Political prisoner, activist, journalist, hymn-writer, emerging thinktanker, aspiring novelist, "tribal elder", 2019 parliamentary candidate for North West Durham, Shadow Leader of the Opposition, "Speedboat", "The Cockroach", eagerly awaiting the second (or possibly third) attempt to murder me.
Monday, 30 January 2012
Controlling Interest
So what if the RBS share price has gone down today? It was never going to be sold, anyway. Like that stake in HBOS, the controlling interest in RBS is in public ownership forever. Perhaps now someone will state this obvious fact out loud.
When it does get sold, will you admit you were wrong? Or will you squirm and torture logic to how how you were right all along? Based on prior reading of this blog? I think we all know the answer
Even UKFI has had to admit that no one would want to buy it, even if it were possible to sell something reflated at quite that much public expense, and over which, as of yesterday, popular opinion is used to quite this level of influence.
Global banking and markets operations, Insurance division, Broking division are all on the table I believe. The taxpayer will fund this episode of corporate socialism as per usual.
I think it's a toxic brand from the point of view of potential investors. However these things might be privatised, there would be clauses effectively guaranteeing government interference if there were enough media demand. No one is going to buy that.
Never going to be sold?
ReplyDeleteSuch an asset re-inflated by public funds is too much of a prize for current economic and financial thinking to ignore.
But that is exactly what makes it politically impossible to sell.
ReplyDeleteWhen it does get sold, will you admit you were wrong? Or will you squirm and torture logic to how how you were right all along? Based on prior reading of this blog? I think we all know the answer
ReplyDeleteEven UKFI has had to admit that no one would want to buy it, even if it were possible to sell something reflated at quite that much public expense, and over which, as of yesterday, popular opinion is used to quite this level of influence.
ReplyDeleteThey may not want to buy it as a monolithic entity but I expect that the choice cuts are being drawn up for financial liberation even now.
ReplyDeleteGive it a few years and the taxpayer will be left with nothing but a homeopathic essence of RBS and a letterhead,
What choice cuts?
ReplyDeleteGlobal banking and markets operations, Insurance division, Broking division are all on the table I believe. The taxpayer will fund this episode of corporate socialism as per usual.
ReplyDeleteI think it's a toxic brand from the point of view of potential investors. However these things might be privatised, there would be clauses effectively guaranteeing government interference if there were enough media demand. No one is going to buy that.
ReplyDelete