Green Shoots

By some mysterious process, quite beyond the comprehension of the Observer's home affairs editor, the basic pay of leading bankers has defied the economic downturn. The basic pay of leading bankers is a remarkably cunning and elusive beast, which used to keep pace with similar beasts in the FTSE 100 phylum, but has overtaken them all during the past decade of intense relaxation about getting richer and filthier - or do I misquote? Anyway, some leading bankers are taking home more money now than before the Northern Rock fiasco; and this despite the vast amounts of public money which the Government has pumped into the banking system. In much the same way, foxes set to guard henhouses have been known to gain weight and emerge with bloodied feathers stuck to their faces despite their carnivorous appetites and the absence of any measures to deter them. It is all very mysterious indeed.