Making money by printing money ,, winners and losers - and you ain't a winner pal ...

Boris Fyodorov, the late (died ,heart attack aged 50 Nov. 2008)reformist Russian Minister of Finance was a bastion of rectitude and struggled against the abuse of authority and the looting Oligarchs.

Confusion helps the powerful, he declared. Complex complicated bailouts, uexplained and unpublished (cf Paulsen's Pals Act) complicated government bailout schemes, multiple and vicious and volatile exchange rates, or high inflation, it is very hard (impossible) to keep track of market prices and to protect the value of firms. The result, if taken to an extreme, is looting (cf armed raid on Gazprom offices in Ukraine yesterday ) : the collapse of banks, industrial firms, and other entities because the insiders take the money (or other valuables) and run.

A noteworthy and powerful critique was his publication of a book of blank pages under the title The Economic Achievements of the Chernomyrdin Government.


Now that HMG / Treasury / BOE have decided today on their stop gap / stop go policy of £75 Bn (5% ish of GDP) (approved to the level of £150 Bn. by the MEPC) nothing is clearer. Confusion reigns.

Our analysis is that this move this is the same effect as a private limited company extending it's Purchase Ledger in the knowledge it cannot meet it's debts as they fall due . They become technically insolvent.

The major UK based banks will sensibly hoover up the funds pronto - including Barclays who the sleek jowled Varley assures us have no asset valuation problems.

Cui bono ?

The banks have greater liquidity which they will use as they please (owned by the taxpayer or not) and HMG have assets no-one (anywhere) is inclined to buy at any price.

So if £75 Bn doesn't work, we suck up another £75 Bn. Then what ?

On top of this we relentlesy dribble away tax payers funds ... as the following post shows.

Still Tranche 3 of the Eurofighter is to be cancelled anyday now, so that will save a bob or two on the Defence Budget.. probably enough to repair the Vanguard submarine loitering without intent under a French submarine sous l'Atlantique .

Next step 2 carriers sunk without trace ?