For Whom The Pell Tolls

I sometimes wonder if bosses in the UK and elsewhere DO actually live on the same planet as the rest of us. This week we have the Deputy Chief Executive of  the Royal Bank of Scotland, Gordon Pell, telling MPs on the Scottish Affairs Committee that 2,700 job losses were in the pipeline, despite an RBS spokesman later saying that no firm figures had been set. Mr Pell, who earns a paltry £908,000 a year, also sprang to the defence of Sir Freddie Goodwin, the former boss of RBS, saying that history would recognise the banker’s many skills, and the huge contribution he had made to Scotland. This Mr Pell was a member of the board during the disastrous takeover of ABM Amro, and admits that RBS expanded into areas that they didn’t understand. If he and his fellow board members didn’t understand things back then, I doubt if even a brain transplant would help him to understand anything nowadays either, apart from the number of zeros in his salary.

Not to be outdone in the stupidity ranks, Northern Rock carried on lending high risk 125% mortgages for six months after getting a multi-million bailout from the taxpayer. This was happening from September 2007 until February 2008, while the Treasury was pouring public money into the bank, and thousands of its depositors were queuing up to try and withdraw their money. In all, £1.8 billion was lent, although some of the loans had been made as a result of prior commitments. Some financial authorities had noted the need for further investigations into the bank’s lending, but the matter was not considered to be a priority by the Treasury. 

In America, the “retention bonuses” that were to be paid to executives of the failed firm AIG (arrogance, ignorance, greed, as one wit called them) has caused widespread anger and demonstrations. Much more serious for the US leaders was a statement issued by China’s Premier Wen Jiabao -- “We are very concerned about the economic developments in the U.S. economy.  We have lent a huge amount of money to the United States and of course we’re concerned about the security of our assets and, to be honest, I am a little bit worried.”   China is the largest holder of U.S. debt, passing Japan in September for that honour. The country now owns roughly $1 trillion in U.S. Treasuries and other government-backed bonds, or about $1 dollar for every $10 in U.S. debt. China’s key financial position means that as Washington borrows record amounts to spend us out of recession, Beijing’s economic power grows stronger. In effect, the Chinese leader now feels that he has the power, and the right, to tell the US President to cut down on America’s spending.  

With unemployment in Britain now over 2 million, it is shocking to hear that the Government is running a number of free courses to encourage companies to legally employ non-EU workers in the country. This is to cost £20,000, and is to be funded by the long suffering taxpayer. What on earth is wrong with recruiting people from the increasing number of British workers whose only chance of doing anything constructive nowadays is to sign their name in the nearest Job Centre.

Arrogance, Banks, and Football

What on earth is going on in the Scottish Parliament? We have Anne McLaughlin, Scottish National Party, who is to be sworn in as a list MP this week, secretly filming photos inside the building, and posting them on her blog. Although there are no firm guidelines on photographs being taken by workers in Holyrood, there ARE other things to be considered, such as respect and trust. I would think that she will not be accorded those in abundance by opposition MPs when she takes her seat. If she is voted out at a subsequent election, or decides for some reason that she would like another career, I don’t think she can depend on getting a phone call from David Bailey CBE.

 

Scottish Labour leader Iain Gray claimed yesterday that Scots could benefit from the “next stage of global economic development” if Labour policies were followed. Maybe he’s forgotten that Labour have been in charge for the past 12 years, and that a certain Mr Brown has been running  the economy, as Chancellor and now Prime Minister, when he’s not engaged in that other pursuit of his, saving the world.

In Westminster today, four disgraced members of the banking community were to be smuggled into the building to avoid having to face protests from angry workers. Those four are just some of the high flyers who managed to bring the UK’s financial services industry to its knees, but are too scared to face hard working bank employees. Having watched them on TV news bulletins, their so called apologies seemed to be rehearsed, half hearted, and insincere, and I must concur with John McFall, the committee chairman, that at the end of the meeting, they were as arrogant and unrepentant as ever. They can well afford to smirk, as the Government seems unable, or unwilling, to punish them.

 

Turning to football, we find the same kind of arrogance and incompetency coming to the surface. The guys running the Scottish Premier League have decided that the league programme for 2009-10 will begin on August 8, only days before Scotland meet Norway in Oslo in a World Cup qualifying tie. The manager, George Burley, asked that they have an earlier start to the league, and then leave the weekend before the international free, so the team could have a few extra days together. So far, they haven’t agreed to this sensible suggestion. Of course, it is not the first time that they’ve clashed – last May, Burley asked for talks to be held between the SFA and SPL over fixtures, as his first game in charge was wrecked with call-offs as it came immediately before an Old Firm game.

 

Burley himself is under scrutiny this week – he’s known for months that there was to be a Celtic-Rangers game this coming weekend, yet he arranged a get-together for the Scotland squad this week. There has been the usual spate of call-offs, and due to the freezing weather and the fact that Scotland doesn’t have one decent indoor facility, it looks as if the venture has been a waste of time. It seems to me that well paid people at the top in Scottish football arrive at decisions without giving a thought to the consequences, or the adverse effects they will have on our game.

 

A happy (or otherwise) note to end with :-- Research has shown that a bachelor is three times more likely to go mad than a married man. I tend to disagree, especially if the married man is the father of a bride-to-be, as the average price of a wedding is now £22,000.