Mervyn’s second chance

Mervyn King has had a dreadful year. The Governor of the Bank of England has been widely blamed for failing to spot the severity of the credit crunch, failing to respond adequately to the pressures in the banking system that led to the collapse of Northern Rock, and failing to push hard enough for a market solution to Northern Rock when it failed. Yet despite all this, the bookies reckon King is a shoo-in to be reappointed to his job in 2008. They are probably right. King’s fortunes have turned ...