Ah-so

I was quite surprised when I read the article, interpreting it the same way. It appears to contrast with all the other FOMC hints. Jeff Guynn said on 25/5 that the Fed must raise rates further now to ensure that the Fed does not have to take "a more painful path of steep hikes" later. A number of members have also raised concerns about the housing market. With 1st quarter growth at 3.5%, the market is expecting rates to 4% by the end of the year.

Not that surprising for W8. Here's the cheapest 1-bed flat

It is a fact that Croydon has more filthy takeaway chicken burger shops than anywhere in the world. In a recent survey, 243 discarded thigh bones were found lying on the pavement in between West Croydon station and the nearest Cash Converter pawn shop. This led to the deveopment of the "chicken burger index", that states that the price of property in any UK location is in direct inverse correlation to the number of chicken burger takeaways in said location.

I was going to buy somewhere for the full asking price, but I'm still reeling from the royal wedding, the new pope, the French "non", Greece winning Eurovision and Brown's madcap FTB scheme.

Switched on briefly and saw a dim frumpy looking couple at a kitchen table. I sunk even lower and switched to Big Brother on E4. Did I miss anything?

Glad that DDT has been mentioned. The banning of DDT by green activitists has been responsible for taking more lives than even Mao's famines: http://www.citizenreviewonline.org/march2005/21/killing.htm

As explained by Malthus over 200 years ago. The world population had reached about 100m so he worked out that we were due to be wiped out due to lack of resources. After all, how could the earth possibly support 100m people?

1) I agree you have a point here. It is a good thing that developers build more to meet demand. This will have the longer term benefit of bringing prices back down. 2) I am not sure whether higher density or a protected greenbelt have to do with it. Or more council tax payers. 3) Is this a benefit? What could the postman afford in 2004? 4) What has this to do with anything?

Please can you explain to me the mechanics of this? I have a basic understanding of economics but have not come across this before and nor is it obvious to me how this is the case. At first sight, it appears over-simplistic.

Really? Sample of sales in DN1 Elmfield Rd, DN1: 2003: 9 2004: 6 2005: 1 Somerset Rd: 2003: 9 2004: 10 2005: 1 Jubilee Rd 2003: 5 2004: 10 2005: 0 Kings Rd 2003: 11 2004: 2 2005: 1 Sounds like 2005 is shaping up to be a boom year in Doncater!

If people are prepared to buy up dumps and do them up to a good standard and lose money in the process, that's fine by me!

My first ever haiku, in the classic style: Buy-to-let, now a property millionaire Baliffs don't agree

I think an offer of 200k would count as cheeky. 225k sounds positively generous in the current environment. Enjoy Spain and send us postcard.

The list of friends and aquaintencies who are unable to sell their properties is growing. The are all trying to sell for valid reasons (change of job, bigger place etc), but have had hardly any viewings and quite clearly a few grand off the price will not make any diffference. The problem is that prospective buyers are not walking into the EA's. The FTB's are already on strike or are so priced out that they do not even think about buying. Activity at the bottom of the market has virtually ceased and we are in a condition of market failure. Falling prices are the only thing that will resolve this.

Japan. And it's been 15 years now.

I posted this before, but still for sale: http://www.rightmove.co.uk/viewdetails-488...pa_n=1&tr_t=buy Or try this: http://www.rightmove.co.uk/viewdetails-384...pa_n=1&tr_t=buy And this is definitely worth the asking price: http://www.rightmove.co.uk/viewdetails-725...pa_n=6&tr_t=buy

So did I. To quote the RICS chief economist: "The modest rise in rents in neither her not there compared to where interest rates are," said Khatri. "It won't encourage investors having to come up with to come up with increasingly large deposits to cover mortgage payments." (Blomberg article on same story)

Lost in renting? Lost in troll-land more like!

Claim your prize here: http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0...4076064-8640654

Are Q and 007 helping?

Probably not, but how many people want to sit through lectures on free trade? They would rather spend the fruits of it.

I somehow feel that there is a sad, defeatest attitude among the "we're screwed" school here. The assumptions always seem to be that there is a limited supply of wealth in the world that will be sucked up by the Chinese and Indian population. This arguement would suggest that the only reason that we have maintained our position near the top of the world's rich list, in relative and absolute terms, is due to the Indian and Chinese 50-year experiment with socialism and a closed border policy. While these policies kept the countries poor, they never made us rich. Despite the rest of the world getting richer and richer since WW2 (or further back), we too have got richer and stayed near the top. More money, better cars, houses, food, holidays etc. We have been de-industrialising since the 20's and yet we still have the world's 4th largest economy. By producing more, they are adding to the world's wealth and advancement. The Japanese did this years ago by making cars that were fuel and mechanically efficient. The fact that we do not have a car industry any more is not their fault, but ours. Now only VW is surviving by presenting their cars as "classier". In the 1980s there was a huge amount off anti-Japanese resentment in the USA and paranoia that they would buy up the whole country. They didn't and now Japan is seen as harmless. China is likely to surpass us in terms of overall GDP, but as it gets richer, it will become less competitive and encounter a host of new problems. The Chinese already have their own asset and debt bubbles growing and that should cause a few problems. Britain will find its own way, but that will not be by competing against Chinese wages.

And with the eastern Europeans comes pork sausages and ham - something I am very grateful for, as the central European delicatessens are replacing Somalian tat shops in my part of London.

They wouldn't touch 'em with a pair of cooking chopskicks.

Shocking! What about the other 20%? All buying up BTL properties, no doubt. And your point?