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.

And the one eyed poster of the year goes to ..... Haystack (suprise suprise) and you never replied to the last post I made.

Skim read so many posts over last two days and Hilary wins economist/legs of the year for her understanding of cause and effect of various policies on exchange rates and the nice photos she posted in the past :)

Cynic , two sides to every argument , things change , stop spouting proven failed policies that were drummed into you by your parents in the 70's .... tell me I'm wrong , tell me your parents hated Thatcher and voted Kinnock :-)

And in simple language for the dull amongst us .... a devaluation in sterling will not lead to neccessarily higher exports , higher GDP or a lower balance of payments defecit/increased surplus without other factors kicking in as anyone with an O Level (besides me and Hils) should know.

Haystack - 26 Mar 2013 23:02 - 22515 of 22517

Monday 25 March 2013

Labour has made no progress in winning the economic argument in the past year despite the Government’s failure to secure growth, according to a new poll for The Independent.




... and which bit of the above are you proud of ?

And just for balance ... immigrants should only be allowed in if they have a job to go to.

Rant over :-)

If I was a bookie, I was wondering what odds I would give and punters would accept on the following.

England to win the 2014 world cup......20/1.

Ed Miliband to be Labor PM in 2015......10/1.

UK to pay off all its debts by 2030........500/1.

EU leaders agree that the EU in it's present state with the Euro is dead......1000/1.

By 2020 Germany rule Greece, Spain, Italy, Portugal and the UK (Labor/Lib Dem coalition capitulated)......20/1.

PM Ed Miliband goes to Athens (the new capital of Germany) and returns stating that the UK is re-negotiating the UK membershp of the new German Federal Republic.......10/1.

Government wins current High Court battle to deport Abu Qutada.......2000/1.

Abu Qutada still in the UK by 2030.........1/10, IE odds on.

Abu Qutada becomes religious adviser to the BBC by 2020..........evens.

The last bet looks the most likely, I think I will take that one!

Which one would you choose?

austerity it is the working class and the poor paying for the GREED of footse
companys being paid millions in shares and salarys for putting the country in
the mess and the world . directors of companys are being paid far to much
top civil servants way over paid.
it is time for action directors being paid millions is a total disgrace
time for the workers to take action .

Homebuyers can expect a big dollop of State help as the Government looks to revitalise the housing market and home building sector with a £15 billion package of mortgage support.


The Chancellor rejected trying to boost house sales with cuts or exemptions to Stamp Duty.


This remains at one per cent on property purchases above £125,000, rising in steps to seven per cent on homes worth over £2 million.

Instead, George Osborne unveiled Help to Buy, a new mortgage scheme to help those without huge deposits to secure a home. It comes in two stages.


The first, which starts next month, applies only to those buying selected new-build properties in England.


It will provide a subsidised Government loan, worth up to 20 per cent of the property’s value. This equity loan can be repaid at any time but must be cleared when the property is sold.


The loan is interest-free for the first five years then charged at 1.75 per cent a year, with the interest costs then rising with inflation.


Buyers need a five per cent deposit. But the scheme is open to borrowers regardless of their income, unlike some previous Government initiatives. The loans are offered on homes worth up to £600,000. In total, Osborne has set aside £3.5 billion to fund these loans.


Phase two of Help to Buy will start next January and is aimed at increasing the number of mortgages offered to those with modest deposits.


Lenders will be able to sign up for special loan guarantees from the State that will protect them from some losses if the buyer defaults. Effectively, the Government is acting as a mortgage guarantor, though it will charge the lenders a ‘commercial rate’ for the privilege.







More...
Can you find a better deal? Mortgage tables
Budget 2013: The winners and losers after George Osborne opened his big box of give-and-take tricks
On the hunt for a home? The first-time buyer's guide to getting a mortgage and climbing onto the property ladder


While this is similar in concept to the current New Buy scheme, Help to Buy will cover far more homes. It is open to those buying existing, as well as newly built homes, and to those remortgaging to a new lender. The Government will consult on the details shortly.


Lenders have given the idea a cautious welcome, but say that there will also need to be a relaxation in the amount of capital they need to put aside to back high-value loans for the idea to make commercial sense. There are also concerns the cash injection could simply stoke a property bubble and force prices higher in some parts of Britain.




this will force up house prices and do more damage house prices need to come down not go up the avge wage neans poverty for those taking the risk

phew! took me 5 minutes to scroll down past MrT's ravings ......

dil - it may (or may not) surprise you that i have a mind of my own .... my parents never discussed politics at home either, so no guidance or brainwashing (as you like to insist) from that quarter :-)

however, perhaps with the benefit of hindsight, i certainly think that MT was the best pm i have seen in my lifetime .... that does not mean that, if i could remember them, i would agree with all her policy decisions, but there is no question that her resolve (self-belief perhaps) was unshakeable which allowed her to make some very tough decisions and to stick by them .....

breaking the power of the communist-funded unions was certainly one of her finest acts, for there is no question that the unions' agenda was to bring the country to its knees

she also certainly stood up for what she perceived as the good of the country against the ever-encroaching powers of eu ...... shame we have not had more of the same since then

she was also totally committed and adamant that argentina should not be allowed to invade and take over FI, despite many siren voices to the contrary ..... cynical economic hindsight shows that that was absolutely the right move ..... that said, i commend to you a little read of some of the private papers that have just been released under the 30 year rule

cynic itwasfrom the paper you fool

no MrT, i was listening to the wireless, Radio 4

cynic MT did not like eastern europeans she loved the germans
that is why we loved her

Hays,

When the coalition got into power, they damned as much of and as many of the previous government’s policies and actions, as was possible.

They demoralised the country by painting out how “black and hopeless” everything was, presenting a scene where they could assert their right winged ideological of austerity is “good for everybody”, of course other than for themselves.

(There was need to cut back in some areas, but not at the rate which it was being done. There was a need for a thought out period of consolidation with modification of organisation, rather than slash and burn.)

However, I think they made the mistake with what they have done in thinking that the slash, burn and disorganisation would allow them to have and expansionist period with a politically motivated giveaway budget in the last 6-12 months of the regime, i.e. prior to the next election.

I think their expectations may have been blown out of the water, partially due to world wide “recession”, “demoralised” business and industries not being prepared to invest and develop, because of their lack of faith in the present coalition policies and the uncertainties they are causing by ill-thought out production of rushed populist policies.

(Look at employment figures and GDP, even without deliberate distortion, they don’t add up.)

It seems to me that they are accumulating the results of the products of the “austerity” policies which will kick in during the last 6 months of the coalition government. The effects of which will not only hit home to the “poorer” groups of society, but also be felt by many so called “middle income” groups. (Pensioners are not unaware, or isolated from the younger members of their families.)

Disillusionment due to false promises with increased dissatisfaction with “public and social services” by those utilising them and others providing them, may result in a large swing of voters to the labour party.

I think that Milliband, knowing that he had 5 years to reorganise the labour party and think out future “policies” and “dogma”, is probably utilising the period “sensibly” and keeping his powder dry, not knowing what the carnage this government will leave behind. The fixed period government has been useful for labour, to analyse their mistakes and regroup.

(You said you played chess, it seems you may have concentrated too much on openings moves and tactics, at expense of the middle game and overall strategy.)
---------

Dreams,

I thought your head would be more like a balloon.
-------------------------

Cynic,

"dil - it may (or may not) surprise you that i have a mind of my own .... my parents never discussed politics at home either, so no guidance or brainwashing (as you like to insist) from that quarter :-)"

Perhaps, your parents may have been more subtle than you appear to be.

Tanker’s post contains the reason why many think that the latest Osborne wheeze may end up inflating the housing market prices and stimulating another sub-prime market, and provide the stimulus for more rapid inflation.

If the money had been directed too more rapid building of “social housing” under local government control then it may have helped to provide a more direct stimulus to the local economy and into the general economy.

------------

sorry fred, for though i would not dream of squelching you, i really can't be bothered to read your stuff ..... as i have now said ad nauseam, you are just an armchair critic who can't even be bothered to vote for the least worst option, but will continue to sit and whinge and whine incessantly - a dog would be put down for less :-)

Manuel,

I still enjoy your well thought out repetitive whining responses.

{:-)

cynic
I didn't read it either.

we're both happy then lol!!

Boys,

Do you know that it doesn't matter, whether you read it, or not.

As is said "you can take donkeys to water, but you can't make them drink".

You can see why David Miliband decided to leave the UK.

but some confuse iron pyrites with gold