Budget is taxing the spreadies

I see that there's much speculation in financial freesheet, City AM, that previously tax-free spread betting gains are going to be clobbered with capital gains tax in the emergency budget.

That would be a monumentally stupid move, as one of the unspoken facts about the spread betting industry is that most punters don't actually win, so the government would be introducing a new rule where most of them could simply write their routine losses off against tax.

Michael Fallon, the Tory MP tipped to chair the Treasury Select Committee, is well aware of all this, but the stories are still causing much consternation among the spreadies, as such a move would cancel one of the industry's big draws.

To illustrate how dear they hold their tax-free selling point, one provider has just shelled out on a massive ad campaign which is ready to go straight after the budget. It plans to inform punters that they can counter any CGT rises by using tax-free spread betting. Let's hope City AM has got its facts wrong.

Bernanke writes another type of sequel

Ben Bernanke - chairman of the Federal Reserve - knows a thing or two about financial crises, having written the definitive work on the Great Depression.
He's been grafting pretty hard over the past two years to make sure he doesn't have to pen the sequel, so we should listen to his criticisms today of Gordon Brown whose decision to strip the Bank of England of its supervisory role over banks led to a “destructive run” and a “major problem for the British economy”, according to the Fed chairman.
Well, we should listen again, that is. Bernanke has said all this before.
Back at a 2006 Treasury Select Committee hearing, chairman John McFall pointed out to Bank of England Governor, Mervyn King: "On a recent visit to the United States we had the opportunity to meet Ben Bernanke and he told us that he prefers to maintain the Federal Reserve's responsibility for banking regulation, due to possible co-ordination problems that might exist between the central bank and the separate regulator in the aftermath of a financial crisis."
King replied that he thought it "only a hypothetical risk".
D'oh!

University provides none of the answers

Last year, Bradford University scored a significant triumph by awarding an honorary doctorate to former HBOS chief exec Sir James Crosby for his services to (wait for it) financial services.
Sir James's role in the credit crisis came early (but was undoubtedly significant) as it was he who developed HBOS's increasingly aggressive strategy - before ignoring the numerous warnings of his head of risk, Paul Moore, and then whacking the whistleblower.
So, I wonder, now this has all been aired in front of the Treasury Select Committee and Sir James has resigned as deputy chairman of the FSA, has anybody at Bradford considered asking for that ridiculous gong back?
My enquiries along this line fail to gain a response in February and it is only when I send another email asking if I'm being ignored that I finally get an answer (of sorts).
One Adrian Pearce in the Bradford press office sniffs: "I note the content of your recent email to the University. It is not University policy to discuss the status of any of our graduates, including honorary graduates."
Which seems slightly disingenuous. Bradford University was more than happy to discuss the status of Sir James, when pushing out a press release on his award back in November.

Arcane row leads the news agenda for days

As the repercussions of Paul Moore's whistle blowing to the Treasury Select Committee continue to lead the news agenda (i.e., Sir James Crosby resigning from the FSA etc etc), it is good to see Guardian business supremo, Dan Roberts, calling the mood so perfectly.
His 11.37am entry, on his live blog covering the hearing, reads: "They've now wasted best part of half an hour on an arcane row about a supposed whistleblower at HBOS. I wish we could get back to the meat. Fred Goodwin is about to walk off into the sunset any minute now."
D'oh!

Moore's the pity

Also spotted at the Treasury Select Committee this morning was lefty comedian, Mark Thomas.
Thomas was there to hear how HBOS's former head of risk, Paul Moore, had submitted written evidence revealing how he'd informed the Board of concerns about their approach to banking, only to be "summarily dismissed".
Moore was whacked by former HBOS chief, Sir James Crosby, who (coincidentally) has something in common with Thomas.
In November, both Sir James and Thomas simultaneously received nominal mortar boards from Bradford University - a story which the Bradford Telegraph & Argus reported under the headline Comedian to get honorary degree.
That heading was a reference to Thomas. Possibly.

Sideline: is Thomas planning a television series on the financial crisis?

Update: For a hard copy of SlackBelly's stories (only published a day later) please buy a copy of The Times and read their City Diary.

Stevenson needs Xtra help with banking definition

To the Treasury Select Committee where former HBOS chairman, Lord Stevenson, was trying desperately to demonstrate that he knows everything there is to know about banking.
Those efforts weren't helped, however, when Committee chairman, John McFall, read out the Oxford English Dictionary definition of a bank. Is that accurate, he asked?
"Could you read it out again?" stuttered Stevenson.
Excellent work, My Lord.