Rip-off News round-up. Our pick of the last week's media (Thu 12th July)

 

SHOCK NEWS! British Bankers Association summer party is cancelled!!!!!

Their statement said “We regret the short notice but our industry needs to think long and hard about its collective behaviour” BLOOMBERG 

Original details were:
Date & Time: 4th July 2012, 18:30 - 20:30
Venue: College Garden, Westminster Abbey, London, SW1P 3PA
Dress Code: Business Wear
(They forgot to add... Ethical Code: Optional)


UK Government departments cut spending by £6.7bn more than they had planned in the year to March
The government cut 270,000 public sector jobs last year. Some of those have been replaced by new jobs in the private sector but not enough to make a significant impact on high unemployment levels. BBC NEWS

One in six Lords have paid links to financial services industry

Research shows bankers and financiers hold many seats on key committees scrutinising the City. GUARDIAN and BUREAU OF INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISM

("On the 10th day of Christmas my truelove sent to me... One-in-six Lords a-leaping with fistfuls of banker moolah...")


Revealed: why Gordon Brown sold Britain's gold at a knock-down price

Facing a global collapse in the banking system, the Chancellor bailed out the banks by dumping Britain’s gold, forcing the price down and allowing the banks to buy back gold at a profit, thus meeting their borrowing obligations. TELEGRAPH

Half of graduates will be paying off loans in their 50s
Some 56 per cent of all graduates will take so long to repay their loan that they will qualify for it to be written off after 30 years. DAILY MAIL

Libor Rate-Rigging Scandal: MP Admits Select Committee Were Useless In Uncovering Truth
Andrea Leadsom, a Conservative member of the Commons Treasury Select Committee that grilled Barclays' chief executive Bob Diamond last week said "I don't think we did a fantastic job either. It's a fair criticism to say 'You guys were useless'. PRESS ASSOCIATION
(...she forgot to add "are and always will be useless")

Libor Unveiled A London ‘Cesspit,’ says Bank Of England’s Tucker
Bank of England Deputy Governor Paul Tucker said the Libor investigation unveiled a “cesspit” in the City of London and called for regulators to scrutinise all benchmarks that aren’t based on real transactions. BLOOMBERG
(Archaeologist working in the City says "I had barely pulled on my wellies and then I saw it. A cesspit, circa 2012, perfectly preserved, untouched by human regulator, etc. etc.)

Banking regulator, the FSA, worked with banking groups to protect City interests

Minutes reveal independent watchdog in talks with lobbyists on staving off financial transaction tax and regulatory reforms. GUARDIAN and BUREAU OF INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISM
(And in other news, the Pope's secret diaries reveal Catholic leanings; a bear's secret diaries confess urinating in the forest, etc. etc.)