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.

Alan,

Spot on. A very rocky ride for the next 12 months at least. It's a sign of lacking confidence in the countries finances and peoples spending power.

'This seems to me to mean that the sector is no longer confident of property values remaining stable. '

Presumably, we can expect to see property values rise then, Alan, for when did the financial sector ever get anything right?

Prices are still rising in parts of London - always a strong indicator.

Flat for a year or two maybe, then they'll begin to rise again. I've seen it all before, even when interest rates were 15% and higher (early 80's) property prices rose against all predictions of doom and gloom!

TBH Greek & Oblo,
you may as well stcik a pin in the chart as try and make a prediction at the moment. The banks and lenders are hiding away at the moment, but what is left are certainly battening down the hatches.
The product that was available 12 months ago is a distant memory. 125% loans - gone, 100% secured loans for self cert - gone, unlimited adverse above 70% - gone.
This is not due to thinking people will be unable to repay it, these lenders don't give a damn, it is the thought that they cannot get their money back when it does go unpaid, coupled with an uneasy feeling that the FSA will blame them for wreckless lending and make the courts refuse to assist in delinquincy cases.
Fears are growing in the market that for the sake of popularity, the treasury and FSA between them will concoct new rules to make it very difficult for niche lenders to recover their debts, making up some cock and bull crap about the lenders knowing what they were getting into.
That, combined with stagnent (at best) property values is a double whammy the industry cannot live with and so they are preparing for it to happen.
My belief is that the FSA and treasury need to make it clear that they will not do this. While the industry believes it might, they will restrict lending and that will cause the property squeeze. If prices do drop, it becomes a self fulfilling prophecy.

Watch out for your credit limit being slashed without too much warning - and its consequences!

Alan, Oblomov.

I truly believe that banks care deeply about their customers, and not just the huge profits they make. Just as Supermarkets are only going greener because they are passionate about the environment, and not because they fear loosing customers (money) to a competitor that goes greener first.
Drug companies who also often receive a bad press are surely not in it for the sqillions of pounds they make in profits, but for reasons of compassion to fellow man/woman and those not sure (must be politically correct).
Some people also believe that our MP's are just in it for salary and all the perks (legal and otherwise) whereas I believe they do the job for the pure satisfaction of helping there fellow citizens toward a better life.

I could go on, but someone has to stand up for these often maligned institutions.

Greek, I'm sure there are individuals in the industries you mention who do care - such a the scientist trying to find cancer cures, etc - but the industries surely have to be led by dispassionate managment motivated by the figures if these enourmous entities are to survive and, in the case of the drug companies, finance research. A cancer cure is surely worth any price.

Alan, I think what you're saying is that lenders are being much more careful who they lend to - thats a good thing and will bring back confidence and sustained growth to the housing market. Its happened before - the 'slump' in the 80's came after lending rules relaxed - the recovery followed a hardening of lending rules. The current signs from lenders are good rather than bad, for the medium to long term property values - though that may not be seen as good by some people!

OB,

Fully agree re your comment on individuals.

Greek - your tongue in cheek remarks would no doubt be welcomed by the banks' directors, surrounded by acolytes who tell them what they want to hear. I have no doubt they believe they care about their customers, but if you talk to bank staff at the street level, certainly the ones I have spoken to over the last few months, there is an enormous gulf between what the directors believe is happening and the reality. Staff have been under great pressure to meet sales targets and there has been a seismic change in overall culture which has left many feeling deeply unhappy. The integrity is just not in the business any more (particularly where investment banking now dominating such as BARC) and when trust begins to disappear that leaves me nervous about their future.

Agree Partridge - my wife works in a bank. Totally sales driven now at street level - not what she and many others signed up for.

Thanks Oblo - I have nothing against a sales culture as such (clearly essential in any business if it is to be successful) but it is the manner of implementation adopted by some banks which perturbs me. It appears that there is the threat that the perceived bottom x% of performers are told to improve or face disciplinary action which I find abhorrent - and unlikely to result in practices which benefit the customer.

Under FSA guidlines it is almost impossible to fire someone for not achieving sales targets.
On regulated products the FSA takes the view that it is not the fault of the advisor/salesperson that the people he has talked to would be better advised to go elsewhere or do nothing.
Ridiculous red tape. What chance has a sales industry got if salesmen cannot be fired for not selling!!!!
I could get a job as an IFA tomorrow and never sell a single product, yet stay in the job till retirement. Providing I can show I am making sufficient appointments to see people and I am working with due diligence and within the confines of compliance.
What other industry could ever survive under such a hamstrung regime?

It isn't being fired thats the worry for bank staff, Alan - If you don't fall into place in the sort of environment partridge and I are talking about, life can be made very difficult for you by those further up the management team who are also under pressure to deliver sales. The staff aren't encouraged to help unless helping is likely to result in further sales.The customer suffers, the staff suffer.

As a pensioner I decided that after a lifetime of credit cards now was the time to call a halt and cancel my cards which I have done.
Now with all this credit crunch business, and nobody wanting to lend to anybody, what do I find on attempting to stretch my pension as far as possible in Sainsbury.
I am greeted with this nice young lady at the entrance offering me a Sainsbury credit card.
The whole store is emblazened with balloons and posters extolling the virtues of a sainsbury credit card.
Do these people live on another planet, or is it covert government plan to grab more of our money.
The store is decorated better than at Xmas.
I think it`s time I went to live on another planet......any ideas.

They live on the planet where pigs fly, porky.....

Mrcharts your right why did`nt I think of that...LOL
Cheers.

This thread is in danger of becoming far too serious ,time for one of these.

Thanks jimmy - haven't seen one of those in a while!

Thats better

appreciate this is slightly off thread, ie a seroius question, but am i right in thinking that wwhen a share goes ex-divi i only have to hold it after hours on the day of ex-divi and can sell it tomorrow and still get paid the divi. i assume the SP will probably fall by the amount of the divi.

Yes Robert, that is correct. You will sometimes find that the sp will recover slightly during the day, occasionally if you are lucky - a lot; but the dividend is always knocked off at open, you are then at the mercy of MM's & demand. If the demand is great enough the dividend reduction is sometimes swallowed up by a tick up in sp by MM's.