Greek Gods & Euro: Bevan Curse & McKinsey

© Am Ang Zhang 2011

It is interesting to be revisiting Athens and listening to stories of Ancient Gods. Looks like their Gods might again appear on Greek money or would they continue with the Euro?

They sent Antigone in first & the rest is history!!!

The question is:

Should we only accept Euros with an "X"

Should you be holding Euros, you may wish to exchange those whose serial numbers begin with a Y, M or T for those whose numbers start with an X.

Why? Well, in doing so you will swap euros issued by, respectively, Greece, Portugal and Ireland – the three most troubled members of the eurozone – and get in return euros issued by the Continent's economic powerhouse, Germany.

Nearer home, we have the Bevan Curse:

The Curse of Nye Bevan usually strikes down anyone who badmouths the health service.

Poor old McKinsey, how long can it last now that it has invoked the Curse of Nye Bevan? The cult management consultancy was a prestigious global brand until this morning when it was revealed to have urged the NHS to sack one in 10 of its staff to help balance the bankers' budgets.

As a result of the Health Service Journal's scoop (I write a politics column for HSJ) the politicians have already been rushing into the TV studios to declare their undying ardour for the British way of health.

All they dare admit by way of criticism is that it must become more efficient, which indeed it must. So must we all. But what about McKinsey & Company, now that it has provoked the ghost of Nye, founder of the NHS and the swashbuckling Churchill of the left?

Nah, no way, this is the 21^st Century.

But hang on:

It took care of Daniel Hannan  & Sarah Palin.

Looks like one of their most famous sons is now in trouble:

NY Times

On Wednesday, a federal grand jury in Manhattan charged Mr. Gupta, 62, with one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud and five counts of securities fraud. He is accused of sharing corporate secrets about Goldman and Procter & Gamble with Raj Rajaratnam, the co-founder of the Galleon Group who was sentenced to 11 years in prison earlier this month for insider trading.

…….The government has taken aggressive action against insider trading. In the last two years, the government has charged 56 people with swapping illegal tips, including Mr. Gupta; of those, 51 have pleaded guilty or have been convicted.

With Mr. Gupta, the campaign has moved beyond financial professionals. As the head of McKinsey & Company, the prominent consulting firm, Mr. Gupta advised some of the world’s most influential people, rubbing elbows with the chief executive of General Electric, Jeffrey R. Immelt, and the former President Bill Clinton.

Bloomberg.

Harvard.

"The NHS will last as long as there are folk left with the faith to fight for it"

Aneurin Bevan

Greece again:

(CNN) -- As the dust settled after the latest agreement was struck to solve the Eurozone debt crisis, French President Nicolas Sarkozy admitted it had been a "mistake" to admit the stricken Greeks into the monetary union.

"Let's be clear; it was a mistake," Sarkozy told French television.

"Greece came into the Euro with numbers that were false and its economy was not prepared to assume an integration into the Eurozone. It was a decision that was taken in, I believe, 2001, for which we now are paying the consequence."

Related: 

McKinsey: Galleon, Railtrack & The NHS

NHS & McKinsey: Barracuda & Nye Bevan ...