Sir Harold m

Great post and absolutely spot on. Anyone who tries to play an end game with economics is already deluded, there is no longer an endgame. In the past when a debtor nation like the USA ran out of money, it's creditors squeezed it and either war or an orderly transfer of balance of power occurred ( usually under the threat of war) Now the USA can keep borrowing indefinitely until the powers that be in its creditor nations stop lending it. The creditors have the problem because forcing low wages on their people enables them to service the debtor nation and keeps them in power. If they stopped servicing the debtors they have two choices, they commit suicide because their control has gone ( it only existed whilst they had slaves to run up surpluses) or they try to call in their debts from a nation that can blow them out of the sky. The external us deficit does not exist as it will either be serviced indefinitely or the debtor will refuse to pay . Of course we could have stagnation and a refusal of the creditor to keep feeding the beast but to what end .? They would simply be accelerating the default and thus liquidation of their own assets for nothing

Correct and incorrect. A price tag is an invitation to treat so I believe, the customer proffering the goods at the till constitutes the offer, the ringing up on the till is the acceptance. If you think about it the store at some point MUST engage in a contract otherwise they could recall goods back at any time after you leave the store. I think I'm correct in assuming that the offer and acceptance occur at the till and as such when you tender your cash as consideration then as long as it's legal the store can accept it as payment or the goods are yours for free. Please don't take this as advice as I'm not qualified but I think this is the case from my distant study days ( unless it's changed)

Shite journalism. Why didn't he ask them at what price they'd sell for ? There'd be a flood of buyers at £100k I'd imagine . Then we could have flushed out their real anxiety which is the fact they're not getting enough free money . Besides , if they'd stuck twigs in vases they'd have cleared £400k sale by now

I'm opposed to the opening of borders but we also have a responsibility to look after people we've invited here , that's something I hope we don't lose about our National character

I am all for free trade areas and free movement however the issue some have is that with a welfare state in place we need to protect the wage levels of our unskilled otherwise there is no incentive to work . Letting skilled people in is 100% doesn't effect this. Allowing unskilled workers to compete for wages can cause knock on issues. We should welcome all people to live and work here ( I say this a ukip voter) but where is the protection for low earners who now have to compete . Don't get me started on the subsidy this will provide to housing benefit dependant landlords whilst pricing out median wage renters . Protecting our poorest workers is far more compassionate than any lefty ranting about daily mail etc but I suppose some people want cheaper cleaners and don't mind whom they exploit

People who bang on about misguided ukip voters letting labour in are spectacularly missing the point. Ukip voters are by and large anti eu. They ( I include me) know that unless the Tories change and I mean properly change their policy on Europe then there is no chance ( save winning themselves) of us getting a vote on the eu. The only leverage they have is to demonstrate to the Tories that ukip can stop them winning and let labour win unless they yield. It's a big game of chicken and Cameron will try all kinds of ruses to try and deflect ukip support. What Cameron doesn't get is that ukip supporters have been lied to so many times by the Tories that they no longer fear labour, in fact five more disastrous years under lib lab will only bolster ukip come 2020 so who cares if labour get in. Some people need to realise that grown ups sometimes care about January and not just Christmas and if it takes three elections to get our way we couldn't care less about who is in power come 2015. We need a vote and we will get it

Not true if you look at substance over form. All of these countries have some nominal form of power sharing or split legislatures however they all share one common theme which is that the vast bulk of executive power is held by one branch and this usually emanates from one party. Of course there are occasionally cohabitations but there is usually one party in administration and there is usually one or more major oppositions posing as an alternative . It leavesost people in no doubt who to blame or reward

Why is it broken , if anything history shows the absolute opposite. Whenever there is a coalition it inevitably leads to less accountability , more excuses , less electoral 'punishment' and ultimately it becomes replaced by totalitarianism. The us/uk /Australian/Canadian model now also effectively taken up by the French also has proven to be way more resilient . It may lead to inefficiency , waste , etc etc but the thought that one side can be allowed to implement the things they stated they would and the ability of the electorate to turf them out and replace them with an alternative allows for everyone to feel their day will come to make someone else sit in twats corner . We are dangerously close to consensus politics here in the uk as no party can feasibly rule without centtrising their agenda around cheap credit , high taxes , high spending and deficits.

You gave it way too much credit.

I don't think there is a moral way out unfortunately. Dropping bombs on people is not moral Sending in troops with no exit strategy is not moral Arming uncontrollable rebels is not moral Ignoring the situation is not moral I sometimes think offering the top elite of these countries amnesty, cash, and protection in exile may be horrendous but may well be the best solution whatever their crimes .

Not sure about wars etc but I can't see the governments of the west allowing tapering of Qe and even if they do they'll try and find another way of trying to defuse the debt by cheapening money, just my own humble opinion. Deficits are not being eradicated and they need to borrow or print

I don't get why if people are rushing to Gbp then why are yields going up ? Rising yields indicate the markets expectation of inflation which is the exact opposite of an sort existing currency . If people are buying Gbp assets then yields should be falling as this reflects demand for Gbp paper . The only exception is that somebody is liquidating both foreign currency assets and long term paper on order to hold cash . Why ?

I have to confess that my flabber is well and truly gasted. Now, ignoring long term doom, inevitability , bankers etc etc but just looking at the market prices of recent days I just don't get it. Ok, I see that the general sentiment is that the Fed will taper qe soon. This can be corroborated by reductions in stock indices especially emerging markets and rising yields on bonds. However, i thought that it was generally thought that if rates go higher in the US then the UK will face one of three options , either (I) the boe raises rates to defend GBP, (ii) the boe raises rates but Not enough to defend GBP, (iii) the BOE happily let's GBP fall because they see that as a solution . Looking at recent climbs in GBP why are people assuming (I) instead of (ii) or (iii) . Carney has even signalled his intention to target employment instead of CPI so it's (iii) if you believe him or (ii) if you don't . I'm really really shocked that we've seen a relative climb in GBP recently . Can anyone think of reasons why ? I confess I'm searching my brain for a rational or irrational reason .

That's because it is. I write to the chap from my local authority who were taking part in the lloyds scam to assist ftb's to acquire finance using local authority money. I pointed out that the local authority was not only buying the mezzanine tranche of a sub prime loan but that they were doing so at an amazingly low rate ( remember they receive interest). He didn't even appear to understand the statement instead he responded with utter tripe about the fact that the la was receiving interest and that there was little or no risk . I can not believe how quickly history is repeating itself . Maybe Gidiot and Cammers are trying to engineer tge mother of booms and busts so they can really pick up the land at dirt cheap prices when the crash comes. For now I reckon it's at least five years away and by then £200k debt might be paid off by most wedding rings .

Three true stories all ( kind of) connected to this. When I first moved to London in 91 I dossed on a mates floor in crouch end /muswell hill. I'd read about the Nilsen killings and asked him if he knew where the flat was. The answer was straight across the road over the junction and you could see it from his window. Funny thing was I'd been for a walk the night before to smoke a couple of ciggies ( mate was a virulent anti smoker) and I'd pretty much spent ten minutes loitering at the foot of the garden to the flats . Wonder what the neighbours though I was doing ? A few months later I worked with a guy whose flat mate used to work with Nilsen . Apparently he used to bring in home made curries to share with colleagues ( not sure how much bs that was but the guy who told me wasn't prone to bs himself ) Finally a few years back I lived in Surrey and I knew of a murder in a particular road six months earlier . An EA called me up to describe the bargain house she was selling , I twigged from the huge discount that it was the murder house and I kept fishing for details as to why it was do cheap . Eventually I asked "is it the murder house" you could almost hear here brain churning as she hesitated for three or four seconds before saying 'yes'