Timm

Well, this is a wide ranging thread! I guess the common theme is perhaps a somewhat Nihilistic view: "No Future" Please, no Pistols videos.

I think this has been in the pipeline for a while, but has scrambled up the table of visibility because of sudden forced realisations of the need for more redundancy in our systems, coupled with Burnham's instinct to do something small, quick and visible first. It does help with the desired narrative too, which is nice.

Iv'e thought about it a bit now and this does indeed seem the sensible prediction. Nobody like chaos or a messy unwind, plus the risk that now failing to hike after comforting words from Bailey Et al. might cause more of a mess than if nothing had been said. My gut feel is that prices are going up because of outside pressures, rather than because of an elevated credit supply, but that preserving faith in the system might be more important than prices or demand at the moment. On balance, I'm going to go for a small hike to keep the egg off Bailey's face, rather than to keep a lid on prices.

Thank you for your considered response. So, hype, inappropriate use / users and complacency may have played a part? It's not the first time you have mentioned this view, and the narrative does seem to fit. I have no idea whether this event vindicates your view or whether it's simply an anomaly - concurrence or mere chance? It seems most likely to me that it was bad actors making their own luck somehow. In any event, it seems unlikely that future good-faith delays can be relied upon. As you can see, I don't have a full grasp of the picture and am therefore looking for the anomalies that can (and sometimes should) be grabbed upon. Which brings me back to one of my own hobby-horses - the need for redundancy in complex systems.

I'm not sure this time!

Money is what money does. Or perhaps more accurately, money is what money is accepted to be.

I don't know much (anything really) about this, but I am quite surprised to see a quarter of the world rushing to panic-instal updates. I'm sure its not the biggest ever hustle, but it kinda looks like one. "You gotta do it now man, you are super exposed!!!". Happy to have my mind put at rest...

Well, that's all good to know. More homes, more choice, more happy tenants!

Treaty of Versailles 1919?

Yup, usual numberwang. Also appears to be unchanged since the reported figure for last month: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/uk-house-price-index-for-july-2026/uk-house-price-index-summary-july-2026 My comment holds: The long slow grind down in real prices continues.

Usual numberwang comments apply, but another index indicating negative real growth. The long slow grind down in real prices continues. https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/uk-house-price-index-for-august-2026/uk-house-price-index-summary-august-2026 In other news, apparently the NE has run out of steam and gone MoM negative...

For too long (at least since '97), the market has been tilted in favour of Landlords. I suspect that it has now swung too far the other way. Such is the nature of corrections.

Very good!

I was in the process of replying earlier, and then I thought actually, that is what NATO was doing. The difference being that NATO expansion has not been by force.

Good point. I was indeed focussing on those who have no choice. Which is doubly ironic, seeing as I am considering STRing again and might then become one of the people I failed to include in my consideration. Well, I suppose using them all may be a winning strategy in that case.