(this is a bit tongue in cheek but..) Is there any more powerful and feared financial reporter in the UK than Robert Preston? The guy - who's essential task i

(this is a bit tongue in cheek but..) Is there any more powerful and feared financial reporter in the UK than Robert Preston? The guy - who's essential task is to report on the comings and goings of financial institutions so the rest of us can understand - materially contributed to public panic during the banking crisis of last year. At the time his doom and gloom reporting on national television caused many uninitiated people (in the UK) to panic about the state of the economy; when a more rational response would have been better. Peston may claim he is only reporting the facts; but his treatment of Northern Rock may well have helped push things over the edge. Perhaps I am being over zealous in giving Peston some of the blame. Who knows. [In all seriousness, though, Peston has a history of disliking almost all financial institutions for some reason - and as a result the BBC reporting of the banking crisis was both skewed and problematic. I know quite a few people who misconstrued things from the tone and delivery of information and as a result panicked like crazy. He may have the makings of a point here; but I always take his opinions with a pinch of salt :) ]