Ursa Minor ...
THE bad news is cheering up the markets no end. Estate agents shutting down, the building societies promising less money, the CBI with the confident smirk off its face, the shops empty and their directors capping each others' tales of misery — it has all sent shares roaring ahead. The institutional shareholders have rushed in like so many fat men all trying to get through a revolving door at once . The pressure is greater because the door has shrunk, now that so much capital has been withdrawn from market-making in shares, possibly at just the wrong moment. The buyers' argument is that Nigel Lawson must have succeeded in frightening the economy into submission. No need, then, say the markets, for another crack of the interest-rate whip, and less than no need for credit controls. I am sorry to see John Smith, on returning to Westminster, crank- ing up this worn-out old piece of machin- ery, cumbersome, distorting, and likely to work, if at all, as it always used to — by discriminating against the poor and straightforward in favour of the rich and well-advised. As for Mr Lawson's shock tactics, I suppose we can see them reflected in his own popularity rating, which has gone into free fall — so he must be pleased with that, too.
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