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.

'Stats error' means recession just DIDN'T happen!

There might not have ever been a double dip recession, new figures suggest, just a mistake with the stats.

The double dip may never have been more than a miscalculation, researchers have found.

Just days after official figures showed Britain avoided an unprecedented "triple-dip", figures from the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) show it is "increasingly unclear" whether the second recession ever took place at all.

The official definition of a recession is six months when the economy is smaller than it was the year before. While this is a technical point, and a 0.1 percentage point of gross domestic product (GDP) either way might not matter much to the man on the street, it can have big impacts on how Britain is seen as well as how the markets react and the pound’s performance against other currencies.

For example, in the third quarter of 2009 the initial figures suggested that the UK was still mired in recession even though France, Germany and the US were all growing again. At the time that meant Britain looked like it was worse off than other major economies making traders treat us with caution and hurting the pound.

But later on GDP was revised up into positive territory, suggesting that the UK exited recession in the first quarter of 2009 along with some of its European neighbours. Of course, by then the damage was done.

So what really happened in 2011 then?
After briefly recovering from the recession of 2008-2009, Britain fell into a second trough at the end of 2011 that lasted for nine months and was far less severe than the first dip. According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS) at least.

But NIESR points out that the latest revisions to the official figures show gross domestic product only dropped by a tiny 0.1% in the last quarter of 2011, followed by the same small figure for the start of 2012, though in the second quarter it was a fall of 0.4%.

That means only a slight error in either of the first two periods would mean there was never a second recession at all – at least officially. Considering these figures are frequently revised by far more than that as new data comes in, there’s no way to say for certain if there was a second recession.

And revisions are common. Since the first quarter of 2005 the average revision to UK GDP statistics has been 0.4%, which is actually higher than the UK’s current growth rate.

Hils.

That is one way of considering the Robin Hood Tax.

"The recent changes and exposure of across tax evasion and avoidance will never come into effect."

It will and has. There is a convergence in opinions in Europe and America.

Also, be interesting to see the changes which are occurring in the other areas, China and India.

Traceability of funds wandering off to Austria, Switzerland, Cayman Isle etc. is becoming more and more easy to track and traceable.

Whether the UK is in the EU or outside it they will fall more and more under the regulations.

With a bit of luck, preceding years will be taken into consideration.


-----------------
Hays,

The robin hood tax (tax on financial transactions) is stupid and Osborne is right to fight it. We ought to opt out. There is no moral argument for it.


Good to see you are considering moral argument, even if your use of it is dubious.

===========================

Manuel,

How many times have you voted to-day?


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

Beautiful day for gardening, but I wish they could put the ground nearer to my hand and arms.






==========

Hays,

Every body is better off.

Can't understand what all the moaning is about.

Those boarded up shops and bankruptcy cases are rubbish.

WHITE WASH!

Hayspew......I work directly with these people on a voluntary basis that you say is left wing propaganda.........how wrong you are.

Those figures are from the DWP themselves and their corrupt agency ATOS. Here is the evidence, argue against this

..........https://www.gov.uk/government/news/work-capability-assessment-fairer-and-more-accurate

It would do you good to spend half a day taking requests and questions on the community board where I work.

You might then have a differing attitude than the ignorant one you cynic and that idiotic Hilary spout.

Why does cynic bow down to a half wit like him.

SCANDAL/CORRUPTION at the heart of government........

http://www.leftfutures.org/2013/05/hmrc-let-goldman-sachs-off-tax-to-avoid-major-embarrassment-to-osborne/

"Why does cynic bow down to a half wit like him."


Twits seem to hang together and Manuel and Hils could be his mum and dad!


8-)

Just a bit of left wing spin from gold member. Nice to be able to ignore the lefties these days.

why is fred an arsehole?
well he talks out of his arse an awful lot, and when he doesn't it tends to be sulphurous hot air anyway

============

do i think hilary always talks sense?

no, and sometimes i don't entirely understand what she writes, but for sure it's better balanced and thought out than a lot of the others' garbage

SHE!!!!!!!!!!

thought he was a bitchy gay. (nothing against gays)

Exit Polling Station sources reporting ......... a big turn out for labour in most county seats.

UKIP turn out reported to be subdued.

Tory vote almost non existent.

Back to the Tobin Tax,

In the UK, and across Europe we all paid to bail out the banks, and still doing so. These proposed financial transaction taxes are small but significant steps in ensuring the banks begin to pay their fair share. And that £30 billion would provide vital funds.

The City of London could be hit by the tax if, for example, a British firm trades with branches of French or German banks based in London. This is the exact same mechanism as the UK's very own stamp duty on shares which nets the UK £3 billion a year.

Gobshites of the left unite, better be careful Freddy boy your title (of the year, recurring) looking dodgy. That lefty goldmember working on stealing your title, how old are you this week Gobshite Of The Year in waiting?

hmmmm Jeremy Vine and Nick brown BBC contradicting above exit polls.

Reckon UKIP playing a blazer in David Millibands old seat.

Whats that.... whats that noice.....that squeeking noice. Must be a mouse ....OHHHHHHHHHH........... its nice but simple Chris above.

It would be nice if UKIP did well in David Miliband's old seat as it is a Labour seat. That might be the result of Labour having a wishywashy attitude to the EU.

Wishywashy attitude to the EU????.

Dont think so.

If anyones got a wishywashy attitude to the EU its the Tories, hence UKIPs great strength at the moment.

The Conservative party have promised a referendum on Europe and Labour can't make their mind up about it.

This vote isnt about Tory V labour, its about Tory V UKIP

AND

UKIP WALKING IT................ Cameron in big trouble this weekend.

Live Election Results from Electionista

http://guyfawk.es/16w3Buk

there's been some interesting, sensible and balanced comment by political commentators on BBC1 this morning from which the ranters on both sides here might have gained something if they bothered to listen.

he he, is that a polite way of putting the white flag up cyners.

Cameron and Osbourne in it deep this weekend.

Just how deep will be up to the tory back benches.

Frankly dont fancy their chances.