Bootle on the dangers of a regulatory backlash
Wednesday, April 02, 2008
by Geoff Riley
Roger Bootle has long warned of the dangers of the Money for Nothing economy and in particular the damage that can occur when asset price inflation is allowed to let rip encouraged by a policy of absurdly low interest rates. But here in the Telegraph he fears for “a strong intellectual tide running against free markets and in favour of increased state action.” “What we must not allow to happen is for disgust at the activities of bankers and their absurd rewards to prompt disillusion with the market system in general. That would take us on an extremely dangerous journey. The next stop would be the embrace of protectionist trade policies. And the final destination would be impoverishment.”
Read the rest of “Free market defenders need to find their voice”. A well written defence of the free market and the dangers of regulatory failure.
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By the end of the credit crisis, the only thing that may prevent investment bankers from being dragged out of their offices and hung from lampposts is that most of their high net-worth clients prefer a more traditional method for exacting vengeance: the lawsuit. “UBS, Deutsche Bank AG, Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley and Citigroup have been sued in U.S. District Court in Manhattan for allegedly deceptive marketing of auction-rate securities. More lawsuits are expected over the coming weeks.”
Posted by on 04/03 at 01:54 PM
