Well, it's not "business as usual" for LTE, the Spanish airline that has just been grounded, but it seems to be "bonus as usual" for Yank Bankers. What do you think of the $70bn or so from the so - called "bailout" cash, that seems destined to line the pockets of these creatures? No answer is required - even IW is lost for words! (Other than to suggest that if you DIDN'T expect such an outcome, you are truly of saintly disposition.) On the same topic (unjustified acquisition of something or other that might benefit you) - what about some of the media's words for the Broon one during his star turn in Brussels the other day: "Brown Triumphant" and "Brown - Master of Markets!" were only a couple of the most idiotic headlines IW has read in a long time. Anyway, there's little doubt that you'll be sick and tired of listening to the same old stuff from the "Meeja" so we'll move along methinks - but first, a wee IW message to the majority of talking heads - you are complete and utter fools. As UK chancellor, the Broon one was the principal architect of Britain's current economic travails - so it's hardly appropriate to be lionising the numpty now.

And speaking of numpties - I realise the guy has just won (he was the sole nominee, mind!) the Nobel Prize for Economics, but Mr Krugman's general view seems to be that the only way out of the current mess, is via borrowing and spending. He cites the Japanese experience as being something "we can learn from" - the "Japanese experience" being that if property values are tanking, banks are collapsing, companies are failing and you're staring into the abyss, then you need to slash interest rates immediately and pump gazillions of (newly printed) dosh into the economy - most of these "thinkers" (Bernanke being one of the worst examples) seem to miss the fact that the Japanese did exactly that, yet all you need to do is have a quick look at the Nikkei 225's performance over the past 20 or so years, to note just how effective their policy has been......"Ah, yes" say these theorists, "But if only Japan had cut interest rates sooner, and had printed even more new banknotes even sooner, all would have been different and the recession of the last 20 years wouldn't have happened...." You'll probably be unsurprised to discover that IW has a different theory. How about "If the Japanese government hadn't been in the pockets of big business, and if the regulators had been allowed to do their job and ban all the 'cross shareholdings' that permitted companies and banks to value themselves at any price they chose, and if loans for anything and everything hadn't been so freely available, thus driving up the prices of everything to unsustainable levels....etc etc, then the whole sorry mess WOULDN'T HAVE HAPPENED IN THE FIRST PLACE!" If the Japanese (for whom now read "Anglo Saxon economies") had insisted that loans, whether secured or not, be wholly contingent upon an "ability to repay" - try that phrase in the WICS search engine - and had INCREASED interest rates to discourage too much borrowing, the ensuing downturn would have been just that - a downturn within the normal business cycle. You know - the cycle the Broon one claimed to have ended.....Apologies for "shouting" above, but that is the nub of the matter. It is way, way too late now to get out of this current mess without a lot more pain - and slashing interest rates/printing money is going to make no real difference to where we're headed. And that is probably just as well - the Broon one (showing his total ignorance of just about everything) has been insisting that the "rescued" (aka bust) banks start lending again at "2007 levels". Fortunately, that just ain't gonna happen - but it's appalling that Broon could even think of suggesting it. But maybe he knows full well it won't happen - "someone else" will thus be to blame when things don't "come right". He can say he tried...in fact he SHOULD be tried! (By the way, the "cross shareholdings" referred to above reference the comments about Japan, were where big companies held a shedload of shares in other big companies. If (say) Toyota wanted a huge loan from a bank, the first thing the bank required was for Toyota to acquire a stake in said bank - but the quid pro quo was that the bank then bought Toyota shares ....and granted the loan of course. It was all distasteful and incestuous at best, and corrupt at worst.) In a nutshell - Economics 101 - "Don't allow bubbles to inflate (too much) in the first place....."

Speaking of "corruption" - the OECD is still snapping at the heels of the UK government over its "failure" to deal with such matters - BAE is not yet off the hook, thank goodness - and the BBC's man Peston is seemingly under investigation regarding possible "inside information" and the alleged misuse thereof, after all his recent "exclusive" stories. Perish the thought. Oh yes, and the auditors of XL Leisure are also under investigation as regards possible malpractice prior to the bankruptcy filing. What a world eh? Makes you lose all your faith in human nature, unless you're as kindhearted as IW.... (All the above is only "alleged" at the moment of course - other than the BAE bit ....)

Coming back to "borrowing" for a second, we can expect the Broon one to be doing just that - on behalf of UK taxpayers, naturally. Why not add a few more straws to the poor overburdened camel's load while you're at it eh? What's another trillion or two after all? "Projects" will be all the rage, so public works contractors may well be worth seeking out as potential "buy trades" in due course.....the ghost of that dreadful man Keynes is once again stalking the land. (WICS of 17th August this year has a reference - and a brace of sane economists are also mentioned therein.)

Anyway, moving along before being tempted into making some very "non - pc" comments (moi - not politically correct?) and really there seems to be little need to worry about your job if you live in Blighty. The benefits offices are hiring...and in any case there are going to be so many loft insulation facilitator positions on the go that to fill all the vacancies they'll need to place job ads in Canada.....and they'll have to set up loft insulation training schools, so they'll need instructors, and then somebody will have to train the instructors, and somebody else will have to check they're all "acceptable" people to be allowed in front of students in a classroom.... Oh yes, not to mention all the new sinecures to be created at the FSA. Gosh - a great idea has just come to me - Broon could pass a law making the FSA regulate loft insulators - that would create even more jobs! Oh yes, and you know that one simply cannot find staff for one's superyacht at the moment......aaghh..

Next, in the video clips this weekend, mention was made of Warren Buffet and the fact that all the talking heads are greatly excited that he claims to be "buying America again". You might be forgiven for noticing that despite a frenetic non stop bombardment via Bloomberg on Friday, claiming that this meant all was obviously well again, and that everyone should follow the great man, the main USA indices all closed lower than on Thursday.....Has WB finally lost the plot? Far be it for a mere minnow like IW to suggest it, but methinks there is another agenda here. It's an election year after all - and it's more than likely Mr B is extremely patriotic, as are most Yanks. If WB buys stuff at the moment it may well just be "pour encourager les autres" but if that stuff keeps falling in price, does it really matter to him? I'm not sure that it does. At least he can say he tried. And unlike the Broon/Greenspan/Bernanke ones, he didn't cause nor foster the original problem. And don't the Yanks have some kind of "recognition" thing? A Hall of Fame or something? Many people seek inclusion in these things, as we all know. Maybe Mr Buffet wants his picture displayed in one of these places? As far as this cynical fella is concerned, the bottom is NOT yet near - and unless you're mega wealthy, it DOESN'T yet make a whole load of sense to be buying. (I don't mean "trading buying" - I mean "stock buying" of course. As you know, stock buying doesn't figure for IW. I'm happy to say I don't own a single share in anything, and that isn't going to change. Trading is a totally different matter and if there are "upwards looking" stocks then of course they will be traded if the TTEW criteria are met. But if you're seeking "long term investments" I would be keeping my wallet under lock and key for a wee while yet.)

Speaking of Greenspan, one of you (thanks David!) suggested during the week that there should be some kind of website where you can go to see "who predicted the meltdown and who failed to do so" - as regards commentators/economists/politicians/pundits et al. David was kind enough to suggest IW as being one of those on the "correct" side of that particular ledger. He was wondering if others had been predicting all this gloom and doom even earlier. David - you might be interested to learn that in fact one of the earliest predictions thereof, was made by Greenspan himself! He appeared before Congress in 2003 and suggested things were getting a bit out of hand - but he was simply ignored at best, or told to "shut up or lose your job" at worst. Sadly, his lack of integrity/love of power caused him simply to "shut up". And back in 1996, "irrational exuberance" was a term he used (at a "black tie" dinner engagement) to describe the cause of Japan's economic woes - not to mention the fact that in 1959 he was suggesting "over exuberance" in lending could cause all sorts of systemic problems. Such a shame he sold out - but so many people do, don't they? This guy chucked last year's Bob Dylan album in the bin after the first attempt to listen to it. At least I have MY priorities right.....and sorry Gordon, but I won't be accepting that knighthood....how much did you say it was worth again? Hang on, let me reconsider that decision...

Anyway, enough of all this serious stuff - on to a few snippets that tickled the IW (warped) sense of humour during the week, and first a Geography question from University Challenge - "What's the capital of Iceland?" I don't suppose the answer "about three quid at the moment" was particularly accurate....

Then there was India's response to their current bank solvency problems - the government simply reduced bank capital requirements....great thinking. Maybe keeping your dosh there isn't too clever an idea? And in Blighty a Lloyds person suggested (anent the government bailout) that "These capital injections make the banks bulletproof." Another remark apropos the same thing was "Dramatic overcapitalisation." Maybe so, maybe no so, to quote my Really Scary Granny.

The ex boss of RBS "accepts no blame" for the demise of the bank. How far in denial is it possible for anyone to be? It's to be hoped that his golf ball gets trodden into the ground by a disgruntled shareholder.....Edinburgh society will have a few of those at the moment, that's for sure. You go cap in hand to existing shareholders and raise an extra £12bn just a few months ago, at two quid a share........ho ho ho. Sympathy from IW for shareholders? Nae chance. Somebody from Lloyds suggested during the week (regarding the plan that no dividends are to be paid out from bust banks till taxpayers are repaid) "There's no point in beating shareholders over the head with a stick." That's absolutely correct, because "the head" is not where most shareholders keep their brains...

Moving along, it seems John Lewis sales are still on a downward slide. This time the excuse is "the recent good weather." Oh please. And Lord Turner (boss of FSA) says he is going to "get tough with the City." Gee - they'll all be trembling in their boots. Oh yes, he also said that "There is no chance of a 1929 - 1933 depression." Technically, he's not going to be wrong of course, because 1929 is not a date that will come round again, unless there's something about the cosmos that so far has escaped us all - but in economic terms he may find he has spoken rashly....

Tesla (some kind of allegedly "environmentally acceptable" electric car maker in the USA), looks like it will go bust...I'm sorry when jobs are lost - but they have been calling their thing a "sports car" so for that reason alone, they deserve to go under. An electric sports car indeed - there ain't no such animal. If it doesn't run on petrol and have more than four cylinders, guys....

And sadly, Waterford Crystal is on its last legs - another company with ambitions way beyond its abilities.

We need to find a prize for a journalist - in the category "B****** Obvious", for his statement in an article about pensions, that "People in final salary schemes will not lose money unless their company goes bankrupt." Gosh - thanks for that insight.

Oh yes, and a Mexican trade union boss has singlehandedly saved GM from imminent bankruptcy. She has bought 59 Hummers for "key staff." Couldn't she just have made it the round 60? You do have to wonder about "people in power", don't you?

John Bon Jovi (great entertainer) is being sued for $400 BILLION by some Yank nutcase. Chickenfeed these days I guess.

Marks & Sparks is moving into "energy" provision - discount vouchers off thermals if you buy your gas/electricity from them! Get yours today while stocks last! What a load of nonsense - and just another sign that they have totally lost the plot.

Finally, the blame game has extended to the techies. Seemingly it's all their fault that the world's finances are wrecked. It was all to do with computer programmes. Nothing to do with bankers, politicians, ninjas, regulators.......so that's OK then. Get rid of computers and we'll all get back to normal. Maybe then I can retire and just go fishing.

On that note, just one more thing - and it's the most honest statement that has been made by a (sort of) government person so far: the EU's "internal market commissioner" said the other day in reference to the credit default swap business that "Nobody can yet say how these swaps will unwind - regulators have little sight of the potential liabilities that may be building up..." How very true.

Anyway, on to a chart or two and tonight we'll look at drawing a trendline on the chart of Telecom Plus, just to answer a question from another "David". Don't forget to use the search engine re "trendline" or "trend line" for more on such things. Then we'll look at a similar thing (trendline) on the Morgan Sindall chart, and that's yer lot for today because my granddaughter's special present to me (doad ob de coald) now urgently necessitates a hot bath accompanied by a cold dram....so I'll see you again next weekend - all the best for now.

Ian.

'IMPORTANT NOTICE: These WICS charts are for EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY. They represent only MY understanding of what is happening in the market for any particular share, stock, commodity or index. In NO circumstances should they be construed as recommendations to trade. If I choose to trade what I see, that is MY decision. YOU must, in turn, come to YOUR OWN conclusions about what action, if any, YOU might choose to take'.