It's interesting how life turns out. Over the last two years, your writing, which has been contrary to all the financial press, especially in the early days, has helped me understand a little about the way our future has been stolen. You have had a big impact on my thinking over that time. I have learnt to question what I read in the press and try and search my own answers.

When I was growing up, the program Cosmos also had an enormous impact on me, and was a major reason that I became interested in the universe and ended up studying for a degree in Astrophysics.

Two generations of your family have helped educate and inspire me!

I had a little look into self publishing in electronic book formats. Both amazon and apple offer the possibility to self publish. After a brief look, the Amazon program looks more interesting and probably leaves you with more control. They allow you both to print on demand and also to publish for kindle and devices like the iPad or iPhone. I think the link is

dtp.amazon.com

Good luck!

Rob

Thanks very much for the numbers. What is needed now is to make them 'work' !

So the £76bn share-purchase dosh came from where?

The £200bn liquidity support, same question. Was it "printed-off" or borrowed longer term at say 3% to be lent day-to-day at 1%, or what ?

Not sure what– "guarantee up to £250 billion of wholesale borrowing by banks .." actuallly means…and the same for " insurance covering £00's of billions of bank assets too ! The gubmint just ain't got hundreds of billions lying around, has it …they're cutting budgets to the last very few million right now.

Some nice dumb questions !

Heres my news link of the day:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2010/jul/20/recession-bank-lending-small-businesses#start-of-comments

My other question, will the euro take a hammering soon? As theres a very nice print for sale in a Paris gallery

Many thanks

http://www.nao.org.uk/publications/0910/uk_banking_system.aspx

This is quote from the report

“The scale of the support provided by the taxpayer is unprecedented in 4 modern times. In addition to the support provided to Northern Rock, the Treasury:

Purchased £37 billion of shares in RBS and Lloyds Banking Group (£2.5 billion of preference shares in Lloyds Banking Group were subsequently redeemed), and in November 2009, agreed to purchase up to an additional £39 billion of shares in both of these banks;

Indemnified the Bank of England against losses incurred in providing over £200 billion of liquidity support;

Agreed to guarantee up to £250 billion of wholesale borrowing by banks to strengthen liquidity in the banking system;

Provided approximately £40 billion of loans and other funding to Bradford & Bingley and the Financial Services Compensation Scheme; and agreed in principle in January 2009 to provide insurance covering nearly ¬¬£600 billion of bank assets, reduced to just over £280 billion in November 2009.”

This of course, is only what they have officially told us about and does not include the cost of the recession in terms of reduced tax intake etc

Hope this is useful

Ned

I suppose that making it resemble a 'little red book' would be a little risqué and give people the wrong idea? The world already has its quota of people critiquing on books they've never read!

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Well, the detail needs more thinking through, and that will be necessary at some time as the alternative to a dystopia of razor wire and armed guards around gated communities. Of course the System may teeter on for some time( and it has been surprising us here for ages now ), but the continuing suspension of disbelief is taking more and more energy to maintain …

PS Explanation on cost of bank bail-outs on half a side of A4 please 🙂

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If you get the book out I'll have some for distribution , quantity depending on whether hardback at £15 or paper at £7.
Most important of all is the quality of the printing and text size. I have some pocket Chomsky's done by ATTAC, print so small I never got into them !

I still want numbers on the bank bail-outs tho.
Most people don't read books, but they can understand a very clear & very short exposition , and be convinced as long as the argument is absolutely watertight.

When enough people are convinced what the problem IS,and the sense of urrgency rises, practical solutions will be found …

rain in normandy ,at last !

Good Luck