Easy money

Speaking of lovely people running friendly banks.... The Bradford and Bingley is currently putting out an ad fronted by the hottie on the right, where a Dad is swaying contentedly in his garden hammock while two little girls play happily around him. The slogan: Rest Assured with the B & B.

Not if he's seen the share price, he won't. At 18.5p as I write, it's down 20% again today and languishing from a high a year ago of about £3. All due to management gambling on the housing bubble never bursting, of course. If he took the trouble to think about this - and maybe conclude that the bank will survive against the odds - he'd be better off buying the shares and punting on a recovery rather than leaving his cash gathering dust in one of their accounts. Not that he'd relax much if he did. It's about as safe as a Chinese milkshake. Nevertheless, I've invested. Gulp.