STOCKS & SHARES 20

Not that it was any comfort to Billy and his friends, but they weren’t alone in being taken for a ride. The sudden crash of Germaine Rouse amid scandal and controversy had left many innocent investors stranded without a penny to their names. The fall had come so suddenly. One moment, the contented investors were receiving a return far beyond their wildest expectations, then without warning the cheques had dried up without a word of explanation.

As the beleaguered staff at Germaine Rouse tried in vain to deal with the wrath and fury – not to mention panic – of the investors who now swamped the Germaine Rouse offices as well as the switchboard, the newspapers reacted with horror and indignation that such a thing could occur in ‘Great’ Britain.

Ironically, the person who started the ball rolling in Parliament was none other than Jonathan Charles. Using all his eloquence, he calmly attacked the Government’s handling of the Germaine Rouse affair and other related matters.