UK Pre-financing bid falls short

Who ever thought that an un-workable, un-needed political scam based upon smoke, mirrors and headline-grubbing short-term non-thinking nothingism - would turn out to be - an un-workable, un-needed political scam based upon smoke, mirrors and headline-grubbing short-term non-thinking nothingism:

At the end of the G20 summit in April, the Prime Minister claimed to have built a "new consensus" among world leaders and was lauded for his role in securing the rescue deal. But a follow-up summit this month in Pittsburgh will take place against the backdrop of undelivered pledges and wrangles over how to curb bankers' pay.

Officials admit that almost $200 billion (£123 billion) pledged in credit facilities for the International Monetary Fund has yet to materialise. Most embarrassingly, the shortfall includes $75 billion due from the European Union. The Chancellor has warned Europe to set an example and do more to meet the target of $500 billion. Britain has agreed to lend up to $15 billion to poorer economies and is willing to provide up to $11 billion more as part of an EU package. So far, none of the extra credit has been called in by the IMF, although government insiders believe that it will be needed to prop up struggling economies before long.

Other European nations are resisting increasing their commitments to the IMF, demanding that China and India do more to shoulder the burden.

So much for the pre-financing. On to the next charade....