a ‘world of pain’ if homeowners face rate rises” (link, paywalled) while Labour is rising in the polls, especially since Starmer promised to ‘get 1.5m more people onto the housing ladder’, according to the Daily Mirror’s print front page, seen at the usual place (link).

Meanwhile, ‘Tory backbenchers’ are angry with Truss and Kwarteng about all that turmoil. Old cynic that I am, I believe that yon Tories now angry with Truss and her people are suffering from buyers’ remorse. But: they wanted Truss, now they’ve got Truss, so now live with it. The fact that Labour is climbing in the polls has of course nothing at all to do with their anger. The fact that, thanks to the Conference, Labour is suddenly in the headlines can of course have nothing to do with this either. After all, until now we’ve not heard a peep from Labour. I bet many didn’t even know they had something like a shadow Chancellor, never mind knowing who that ws.

So let me ask a delicate question: isn’t it odd that Labour looks to support bankers and money lenders with their pledge to raise income tax levels back to where they were? After all, that’s what such ‘pledge’ will achieve. But lets not quibble about the economic competence of Lab or Con. Let’s ask why the MSM are so keen to howl about yon falling ££ without acknowledging that there might, just might be other, non-UK influences at work.

The Times writes that, actually, much about the Kwarteng Plan was known before he revealed it. Well, that applies to all those banking circles and Westminster ‘insiders’ who have privileged access to Whitehall gossip. The tax cuts however allegedly ‘evaporated’ bankers’ confidence, not that we’re told why that should have been the case.

Here’s an oddity: gossip in the MSM had it that Truss and Kwarteng were going to lift the cap on bankers’ bonuses. Far be it from me to regard this as a bit of a bribe – but the Guardian reported yesterday evening  that “Sources at largest banks say the did not lobby for move nor expect it to result in major changes to pay packets” (link). Doesn’t that look a bit like saying ‘twasn’t us, guv, who made the ££ tumble’? Or even ‘we’re innocent of money market turmoil, inflation and all the rest’?  Have a look at this observation by Iain Martin in the Times:

“The markets, investors and traders who buy and sell government debt, currencies and all manner of financial instruments, hated it [the tax cuts], on the basis that they think the government is being reckless with the public finances.” (link, paywalled)

Do those bankers and traders think that a Labour government would actually be ‘prudent’ with government finances? A certain G. Brown was throwing that word around while he was Chancellor, prudently selling our gold reserves when the price was at its lowest. Will a Labour government, T.Blair MkII, be more prudent by taxing more to pay more civil servants for being unproductive? Has the cause for inflation – more money searching for fewer goods – suddenly become irrelevant? Mr Martin observes further:

“The panic has produced some ridiculous results. The cost of insuring Britain against a default — credit default swaps — has increased so fast that Britain is miles in front of every G7 country other than Italy. Yet Britain is not some wild outlier. Its debt to GDP ratio is about 100 per cent. France’s is higher, at 112 per cent. Italy’s is north of 150 per cent. Britain has its own floating currency, and while the hammering of the pound is worrying, policymakers can push up rates and adjust down if there is a recession. Britain is not about to sink, bankrupt, into the sea.” (link, paywalled)

There’s one other factor influencing this ‘crisis’ which throws an interesting light on the MSM’s reporting and analysing the current situation. Mr Martin writes:

“I do wonder, though, about the relatively new polarising role of social media in exacerbating market crises and making observers overexcited. Social media barely existed at the time of the 2008 financial crisis. Now, when a panic starts, every move is subject to a blizzard of hysterical, rapid-fire commentary and competing graphs of death flying around the internet. To get noticed, it helps to be as panic-stricken as possible.” (link, paywalled)

Interesting, isn’t it: we’re presented with financial fear porn based on social media ‘competitors’ angling for more ‘likes’, driving each other to new heights of panic. And this is why “we” must now trust Starmer and his jolly crew? Strewth!

And finally, given the dire straits of certain EU countries, one might wonder how the saintly €€ will fare, especially now that Italy has that ‘orrible ‘post-fascist ultra-extreme-far right’ government. Now see this:

“The euro has also been hit hard by the strength of the dollar. As in the 1980s, where it caused arguments between Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan, the dollar is strong against all other currencies. The Americans have greater self-sufficiency in energy and their currency benefits from a flight to safety effect in a war era.” (link, paywalled)

Cynical old me wonders why it is that our MSM, our economic correspondents, never mind politicians sporting blue, red or yellow rosettes, are so very silent about the USA. So let me draw your attention to an entry in the blog “Moon of Alabama” published yesterday afternoon, titled “The U.S. Is Winning Its War On Europe’s Industries And People” (link).

I urge you to read the whole thing if you haven’t seen it already. But: be warned: it just might elevate your general cynicism to a whole new level when you open the MSM in the coming days …

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