Bernard Ginns: Spine-chilling tale of a bargain-basement West . . .

According to Martin Wolf, the economic commentator, this Mr King wants to make the flesh of his Western readers creep. "He succeeds admirably," said Mr Wolf.

Published today by Yale, his new book, Losing Control, The Emerging Threats to Western Prosperity, predicts economic stagnation in the West as emerging nations take control of the world economy and its natural resources.

This might sound like a horror story to some, but Mr King's tale is grounded in reality. He argues that the West's past success has depended as much on conquests, land grabs, state capitalism, slavery and rigging the market as it has on market forces, technological gains and productivity surges.

But the ability of the United States and Europe to rig the markets is now under pressure due to the success of emerging markets, which he claims will have a massive impact on wealth distribution, economic stability and market forces.

He predicts Western savers will be unable to save enough for a comfortable retirement and that there will be continued disruption to inflation, capital markets and trade.

Western policymakers will also make a frightening discovery – they have limits to their sovereign powers, he said.

The UK's ageing population must welcome foreign migrants to bolster a diminishing workforce, he added, and the US and Europe face increasing emerging market ownership of Western assets and control over energy supplies.

You do not have to look very far for examples of Western countries giving up ownership of assets.

This week, we report on an Indian-backed acquisition vehicle looking to buy high-technology manufacturing companies in Yorkshire in strategic sectors such as aerospace, nuclear and renewable power generation.

Northern Gas Networks, which distributes gas to homes and businesses across the North of England, is owned by a consortium led by Hong Kong-based CKI.

Yorkshire Water is part-owned by a Singaporean sovereign wealth fund, as is Associated British Ports, which owns the ports of Hull, Goole and Immingham.

Will British companies own the next generation of power stations or the thousands of offshore wind turbines? Not likely, they can't afford it. That's the reality.

Like his namesake, Mr King makes for uncomfortable, but necessary, reading.

He said: "The developed world needs to decide whether it wants the emerging nations to enjoy the economic opportunities that, for so long, had been enjoyed only by the privileged Western few, or, instead, whether it wants to retreat into a bunker that will only leave the world as a whole facing political and economic catastrophe."

He believes it is better for the West to lose relatively than it is for the world as a whole to lose absolutely. "As its population ages, I hope the West gains the wisdom to make the right choice," he said.

BUILDING society executives must be careful they don't alienate themselves from members over the size of their salaries and bonuses.

Last week's annual general meetings of the Yorkshire and Skipton building societies saw anger among members about the large sums being paid out at a time when many people are struggling financially.

Iain Cornish, chief executive of the Yorkshire, took home 355,000 last year, while his counterpart at the Skipton, David Cutter, received 380,000. Both waived their bonuses.

Meanwhile, Yorkshire executives Ian Bullock, Andy Caton and Andrew Gosling, each received bonuses between 46,000 and 56,000 on top of their salaries, which are all in excess of 220,000.

At Skipton, executive Richard Twigg took home a salary of 247,000, while colleague Tom Wood, who joined in September 2009, got 80,000 plus a 25,000 and 100,000 in relocation costs.

In the interests of balance, I will include details of directors' remuneration at Leeds Building Society, which held its AGM in March.

Ian Ward, the chief executive, received a salary of 311,000 plus bonus of 54,000. David Pickersgill, the deputy chief executive, received a salary of 221,000 with a bonus of 40,000.

As one member at the Yorkshire AGM pointed out: "The average salary in Bradford is about 25,000 so when you've got a company paying six figures, that's a lot of brass."

Of course the region's building societies need high calibre individuals to steer them through these challenging times; no-one would argue against that.

But as we enter this period of increasing financial austerity, those leaders must be careful not to jeopardise the goodwill felt towards the mutual movement.