This crisis now has, like some terrifying monster of ancient mythology, four heads. Each head is operating independently of the others, yet all are connected to the same body. The four heads are: the Murdochs and their media empire, the Metropolitan Police, Parliament and finally and critically, the Government. We will now look into the […]
As predicted yesterday by this Blog, the pressure on Cameron is building. First we had Coulson, then the tardy response to the erupting phone hacking scandal, followed by the arrest of Rebekah Brooks and now the coded complaint from Britain’s resigning top policeman that he could not give the prime minister full details of what […]
The arrest of Rebekah Brooks today has many repercussions, not least upon the parliamentary select committee before which she is due to appear. Much is being said and will be said about all that. However this blog today will concentrate on one issue only. The future of the Prime Minister. This is now the biggest […]
That’s a very good question. If you have faith in the EBA tests, then you will know that out of 90 EU banks, a total of 24 either failed the tests, or are in the danger zone. That is 26% and not very good, especially if there is trouble ahead. Moreover apparently while the tests […]
The results of the so called stress tests for all EU banks, within and outside the Euro zone, will be announced later. This is one of the features of the sovereign debt crisis, which, having engulfed the Euro zone, is, like the Murdoch scandal, seeping across the Atlantic. Standard and Poor’s today declare a 50% probability of […]
Britain has been gripped by the Murdoch drama. What threatened to become a political crisis has become something of a political triumph, with the standing of parliament greatly enhanced. Most, if not all, of the credit for this is due to Ed Milliband. For him this has been as the Falklands to Thatcher. We must see […]
News Corporation has a lot on its plate. Its UK operation is engulfed in what the prime minister calls a firestorm. The brand is toxic and the family management is under siege from parliament, the police, a judicial inquiry and the public, all on a scale and with a scope without precedent. Yet the crisis, […]
As yesterday’s new revelations stunned everyone, it became clear that this is now a full blown crisis spreading like red hot lava from a volcanic eruption. The Murdoch business in the UK is under siege, with the scandal now spreading to the Sunday Times and the Sun. The family management of James and Rebekah is […]
Herman Van Rompuy, the President of the European Council, is meeting with the top financial officials of the euro zone to discuss Italy. Anxiety is mounting. Italy has the largest national debt as a percentage of GDP in the euro zone, after Greece. It ranks 8 in the world at 119%. To compare, Britain ranks 22 with […]
We do not yet know what Rupert Murdoch will have to say when he arrives in London. I suspect he will be surprised by what he finds. Last evening I saw a brief clip of him walking in a blue shirt talking to a deferential U.S. reporter. Their interview style is a good deal less […]