When is a bailout not a bailout?

What are the impacts of bank closures on the local community? Professor Brian Scott-Quinn spoke to BBC Radio Oxford about the changing nature of banking and the closure of high street branches.

Munich, 16 October 2013 – There is currently a high level of uncertainty on the international financial markets, due to the budget dispute in the USA surrounding the proposed raising of the borrowing limit. The markets are waiting with bated breath to see whether the Democrats and the Republicans will be able to agree on raising the debt ceiling, which currently stands at just under 17 trillion US dollars. The key question for investors is whether the USA and other countries will be able to pay back the debts they have taken on or whether, as in the case of the debt cut in Greece, they can expect to see losses on their investments. A recent study based on sustainability rating agency oekom research’s country ratings shows that sustainability ratings are a reliable indicator of countries’ solvency and that taking sustainability ratings into account allows investors to make a better assessment of the overall risks.

If you are one of the 37% of consumers who do their Christmas shopping in November1 then you have no doubt answered with an emphatic “yes”. I wonder though, has your buying behaviour been rational?