It's all in the name

GEORGE Osborne stunned the City this week when he overlooked bookies' favourite Paul Tucker and named Mark Carney as the next Bank of England Governor.
By common consent The Chancellor has made one of his more astute moves by calling upon the Canada-born Harvard and Oxford graduate to succeed Sir Mervyn King next June.
"He has got what it takes to help bring families and businesses through these incredibly challenging economic times," announced Mr Osborne, to widespread acclaim from MPs.
My only problem with the appointment is with the new fella's name. Frankly it lacks gravitas. Mind you, his rival's wasn't much better. Tucker versus Carney sounds more like a playground scrap in Grange Hill circa 1980 than a battle for a post first held by Sir John Houblon in 1694.
It would appear that a job once synonymous with highfalutin names such as Robin Leigh-Pemberton and Sir Montagu Collet Norman is tending towards the humdrum.
In the mid 19th century Sheffield Neave was succeeded by Bonamy Dobree in an age when it seemed that you could only become the top man in Threadneedle Street if your name was ripped straight from the pages of a Trollope novel.
A century earlier Delillers Carbonnel was followed by Stamp Brooksbank - two Christian names that are due for a revival in 2013, mark my words.
Even Newcastle-born Thomas Catto, a scholarship pupil of Heaton School who became BoE governor towards the end of WWII, bore the wonderfully evocative middle name Sivewright.
Nowadays we have to rely upon George Gideon Osborne, heir apparent to the baronetcy of Ballentaylor and Ballylemon to fly the flag for a bygone world when toffs and landed gentry held the reins of power.

IT would be nice if The Chancellor could serve up another shock in next week's interim budget statement by backing North-East business. Scrapping the planned fuel duty hike and cutting air passenger duty for regional airports would be a welcome move.
Another round of the Regional Growth Fund wouldn't go amiss, but it would be nice to see him come up with something bolder.
After tackling the deficit with savage cuts to public services the time has come for the government to do something about the shocking employment figures and feeble economic growth. The March Budget will be remembered for its subsequent back tracks - from the hugely unpopular pasty tax to charitable giving tax relief. This time around Mr Osborne needs to regain credibility with some progressive, forward-looking policies. 
Our construction industry could offer an answer. It's one of the few sectors that, if given the backing, could create jobs and wealth in the short term. The government is desperate to lift confidence in the economy during the run up to the next election. Why not put the building trade to work repairing and upgrading this region's substandard road network or building more flood defences?
If you have a better idea we'll be hosting a live blog next Wednesday when the Chancellor outlines his plans.