The United Kingdom’s mounting pile of government IOUs toppled it from the list of countries holding the highest-rated credit today (Thursday), which resulted in Standard & Poor’s lowering its outlook on the United Kingdom’s debt to “negative” from “stable.”

Remember our dictum: the force of a correction is equal and opposite to the deception that preceded it.

Consumers are suffering because the stupid European governments boosted spending for a decade or more, the money financed by debt, and it is all of this spending that has made the purchasing power of the euro to fall. How do we fix this? The Mogambo has an answer.

Usually it’s those nasty, unforeseen expenses that blow a hole in a budget. That burst pipe at the start of the month. The unexpectedly high car insurance quote. Anything that involves staging the 2012 Olympics.

Shock horror, Gordon Brown says: “Sorry” Following on from his embarrassing climb down over the 10p tax rate – after the threat of a backbench rebellion – Gordon Brown has gone on the apology offensive. Perhaps he’s trying to limit some of the damage done to his credibility from the lambasting he recently received from Labour’s former chief fundraiser – Lord Levy.

Who’s this menacing figure storming out of 11 Downing Street? Why, if it isn’t scary Alistair Darling, who’s been up all night practicing Chinese burns in preparation for today’s Big Meeting with the Council of Mortgage Lenders.

If you’re game for a laugh, I’d like you – in reading the following quotes – to imagine the words “tax-payers’ cash” wherever you see the words “government” or “central bank”.  Better still, imagine they spell out the words “your savings” instead. Here’s goes…