wednesday1 Posted February 16, 2011 Share Posted February 16, 2011 Remember how Cameron claimed after the election 'we're all in this together' well it appears some are not quite in it as much as others! How can they justify this?: http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2011/02/16/bankers-celebrate-bonuses-like-the-financial-crisis-never-happened-115875-22926453/ Bankers celebrate bonuses like the financial crisis never happened by Tom Pettifor, Daily Mirror 16/02/2011 WITH champagne corks popping from £200 bottles of bubbly, there was no sign of the biggest financial disaster since the Great Depression of the 30s. Youth unemployment might be teetering at the one million mark but, in the bars of the City of London, rich *financiers were splashing the cash like the worst excesses of the 80s. Traders from Barclays Capital, whose boss Bob Diamond yesterday revealed a £6billion profit, celebrated their bonuses by downing £195 bottles of Cristal champers and buying luxury motors. The “banker’s choice” of luxury sports car – the £70,000 Porsche 911 Black Edition – is selling out as the fatcats fill their boots again. One sharp-suited trader boasted as he quaffed a glass of bubbly in a <REMOVED> City bar: “Everyone in here is BarCap. The reason there’s so much champagne is because it’s our bonus day. “Even if a guy is really lazy and has done <REMOVED> all year, he’ll still get a £600,000 bonus. “The PAs even got bonuses today, some of them got £60,000. “Most traders got two, three, four, five and even six million. Some people are annoyed because they don’t think they got enough this year.” It is only three years since the banking crisis caused public debt of £890billion, creating the climate for the *Government’s huge cuts in public services. The same taxpayers who bailed out the banks are now struggling to survive the economic downturn, facing pay cuts, redundancies and rising unemployment. But in scenes reminiscent of the worst excesses of Margaret Thatcher’s 80s, wealthy City financiers act as if the *recession had never happened. Their unashamed greed risks inflaming the rising public anger about the scale of City payouts even further. However, Prime Minister David Cameron has insisted he is not interested in having a “war” with Britain’s banking industry – although that is hardly surprising when you consider new figures that City financiers have contributed 50% of Tory party funding. Designer-clad traders poured into the Corney and Barrow bar, next to their high-rise office, to compare bonuses. One said: “The good times are definitely back for us but of course we’re going to be careful about showing off about it.” Another, who also works in the Barclays Capital building, said some bankers had been fed-up at not getting the huge payouts they had come to rely on in previous years. He added: “When you’ve got that kind of money you get used to living a certain way, you go to certain places and buy certain things. “So if you don’t get it one year it’s going to mess with your lifestyle. These people take taxis everywhere and go to the best restaurants, drive the best cars and go on fancy holidays. “It’s like a competition to see who can have the best stuff. They get used to living that way.” He said bankers would celebrate before hunting for new cars this week to show off to their colleagues. One of our journalists posing as a banker at a Porsche dealership was given the news that the limited edition Porsche 911 Black is selling out. Luxury car dealer Franco Tommaso, at the Porsche Showroom in London’s Canary Wharf financial district, revealed he had been inundated with inquiries from traders in recent days. He said yesterday: “It’s been a busy weekend with Barclays getting their bonuses in shares. “Some people have been a bit *disappointed that it’s not as much as they wanted, but we’ve got a lot of people coming down to spend their bonuses. “There’s always a possibility of selling out so we’re telling people to come down sooner rather than later.” He added: “Everyone is going for the top limited edition, collectable cars. There are bonuses everywhere so they will sell out within the week.” The market in £1million-plus properties in London also remains buoyant – and interest is even growing. Independent estate agent Charles McDowell received inquiries from three senior bankers at JP Morgan, Deutsche and Barclays in a single day in January.He said the banks’ most valued staff “are getting just as much as before”. At a favourite hangout for the bankers, the 1 Lombard Street bar and restaurant, takings were up in January on last year – while the rest of us were told we are all in it together and must tighten out belts. Owner Soren Jessen said: “The spend is more considered and less crazy than it used to be. There is focus on value and quality. We price our top wines with a small mark-up and they are moving. We are busy and the atmosphere is optimistic.” The Mayfair branch of wine merchant Berry Bros and Rudd said its Hampshire-based headquarters, which sells fine wines by the case, had seen a surge in recent spending. Simon Staples, sales and marketing director there, said at the end of last month: “Normally this is a very quiet time of year but there’s been an enormous influx of cash from the domestic market. Year-on-year, it’s more than double the volume and four times the turnover.” The most popular wines are Chateau Lâtour, which has a starting price of £5,000 a case, and Chateau Mouton Roths-child, which costs from £3,500 a case. Signs the bankers are again enjoying doing what they do best – squandering vast amounts of money – can also be seen at the £50-a-pop cigar shops and the Rolex outlets, while £50,000 Bang & Olufsen home entertainment systems continue to sell. And tailors continue to churn out £4,000 suits for traders to buy three at a time, treating themselves to yet more luxuries as if the credit crunch never happened. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anna B Posted February 16, 2011 Share Posted February 16, 2011 Far from all being in it together this country is splitting in half - the very well off who are getting richer (and that includes Cameron and his cronies,) and everybody else who are getting considerably poorer. Not only that but there is another crash coming which will finish off all but the very very rich. We are about to become a third world country thanks to the bankers and politicians, and there seems to be nothing we can do about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vague_Boy Posted February 16, 2011 Share Posted February 16, 2011 Far from all being in it together this country is splitting in half I'd say more like a 95%/5% split. Wealth is being consolidated into fewer and fewer hands. It's a process that's being going on for some time now. Labour didn't reign the banks in, heaven knows the conservatives won't. What to do about it? I dunno. As long as people believe that private firms should be bailed out with public money if they get into self-inflicted trouble, then moral hazard will dominate our economy. Moral hazard occurs when a party insulated from risk behaves differently than it would behave if it were fully exposed to the risk. Iceland took the right approach in my opinion, they told the banks to sod off and went bust. Yes, things were hard there for a while, but Iceland is starting to recover. Ireland on the other hand, has generations of debt serfdom ahead of it. Is another big crash coming? In my opinion yes. The problems of 2008 were not solved, they just kicked the can down the road for a few more years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matsalleh Posted February 16, 2011 Share Posted February 16, 2011 It seems from the OP that a lot of this bonus money is going back into the economy,although what is there to buy that is British ? I have no problem with bonuses as long as those who had bail outs have repaid them and proper taxes are paid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mister M Posted February 16, 2011 Share Posted February 16, 2011 We were 'all in this together' when times were hard for the banks, but now the champagne is flowing and big bonuses are back it looks like were not 'all in it together' and on our own. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wildcat Posted February 16, 2011 Share Posted February 16, 2011 It seems from the OP that a lot of this bonus money is going back into the economy,although what is there to buy that is British ? I have no problem with bonuses as long as those who had bail outs have repaid them and proper taxes are paid. Why do you think the banks should be let off from paying for the damage they caused the economy? No other business is allowed to operate like that Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eastbank Posted February 16, 2011 Share Posted February 16, 2011 Remember how Cameron claimed after the election 'we're all in this together' well it appears some are not quite in it as much as others! How can they justify this?: http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2011/02/16/bankers-celebrate-bonuses-like-the-financial-crisis-never-happened-115875-22926453/ Bankers celebrate bonuses like the financial crisis never happened by Tom Pettifor, Daily Mirror 16/02/2011 WITH champagne corks popping from £200 bottles of bubbly, there was no sign of the biggest financial disaster since the Great Depression of the 30s. Youth unemployment might be teetering at the one million mark but, in the bars of the City of London, rich *financiers were splashing the cash like the worst excesses of the 80s. Traders from Barclays Capital, whose boss Bob Diamond yesterday revealed a £6billion profit, celebrated their bonuses by downing £195 bottles of Cristal champers and buying luxury motors. The “banker’s choice” of luxury sports car – the £70,000 Porsche 911 Black Edition – is selling out as the fatcats fill their boots again. One sharp-suited trader boasted as he quaffed a glass of bubbly in a s****y City bar: “Everyone in here is BarCap. The reason there’s so much champagne is because it’s our bonus day. “Even if a guy is really lazy and has done s*** all year, he’ll still get a £600,000 bonus. “The PAs even got bonuses today, some of them got £60,000. “Most traders got two, three, four, five and even six million. Some people are annoyed because they don’t think they got enough this year.” It is only three years since the banking crisis caused public debt of £890billion, creating the climate for the *Government’s huge cuts in public services. The same taxpayers who bailed out the banks are now struggling to survive the economic downturn, facing pay cuts, redundancies and rising unemployment. But in scenes reminiscent of the worst excesses of Margaret Thatcher’s 80s, wealthy City financiers act as if the *recession had never happened. Their unashamed greed risks inflaming the rising public anger about the scale of City payouts even further. However, Prime Minister David Cameron has insisted he is not interested in having a “war” with Britain’s banking industry – although that is hardly surprising when you consider new figures that City financiers have contributed 50% of Tory party funding. Designer-clad traders poured into the Corney and Barrow bar, next to their high-rise office, to compare bonuses. One said: “The good times are definitely back for us but of course we’re going to be careful about showing off about it.” Another, who also works in the Barclays Capital building, said some bankers had been fed-up at not getting the huge payouts they had come to rely on in previous years. He added: “When you’ve got that kind of money you get used to living a certain way, you go to certain places and buy certain things. “So if you don’t get it one year it’s going to mess with your lifestyle. These people take taxis everywhere and go to the best restaurants, drive the best cars and go on fancy holidays. “It’s like a competition to see who can have the best stuff. They get used to living that way.” He said bankers would celebrate before hunting for new cars this week to show off to their colleagues. One of our journalists posing as a banker at a Porsche dealership was given the news that the limited edition Porsche 911 Black is selling out. Luxury car dealer Franco Tommaso, at the Porsche Showroom in London’s Canary Wharf financial district, revealed he had been inundated with inquiries from traders in recent days. He said yesterday: “It’s been a busy weekend with Barclays getting their bonuses in shares. “Some people have been a bit *disappointed that it’s not as much as they wanted, but we’ve got a lot of people coming down to spend their bonuses. “There’s always a possibility of selling out so we’re telling people to come down sooner rather than later.” He added: “Everyone is going for the top limited edition, collectable cars. There are bonuses everywhere so they will sell out within the week.” The market in £1million-plus properties in London also remains buoyant – and interest is even growing. Independent estate agent Charles McDowell received inquiries from three senior bankers at JP Morgan, Deutsche and Barclays in a single day in January.He said the banks’ most valued staff “are getting just as much as before”. At a favourite hangout for the bankers, the 1 Lombard Street bar and restaurant, takings were up in January on last year – while the rest of us were told we are all in it together and must tighten out belts. Owner Soren Jessen said: “The spend is more considered and less crazy than it used to be. There is focus on value and quality. We price our top wines with a small mark-up and they are moving. We are busy and the atmosphere is optimistic.” The Mayfair branch of wine merchant Berry Bros and Rudd said its Hampshire-based headquarters, which sells fine wines by the case, had seen a surge in recent spending. Simon Staples, sales and marketing director there, said at the end of last month: “Normally this is a very quiet time of year but there’s been an enormous influx of cash from the domestic market. Year-on-year, it’s more than double the volume and four times the turnover.” The most popular wines are Chateau Lâtour, which has a starting price of £5,000 a case, and Chateau Mouton Roths-child, which costs from £3,500 a case. Signs the bankers are again enjoying doing what they do best – squandering vast amounts of money – can also be seen at the £50-a-pop cigar shops and the Rolex outlets, while £50,000 Bang & Olufsen home entertainment systems continue to sell. And tailors continue to churn out £4,000 suits for traders to buy three at a time, treating themselves to yet more luxuries as if the credit crunch never happened. tha seems to be a slight bit envious of these bankers.....looks like they have got all the cream...why the rest of us try to earn a crust...have and have not's have been around for centuries... as a kid i never got spending money...but i survived had some right crap jobs...but i survived made a load of dosh then lost it...but i survived life is like a box of chocolate...and them bankers have got the biggest box...good look to them Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DYKWIA Posted February 16, 2011 Share Posted February 16, 2011 So Barclays, wasn't that the bank that didn't get bailed out by the UK taxpayer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mj.scuba Posted February 16, 2011 Share Posted February 16, 2011 Barclays didn't take any public funds to prop them up. Shouldn't we be glad at least one of them is doing well, do we not want all the tax revenue they generate? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foxy lady Posted February 16, 2011 Share Posted February 16, 2011 Why do you think the banks should be let off from paying for the damage they caused the economy? No other business is allowed to operate like that Just what damage did Barclay's, Santander, ING and HSBC cause to the British economy? They seem to be going their own sweet way and contributing hundreds of thousands of jobs a £billions in taxes to the exchequer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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