“It seems to be that every big trading disaster happens in London”. AIG, the London Whale, Lehman’s, the list goes on. Add Barclays Liebor to that too.

[dikkertjedap]

said Carolyn Maloney, New York Democrat congresswoman.

See here about how Barclays manipulated LIBOR and EURIBOR. What an utter disgrace!

I really hope this government is finally going to see sense and will finally get tough with these bloodsuckers. Are these the people who have to get the UK out of the economic straits, you cry or laugh.

The Financial Centre that happens to be located in London is the global centre of Hedge Funds, derivatives trades and CDO trades.
It is also one of the top three worldwide currency markets and is currently setting itself up to be the centre for Yuan (Chinese) trades.

The "banks" are not the things we see on the high street. They are trading houses.

If Only gorgeous George would abolish non dom status and clamp down on offshore taxation rules, it would provide a mahoosive input to the UK tax system.

"People are rightly angry about the behaviour of the banks and so am I. People want to see real accountability for what has happened. When people have broken the rules they should face the consequences," said David Cameron.

Yet ...

'David Cameron rejects Labour call for independent banking inquiry'
Guardian - bit.ly/KR41BA

The more I hear from the various parties: government, opposition, BoE, FSA, TBH I don't think there is going to be any fundamental reform.

Too many vested interests. There truly seems to be one set of rules for a select (rich) group of society and another set of rules for the rest.

The rich establishment enrich themselves without creating any wealth but at the expense of ordinary people. Typical Feudal society.

Another real opportunity seems to be missed.

They should all have been allowed to go under, or is that not the Tory way?

dikk - yeah, they make the rules, then boast that when they dodge their taxes, or rip off little old ladies by mis-selling, or do any of the 1001 other things they do that harm other people 'it's legal'. yeah, because the law is designed by your agents for your benefit, fucker.

Nothing will be done. Nothing of substance anyway. We may get a bit of hot air from Cameron just to please the voters. Then he will carry on running the country for his rich mates and fuck everyone else.

Still it took Jimmy Carr out of the spotlight. Is Diamond a UK taxpayer? I know he's a US citizen and there was talk of off-shore accounts which is nice since he has earned £100million since 2007. No chance of anything happening. It would take a review by legal teams in trained in accountancy and the banks probably own all those people.

Diamond should be allowed to go home and then not be let back into the UK as an undesirable.

Borders Agency seem quite capable of removing rape victims to areas of conflict, or gay people to Iran... why not Bob Diamond to the US?

The vice chairman of Barclays has been made the non exec director of NHS...........
They are all in it together, all right!

No they won't be held to account - this Govt will reward them richly!

A load of rich selfish people are comning the public, the government knows. They get richer, we pay the price.

Conning

There are high st banks and merchant banks, all money red and black shared.

Fourthdimension

In the olden days, the amount of borrowing that a person could take out was linked to what they could prove they earned.
Then Maggie removed borrowing controls - so you could 'technically' borrow as much as you liked.
Then the "City" went electronic so they could buy and sell debt very very fast -
this gave them the confidence to do it more and faster - as they thought they would always outwit the poor schmucks who paid the "Loan agreement fees" and "interest"
the amount borrowed dwindled into insignificance against the fees earned for lending to those who could not pay back.

With the Euro in 2000, governments got in on the game
and the banks KNEW they were on to a winner as nobody will let a country slide into anarchy, so they could lend and charge as much as they liked.

Then one day, somebody in Iceland said
"The emperor has no clothes"
and the rest of them thought "HOLY SHIT" our assets are loans to people and governments who we knew all along would never pay them back.

During the last 15 years, people in the west (particularly the USA and the UK) have got used to putting spending on credit, paying the minimum, taking the pensions and not actually thinking about who will pick up the tab.

The roundabout has stopped. The poor were at the edges and fell off fastest.
The bankers had handmade custom slings, but they are being unpicked.

Sadly the Big Picture is that we have got to relearn how to live within ours (and the planets) means.
Setting up coop farms in the houses of the bankers may just be a bonus.

thanks for asking forth, and explaining TP. I was going to ask the same thing.