My del.icio.us bookmarks for January 16th through January 19th

These are my links for January 16th through January 19th:

• FDA: More tax inspectors not fewer to safeguard public finances says ARC President – politics.co.uk – "Terry Cook, President of ARC – the union which represents senior staff in HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) – has responded to Digby Jones’ attack on civil service numbers by calling on the government to invest in more, not fewer, tax professionals in the public service."

  Terry could have added that Digby Jones is a philistine – he didn't, but I will

• FT.com / UK – UK readies fresh bank bail-out plan – There's only one way to sell this

  Controls have to placed on these banks – or the public won't accept this

• FT.com / FTfm / Investments – More long-dated gilts needed, please – Quite right

  Just do it

• Anglo Irish Bank IoM – Anglo Irish Bank Corporation (International) PLC – This bank is now owned by the Irish government – who have always had problems with abuse through the IoM.

  So will they close this bank?

  It's an interesting question

• Warning that house prices may fall by 80% – The Irish Times – Tue, Jan 13, 2009 – "IRELAND WILL see more demolition than construction of houses over the next decade, as the economy struggles to recover from the collapse of the housing market and the emergence of “zombie” banks, UCD economist Morgan Kelly told the conference.

  In a presentation that drew several collective intakes of breath, Mr Kelly predicted that house prices would fall by 80 per cent from peak to trough in real terms."

  Someone even more pessimistic than me about Ireland's prospects

• Auditors struggling to keep up with Asian business boom – Accountancy Age – "Investors are concerned about the ability of the Asian audit market to keep apace with the rapid growth of businesses, says Asian Corporate Governance secretary general Jamie Allen.

  'The accounting firms are running fast to try and keep up but even they admit that there is a limit to the depth of their expertise,' said Allen in an FT feature."

  Why does the word Satyam come to mind?

• Rathbones may sell offshore tax operations – Accountancy Age – "Rathbone Brothers, the 265-year-old private bank is considering the sale of its offshore tax trusts because of fears the taxman will clamp down on the businesses in 2009.

  Paul Stockton, the bank’s finance director, told Accountancy Age: ‘Do we expect more focus from HM Revenue and Customs on offshore tax structures? We felt the answer was “yes”.’"

  He's right