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Off Balance Sheet fancy footwork to pump up Balance Sheets in all industries , not just banking has been one of the obsessions of bean counters for many many years . Trying to pin down unknown unknowns is always going to be a tricky business . Out of curiosity I will have a good look through the article when I am not so tired , and subsequently respond in more detail than the flippant comment I made above .

I expect 'shadow banking' resides in the same part of the universe as Dark Matter which is estimated to consist of 84.5% of the total matter in the universe . Nice chart , is that $3 000 billion at the top ....could it be tucked away in the derivatives on Deuchsche Banks Balance Sheet ?

It is an act of conspiratorial supreme arrogance by the politicians and the too big too fail elite to expect to rig the markets with their current smoke and mirrors forever . A financial convulsion / tsunami must at some point sweep through the old economies of Europe and North America .It is not a question of if but when ..I was no great fan of Thatcher , but I do remember her saying 'you cant buck the markets'. Energy prices are only heading in one direction . Food prices are only heading in one direction . Wages are not going up any time soon . I guess when the financial convulsion comes and the Wests capital finally disappears in a large puff of smoke , a fire of fiat currencies and an explosion of the derivatives on Deutsche Banks Balance Sheet ...equity markets will fall through the floor . Banks will bail in to a large chunk of our cash deposits , pension funds will fall through the floor and we will finally get the fabled house price crash we have been waiting for on this site for many years now ..middle England will be a little bit pi***d off no doubt . I guess the million dollar question is , what will trigger it and when ? I guess Max Keiser will be offered Osbornes job then and gold , silver , raw materials food etc will be somewhat in demand as the emporers new clothes of fiat are finally violently revealed . Or can they taper QE gently and dish out manageable pain over a long period of time and avoid the convulsion?

Thanks for your post above miggy "the tech being developed is incredibly powerful and will be used for more than just financial transactions" Out of curiosity , What other applications do you envisage the tech being developed will be used for other than financial ?

Good on the councillors for having the guts to say no in the face of intense pressure , We have enough hotels and apartments in Bournemouth . . We have just demolished one planning disaster ... the IMAX building . We do not want another monstrous carbuncle dominating the town centre .Its not about nimbyism its about not letting mammon destroy our beautiful town Bring back the crazy golf course

It is human nature , if you are sat on top of and in control of a large pile of cash , be it as CEO of a bank , hedge fund or whatever ...who are you going to give the largest share to ...the most deserving of course , you and your closest 'mates , that facilitate maintaining the status quo . I had a dream last night in which Nigel Farage was prime minister and Max Keiser the chancellor of the exchequer ...if only

Yes , definitely good to look to the long term future , but government energy policy is moving to close the coal fired power stations such as the perfectly functional didcot power station that was closed on 22 March 2013 .

The UK has coal reserves estimated at 3 196 million tonnes . In 2012 44.8 million tonnes was imported from abroad . In 2012 38.4% of our electricity requirement as a nation was met by coal . Does common sense not say it would be better for our balance of payments here in the uk to mine our own coal with our own hands from under our own land ...self reliance . Source UKcoal.com

'Poor me' is actually a career option in 2013 and the University of East Anglia is offering degree courses in 'financial optimization of victim hood' from next September .

Hmmm , Reminds me a little of the multi level marketing schemes of the 1980's such as NSA and Shaklee . The smart boys who kicked off the game and controlled the rules took all the cream and presented their chalice overflowing with avarice to those who dreamed of easy riches . In essence though a global secure digital currency outside the hands of the governments and the staus quo of the existing zombi banksters is just such a fantastic idea . The consumers controlling the means of transaction .....almost a nostalgic socialist throwback to an earlier golden age of idealistic dreams . Could be trouble ahead though if an innovative group of kids in any bedroom around the world turn the pyramid on its head and hack off the emperors new clothes ....where have all my Bitcoins gone ! I guess Bitcoin's time has come , it is seriously trending so get in early before everyone else does and you too could pocket those bursting digital wallets of encrypted cash .... I'm going to use my Britcoin order online some decent LSD ( good old fashioned pounds shiilings and pence ) and have it delivered to my door . .

Mecha is of things mechanical Orga is of things organic Since the entire market is not as yet run entirely by computers and there is a large degree of human (ie Organic ) input the market is still organic and operating entirely between emotional parameters of fear and greed ...human emotions . I agree with the above post intelligence is over rated as it can rationalize anything with a justification . I have know many well educated derelicts in my time .

The politics of envy 'workers against the toffs,...yawn .yawn ..a cliche that is still wheeled out all the time . With the benefit of hindsight i do would have loved an education in the classics during my schools days . Latin ought to be mandatory in all schools . If its Boris or Brown , I know which one I would trust with the keys to the treasury . My favorite film as a kid was 'If' ...it was just so English and of its time .....Kes ( a kestrel for a knave ) as well and of course Scum .

Thanks Deflation for your time in replying and the link . As you say , the scheme is effectively a seven year insurance policy / guarantee from the government to the lender. It is offered only on mortgages of 80% to 95% LTV , only on repayment mortgages , and to individuals who can prove affordability after robust credit scoring . The lender also takes a 5% share in any loss above 80% ....no doubt the banksters will find an effective way of engineering max risk to the taxpayer and minimum risk on their books.

So a hypothetical example of a remortgage under the scheme : Property worth £325 000 Existing Mortgage £147 000 Remortgage £150 000...Total Interest free 20% equity loan from government £65 000 Commercial lender mortgage £85 000 .. I guess I must be missing something here .

A tulip bubble indeed . My kids are 18 and 19 and started chatting to all their school friends on Bebo many years ago . They all abandoned Bebo virtually overnight on realising facebook was a much more comprehensive and user friendly site . Facebook could similarly be abandoned by its users en masse when the next level of social networking technological advance reveals istelf . Facebook users will also one day wake up to the fact that their useage of facebook is a valuable asset tosell to facebook and oblige facebook to pay a weekly rental of say £5 for that customer to remain loyal . . Another business model one day may be viable for example that may offer pay each customer say £2.50 per week to stay loyal to that site ...which facebook will have to respond to ....Having to pay 850 million users £5 per week to keep their marketing data base 'live' would be a completely different game! ..Too many uncertainties.

In 2007, 92% of the opiates on the world market originated in Afghanistan. In 2001 the taliban had reduced opium production in Afghanistan to virtually NIL ...as it was deemed to be unislamic Why cant legitimate medical companies buy up all of the Afghani opium production for legitimate medical use ? Which ever way it is dressed up heroin is a scourge on society and a personal and family tragedy for anyone who becomes involved with it . Many thousands of people are gainfully employed in drug and addiction services and associated medical provision.....without the addicts they may well be unemployed . If the police were not gainfully employed chasing the addicts and the supply chain ...we would need a smaller police force ....and more people would be unemployed . There are no simple answers . A UN report said the global drug trade generated an estimated US$321.6 billion in 2003.

I have just had a quick look at the 2011 accounts ...which read like war and peace their uk corporation tax for the year to 31 March 2011 is £141 million pounds ..their worldwide tax bill is £1 811 million pounds ....so it is not quite as simple as the banner headlines would have one initially believe . As regards the equity and dividend structure some one is welcome to unpick what they can from the accounts which are fully available online ..but this info may not be transparent from the acs ...In essence though the Vodafone Ltd shareholders would not wish the Company to be squirrelling profits abroad that would not ultimately be re patriated in some way to them . If you google Vodafone 2011 annual report and accounts they are there for all the world to view .

It is a contribution to the genuine wealth of vodafone since the tax planners have enabled the overall group to retain more cash , to reinvest in the company , pay out as dividends, reward senior executives with telephone number salaries or even give the staff a pay rise etc etc

10 out of ten to vodafone for having the intelligence to legitimately organise their corporate affairs in such an efficient way ...this is the reality of dynamic capitalism ..Always 2 steps ahead of the beaurocracy and able to pay for the finest minds to legitimately tax avoid . The Company is out there to make money not as a social welfare provider to fund the governments coffers .

I wonder who has purchased it : Colonel Gadaffi .....as a bolthole Adam Werrity ....from his bakhshesh Wayne Rooney ..as a feel good after the 3 match ban Or one of the Russian oligarths as a kennel for their dogs ...Any other idea's ?

...I'll ping you ...Quality solicitors .(...all the others must be c**p then ) ...Let's do a SWOT analysis on that .........At the end of the day the answer is

...For sure , the definition is insanity.

Colonel Gadaffi studied in Bournemouth in his formative years .We have the IMAX building a most stylish edifice. Over the last 10 years many of the older family houses have been demolished to make way for endless blocks of 'luxury ' flats .on every available blade of grass.hmm . If the council could , they would concrete over the sea to build more . They recently paid over 3 million pounds to a new zew Zealand company to fill a few sandbags and make a serffff reeffffffff. I hear the council are now taking advice from Colonel Gadaffis interior designer with a view to trying to entice him back and for him to buy a pad at Sandbanks with some of his gold .Bournemouth is a cultural wilderness with plenty of surrounding natural beauty , and occasion flash floods . Southbourne is Sandbanks without the bling . Personally I love the place having lived here all my life , so I guess I am biased ..Ahhhh Sunny sunny Bornemouth.

Legalising drugs would be like passing a law to leave loaded revolvers in glass cases on street corners with a sign saying ' in the event of violent attack break glass and use weapon'

I dont know if anyone has posted the message below that was circulated around the house of commons today ........ (couresty of the Guido blog ) To all Members I refer to the publication today of articles in The Daily Telegraph about Members’ expenses apparently based on information held in confidence by the House service. The advice which I have received is that there are reasonable grounds to believe a criminal offence may have been committed in relation to the way this information has been handled. Having informed Mr Speaker I have today made a report to the Metropolitan Police, asking them to consider the matter. Recognising individual Members’ concerns, an inquiry line (020 7219 XXXX) has been set up which will be open during working hours and between 10 am and 2 pm on Saturday 9th and Sunday 10th May. A senior member of staff will be on hand to assist Members. If it would be more convenient, you can e-mail xxxxxxx@parliament.uk supplying contact details and a member of staff will get back to you as soon as possible. Please note if you or your delegate call the inquiry line you will be required to provide proof of identity through the MP Verify identification system used by the Department of Resources. Malcolm Jack Clerk of the House and Chief Executive .....not a happy herd of snouts today