AS BANKERS complain about the £4bn-£7bn cost to their sector of the reforms proposed by Sir John Vickers, at least one person appears to think they have gotten off rather lightly. Channel 4 News presenter Jon Snow used an interview with the City minister Mark Hoban last night to ask why no bankers have yet been prosecuted for their part in the financial crisis.

If Hoban was expecting to play the populist part of 'banker basher' by taking his government's line of supporting Vickers's banking reforms, he was severely disappointed, because Snow swiftly moved the goalposts, suggesting it is time to throw some City boys in jail.

"Why hasn't a single banker been prosecuted yet? You've been in power for over a year. It's now three years since 2008. Why isn't one of them in jail?" Snow asked.

Hoban refused to be drawn on the question, saying only that the Financial Services Authority is "looking at some of the issues around management of these banks".

Snow replied: "But I asked you about prosecutions minister, prosecutions. In America, bankers are being prosecuted, the Attorney General for New York has a great laundry list of people that he's after.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao has said the country cannot grow in an isolated way, and it will look to develop global and domestic growth.

He added that more open economic and trade policies would help it and the wider world.

Premier Wen said that he was confident the US and Europe would fully recover fro their current economic problems.

His comments came on the opening day of the World Economic Forum in the Chinese port city of Dalian.

Global player

China is the world's second-biggest economy but it has been criticised for some of its economic policies.

The US has been one of its most vocal critics, and the two have clashed over China's trade and currency measures.

China has been accused of focusing too much on driving export demand and keeping its currency artificially weak to achieve that end.

In his speech on Wednesday, Premier Wen said that China would now aim to boost domestic demand, and this in turn would help the global economy.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-14909855

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Previous revelations from the wiretap transcripts have been used to suggest Berlusconi has not been devoting his full attention to sorting out Italy's sovereign debt crisis. But the latest allegation, if true, would mean that Italy's premier has been caught out insulting the leader of the country which ultimately has the power to bail out his government.

The insult against Merkel has not gone unreported in Germany. The country's popular tabloid Bild ran a headline asking: 'Did Berlusconi crack bad jokes about Merkel?' Although it refrained from reprinting the alleged slander.

Read more: http://www.thefirstpost.co.uk/84568,people,news,italian-pm-silvio-berlusconi-called-angela-merkel-an-unfuckable-lard-arse#ixzz1Y3rfvsi8

Italy's cost of borrowing has reached a record high, despite the deal reached to contain the eurozone debt crisis.

Italy paid 6.06% to borrow for 10 years at an auction on Friday, the most since the euro was created in 1999.

The rate jumped from 5.86% - the previous record high - at its last auction a month ago.

The auction came as stock markets failed to follow up on their global rally on Thursday, with shares in many European banks turning lower.

An interest rate of 6% and higher is generally considered to be unsustainable.

The Italian Treasury also failed to meet its borrowing target, having hoped to sell as much as 8.5bn euros ($12.1bn, £7.5bn) of bonds.

They only sold 7.9bn euros of the 10-year benchmark debt.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-15490890