Peter Hoskin

Tuesday

Peter Hoskin

Dithering? Nah, couldn’t be…

From our UK edition

Yesterday, I suspected that Alistair Darling's obfuscating language meant that HMT didn't really have a clue about how to deal with the market turmoil. But the hope was that, behind the confused - and confusing - rhetoric, there lay substantive action. It would seem not, if the reports of the Chancellor's meeting with bank officials last night are anything to go by. As Robert Peston outlined on Today this morning, the banks are said to have left infuriated by the lack of any clear plan from the Government. While HMT discovered for the first time that the banks aren't "too proud" to accept recapitalisation.

Monday

Peter Hoskin

No specifics from Darling, as the markets nosedive

From our UK edition

So there we have it - at close, the FTSE share index had dropped by 7.85 percent, its largest one-day fall since 1987.  The banks were, predictably, the big losers.  HBOS plummeted by 20 percent; the Royal Bank of Scotland by 20 percent; and Barclays by 15 percent. Meanwhile, Alistair Darling gave a statement in Parliament (watch it here) which was full of the same obfuscating language that Angela Merkel's been employing recently.  Will the Government provide a 100% guarantee for all UK savings?  Hm, it's hard to tell.  Apparently, they'll take "whatever measures are necessary to maintain the stability of the financial system".  And, reassuringly, they'll also do "whatever it takes" and "everything we can".

Peter Hoskin

Cameron reshuffles his pack

From our UK edition

The Tory reshuffle has taken place, and it's a small, but welcome, one.  Greg Clark is made the shadow Energy secretary - the equivalent of the role Ed Miliband was given in Brown's Cabinet reshuffle last week - while Nick Hurd replaces him as shadow Charity Minister.  Clark is one of the brightest rising-stars of the 2005 intake, and Coffee House tipped him for the job last week.  The clashes between him and Miliband should be something to savour.

Peter Hoskin

RIP 42-days?

From our UK edition

Nick Robinson writes that 42-day detention is "politically dead", and it's hard to disagree.  The measure faces the Lords this week and is expected to be voted down by a massive majority, whilst Gordon Brown has allegedly been warned against forcing it through via the Parliament Act.  Any other week, this would be the political story, and Brown would potentially suffer quite a hit from it.  But with all the financial turmoil, the likelihood is that it will remain relatively under-the-radar.  Our PM will be thanking his lucky stars.

Peter Hoskin

CoffeeHousers’ Wall, 6 October – 12 October

From our UK edition

Welcome to the latest CoffeeHousers' Wall. For those who haven't come across the Wall before, it's a post we put up each Monday, on which – provided your writing isn’t libellous, crammed with swearing, or offensive to common decency – you’ll be able to say whatever you like in the comments section. There is no topic, so there’s no need to stay ‘on topic’ – which means you’ll be able to debate with each other more freely and extensively. There’s also no constraint on the length of what you write – so, in effect, you can become Coffee House bloggers. Anything’s fair game – from political stories in your local paper, to chat about the latest football results.

Peter Hoskin

The turmoil continues

From our UK edition

Brace yourselves for another day of financial turmoil.  At time of writing, the FTSE 100 share index has fallen by just under 6 percent; as has Germany's DAX index.  And all this despite the German finance ministry's €50 billion rescue package for one of the country's biggest banks, and Angela Merkel's announcement that the government will ensure that all savings account deposits are "safe" (although it's still unclear whether this will translate into an Irish-style savings guarantee). The big question now is whether the UK government will also guarantee all deposits in this country.

Friday

Peter Hoskin

Brown’s press conference: live blog

From our UK edition

1615, Peter Hoskin: Welcome to the Coffee House team's live blog of Brown's press conference.  You can watch proceedings by clicking here.  Expect much ado about Mandy... 1622, PH: Fascinating footage, so far, of two unattended lecturns.  Word is we can expect Brown and Darling to appear in around 10 minutes. 1624, PH: Scratch that - they've appeared now.  Brown kicks off: "These are new times ... we're living through the first truly-international, financial crisis".  He says his reshuffle will help deal with these new times.  1626, PH: Brown outlines a reorganisation of government to deal with the economy.  A new economic council will convene on Monday. Stephen Carter is to fill a new technology minister role.

Peter Hoskin

Brown’s Cabinet in full

From our UK edition

Who would have thought it?  The expected "minor reshuffle" developed into the one of the most headline-grabbing reshuffles that you're ever likely to see, and all thanks to Peter Mandelson's astonishing return to Cabinet.  I'm sure that would have been towards the forefront of Brown's mind - to wrest the news agenda back from Cameron, and to maybe dull any post-conference bounce for the Tories.  But there'll be other reasons too: bridge-building with the Blairites and upping the experience-quotient in government among them.  But will it all back-fire for Brown?  Political bridge-building has a tendency to double up as bridge-burning, and in this case the left of the party - the Unions and Brownites among them - will be less than amused.

Peter Hoskin

Post-conference poll boost for the Tories

From our UK edition

The latest Guardian / ICM poll records the slightest of post-conference poll boosts for the Tories.  They're on 42 percent (up 1 on a poll conducted last week); Labour are on 30 percent (down 2); and the Lib Dems are on 17 percent (down 1).  Given that the financial turmoil threatened to make the Birmingham gathering a non-event, I imagine Team Cameron will be happy with this modest upwards shift - although they'll rightly be waiting for a fuller picture to emerge, as more opinion polls are released throughout October. P.S. Brown's called a press conference for 1615 today.  We'll be live-blogging it on Coffee House - stay tuned.

Peter Hoskin

Brown’s Glenrothes gamble

From our UK edition

Has Gordon Brown got bold all of a sudden, or is he just desperate? Quite aside from all the reshuffle drama, the Daily Record are reporting that the PM is going to campaign in Glenrothes for the forthcoming by-election.  It sure is a risky move.  Not only does it go against all his previous "PMs shouldn't campaign in by-elections" talk, but it also fuels the idea that he'll live or die by the result in Glenrothes.  One thing to look out for: whether Sarah Brown will be joining him on the campaign trail.  I'm sure Team Brown will want to capitalise on the so-called "Sarah Effect", but they'll also be wary of scoring an own-goal on the family-members-as-props front.

Wednesday

Peter Hoskin

Cameron’s speech: live blog

From our UK edition

1405, Peter Hoskin: Welcome to the Coffee House team's live blog of David Cameron's conference speech.  Just keep refreshing to get the latest.  The Tory leader's not expected on stage until around 1430, but preview snippets of his speech suggest that the headline message will be: "Britain needs change, not experience".  In the meantime, here's one for you to ponder: was Tony Blair as good a PM as Winston Churchill?  That's certainly what Mrs Blair seems to think...  1412, PH: Make that 1452 for Cameron's ETA. 1420, James Forsyth: Cameron’s mission today is to show the public that he—not Gordon Brown—is the leader Britain need in these tough times.

Peter Hoskin

Georgia’s PM drops by the Tory conference

From our UK edition

In a classic piece of conference choreography, the Georgian Prime Minister - Lado Gurgenidze - has just made a surprise appearance in Birmingham.  Sure, he may have met with Gordon Brown a couple of weeks ago, but it's still quite a coup for the Cameroons.  Not only is it a effective reminder that there are other international problems than the financial crisis (thereby forcing the debate away from Brown's comfort zone), but it also creates the impression that the Tories are very much part of the process; a government-in-waiting.

Peter Hoskin

Councils wary over Osborne’s tax plans

From our UK edition

One question that's been hovering above George Osborne's council tax pledge is whether his expectation that "100 percent" of councils will sign up to it is overly optimistic.  If a survey of London council leaders in today's Standard is anything to go by, it may well be.  That survey finds that 16 of London's 32 boroughs - every one run by Labour or the Lib Dems - would oppose the measure, and - allegedly - there are grumblings from Tory councillors too.  Their beef is that a freeze on council tax would force services to be cut back, and could even cause taxes to be artificially higher in subsequent years. These are not worries that the Tories should leave unanswered.

Tuesday

Peter Hoskin

Market Watch | 30 September 2008

From our UK edition

Currently, the markets seem to be holding up as well as could be expected.  At the time of writing: -- FTSE is at +0.44 percent -- Dow Jones has opened around 2 percent up. -- Nasdaq is at +2.48 -- Dax is at -1.17 Perhaps the most significant financial indicator of the day is that Libor - the rate at which banks lend to each other - has risen to an all-time high.  In other words, it's more expensive than ever for banks to borrow from each other - increasing the chances that more of them will need bailing out.

Peter Hoskin

Market Watch

From our UK edition

We'll be providing market updates here on Coffee House and Trading Floor today, as the financial turmoil continues. So, just to recap: -- The Dow Jones index closed at -6.98 percent yesterday evening. -- Nasdaq closed at -9.14. -- The Nikkei index closed this moring at -4.12 -- Hang Seng closed at +0.76 And so far today: -- After an early plummet, the FTSE is hovering around the 0 percent mark.  It's currently at +0.17 percent. -- Dax is at -0.98 Today's biggest loser so far has been HBOS - at time of writing, shares in that company are down around 10 percent.  As Paul Waugh points out, that could be causing a few headaches in No.10.

Peter Hoskin

Cameron strikes the right tone

From our UK edition

Cameron's statement on the economy to the Tory party conference was as good as it could be.  It won't win the Conservatives votes, but that's not the name of the game today.  The overriding drive is to look - and be - capable and cooperative.  The general message that "The financial system needs protecting; the taxpayer needs protecting; and that all the parties are in this together" will go some way to achieving that. As Iain Martin points out over at Three Line Whip, the cooperation has already started.  Cameron spoke on the phone last night with Gordon Brown, and George Osborne is on his way to meet Alistair Darling in London today.  The question now is whether more drastic steps need to be taken.

Peter Hoskin

Which party’s share price will plummet?

From our UK edition

Questions abound after the financial panic yesterday, which saw the Dow Jones index experience its biggest-ever one-day fall and which has triggered similar drops in markets across the world.  Will a(nother) bailout package be agreed upon in the US?  How long might that take?  Will more banks collapse?  Have we seen worst of it?  Only the last of these can be answered with anything like certainty, and the most persuasive answer to it is: No. Less significant, but floating around nonetheless, are the political questions.  Who will benefit, and how?

Monday

Peter Hoskin

Has Osborne’s speech opened the reformist floodgates?

From our UK edition

Perhaps the most signficant aspect of Osborne's council tax proposal is the method in which it will be funded - not by increasing tax elsewhere, but by makings savings both at a local level and on the current Government's spending on consultants and advertising.  It's the boldest attack the Cameroons have yet made on government waste, and their clearest admission that not all public spending is good in itself. The question now is whether Cameron and Osborne are going to pick up this ball and run with it.  They've tended to shy away from an out-and-out public service reform message, for fear of fuelling Labour's "Tory cuts" attack.  But now the party hares have even more reason to argue: "Why hold back?