First I have to tell you a bit about myself, I have worked for over twenty years in the financial services industry mainly for stock broking firms and asset managers. I think most people in the industry are honest and moral.

However I have come across a news story featuring a 'vulture fund' to be honest this is the first I've heard of them. I did a bit of research and in essence they buy distressed debt from corporations and sovereign nations the debt is sold by the holder to recover a portion of the money because it is on the verge of being written off.

Now the part of this particular business that appalls me is the sovereign debt because they do not get this distressed debt from rich countries, but from the very poor. Countries that are pretty much at the bottom of the UN development table.

The vulture fund will take them to a court in the west and will then sue them for not only the principle of the loan but the interest as well, which bearing in mind the age of these loans is substantial.

I must say that at first sight the sheer rapaciouness of this activity took my breath away. I could not believe that after all the drop the debt campaigning of late with the accompanying approval of our glorious leaders, our courts allow these companies to get rich on the back of these countries - yes they actually rule in their favour!

Now I am in favour of free capital markets but I hope and pray that this is not what we had in mind.

From a most definitely ashamed member of the finance industry.

The voters of France may face a very unusual decision in the upcoming presidential elections. They may actually face a real choice.

This is unusual because of the De Gaullist style of post war centreist politics. This time around there are two very different visions of France, first there is the the vision of Segolene Royal who aside from her more fuzzy focus on the family esposuses the polotics of the left, she is in favour of the re-nationalisation of certain sectors of the economy, the penalisation of companies that pay dividends to their shareholders rather than reinvest directly back into the company, and the sweeping away of recent employment laws to make it once again nearly impossible to fire someone.

Then we have Nicholas Sarkozy who is centre-right and very much in the style of Tony Blair and has gone out of his way to be associated with the British PM. Mr Sarkozy is of the free enterprise but with the social face familiar to most western Europeans.

Voters seem to be split more or less down the middle at the minute giving Mr Sarkozy a slight but noticeable edge. The incumbent Mr Chirac in the Elysee Palace has been luke warm at best with Mr Sarkozy which seems unusual to a lot of observers given that Mr Sarkozy is from Chirac's own party. But the ambivilance they have shown each other down the years is well documented.

Assuming that Mr Sarkozy gets the nod, with modest reforms of the French economy which may even quicken to dare one say it a more anglo-american model. What however will be the landscape if Segolene Royal gets in? Here is the real imponderable because although she has an agenda for an increase in social spending promises, she is somewhat vague on where the money is the come from. And of course there will be furrowed brows in Brussels, because France may have to ignore parts of the growth and stability pact which is key to keeping the Euro currency in agreed parameters, (although France and Germany have ignored parts of the pact in the past).

So whatever the French decide it looks certain that there will be a shift from the De Gaullist politics of the past. The question then will be, will they decide to pull back from further liberalisation of the economy to a more isolated fortress France or a reaching out the the global economy, a place which could mean even more radical changes to the economy, ones which even Mr Sarkozy does not currently have in mind.

Au revoir

It is with sadness that I'm contemplating the departure of the gloriuos leader Tony Blair and (if the British press is to be believed) the imminenet arrival of the dour Gordon Brown.

This may be a temporary appointment as things are not looking well in Labourland and as unlikely as it would seem six months ago the Conservatives may actually be competetive again, after a very long time in the political wilderness.

It's funny to see Labour that got in off the back of the John Major ultra sleazey government, but now they look to be going down the same route de sleaze (who was it that said that those who ignore history are condemned to repeat it)? As a former Labour supporter now as a resident of the United States this is especially disconcerting.

To top it all the Conservatives have actaully come up with their own version of Tony Blair- a gentleman by the name of Camron who espouses the same kind of centerist politics that Prime Minister Blair holds so close to his third-way heart.

How I look back on the last ten years of Blairism and am struck by how what started out so brightly now seems to be ending so gloomily, exemplified by the coming to power of a man whose trademark is to be dour.

Oh for the days of the dark haired Tony and ultra right wing tories that made them so unelectable.

Chin Chin!