Category: The generic nonsense you love

Very sad to hear that Marxist economist Andrew Glyn, who had the dubious honour of teaching both me and Chris Dillow, has died. As a not-very-socalist, I'd second Chris's view that: He never gave those of us who shared his views an easy ride, and was never less than generous to those who didn't share … Continue reading The only good communist…

It's possible that house prices will fall a little in 2008. It's just about possible they may even fall by a lot (although I'd happily stake my life that they'll fall by less than 20%). However, it's absolutely certain that house prices by the end of 2012 will be higher in real terms than they … Continue reading Quick house bet

Apparently it's Daniel Davies Day today (even if the TV schedulers and sellers of greetings cards have failed to notice). In tribute, I'm linking to his two best ever pieces: It was a wonderful headbutt and (allegedly, pseudonymously) Why the Bombings Mean That We Must Support My Politics. If you don't follow Dan's writing, a) … Continue reading Dcubed

Small earthquake in Chile; not many dead

I'd thought it was a nearly-amusing coincidence that Northern Rock's ex-chairman Matt Ridley shared a name with the journalist and science writer. But no, apparently they're the same guy. Now, I know that chairman is a non-exec role, but even so - if I were selecting a chairman for a major bank, I'd probably opt … Continue reading Who’ll we get to run our bank?

I've got a new Sharpener piece up on the unholy trinity of Craig Murray, Alisher Usmanov and Prem Sikka. It's got accountancy, it's got bribery, it's got a respected writer making himself look like an idiot and accidentally libelling people - what more could you ask? "A post which isn't about transport or accountancy, please, … Continue reading But financial standards ARE interesting, dammit

From 'Not A Sheep': In 2003 [Trevor Phillips] wrote an article where he said "from Rome, through Constantinople to Venice and London, our (European) nations have a history of peacefully absorbing huge, diverse movements of people, driven by war, famine and persecution; and there is no history of long-term ethnic segregation of the kind one … Continue reading We have the statistics. Why not consult them?

From Alex - yup, I think I agree with every word of this. Also, please, please, please sack the walking corpse...

What kind of loony keeps more than £35k in savings accounts with a single bank? NB if you're reading this and you have more than £35k in savings accounts with a single bank, you should immediately transfer the balance over £35k to a different bank. There is no sane reason not to do this, and … Continue reading On that whole Northern Rock thing