Concrete Jungle

Easy back in the good old days of New Labour when we had a prudent chancellor, honest prime minister, excellent regulation and world class banks, if the car finance people wouldn't entertain giving you say £22k for a car you simply borrowed £7k unsecured from one bank and £7k unsecured from a different bank. I assume the salesmen at the bank got their commission / bonus, the figures for that quarter or financial year looked good and you packaged up the loan and sold it on to an insurance company or pension fund, mind you it would be AAA rated, well done chaps record breaking profits and bonuses all round! Then you could put the rest on one or more credit cards and add say 8k a year on to your real salary when you apply for them. I mean who wants to associate with a tight **** who drives an 8 year old paid for corsa and who whizzes around on a 14 year old paid for Honda motorbike, this loser clears his credit card every month and instead of buying 'designer clothes' has this strange thing from the olden days called savings? WTF he should have spent it on liquor, drugs, holidays and a fook off plasma TV, at least then if he lost his job he would get the full whack of dole money from the government innit. When you can borrow, beg, steal or scrape £12k together and treat yourself to a second hand Audi TT, Mini Cooper, BMW etc that in repayments alone takes something like 30 - 40% of your take home pay every month for 4/5 years and goes down in value. The best thing is a lot of the baby boomers planning on retiring over the next decade have planned on selling their pwoperdee to my friends with dodgy degrees, loads of debt and call centre jobs. Computer says no?

From the BoE themselves. complete with a lovely chart showing how in Feb 2008 the fund was 70.8% index linked securities, by Feb 2009 that increased to 88.2%, any guesses as to the figure to Feb 2010? Insider trading anyone? http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/about/humanresources/pensionupdate.pdf and http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/about/humanresources/pensionreport.pdf BoE salary scales and other stuff can be found on. http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/publications/foi/information_class8.htm Because they're worth it. *Edit* The 2009 update is dated 1st July, so we might not have that long to wait before the 2010 update is released.

I know a few in that boat +£20k student debt, £4-10k on credit cards, £2.25-4.5k overdraft, £10-22k loan for car etc with jobs currently paying £15k - £18k. Add on rent, bills and food and they have sweet FA left every month and pretty much sweet FA to show for it all. I never really got my head around buying a car on finance / loan (once I had grown up a bit). You buy something that is very expensive probably second behind buying a home for the majority of people. It then takes money off you in the form of expensive fuel, servicing, repairs, maintenance, tax and insurance. Then on top of all that you are charged interest for the privilege, but then again I suppose you could say that about houses.

Put in an order for some Pan Am rounds from Sarnia, £16.25 per oz delivered! The last Pan Am rounds I bought a couple of years ago cost about £12 each.

It has happened to several acquaintances in my age group.

BUMP!

Pound down to 1.46 against the dollar!

Gold up to $1196.20! Wherefore art thou Realist Bear?

Because politicians might not get lucrative positions with banks when they leave parliament? Either that or they are thicker than pig sheet.

Did he say the Tories / Lib dems raising interest rates risked inflation? We have kept interest rates low, shared ownership, liar loans HPI at all costs.

Taking 6 billion out of the economy, lock in the reecovereh, right thing to do. Vote Labour!

Sounds like a great reason to vote New Labour at the election.

I take it the insidious Mr Bovine still has the £5 million Alpine chalet and the manor in the Home counties?

He has appeared on the Credit Crunch forums.

I was reading about freemen on the land a while ago. http://www.tpuc.org/content/it-seems-dvla-dont-no-contract-return-send http://www.tpuc.org/content/reply-company-known-weymouth-portland-boro http://www.tpuc.org/content/day-cwmbran-magistrates-court-council-tax http://www.tpuc.org/node/285 http://www.tpuc.org/content/freeman-standing-court-gloucester-court-29 I did read on another forum a post from a magistrate who dismissed the freeman on the land argument as rubbish.

Buy silver!

In other news the Emperor’s treasurer queries invoices for thread and material from weavers.

Da deficit an debt 4 dummies http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/8638714.stm

I was wondering if Ireland may be a decent bet in a couple of years time. Let them make the cuts and take the pain now, while waiting it out in ponzi land across the water. Ireland could be having the beginnings of a meaningful recovery, while the cuts that should have happened in England finally start to be imposed by either the government (stop that sniggering at the back) or the IMF / Mr market?

Good question, I don't know why we don't simply ignore daft diktats from the EU. Amongst other things it gives our own politicians a hugely convenient shield to hide behind when the flack starts flying. As recently seen by the hiding behind the EU decision to close all airspace.

How the hell is the Tories NI plan "taking money out of the economy"

About time the UK was downgraded.

No the last one would let himself in if he thought no one was in during the day and no cars parked outside and have a nosy round. I caught him several times when I had the day off and my car was parked around the corner, or I nipped home from work at lunch time. He also took two and a half weeks to get someone in to fix a broken window in the lounge in January! :angry:

Are there many under 18's with loans, credit cards and overdrafts?