Recently by Howard Wheeldon

If, thirty or more years ago, I had found myself in financial difficulties that required me to seek help in the form of a loan from my friendly bank manager the first thing that he would likely have asked for would have been a plan of how I intended to pay the money back!
And being the qualified banker that he was and having worked his way up the tree at the bank and proved his worth [typical of the old fashioned, experienced guys that ran banks back in the 1960's and 1970's - as opposed to the unqualified sales assistants that dominant the front end and management of retail banks today] he would understand the typical monthly outgoings of the average householder/customer. Indeed, knowing his customer well and by taking one look at the history of the account [something he probably did quite regularly] paying particular regard to general monthly expenditure he would be well able to see through any attempt on my part to pull the wool over his eyes! Whatever, the bank manager of that day would likely demand a full breakdown of monthly income and expenditure?
He would certainly not take any risk with the banks' money ensuring that it was always fully protected to the point of ensuring that I as the borrower would need to provide a full guarantee on any loan. What he certainly would not have done would have been to say to me - don't worry about the availability of funds or the need to tighten your belt or, whatever you do please don't stop spending! 
Keep on borrowing and spending is exactly the message that UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling is telling G20 nations to do though - irrespective of the levels of national debt they may have built up! Apparently Darling is concerned that in the belief that the worst of the global recession is now over that some G20 economies are already looking for the stimulus exit strategy. If they are then you can hardly blame them.
Whatever, Darlings view on what G20 member economies should be doing - maintaining and even increasing spend on the various stimulus packages - may be OK for some but hardly a prudent way forward for a highly indebted nation such as Britain.
Indeed, it is downright irresponsible for the Chancellor to be telling other what they should be doing when he knows full well that Britain, already wallowing in far too much national debt, is in no position to increase public sector spending.
Alistair Darling's message is seemingly that apparently no matter how much debt has and will further be built up [in the UK we are heading for national debt figure topping out at £800bn or more] it is imperative that nations keep spending to ensure a return of sustainable growth.
While it is generally agreed that the huge stimulus policies adopted by G7/G8 and many if not quite all G20 economies was both needed and right there must always be limits. Britain long ago reached those limits making it wrong for Darling to call on others to do what Britain is clearly unable to do.
I am obviously concerned that the view in Whitehall these days is increasingly biased toward saying that the world is heading out of recession.
Whilst I could hardly disagree that the situation has improved the point is that suggesting, as Messrs Darling and Brown appear to be doing, that the UK might be able to race up the greasy pole to growth faster than the rest is absolutely wrong and certainly very misleading to voters. WE must take care not to live a lie and I am left to conclude that Mr. Darling should be warned against believing in his own or Mr. Brown's rhetoric.
What is certain is that there can be absolutely no sustainable recovery for any G20 nation that carries an undue burden of national debt. Of course, Darling's call on others to spend should not be seen as an intention that Britain will do anything other than exactly the opposite of what he says.                    

Given the huge benefit from the final month of 'cash for clunkers' - pleasing though it is to see confirmation of sizable August year-on-year sales gains from Ford, Volkswagen and Audi - this should have come as little surprise.
Cash for Clunkers, or, to give it the proper name, the Car Allowance Rebate Scheme, was an absolutely brilliant incentive attempt by the US government to provide a boost to the manufacturing economy. It has certainly worked even if it came at a huge cost to US taxpayers and had to be cut short.

Another bad month in yet another very miserable year for Japan as the unemployment rate hits a record high and deflation worsens again.
This near 20-year period of varying degrees of misery shows no sign of ending yet despite the most recent huge government stimulus aimed at encouraging consumers to spend.
Clearly with household expenditure continuing to fall consumers are not spending. And given that the unemployment situation continues getting worse plus that those in work are seeing wages being cut it is no surprise that they are in no position to spend.
If it wasn't still getting worse the current position of Japan gives all the appearance of long term stagnation and it is something that we in the West would do well to take note.

Now we know then and the Turner colours are nailed firmly to the mast! Little wonder that Tory Shadow Chancellor George Osborne proposed just a few weeks ago to scrap the Financial Services Authority - along of course with the failed Tripartite Agreement and a plan that would completely overhaul the regulatory system placing none consumer protection and responsibility back to where it always belonged - in the hands of the Bank of England!