Chapter 16 NATIONAL DELUSIONS

men like Jack Reagan had few illusions as to the complexities of the

forces that made the world turn. With each passing day it became more

and more obvious to him that most of those who governed the world of

business and politics had a pitiful lack understanding of those forces.

Danger stalked when investors, large and small, from London to Beijing and from

Moscow to Dubai, had become hypnotized by the phenomenal rise in the price of

property. Reagan had avoided the flurry of feverish speculation, as others rushed

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like lemmings towards the precipice. It was precisely the kind of risk he had

always taken care to avoid. The properties he owned had been bought carefully

over time to create a solid and lasting investment portfolio, but he had also been

lucky, and knew it, buying and selling at the right time was paramount.

If the content of newspapers and TV programs was representative of what most

interested his fellow countrymen, it was evident that football came first, followed

by football, yes football, and only then property. Football was of course big

business. There was no refuting it; the British public was football crazy, but for

many, football, or any other sport for that matter, was small beer compared to

property. Wheeling and dealing in property had become the national past time and

the money involved was staggering. The entry ticket, that is to get onto the first

rung of the property ladder, was near two hundred thousand pounds, and half or

more again in the London area, and most of that was borrowed money.

Property consultants, advisers and experts abounded and they all had one thing in

common, they were smooth talkers, out to earn a quick buck off the backs of the

punters. As for Moreau’s pal, Jameson, he was one of them, and to Reagan’s eye

nothing less than an outright, perhaps clever, crook; who had however, made the

mistake of taking him for a dupe, by suggesting he invest in local property?

Reagan, in spite of his own acquired wealth, never forgot the covetous nature of

the world in which he lived, where the winners took all, leaving the crumbs for the

rest. How did he differ from less fortunate people? He freely admitted his success

had more to do with good fortune than hard work, though he knew that hard work

and success often went hand in hand. That did not make him an excessively

prudent man, it was the fear of losing that had made him cautious, weighing risks

and seizing the right opportunities, whenever they appeared. The moment the Finns

manifested their interest in acquiring his business he knew that it was one of those

unique occasions created by the fortuitous conjuncture of the business climate and

the growing promise of biofuel technology.

His property investments provided him with an enviable income and if their value

increased so much the better, on the other hand, any thought of playing Monopoly

was out of the question. Economies were built on cycles and it was evident the

fallout from the sub-prime crisis was far from being over; his cautious mind told

him the situation could only worsen.

Reagan knew what was written by so-called experts on the pages of the Sunday

heavies was rubbish, invented by salaried journalists, probably mortgaged up to the

hilt themselves, without a real a penny to their name. The same went for the advice

of average high street bankers and the products they touted. Their only goal was to

get their hands on their customers’ money, handing it over to their investment arms

to speculate, where in turn it was skimmed and many other pockets were filled. His

own reference was that of his peers, those who like him had made their own

money. Better still were those who had inherited money and had been able to hold

onto it.

To Reagan most financial experts looked at the world with blinkered eyes, only

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seeing what lay on the narrow road directly ahead of them; all that was beyond

their immediate vision was non-existent. It reminded him of the world of physics,

where scientists declared things impossible until a new discoveries refuted all ideas

that had gone before.

Life was a series of hazards and what he had earned he intended to hang on to it.

There were few Mick Jagger’s and even fewer Bill Gates. He remembered

listening to a lone violinist on a cold winter’s night in a Victoria Street shopping

arcade, clearly a virtuoso, who after years of study had been forced to turn to

begging to earn a crust. There were few jobs for musicians, actors, painters and

dancers, many of whom struggled to survive, working as barmen or waiters in

Starbucks cafes and pubs.

Following the events of the summer in 2007, Reagan had been surprised by the

general return to calm as the Northern Rock fiasco appeared to subside. He moved

quickly, relocating and spreading his more liquid investments. First came the

announcement of losses at the Swiss bank USB, they were colossal. His fears were

soon confirmed when Bear Stearns collapsed, followed in rapid succession by

Lehman Brothers in the US and Bradford & Bingley in the UK. There remained

little doubt that other troubled financial institutions were hiding in the woods. His

worst fears were about to come true as the vultures gathered for the feast that

awaited them.