Outlook for business in 2010, at best flat but with possibility of further downturn.

Barclays Bank UK to award 23,000 investment banksters pay increases, some as much as 150%, as well as paying out mega bonuses:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2009/dec/23/barclays-capital-bankers-pay-rises

British Chambers of Commerce says 2010 will be a difficult year for business and many employees will be forced to take pay cuts and pay freezes as well as job cuts:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2009/dec/28/recession-economics

Banks threaten Britain if they want to impose bonus tax, firstly by withdrawing plans to build a banking building in UK:
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/jp-morgan-london-headquarters-plan-in-doubt-ft-2009-12-29

Germany goes into record debt with rising unemployment, austerity measures may have to be introduced:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8433343.stm

BBC business editor spoke to business people and found a gloomy outlook for business in 2010, at best flat but with possibility of further downturn, with more redundancies and increasing unemployment, as many companies waiting for an improvement in the economy doesn’t materialise and they go out of business and even more successful companies cutting back, he finds it very reminiscent of the ‘lost’ years in Japan. He also sees personal debt as a real problem for many households with an inability to handle any increases in interest rates to service their debts: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thereporters/robertpeston/
Also sovereign debt has reached critical mass in Greece and Iceland and is also close to critical mass in Ireland and Hungary, Spain, Italy, Germany, UK and US:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8388379.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8393574.stm
http://www.smh.com.au/business/world-business/spains-debt-rating-cut-echoing-greece-20091210-kkhm.html

Reuters reports Foreign holders of US debt actually fell in the last week:
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSNYS00765220091228

As stock market indexes have risen at the fastest pace on record, even though the economy is in a very bad shape amidst fears of how debts can be managed and paid off after providing liquidity to banks, as liquidity pumping has reached its limits and way beyond, concerns mount of another stock market crash:
http://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/shorting-the-ftse-foolcouk-d8f109a632be.html?x=0

- LearnFromMistakes

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