Last night's Spotlight programme was a piece looking at the allegations that Ulster Bank (and RBS) pushed viable businesses into administration in order to grab valuable assets. These allegations have been made in the government-commissioned Tomlinson Report but have been refuted in Clifford Chance's independent review of the Tomlinson Report. I was interviewed for the programme and you can watch it on BBC iPlayer.
My colleague and former PhD student Gareth Campbell has created a website about the British Railway Mania - click here . This episode has been described by the Economist as probably the greatest bubble in human history. Gareth's website provides background on the Mania and posits some explanations for the 'bubble'. In his explanation of why the bubble happened, Gareth places a lot of emphasis on investor myopia regarding future dividends and uncalled capital. His study of investors during the episode does not support the view that this episode was fuelled by naive and irrational investors.