The day of happy postmen and happier taxmen

The 21st of January 2009 will be remembered as the day which made postmen in the UK happy and taxmen in the US even happier.

Royal Mail, Brtains postal service,  in fact today posted its first profit for all its business operations in 20 years, The Guardian reports. Perfect timing for Royal Mail: post a profit while virtually everyone else’s posting a loss.

Meanwhile in Washington, soon-to-be Secretary of Treasury Timothy Geithner apologised to the US Senate for failing to pay $34,000 in taxes which became due in 2001. He later admitted that he now settled all his dues. This is what I call responsible politics.

But not all was happy clappy today.

Ebay announced later on in the day that its income dropped 31% and traffic went down 4%. The web site generates more than 84.5 million visitors annually.

Whre did the traffic go?

Possibly to Iceland where citizens are fuming at their ‘corrupt government’ following its mismanagement of the financial crisis that hit the once financially strong island. The Huffington Post reports the story with an ironic headline: ‘Iceland is burning.’

I don’t know if the pun was intended.

(Video: A day in the life of a happy Royal Mail postman)