I don’t know in what parallel universe the government finds these retailers. Presumably the same one in which, for the purposes of CPI, it assumes everyone eats a diet of flatscreen TVs.

Still think you underestimate the inflation threat. Time will tell who’s right.

One wonders if we really need quite so much migrant labour?

Will the public finances be able to cope.

In regards to the HBOS situation, I must say that it certainly came as a shock to me and would have been rather unthinkable even just a week ago.

The bank may well have been more exposed to the current crisis in some regards, but did appear to be on fairly solid ground with a very healthy capital ratio. I would like to think that the influence of speculators and short-sellers is always minimal and does follow the real value of a company but it seems to have been damaging today.

As a Scot, I’m particularly worried about the impact on the Scottish banking sector, especially if the Bank of Scotland ceases operating in it’s relatively independent form.

Now Paxman is getting very exited about the end of capitalìm.

Oh, they managed to get the markets wrong again tonight.
I think the had the Dow Jones at 109000 ish.

Its a joke of a show, its reason enough for the Beeb to be shut down. Why should people be forced to pay for this Guardianista (nonsense -ed).

Other than the fact that even should the UK competition authority approve the merger, it is still subject to approval by the European Union.

This illustrates why the EU is such a liability, we need a decision, even if the UK authorities provide one, it will be subject to being second guessed by the EU, the spectre at the feast.

This is an emergency and as such the 100% end of stamp duty is needed to bolster two weak areas of the economy whose vitality is essential to get a recovery under way .

There they were selling HBOS shares they did not own; hoping to buy them back for pennies and what happens. That bugger Peston at the BBC, says HBOS is in merger talks and will probably do a share swap at £3.

It’s a poor day when a Hedge Fund can’t make a honest crust.

Surely the buck here stops firmly with the Chancellor and the PM. In an emergency such as this shouldn’t Gordon Brown be recalling Parliament or something?

I’ll hold my hand up and say that I was one of the people that worried too much about inflation, but then I don’t pretend to have an in depth understanding of economics and finance and don’t do a job that requires me to either.

The silence from the Government is deafening. First we have Darling’s curious Guardian article where he predicts an economic catastrophe to rival the 1930’s. Next thing you know it looks like it’s happening and all he can do is pander to small shareholders by means of a popularist pop at short-sellers.

I’ve come to the conclusion that Brown, Darling and their wonks in the Treasury do not have a clue. Darlings admission that the first he heard of the ECB intervention was courtesy of the front page of the FT on holiday in the Med was frightening. It leads me to conclude that anyone simply bothering to read this blog was better informed that he was!

I’m watching BBC News here and they’ve just interviewed some high up finance guru who said we should return to a system of mutual trust and financial prudence with our banking as we had it before everyone started looking across the Atlantic for easy money.

I also heard Clegg saying Labour are dead and finished but then I turned it off because I hate people stating the obvious and telling me what I know already unless they’re a Conservative ! lol

Now then, when are you going to get rid of Labour and get cracking to get Britain back in shape and milify the populace with soem good old fashioned bad news followed by a silver lining please ?

We need a good dose of CHANGE to UK PLC.

Sorry about the double posting

Reply: It should mean the worries abate about HBOS, which have gripped the markets in the last few days. It sounds as if it will have the Regulators and the government in favour, but it needs an agreed and announced deal, shareholder approval and Competition clearance. We can do without more rumours doing damage to a large mortgage bank.