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.

It's the same thing cynic you just twisted it like a politician, i very rarely post on here to Fred for the very reason that he is just here to disagree.

Manuel.

I think as you get older you are rapidly becoming more confused.

I do not think what Stalin, Lenin or Mao practised was communism.

The problem with communism is that it has to compete with the natural instincts, traits and culture of those it may be applied to.

To me the above were dictators who were prepared to put any scruples they may have had at one time or other behind them and acted for their own benefit, security and acclamation and "deluded" belief that the end justifies the means.

Looking at the tory elite and to some degree, the leaders of the other main parties and I am sure that the same or similar traits are apparent.

But many of the said followers of said "Communism" in the 20s, 30s. 40s and 50s were as deluded as many of the Brexiters, neo-cons and Ukippers are now.

keep up the bullshit and denial and distortion fred ... perhaps you'll even believe in it yourself one day, though i don't think you'll ever learn to give a straight answer

Manuel.

I think you are rapidly losing your ability to distinguish fact from opinion or fiction and certainly, you seem to overvalue your own opinions.

-=-=-=-==

Dow Jones down by 2.62%.

Dow Jones down by 2.62% what a pompous arse .

not so in that instance, but a simple statement of fact
i think numerically, DOW dumped 660 points apparently from fear of escalating inflation

it'll be interesting to see where BITCOINS lie in say a month's time
i think at their recent peak a couple of weeks back they were $15,000 and now languish at $8,800




anyway, as i posted just now in FTSE thread ........

monday must surely be a total bloodbath
there'll be an awful lot of forced sales and the like, so if you're brave, there could be a good chance to make some money on the bounce as the dust settles

I know that cynic but , you know that he knows why he knows he knows i know that you know he knows i know why he wrote it , you know? .

to be honest, i don't know why fred posted about the DOW here

perhaps he (gleefully) sees armageddon for the capitalist world, even if he does play with capitalist toys

a very severe correction may well now be on the cards, though no one actually knows
there's good reason for it - DOW stocks are arguably miles ahead of the game - but there is no obvious sensible alternative for private and pension fund money and the like

Just being frivolous really , but with Freda there's always , look what's happening because of May , Trump , Brexit , Boris etc etc etc .

that's a goldfinger (3i) trait as well

fred's actually an intelligent guy, but i'm afraid i can rarely be bothered with his nonsense, not least because of his refusal to give straight answers to straight questions ...... generally, i can readily find better ways to waste my time than going round and round in pretty much the same circles

i think his father was a trades union official or somesuch, so it's easy to see how he learnt his ways ...... so very glad i never had to deal with them .... we just treat our staff well, and a result, there are few who have been with us for less than 5 years

Gizza job C.
Fred posts something worth reading once in a blue moon. Life is too short for that.

you're welcome to deal with some of the more slippery clients we have :-)

at the moment we have one who likes to quote contract terms at us when it suits .... have just clobbered him similarly, and he doesn't like it all

Send in L/Cpl Jones. They don't like it up 'em y'know. Cold steel: concentrates the mind.

more dusky than teutonic :-)
perhaps one of the chaps from Some Like It Hot would be better suited

Cynic

The Labour land buying policy is commonly used around Europe. The intention is to buy agricultural land at agricultural land prices for building houses. This despite the fact that the price would rocket if it had planning permission before the sale.

I am undecided as to the rights and wrongs of this policy. There is also the compulsory element involved in the purchase.

hays - the guardian article merely states landowners in general, and does not restrict itself to agricultural land being boosted in value when granted building permission

That's what it is to do with, even general landowners. The idea is to buy the land at its current value without planning permission and then grant the permission. It's a question of its value as opposed to its potential value.

Oh dear! My County Council is effectively bankrupt!

Hmmm? That's obviously the reason why they haven't been filling in all of our numerous potholes, I suppose. The bins are still being emptied once per week. Other than that, we're not to notice much of a difference. I know that other counties have potholes too and very often, their bins get collected less frequently than ours.

But of course a county council is responsible for lots of other services, particularly social care. Maybe that's why this section 114 notice has been issued. Namely, to immediately shove the cost of care straight onto the government.
...........................................................................................
Jeremy Corbyn: 'Northamptonshire County Council is effectively bankrupt'
Jeremy Corbyn told a Labour conference that Northamptonshire County Council was "effectively bankrupt".

Published: 13:01
Saturday 03 February 2018
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has labelled Northamptonshire County Council "effectively bankrupt" in a speech today.

It comes after the county council was yesterday issued a section 114 notice, effectively banning it from spending any more money except for safeguarding and essential spending.

The notice was issued after a Government inspector, appointed by communities secretary Sajid Javid, to find out whether the authority was failing the taxpayer.

Today, opposition parties have weighed in on the notice, which is believed the first-such order in 20 years.

Speaking at a conference in Nottingham, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said: "Yesterday we found out that Tory-run Northamptonshire County Council is effectively bankrupt. Austerity is unleashing chaos across our country, squeezing our local authorities and putting jobs and services at risk. When local councils face cuts, local people pay the price."

Northamptonshire's Labour MP candidates have also written an open letter to Sajid Javid calling on the Government to step in and run services because of "catastrophic failings" by the leadership at One Angel Street.

The letter, signed by Beth Miller, Gareth Eales and Sally Keeble, reads: "We are writing to express our deepest concern about the impact on people in Northamptonshire of the continuing incompetence in the financial management and political leadership of the county council. We believe that the Government must act to protect the best interests of the many hundreds of thousands of people who rely on the county council’s services."
..............................................................................................

The Northamptonshire county council signalled it is close to effective bankruptcy after admitting that “severe financial challenges” mean it is unable to meet its financial obligations in the current year.

Northamptonshire county council issued a section 114 notice on Friday afternoon imposing financial controls and banning expenditure on all services except for its statutory obligations to safeguard vulnerable people.

A section 114 notice is effectively an admission that a council does not have resources to meet current expenditure, that its financial reserves are depleted and that it has little confidence that it can bring spending under control in the near future. It is understood Northamptonshire is the first local authority to issue a section 114 notice for two decades.

The news comes weeks after the Local Government Association (LGA) warned that years of shrinking budgets, coupled with increased pressure on social care and child protection services, would leave many councils “close to the edge”. The LGA estimates that councils in England face an overall funding gap of £5.8bn by 2020.

Although councils cannot technically go bankrupt, a section 114 may force central government to intervene to ensure that local services are sustainable.

The council said: “The notice has been served in light of the severe financial challenge facing the authority and the significant risk that it will not be in a position to deliver a balanced budget by the end of the year.

“Councillors have 21 days to discuss the implications of the section 114 notice and this is due to be addressed at the full council meeting on 22 February. The notice does not affect staff pay and the council will continue to meet its statutory functions.”

Northamptonshire revealed in December that it would increase council tax by 5% in 2018-19 while cutting its spending by £34m. Councillors said this was necessary to meet soaring demand for services at a time when central funding was being slashed. .

It is understood that the council is facing a £10m overspend on its budget this year, mainly driven by rising demand in adult social care services. The financial situation has been exacerbated by forecasts that £27m of hoped-for savings this year have failed to materialise.

Andrew Gwynne, the shadow secretary of state for communities and local government, said: “The failure of this Tory-run council shows that their approach to managing our public services doesn’t work.

“There have been deeply worrying reports for a number of months that this council was failing in its duty to the people of Northamptonshire – and now these people will pay the price for this negligence.”

An independent investigation into alleged financial and governance failings at the council was announced by the communities and local government secretary, Sajid Javid, last month.

A spokesperson for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said: “It would not be appropriate for us to comment while the inspection is ongoing.”

The county council leader, Heather Smith, had welcomed the inspection and said it was an opportunity to make clear to ministers that the recent funding settlement for local authorities was inadequate.

She said: “We have been fully open and transparent with the government about our situation and have been direct in our request for assistance. We have also been clear that our proposed funding settlement from them includes no recognition of the pressures we face with the escalating cost of, and demand for, adult social care and children’s services respectively.”

Rob Whiteman, the chief executive of the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy, told the BBC that Northamptonshire’s move was highly unusual and said it was the first section 114 notice for two decades.

Last month the council said it was considering selling its new £53m headquarters, which were officially opened last October, and then leasing them back.

No wonder they are in trouble with that sort of thinking.


Last month the council said it was considering selling its new £53m headquarters, which were officially opened last October, and then leasing them back.

Which political party is in charge of Northampton?

Oh I remember now, the one which couldn't run a race in a brewery!