Published: 26 December 2007
Economy
2007 has turned out to be the most challenging year for the Bank of England since it was granted independence to set interest rates in 1997. Inflation rose above 3 per cent earlier in the year, forcing the Bank’s Governor, Mervyn King, to write a letter of explanation to Gordon Brown. And then came the summer of the credit crunch and the Bank’s initial reluctance to pump more liquidity into the banking system to keep the wheels moving. An air of caution has descended on investors ever since the Northern Rock crisis. As the year draws to a close, the signs are distinctly chilly. There is mounting evidence that the housing market is slowing down, with the commercial property market on the brink of collapse, while consumer sentiment is weak as households tighten their belts as successive interest rate rises finally start to bite. This month, the Bank bowed to intense pressure to cut rates for the first time in two years, down by a quarter of a point to 5.5 per cent, but many question if it is enough to prevent an economic slowdown. Some economists are predicting an outright recession.
Royal Dutch Shell conspired directly with Hitler, financed the Nazi Party, was anti-Semitic and sold out its own Dutch Jewish employees to the Nazis. Shell had a close relationship with the Nazis during and after the reign of Sir Henri Deterding, an ardent Nazi, and the founder and decades long leader of the Royal Dutch Shell Group. His burial ceremony, which had all the trappings of a state funeral, was held at his private estate in Mecklenburg, Germany. The spectacle (photographs below) included a funeral procession led by a horse drawn funeral hearse with senior Nazis officials and senior Royal Dutch Shell directors in attendance, Nazi salutes at the graveside, swastika banners on display and wreaths and personal tributes from Adolf Hitler and Reichsmarschall, Hermann Goring. Deterding was an honored associate and supporter of Hitler and a personal friend of Goring.
Deterding was the guest of Hitler during a four day summit meeting at Berchtesgaden. Sir Henri and Hitler both had ambitions on Russian oil fields. Only an honored personal guest would be rewarded with a private four day meeting at Hitler’s mountain top retreat.
IN JULY 2007, MR BILL CAMPBELL (ABOVE, A RETIRED GROUP AUDITOR OF SHELL INTERNATIONAL SENT AN EMAIL TO EVERY UK MP AND MEMBER OF THE HOUSE OF LORDS: 
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A head-cut image of Alfred Donovan (now deceased) appears courtesy of The Wall Street Journal.
