City comment: There is something called the Misery index, and it says UK families are under the greatest pressure in 17 years from rising prices and unemployment - the worst in fact since the unwinding of the 1990s recession... more
Gloomsters were making hay today as the rain poured down on Lloyds. "It may be many years before the taxpayers's stake can sold," declared one. "Taxpayers may never make a profit from bank bail-outs," screamed another. ... more
The Treasury needs to up its powers to enforce lending commitments made in return for taxpayer support by part-nationalised banks RBS and Lloyds, MPs say... more
Prime Minister Gordon Brown is mounting a defence of the City of London against plans for legally-binding EU financial supervision in the wake of the economic crisis... more
When Chancellor Alastair Darling rose to address MPs on the financial crisis at 3.29 pm yesterday the FTSE 100 share index was a mere 200 points down... more
Anthony Hilton believes we should not be surprised that one of the big Chinese players now seems to own about 1% of most of the companies in the FTSE index... more
Everyone has an easy explanation for the coming disaster for Labour in London and the wider South. The party will be hammered because it has taxed the middle classes too hard and wasted too much of their money... more
It is rare for a company to be destroyed by a good idea but that is effectively what happened to Friends Provident. Last year it tried to take over cash-rich Resolution Life as a way to continue to finance its own expansion in wealth management and traditional pension and insurance products... more
Exclusive: After high-profile allegations this season, Charlton's manager is pleased the issue is now being addressed but says the authorities still have plenty of work to do
Morning:
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