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.

..

ABU HAMZA - why try in USA?
i heard a chap on the tv this morning saying that AH should have been tried in UK as much of the strong evidence and actions were carried out here.

in my opinion, extraditing the bastard to USA was a great move and the americans, whatever their many faults, hold no truck with terrorists and a life sentence means exactly that with no recourse of bleating to bleeding heart brigade courts in europe

Official Bank Rate hasn't changed from 0.5% since 5 March 2009. That's over 5 years now and there looks like being at least yet another one.

I wonder if there isn't something wrong with this policy? How does it make people feel? What is really the intention behind the doing of it?

Is it, that 'Cash earns you next to nothing and so you just have to find a slightly riskier thing to do with it than just leave it in the bank' and this involvement creates growth?

Property is now a bit of dodgy investment in most areas. Correction ahead?
Stocks are very volatile and are looking a fair bit overbought. Correction ahead?

Anyone got any ideas?

Good to see AH in prison for the rest of his life. We used to see him preaching in street when we took the kids to school on the school run. When he was thrown out of the Finsbury Park Mosque, they found guns and bomb making equipment in the basement.

long term - bricks and mortar but location is everything

shares - depends what you're looking for; there's still value and if you have a high risk-tolerance, then there's plenty of garbage to excite that just may come right

interest rates - raising interest rates too early would (have) kipper(ed) any economic revival

Ed Miliband calls politicians out of touch in TV interview - then has no idea how much he spends on his own weekly shop



Tory secret weapon




Good Morning Britain presenter Susannah Reid says Miliband himself appeared 'out of touch with reality'




Adam Withnall Author Biography




Tuesday 20 May 2014



The Labour leader Ed Miliband has been accused of being “out of touch with reality” after he appeared not to know what he – or indeed the average British family – pays for their weekly shop.


Appearing on ITV’s Good Morning Britain, Mr Miliband described how disconnected the country’s leadership is from ordinary people who, he said, feel Britain is run “for a few people at the top and not for them”.

He said that Labour would make it a priority to tackle the cost-of-living crisis – yet appeared to struggle when pressed on how much he personally knows about “the actual cost of living for people”.

Asked if he knew what the average household grocery bill per week was for a family in the UK, Mr Miliband said: “Well, it depends how much you’re spending.”



More: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/ed-miliband-calls-politicians-out-of-touch-in-tv-interview--then-has-no-idea-how-much-he-spends-on-his-own-weekly-shop-9402068.html

There is a new Populus online poll out today which shows the Conservatives taking a 1% lead over Labour:

Conservative 35% (up 3%)

Labour 34% (down 2%)

Lib Dem 8% (down 2%)

UKIP 14% (up 1%)

i wonder if lib/dems will end up with less mps than would fit in a phone box

Even with a low percentage of the vote in the GE, the Libs will get a lot of MPs. It doesn't matter what their support is across the country, just in the constituencies where they have MPs. Their machinery in those areas works very well to get the voters out on the day,

dangerous to bet on ukip getting none then, though i know where your counter will go

Hays this property you bought in 1989, tell me .......did you buy it off a freind!!!!!!!

Latest EP poll, Labour now opening up a lead......

electionista @electionista ·
UK - YouGov/Sun #EP2014 poll:

LAB 28%
UKIP 24%
CON 21%
GRN 12%
LDEM 10%

Hays thats the same Rouge poll that had them neck and neck last week.

Just 2 polls have Tories in front by 1. (tory seats by and large polls)

8 polls have labour in lead between 4 and 6 points.

I know who id have my money ontoday if I was a betting man.

By the way the Independant wasnt the only newspaper to worn about mortgages and interest rates, the express have a very similar item.

Just think Hays an interest rate increase 6 weeks before the general Election.

Thats one of the reasons I think Carney will go earlier in the hope he doesnt offend his pall Osbourne right before the next GE.

1) i don't think a rise of 0.25% will affect the stock market, except perhaps for one day

2) a rise of 0.25% in bank rate does not necessarily mean that mortgage rates will rise immediately afterwards

3) even if mortgage rates do rise by 0.25%, will that actually have a material effect on monthly repayments and people's voting intentions?

Tories returning to Tory party dont want to be branded racist as UKippers.

This senario only happening in Tory polls area.

Shows why Tories now have lead in two polls and labour lead in 8 polls.

Tories still very much up against it before GE especially with an interest rate rise coming before the GE........the worst case senario........you couldnt make it up better. he he.

I still think interest rates won't rise until after the election. Carney doesn't make the decision. It is taken by the BoE Monetary Policy Committee.

The Bank's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is made up of nine members – the Governor, the three Deputy Governors, the Bank's Chief Economist, the Executive Director for Markets and four external members appointed directly by the Chancellor. The appointment of external members is designed to ensure that the MPC benefits from thinking and expertise in addition to that gained inside the Bank of England.

A representative from the Treasury also sits with the Committee at its meetings. The Treasury representative can discuss policy issues but is not allowed to vote. The purpose is to ensure that the MPC is fully briefed on fiscal policy developments and other aspects of the Government's economic policies, and that the Chancellor is kept fully informed about monetary policy.

The MPC meets every month to set the interest rate. Throughout the month, the MPC receives extensive briefing on the economy from Bank of England staff. This includes a half-day meeting – known as the pre-MPC meeting – which usually takes place on the Friday before the MPC's interest rate setting meeting. The nine members of the Committee are made aware of all the latest data on the economy and hear explanations of recent trends and analysis of relevant issues. The Committee is also told about business conditions around the UK from the Bank's Agents. The Agents' role is to talk directly to business to gain intelligence and insight into current and future economic developments and prospects.

The monthly MPC meeting itself is a two-day affair. On the first day, the meeting starts with an update on the most recent economic data. A series of issues is then identified for discussion. On the following day, a summary of the previous day's discussion is provided and the MPC members individually explain their views on what policy should be. The Governor then puts to the meeting the policy which he believes will command a majority and members of the MPC vote. Any member in a minority is asked to say what level of interest rates he or she would have preferred, and this is recorded in the minutes of the meeting. The interest rate decision is announced at 12 noon on the second day.

carney actually reckoned late March, but equally he said he would implement other measures to curb house inflation -and indeed he has already done that

there is certainly a good argument for NOT raising interest rates before the election, even if that would benefit pensioners, not least that it could be seen as a political move if it is very close to GE

anyway, silly sticky has been blathering within the last couple of months about rates rising at least twice before the election, and indeed he reckoned he had absolute inside knowledge of same ..... rather like he did (hahaha!) about some court case or enquiry result

I think we'll see stamp duty increase before interest rates.

he he, we shall see.