Currently released so far... 4044 / 251,287
Articles
Browse latest releases
2010/12/01
2010/12/02
2010/12/03
2010/12/04
2010/12/05
2010/12/06
2010/12/07
2010/12/08
2010/12/09
2010/12/10
2010/12/11
2010/12/12
2010/12/13
2010/12/14
2010/12/15
2010/12/16
2010/12/17
2010/12/18
2010/12/19
2010/12/20
2010/12/21
2010/12/22
2010/12/23
2010/12/24
2010/12/25
2010/12/26
2010/12/27
2010/12/28
2010/12/29
2010/12/30
2011/01/01
2011/01/02
2011/01/04
2011/01/05
2011/01/07
2011/01/09
2011/01/10
2011/01/11
2011/01/12
2011/01/13
2011/01/14
2011/01/15
2011/01/16
2011/01/17
2011/01/18
2011/01/19
2011/01/20
2011/01/21
2011/01/22
2011/01/23
2011/01/24
2011/01/25
2011/01/26
2011/01/27
2011/01/28
2011/01/29
2011/01/30
2011/01/31
2011/02/01
2011/02/02
2011/02/03
2011/02/04
2011/02/05
2011/02/06
2011/02/07
2011/02/08
2011/02/09
2011/02/10
2011/02/11
2011/02/12
2011/02/13
2011/02/14
Browse by creation date
Browse by origin
Embassy Athens
Embassy Asuncion
Embassy Astana
Embassy Asmara
Embassy Ashgabat
Embassy Ankara
Embassy Amman
Embassy Algiers
Embassy Addis Ababa
Embassy Accra
Embassy Abuja
Embassy Abu Dhabi
Embassy Abidjan
Consulate Amsterdam
American Institute Taiwan, Taipei
Embassy Bujumbura
Embassy Buenos Aires
Embassy Budapest
Embassy Bucharest
Embassy Brussels
Embassy Bridgetown
Embassy Bratislava
Embassy Brasilia
Embassy Bogota
Embassy Bishkek
Embassy Bern
Embassy Berlin
Embassy Belgrade
Embassy Beirut
Embassy Beijing
Embassy Banjul
Embassy Bangkok
Embassy Bandar Seri Begawan
Embassy Bamako
Embassy Baku
Embassy Baghdad
Consulate Barcelona
Embassy Copenhagen
Embassy Conakry
Embassy Colombo
Embassy Chisinau
Embassy Caracas
Embassy Canberra
Embassy Cairo
Consulate Curacao
Consulate Casablanca
Consulate Cape Town
Embassy Dushanbe
Embassy Dublin
Embassy Doha
Embassy Djibouti
Embassy Dhaka
Embassy Dar Es Salaam
Embassy Damascus
Embassy Dakar
Consulate Dubai
Embassy Kyiv
Embassy Kuwait
Embassy Kuala Lumpur
Embassy Kinshasa
Embassy Kigali
Embassy Khartoum
Embassy Kampala
Embassy Kabul
Embassy Luxembourg
Embassy Luanda
Embassy London
Embassy Lisbon
Embassy Lima
Embassy Lilongwe
Embassy La Paz
Consulate Lagos
Mission USNATO
Embassy Muscat
Embassy Moscow
Embassy Montevideo
Embassy Monrovia
Embassy Minsk
Embassy Mexico
Embassy Maputo
Embassy Manama
Embassy Managua
Embassy Malabo
Embassy Madrid
Consulate Munich
Consulate Montreal
Consulate Monterrey
Embassy Pristina
Embassy Pretoria
Embassy Prague
Embassy Port Au Prince
Embassy Phnom Penh
Embassy Paris
Embassy Paramaribo
Embassy Panama
Consulate Peshawar
REO Basrah
Embassy Rome
Embassy Riyadh
Embassy Riga
Embassy Reykjavik
Embassy Rangoon
Embassy Rabat
Consulate Rio De Janeiro
Consulate Recife
Secretary of State
Embassy Stockholm
Embassy Sofia
Embassy Skopje
Embassy Singapore
Embassy Seoul
Embassy Sarajevo
Embassy Santo Domingo
Embassy Santiago
Embassy Sanaa
Embassy San Salvador
Embassy San Jose
Consulate Strasbourg
Consulate Shenyang
Consulate Shanghai
Consulate Sao Paulo
Embassy Tunis
Embassy Tripoli
Embassy Tokyo
Embassy The Hague
Embassy Tel Aviv
Embassy Tehran
Embassy Tegucigalpa
Embassy Tbilisi
Embassy Tashkent
Embassy Tallinn
USUN New York
USEU Brussels
US Mission Geneva
US Interests Section Havana
US Delegation, Secretary
UNVIE
Embassy Ulaanbaatar
Browse by tag
AF
ASEC
AR
AORC
AJ
AM
AMGT
AU
AE
AGMT
AG
AS
AFIN
APER
ABUD
ATRN
AEMR
ACOA
AEC
AO
AX
AMED
ADCO
AODE
AFFAIRS
AC
AL
ASIG
ABLD
AA
AFU
ASUP
AROC
ATFN
AVERY
CU
CO
CH
CDG
CIA
CACM
CDB
CI
CS
CVIS
CA
CBW
CASC
CD
CV
CMGT
CLINTON
CE
CJAN
CG
CF
CN
CAN
COUNTER
CIS
CM
CONDOLEEZZA
COE
CR
CY
CTM
COUNTRY
CLEARANCE
CPAS
CWC
CT
CKGR
CB
CACS
COM
CJUS
CARSON
COUNTERTERRORISM
EG
ECON
ETTC
EFIN
EZ
ETRD
EUN
ELAB
EU
EINV
EAID
EMIN
ENRG
ECPS
EN
ER
ET
ES
EPET
EUC
EI
EAIR
EAGR
EIND
EWWT
ELTN
EREL
ECIN
EFIS
EINT
EC
ENVR
ECA
ELN
EXTERNAL
EINVETC
ENIV
EINN
ENGR
EUR
ESA
ENERG
EK
ELECTIONS
ECUN
EINVEFIN
ECIP
EINDETRD
IV
IR
IS
IZ
IAEA
IN
IT
ICTY
IQ
ICAO
INTERPOL
IPR
INRB
IRAJ
INRA
INRO
IO
IC
ID
IIP
ITPHUM
IWC
ISRAELI
IRAQI
ICRC
IMO
IF
ILC
IEFIN
INTELSAT
IL
IA
IBRD
IMF
ITALY
ITALIAN
KGIC
KDEM
KTIP
KOMC
KNNP
KWBG
KU
KPAL
KGHG
KAWK
KISL
KPAO
KHLS
KSUM
KSPR
KJUS
KCRM
KGCC
KPIN
KDRG
KTFN
KG
KBIO
KHIV
KSCA
KN
KS
KCOR
KZ
KE
KFRD
KIPR
KPKO
KNUC
KMDR
KPLS
KOLY
KUNR
KIRF
KIRC
KACT
KRAD
KCOM
KMCA
KV
KHDP
KVPR
KDEV
KWMN
KTIA
KPRP
KAWC
KCIP
KCFE
KOCI
KTDB
KMRS
KLIG
KBCT
KICC
KGIT
KSTC
KPAK
KNEI
KSEP
KPOA
KFLU
KNUP
KNNPMNUC
KO
KTER
KHUM
KRFD
KBTR
KDDG
KWWMN
KFLO
KSAF
KBTS
KPRV
KMPI
KNPP
KNAR
KWMM
KERG
KFIN
KTBT
KCRS
KRVC
KR
KPWR
KWAC
KMIG
KSEC
KIFR
KDEMAF
MOPS
MARR
MNUC
MX
MASS
MCAP
MO
MIL
MTCRE
ML
MR
MZ
MPOS
MOPPS
MTCR
MAPP
MU
MY
MA
MG
MASC
MCC
MEPP
MK
MTRE
MP
MDC
MAR
MEPI
MRCRE
MI
MT
MQADHAFI
MD
MAPS
MUCN
MASSMNUC
OVIP
OPDC
OPRC
OIIP
OFFICIALS
OSAC
OAS
OEXC
ODIP
OREP
OFDP
OTRA
OSCE
OPIC
OECD
OPCW
OSCI
OIE
OTR
OVP
PARM
PREL
PTER
PHUM
PGOV
PINR
PINS
PREF
PK
PE
PBTS
POGOV
PROP
PINL
PL
POL
PBIO
PSOE
PHSA
PKFK
PO
PGOF
PARMS
PA
PM
PMIL
PTERE
PF
PALESTINIAN
PY
PGGV
PNR
POV
PAK
PAO
PFOR
PHALANAGE
PARTY
PNAT
PROV
PEL
PGOVE
POLINT
PRAM
POLITICS
PEPR
PSI
PINT
PU
POLITICAL
PARTIES
PECON
SOCI
SY
SENV
SA
SP
SNAR
SG
SCUL
SR
STEINBERG
SF
SW
SU
SL
SMIG
SO
SN
SHUM
SZ
SYR
ST
SANC
SC
SAN
SIPRS
SK
SH
SI
UK
UN
US
UNGA
UNSC
UNO
UNMIK
UV
UY
UP
UG
USEU
USUN
UZ
UE
UNESCO
UAE
UNEP
USTR
UNHCR
UNDP
UNHRC
USAID
UNCHS
UNAUS
Browse by classification
Community resources
courage is contagious
Viewing cable 08LONDON2486, SCENESETTER FOR CODEL SHELBY'S OCTOBER 10-12 VISIT TO LONDON
If you are new to these pages, please read an introduction on the structure of a cable as well as how to discuss them with others. See also the FAQs
Understanding cables
Every cable message consists of three parts:
- The top box shows each cables unique reference number, when and by whom it originally was sent, and what its initial classification was.
- The middle box contains the header information that is associated with the cable. It includes information about the receiver(s) as well as a general subject.
- The bottom box presents the body of the cable. The opening can contain a more specific subject, references to other cables (browse by origin to find them) or additional comment. This is followed by the main contents of the cable: a summary, a collection of specific topics and a comment section.
Discussing cables
If you find meaningful or important information in a cable, please link directly to its unique reference number. Linking to a specific paragraph in the body of a cable is also possible by copying the appropriate link (to be found at theparagraph symbol). Please mark messages for social networking services like Twitter with the hash tags #cablegate and a hash containing the reference ID e.g. #08LONDON2486.
Reference ID | Created | Released | Classification | Origin |
---|---|---|---|---|
08LONDON2486 | 2008-09-30 14:02 | 2011-02-04 21:09 | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | Embassy London |
VZCZCXRO5013
RR RUEHAG RUEHDF RUEHIK RUEHLZ RUEHROV
DE RUEHLO #2486/01 2741426
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 301426Z SEP 08
FM AMEMBASSY LONDON
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 9943
INFO RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 LONDON 002486
H FOR CODEL SHELBY
SENSITIVE SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ECON EFIN KTFN UK
SUBJECT: SCENESETTER FOR CODEL SHELBY'S OCTOBER 10-12 VISIT TO LONDON
Summary -------
1.(SBU) The UK economy is reeling from the effects of the global economic crisis, with housing prices falling even faster and further than in the United States. The UK economy continues to slide into recession with negative GDP growth forecast for the second semester of 2008. Inflation, fueled by energy, food, and import prices, is projected to hit 5 percent. Prime Minister Brown has been personally engaged in trying to mitigate the effects on the UK economy and to hammer out global solutions. Brown met with the President September 26 to discuss the global economic crisis and appropriate U.S./UK government responses. On the margins on the UN General Assembly Meeting in New York, Brown also met with various heads of state and leaders of the financial sector to explore options for intervention. He has publicly called for the creation of an international financial watchdog, whose goals would be to increase transparency, improve cooperation with regulators, create better early-warning systems, and shore up credit-rating agencies duties. UK officials would be greatly interested in hearing the details of the U.S financial support package.
2.(SBU) The bleak economic picture has weakened the embattled Prime Minister, who has seen his poll numbers drop significantly over the past year. The PM did however manage to reassert his leadership during the recent Labour Party Conference. Labour received an immediate bounce from the annual event, with poll ratings jumping to 31 percent from 17, while the Conservatives dropped from 50 to 41 percent. (The Conservative Party holds its Congress this week so Labour's gains might be short-lived.) As Chancellor, Brown imposed strict limits on deficit spending to control public debt, but Labour policies during the past ten years of economic growth now leave little room for fiscal stimulus without abandoning these limits.
3.(SBU) The British government strongly supports U.S. anti-terrorist finance efforts, but has resource constraints and legal limitations which obstruct it from being as proactive as the USG would like. End Summary
The Meeting with the President ------------------------------
4.(SBU) PM Brown was to raise with the President his idea for an international financial watchdog, to be set up through an existing entity such as the G-20. Brown attended the UN General Assembly in New York and gave a speech calling for coordinated international action to resolve the financial crisis. While in New York, Brown discussed this and other ideas for a global response to the financial crisis with world leaders (Spain, Italy, EU, Australia, Brazil) and with Wall Street titans (George Soros, BlackRock, Blackstone.) So far it appears that Brown's proposals have not gained much traction.
Difficult Times for PM Brown ----------------------------
¶5. (SBU) PM Gordon Brown appears to have successfully reasserted his leadership of the Labour Party and bought himself some time against possible leadership challengers following the Labour Party Fall Conference in Manchester September 20-24. Reaction to Brown's September 23 speech, billed in advance as the "speech of his life," was well received by delegates in Manchester. Attendees told Embassy London officials they thought the PM hit all the right notes and successfully managed to put the Conservative Party on the defensive going into its conference starting on September 29, especially over Tory lack of recent economic experience. Although Brown has refused to comment publicly on a possible Cabinet reshuffle, media reports he could announce a new Cabinet lineup on October 2 or 3, just after the Tory Party conference ends.
¶6. (SBU) Although PM Gordon Brown has recently gained ground in the polls, he does not have nearly the latitude Tony Blair had to take on a major new foreign policy commitment or personally lead the UK public to support a difficult foreign policy decision such as a new commitment of UK troops abroad. The British public is also very skeptical about new foreign commitments and uncertain about medium-term outcomes in Afghanistan. Although the Iraq War has faded from the domestic political landscape with Blair's resignation, the war has almost no popular support. Afghanistan is still considered the "good war" in comparison to Iraq, and UK military engagement has cross-party support in Parliament. Nonetheless, Afghanistan is also increasingly viewed in the UK media as a complicated, uncertain venture with no clear end, especially as British military deaths have spiked over the past year.
The Financial Crisis in the UK ------------------------------
¶7. (SBU) The global financial crisis has reverberated in the UK, LONDON 00002486 002 OF 002 with home prices having fallen about 11 percent since their peak, and inflation at a ten-year high. Thousands of employees in the financial services sector have lost their jobs as a result of the crisis. Because the UK financial service industry in recent years has provided around 20% of the UK government's tax revenues, the faltering financial market will significantly reduce the government's tax receipts.
¶8. (SBU) GDP growth in the UK was 0.0 per cent in the second quarter of 2008, the worst quarter in 16 years. Inflation hit 4.7% in August, and the Bank of England predicts it will rise to 5% by the end of the year. Employment numbers remain relatively stable, but unemployment has ticked up to 5.5%. The Bank of England is faced with the tough choice of combating inflation or attempting to spur economic growth.
¶9. (SBU) The PM and his economic team have been criticized for a perceived failure to address the concerns of the average citizen, and many have speculated that the PM is politically vulnerable. The PM's speech to Labour party officials, in which he underscored that he was the right person to be at the helm during a financial crisis, has given him some breathing room to turn poll numbers around. To date, the Labour Government has nationalized two large banks (Northern Rock and Bradford and Bingley), but has not proposed widespread structural support or reform measures to shore up the financial sector, though several smaller measures have been adopted. BOE has supported dollar money markets through a recent $40 billion overnight facility. The UK government followed the U.S. lead in banning the short-selling of stocks, and has created a liquidity scheme.
¶10. (U) The government gave its consent to Barclay's recently announced agreement to purchase HBOS, the UK's largest mortgage lender. A year ago, such a merger would have been unthinkable on competition grounds, but the risk to the stability of the UK financial system posed by HBOS trumped competition rules. To ensure that a Barclays/HBOS deal could be reached quickly, Secretary for Business, John Hutton, took the extraordinary step of announcing the government's intention to intervene "in the public interest" and override UK competition law. A government intervention will require legislation, which will not be considered until Parliament resumes on October 6.
UK Reaction to Events in the U.S. ---------------------------------
¶11. (SBU) The Labour government has been closely watching actions in Washington. Senior Treasury officials told us approval of a financial support package in Washington was essential to calming the markets globally. With Barclays and Lloyds having significant market share in the U.S., the eligibility of UK financial institutions to the proposed $700 billion facility was on PM Brown's agenda with President Bush. On September 20, Brown said that he would seek support from the USG to have $8 billion returned to Lehman UK from Lehman New York, transferred on the eve of Lehman New York's collapse. The PM has indicated that the money would be used to pay final salaries to UK-based employees.
Terrorist Finance -----------------
¶12. (SBU) The UK remains our primary and most reliable ally on terrorist finance issues. Our goals and ideals are very similar, and we openly share information and coordinate on individual designations and overall strategy. The UK's domestic asset-freezing regime, however, has been challenged by the High Court (trial court), and HM Treasury has argued to maintain their system in the Court of Appeals. A decision is due soon, and will assist the British government in determining their red-lines in modifying the EU's asset-freezing regime, which has also been partially challenged by a European Court of Justice decision. Due to resource constraints, and concerns about legal challenges from increasingly assertive UK and European courts, the British government is not as proactive as the USG wishes. They have prioritized their cases to those that have a direct effect on British soil, interests and/or UK citizens. TUTTLE