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Is Britain facing bankruptcy?
Welcome to the Wrap, guardian.co.uk's digest of the day's news
As Britain's slides further down the global debt league, and sterling goes into freefall, many papers are asking whether the UK could go bankrupt like Iceland did last year?
The Guardian's Nils Pratley said a debt crisis isn't a "wholly wacky notion" but also called for some perspective.
"Let's not announce catastrophe before it has arrived," he writes. "Having been wildly overvalued during the boom, sterling is in the midst of a correction that will make us feel poorer for years to come. But talk of bankruptcy is overdoing the gloom."
David Wighton of the Times echoes this sentiment: "The City is not Reykjavik on Thames. British banks did grow too big for the economy, which makes us more vulnerable to the banking meltdown than the Americans. But it is nowhere near as extreme as in the case of Iceland." he writes, adding that many euro-zone countries like Germany and Spain are in a similar, if far worse state.
There has also been calls to nationalise more of Britain's banks to stem the financial crisis and restore confidence in the economy.
"Full nationalisation would allow the government to get lending flowing again without further delay," writes Seamus Milne in the Guardian. "As the scale of devastation wreaked by the banks on the global economy becomes clearer, the case for a socially owned finance sector grows stronger by the day. (The banking system) is too important to be left in the hands of private companies dedicated to maximising profits for their shareholders."
The Telegraph's Iain Martin agrees that nationalisation is the only way forward: "As a free-marketeer what I am about to say pains me. But there had best be a full nationalisation of the Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds/TSB/HBOS. Let us stop pretending they operate as independent institutions," he writes, adding: "After that, nothing less than a co-ordinated attempt to rebuild British capitalism is called for."
But John Gapper in the Financial Times thinks nationalisation may not be the remedy: "If the prime minister becomes bank-in-chief, his problems will just be beginning."
Guardian: Time to turn out the lights on sterling?
Times: It's a bitter chill but Britain is not Iceland
Guardian: Our banks are too important to be left in private hands
Telegraph: Nationalise RBS, then rebuild capitalism
Financial Times: Nationalisation is not a pancea
ALL EYES ON OBAMA
"Whirlwind hits Washington," reads the Guardian headline as all eyes remained on the 44th US president to analyse his first actions in government.
The Sun said Obama "hit the ground not so much running as sprinting".
His initial steps to close Guantanamo Bay were welcomed by the New York Times, which wrote: "Obama rightly denounced the tribunals during the campaign. And we were delighted to see him shut them down so swiftly now that he is in the White House."
But it added that the president had much harder tasks ahead: "We also know that a few (Guanatanamo prisoners) are very dangerous and that the illegal and abusive policies of the Bush administration will make it very hard to bring them to full justice. Fixing that part of Mr Bush's grotesque legacy will be a lot harder than closing the prison."
The Washington Post agreed with his actions, writing: "It is gratifying to see the new president take seriously his promise to reverse the damage. But the process of unravelling Guantanamo will be delicate and difficult. Mr Obama is right to proceed cautiously to achieve the goals of protecting the rights of detainees while protecting the safety of the country."
Meanwhile, the Independent's Robert Fisk said Obama had missed the point on Gaza: "There was the phone call yesterday to Mahmoud Abbas. Maybe Obama thinks he's the leader of the Palestinians, but as every Arab knows, except perhaps Mr Abbas, he is the leader of a ghost government, a near-corpse."
BROWN PAYS PRICE OVER MPS' EXPENSES
Not only is Gordon Brown being attacked over his denial to accept the full extent of the banking crisis, but he was also forced yesterday to retreat on controversial proposals to keep MPs' expense details a secret.
The Guardian's David Hencke called the decision "sensible and timely". "Parliament has an appalling record in trying to cover up details of how MPs use taxpayers' money to furnish their second homes," he blogged. "The plans should never have been tabled in the first place."
The Independent described the day as a "political farce" for Westminister but added: "The humour of this long-standing tussle over MPs' expenses is wearing distinctly thin. The case for full transparency is perfectly clear. This attempt to shield the activities of our democratic representatives from the scrutiny of those who elect and pay for them was a disgrace. It must now be dropped for good."
Guardian: A sensible decision
Is Britain facing bankruptcy?
Welcome to the Wrap, guardian.co.uk's digest of the day's news
- Angela Balakrishnan
- guardian.co.uk, Thursday 22 January 2009 09.11 GMT
- Article history
As Britain's slides further down the global debt league, and sterling goes into freefall, many papers are asking whether the UK could go bankrupt like Iceland did last year?
The Guardian's Nils Pratley said a debt crisis isn't a "wholly wacky notion" but also called for some perspective.
"Let's not announce catastrophe before it has arrived," he writes. "Having been wildly overvalued during the boom, sterling is in the midst of a correction that will make us feel poorer for years to come. But talk of bankruptcy is overdoing the gloom."
David Wighton of the Times echoes this sentiment: "The City is not Reykjavik on Thames. British banks did grow too big for the economy, which makes us more vulnerable to the banking meltdown than the Americans. But it is nowhere near as extreme as in the case of Iceland." he writes, adding that many euro-zone countries like Germany and Spain are in a similar, if far worse state.
There has also been calls to nationalise more of Britain's banks to stem the financial crisis and restore confidence in the economy.
"Full nationalisation would allow the government to get lending flowing again without further delay," writes Seamus Milne in the Guardian. "As the scale of devastation wreaked by the banks on the global economy becomes clearer, the case for a socially owned finance sector grows stronger by the day. (The banking system) is too important to be left in the hands of private companies dedicated to maximising profits for their shareholders."
The Telegraph's Iain Martin agrees that nationalisation is the only way forward: "As a free-marketeer what I am about to say pains me. But there had best be a full nationalisation of the Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds/TSB/HBOS. Let us stop pretending they operate as independent institutions," he writes, adding: "After that, nothing less than a co-ordinated attempt to rebuild British capitalism is called for."
But John Gapper in the Financial Times thinks nationalisation may not be the remedy: "If the prime minister becomes bank-in-chief, his problems will just be beginning."
Guardian: Time to turn out the lights on sterling?
Times: It's a bitter chill but Britain is not Iceland
Guardian: Our banks are too important to be left in private hands
Telegraph: Nationalise RBS, then rebuild capitalism
Financial Times: Nationalisation is not a pancea
ALL EYES ON OBAMA
"Whirlwind hits Washington," reads the Guardian headline as all eyes remained on the 44th US president to analyse his first actions in government.
The Sun said Obama "hit the ground not so much running as sprinting".
His initial steps to close Guantanamo Bay were welcomed by the New York Times, which wrote: "Obama rightly denounced the tribunals during the campaign. And we were delighted to see him shut them down so swiftly now that he is in the White House."
But it added that the president had much harder tasks ahead: "We also know that a few (Guanatanamo prisoners) are very dangerous and that the illegal and abusive policies of the Bush administration will make it very hard to bring them to full justice. Fixing that part of Mr Bush's grotesque legacy will be a lot harder than closing the prison."
The Washington Post agreed with his actions, writing: "It is gratifying to see the new president take seriously his promise to reverse the damage. But the process of unravelling Guantanamo will be delicate and difficult. Mr Obama is right to proceed cautiously to achieve the goals of protecting the rights of detainees while protecting the safety of the country."
Meanwhile, the Independent's Robert Fisk said Obama had missed the point on Gaza: "There was the phone call yesterday to Mahmoud Abbas. Maybe Obama thinks he's the leader of the Palestinians, but as every Arab knows, except perhaps Mr Abbas, he is the leader of a ghost government, a near-corpse."
BROWN PAYS PRICE OVER MPS' EXPENSES
Not only is Gordon Brown being attacked over his denial to accept the full extent of the banking crisis, but he was also forced yesterday to retreat on controversial proposals to keep MPs' expense details a secret.
The Guardian's David Hencke called the decision "sensible and timely". "Parliament has an appalling record in trying to cover up details of how MPs use taxpayers' money to furnish their second homes," he blogged. "The plans should never have been tabled in the first place."
The Independent described the day as a "political farce" for Westminister but added: "The humour of this long-standing tussle over MPs' expenses is wearing distinctly thin. The case for full transparency is perfectly clear. This attempt to shield the activities of our democratic representatives from the scrutiny of those who elect and pay for them was a disgrace. It must now be dropped for good."
Guardian: A sensible decision
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