Hey Joe!

With excellent diplomacy like that, I hear there is a job going after the sad demise of Richard Holbrooke...

Dave Eyre points out that bankers ran riot and multi national companies have evaded the moral (if not the strictly legal) principle of contributing to the society your goods or services deliver to.

But you know, the other contributors are correct (in my opinion) of finding political scapegoats too. Bankers and businesses can only operate in the regulatory climate, and it is the job of government to set and regulate said climate.

In fairness to politicians of both sides, this is not easy when you wish the companies to provide employment in your country when they can just up sticks and find a country to base themselves in that needs less taxes to run their affairs. hence the push (led by the aforementioned Mr Brown) to create a more level playing field. Ok, it was him who broke the greenhouse windows with his ball, but at least he suggested putting loose netting above the garden fence to protect it in future.

Interestingly, it was Cameron in opposition who kept declaring a Tory government would regulate more strongly. That made his back benchers drop the marmalade on their copy of the FT....