The Black Pearl of banking

Lloyds TSB is starting to look like the Black Pearl from Pirates of the Caribbean. A dark, ominous ghost ship powered by God-knows-what evil forces that brings misery wherever it ports.

After announcing this week that it's shedding another 2,000 jobs, bringing the the total so far this year to around 7,000, it's certainly not the sort of place you'd be racing to for career enhancement. Though the management are in the frame for the blame, you have to remember that this is a bank of which the taxpayers, that's you and me, own 75% and we're supposedly represented by the Government.
So when the bank workers' union Unite rightly complains about the seemingly endless job cuts, it needs to look to Westminster for the real culprits, not The City.

Things go downhill for Bernie

Just when Bernie Madoff was settling in to the first week of his 150-year jail sentence comes the news that his fellow inmates might attempt to bump him off in a bid for media glory... and not to mention the eternal gratitude of the mega-fraudster's victims.

Should give him something to think about every time he steps out of his cell for a meal.

Off the rails

When the going gets tough, National Express get going as they showed by walking away from the franchise they held to operate the rail service between London and Edinburgh. The franchise will now be re-nationalised so we, the taxpayers, are the owners, just like back in the day.

Now, the company fears it might be stripped of its other two franchises – the commuter service c2C and the London-Norwich route. Judging by the mood of Secretary of Transport Lord Adonis, I would guess that is inevitable.

If they do lose the train service, as far as the UK is concerned, it'll be buses only for National Express. At least they don't run off the rails.