I have found a new and very worthy nominee for the Most Specious Headline Award of 2009.

One of the main monthly IT magazines recently headlined an article on the enormous banking profits by the two giants: “Barclays and HSBC banking results from cost cuts” and subtitled “Big banks have reduced IT headcounts and begin to see profits return”.

Anyone reading this could be forgiven for assuming that the credit crunch, the global economic meltdown and the recession were all down to the cost of IT salaries. Cuts of 1200 IT jobs across both banks have, seemingly, resulted in a miraculous turnaround to profitability at the two giants of HSBC and Barclays of some £6bn during the first half of 2009.

Those must have been some IT salaries they were paying. Where was I when this gravy train was taking on passengers?

Oddly enough, not even a hint or mention in either statement of the questionable practices, dubious debt and ludicrous bonuses paid out to benefit short-term interests in the banking sector itself that have landed us all in this sorry mess.
 
Nary a reference, even, to the statement by Barclays chief executive John Varley, who told The BBC that he was upbeat on the bank's prospects for the rest of the year.
 
"The investments we have made, particularly in our international businesses, are driving very strong income performance and allowing us to absorb the consequences of the economic downturn," he said.
 
"Our goal for 2009 is very clear: we seek to deliver another year of solid profitability. Our first half performance is a good start to this."

Nothing in there about “reducing IT headcounts and beginning to see profits return”. I should think not. Why spoil a good headline with a couple of facts. It would be a shame to see good IT magazines going tabloid.