Are there green shoots out there or not?

I suppose that the famous green shoots are out there in the UK economy but don't tell
anybody in the car industry. However, retail sales are doing well and house prices have not collapsed, although there is not the same size of market. British house prices are still discouraging the first-time buyer and mortgage lenders still want outsize deposits but physical assets retain their allure, if there is going to be major inflation.
Commentators say that the UK banks have stabilised but the spotlight has fallen on the state of the building societies with the West Brom considered to be in trouble. Then, there is the UK property sector, which is in a dire state. Apparently, the banks don't want to pull the plug and make the situation worse. The wheels have fallen off at Brixton Estate and there are mutterings about
Land Securities.
The Bank of England governor Mervyn King is not very upbeat about the short-term outlook to the consternation of the Brown regime. However, the medicine of low interest rates, a weak currency could be helped further if there was a sense of political stability.

I feel quite sorry for Gordon Brown, battered British Premier.

I thought I would never have to say this. But I am feeling quite sorry for Gordon Brown, the battered premier of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. He seems unable to
sack a pint-sized Mancunian from his cabinet, even though she has been disloyal and seems to have spent quite a bit of time playing the capital gains system. The story is that is if Gordon Brown sacks Hazel Blears, then he would have to sack Hoon, Purnell
etc.

Hazel Blears looks like she is walking the plank.

British Communities minister Hazel Blears, who is vertically challenged, recently took a pop at her boss UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown. This act of bravery looks like political suicide, when Blears was found to have been "flipping" her second residences and decided to cough up over £13,000 in capital gains tax. What is quite sad is that Blears' political career is over when she was one of the cabinet's few interesting characters.
Brown himself blames the "system" but not everyone played it to their advantage. The government is quite happy to let loose the police and HM Revenue & Customs on the population. I suppose it is too much to hope that the politicians will receive the
tender treatment from these forces of control. From what I remember the old Inland Revenue used to be very particular about expenses.

PS: It looks like I was completely wrong and that Ms Blears is still going to soldier on in the cabinet together with Purnell and Hoon.