Peston "Fisks" Marrs Brown Interview
The BBC’s business editor Robert Peston, currently the object of the frustrations of a substantial number of City fund managers who think he should be done for creating a false market in HBOS, has fisked yesterday’s Marr interview with Gordon.Implicitly critical of Marr for letting Gordon off the hook, Peston makes some good points:-
- Gordon said it is the right time for the government to borrow – as if he had a choice – the PSBR could reach £100 billion. Double the budget estimate.
- Gordon took the credit for the FSA’s banning of short selling. Does he take the credit for the FSA’s failure to monitor Northern Rock’s liquidity problems as well?
- Brown blamed global problems and everyone else, as if he was blameless.
- He misrepresented the real reason for Bank of England’s flood of liquidity.
Brown rightly resisted EU regulation of London’s financial services, he now says he wants international regulation. Gordon says Britain’s regulation was better than America’s regulation. The FSA allowed Northern Rock to lend 125% against the asset to borrowers. Was that best practice? Peston, Gordon’s biographer, says he is exhausted by the twisting of Brown.
