It's likely that in the second half of this year, the U.K. economy will
return to positive, if modest, growth. The Governor of the Bank of England
has said the recession is coming to an end. Mervyn King says the U.K. economy
is likely to register some growth in the second half of the year. However,
he has warned that there's a great deal of uncertainty about the shape
of the recovery...and that we, as a nation, will be paying for this economic
crisis for a generation. Billions of pounds have been spent propping up
the banking sector - something which has sent government borrowing through
the roof. And now, with city institutions reportedly set to pay billions
of pounds in bankers' bonuses...Mr. King has criticized the financial industry
for failing to reform itself despite breathtaking levels of taxpayers'
support. To paraphrase a great wartime leader, Never in the field of financial
endeavor has so much money been owed by so few to so many. And, one might
add, with so far, with little real reform. Mervyn King was speaking to
business leaders in Edinburgh. He's argued that the banks got themselves
into trouble through risky behavior...and because they knew they were too
big to fail. And that, in the event of failure, the taxpayer would pick
up the pieces.