Thought Id start this one going because its rather dead on this board at the moment and I suppose all my usual muckers are either at the Stella tennis event watching Dim Tim (lose again) or at Henly Regatta eating cucumber sandwiches (they wish,...NOT).

Anyway please feel free to just talk to yourself blast away and let it go on any company or subject you wish. Just wish Id thought of this one before.

cheers GF.

ooops iberia....Spain and Portugal both go to the bond market today, with Spain's borrowing costs expected to jump.
ECB holds interest rates steady | 05/04/2012Portugal sells ?1bn at bond auction | Spain sells ?3.5bn in bonds | Spanish borrowing costs jumped at a bond auction today, as this week's tough budget failed to calm investors' nerves about the country's finances, while Portugal sold €1 billion in 18-month bills.......

Madrid sold €2.6 billion of medium-term paper, at the low end of its target range, and two out of three of the yields rose slightly above analysts' expectations.

"The Spanish Treasury failed to raise the maximum amount and yields, bid to cover ratios are lower than the previous auctions and all in all suggests investors remain very cautious towards Spanish bonds at the moment," said Nick Stamenkovic, rate strategist at RIA Capital Markets.

The average yield on the 2015 bond was 2.890 per cent, up from 2.440 per cent from when it was last sold on March 15, 4.319 per cent on the 2016 bond after 3.376 per cent at the start of March, and 5.338 per cent on the longer-dated bond. It was last sold on September when it had a yield of 5.156 per cent.

European shares extended their losses after the auction and the cost of insuring Spanish and Italian debt against default rose.

The Treasury sold €1.1 billion of a bond maturing in 2015, €973 million of a 2016 bond, and €489 million of a bonds with a 2020 maturity date. The total target range had been €2.5-3.5 billion.

The bid-to-cover ratios were mixed, but still showed firm demand.

Portugal sold €1 billion in 18-month treasury bills today in a successful test of market appetite for the longest-dated debt since it took an international bailout.

The average yield on the new T-bill was 4.537 per cent, compared with 5.993 per cent on the last 18-month bill auctioned in March 2011, before Portugal withdrew from the bond market.

The longest-dated T-bills last issued by Portugal, for 12 months, yielded 3.652 per cent at an auction last month.

The IGCP debt agency also sold 500 million euros in 6-month T-bills at an average yield of 2.90 per cent, sharply down from February's 4.332 per cent.

The total amount of T-bills sold in the auction was at the top of the indicative offer range. Demand outstripped the amount placed by 2.6 times on 18-month bills and 5.0 times on the six-month maturity.

good job we are part of the eu LOL LOL LOL EU = wasters! lets jump out now - cameron wheres your backbone you jellyfish!!

US job report,

US aded 120,000 jobs, unemployment rate fell to 8.2%.

WHile economists had expected the US unemployment rate to stay unchanged at 8.3 percent, and the economy to create some 200,000 jobs.

For goodness sake don't tell Fred about sex - we don't want those genes in the human gene pool any longer.

Should Margaret Thatcher have a state funeral?

As soon as possible, please.

But, in a period of austerity, a fitting memorial would be the tory party paying for it.

Hope you go first ,you twisted and bitter left wing Welsh prixk!

Margaret Thatcher buried Labour until the only way they could gain power again was to turn themselves into a poor imitation of the Tory party to fool the voters.

lol,sorry.

Ald.

I see you believe in witches!



Do you believe in fairies too.

I gave a smile today for CC comment, certainly not a yawn. lol

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What about his followers?
Good to hear that the court prevented the Human Right to be misused more....

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Why did the CPS not look at all the evidence before deciding that the British Courts couldn't try a few of these individuals?

A slippery slope.

American poodles comes to mind.


But with the present government wanting secret courts and more surveillance I am not surprised at Cruella's delight.

Couldn't the lady have a make over.

(Perhaps, similar to the other tory pin up Ann Widdecombe.

I don't agree with many of the actions, ideologies or beliefs of the group of individuals who are being going to be "exported" to various countries.

But I feel that to hold a person in retention for approximately 8 years, without a legal trial is dangerous and against previous held principles of British Justice.

It would suggest that the UK does not support human rights, or a independent judicial system.

We complain, rightly, against judicial systems of Russia and Middle East countries but appear to behave in a similar manner when it is convenient.

Poor old Georgie Boy.

I would out him in a chair!



http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-17661011


Millionaire tax avoiders 'shock' chancellor
George Osborne George Osborne examined anonymous tax returns submitted to the Inland Revenue.
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The chancellor has said he is "shocked" that some of the UK's richest people have organised their finances so that they pay virtually no income tax.

George Osborne told the Daily Telegraph the very wealthiest should be paying around a third of their income in tax.

He said he had seen "anonymised copies" of tax returns which showed him that some of the highest earners paid an income tax rate averaging at just 10%.

He said he would take "further action" but did not outline any new proposals.

HM Revenue and Customs provided the chancellor with the confidential tax returns submitted to the organisation by the UK's wealthiest people, the Telegraph reported.

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