11th October, 2008.

I have had an extraordinary day today, at an event in Bristol organised by the Schumacher Society.  Fritz Schumacher - of Small is Beautiful fame – died in 1977, and the Society was formed just thirty years ago, in 1978.  Today’s event was hosted by Diana Schumacher and Jonathon Porritt.  I was honoured to share a platform with Bill McKibben the great leader of the Green movement in the United States, and brilliant strategist behind the 350 campaign.

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11th October, 2008

The sin of usury, diluted by Eck and the Fuggers banking family in the 1500s, ceased to be condemned as a sin after John Calvin (pictured) gave a license to the charging of interest. Usury as a sin should be brought back now, I argue in the columns of the Guardian today.

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9th October, 2008.

Central banks’ obsession with inflation is stopping them from tackling a far more pressing threat.

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Both the British Chancellor, Alastair Darling and the shadow Chancellor, George Osborne, have been on the radio this morning, resisting the idea that interest rates are political. Instead they have argued, vehemently, that the Bank of England is independent, and that the Bank must decide whether or not to lower interest rates.

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Sunday 5th October, 2008

The decision tonight by Germany to guarantee 100% of all savings in German banks first flagged up by the BBC earlier this Sunday evening, but modified later, is a clear signal that there is panic afoot.  A run on German banks must be imminent. Why? Because the only way to prevent a run on banks is to guarantee 100% of savings. The fact that Germany has done so, or hinted that she will do so,  means that her government is taking urgent, unprecedented and unco-ordinated action, to prevent such a financial catastrophe occurring tomorrow morning.  Others must now follow to prevent a systemic run on the global banking system. To avoid armageddon.
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Wednesday 1st October, 2008

The massive deflation/de-leveraging of credit and debt that is now cascading through the banking system and rapidly deflating the value of housing and other assets in the Anglo-American economies will precipitate large-scale, global economic failure, for years to come.

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