State of War just another North Korean party trick

North Korea's declaration that it is now in a 'state of war' with South Korea is nothing more than blustering rhetoric, and another of the many games it plays in an attempt to play up the threat it represents to South Korean and international security. North and South Korea have technically been at war since the 1950's, and despite recent events that suggest the divide between the two countries and the US is taking on a more sinister element, there is nothing to suggest that it is about to enter a full-scale war with either it's neighbour to the South or with the US.

The simple fact remains that North Korea does not have the might to challenge the more powerful states that still exist on the world stage, in particular the US. Yes, North Korea is working together with China, but even China given it's overwhelming level of economic 'progress' and investment in weapons and security infrastructure is not currently in a position to challenge the US, so it's threats to South Korea, a more modern and advanced nature than the North should not cause too much worry either.

North Korea's closet nature and it's secretive way of running it's operations simply disguises the fact that it's Government cannot run a country efficiently, and it is using it's close links with China to give it the appearance of having weight and influence in world affairs. Quite simply, China is the more influential here, and is simply keeping in with North Korea as an ideological ally, but given it's business and trade links with the West, it is clearly aware that it's needs cannot best be met by North Korea - something the North Korean regime stubbornly refuses to recognise or acknowledge, decreasing it's credibility still further. Time for World War 3? I think not.

More capital for banks? Not the wisest move.

It comes as something of a slap in the face when banks, the very institutions that got us into the current economic mess, are told they need more capital to help get get us out of the economic crisis. For one thing, to get more capital, banks are going to need more custom, that is for either their bank accounts, mortgages, loans and other products. As national debt, both consumer and government, continues to rise, where are they going to find even more people willing to take out loans with unfair and ever less favourable interest rates?

It simply doesn't seem logical to me that banks need more capital to get back on an even footing, they simply need to spend the money they have better rather than wasting it on expensive, unproven and frequently unethical projects as seen in the past. Apparently, UK banks 'have been taking steps to strengthen themselves since the financial crisis began'. Of course they have, but if the crisis is only getting worse (and only going to get worse), where do they expect to find the capital needed from investors? Given what's happening in Cyprus at the moment, with the Government forbidding savers to access more than €100 of their money per day, we should be ever more wary of the big banks.

So what is the answer? The answer is stop encouraging business for the sake of it. Encourage business in line with what customers need, and not with what you think they want. Offer them a personal, tailored service at the local level in line with local needs, not in line with what the big shareholders and directors think applies universally to the whole country. Only then will you see business returning, and perhaps even a return to the days when people were loyal to their service providers. Do I see this happening? No. At least not for another 20 or 30 years, under another government, and in a completely different reality.