betterToDo

Houses are illiquid, mostly unique assets. Their price never actually goes up or down unless the same house is bought and sold repeatedly. Everything else is conjecture and assumption, particularly in a slow market with reduced capacity for price discovery. Generalisations in such an environment are often misleading. Asking prices, the offer side, goes all over the shop, naturally mostly on the high side. Bid prices we rarely get to see except at auctions, which is a shame, what story would they tell? With such future uncertainty, there has clearly been a standoff for some time, and I imagine the spread is fairly wide.

So its more than 20x now?

I am not. If I were, I would give up any share to my unwell sister. Yes, I'm practically Jesus.

Pillage.

Isn't this all blowing over now that they didn't find much oil?

I've nothing against such benefits, kids are vulnerable. I am against those benefits being in cash though. Targetted vouchers for particular essentials related to the child's well being would help address the no doubt widespread misuse.

Weakened massively because of the precedent set. Long term only two routes out, disintegration, or a power grab.

This is going to go on for the whole of this parliament. The dumb press are incredulous at the whole idea. They can't seem to just accept that no, these people and these parties dont agree on everything. Period. So yes, you're going to find endless stories like this. "What their Andy said to our Susan" etc etc. The only thing that matters is can the end result be coherent and good policy, or something even vaguely close. Its not like Labour have been pulling a blinder for 13 years is it. Point was made extremely well by Chris Addison on HIGNFY The idea you can abstract these individual human beings and all their complicated array of views and delusions as either Yellow or Blue lies at the core of so many problems. For more on the stupidity of categorising and abstracting entire groups of people for mental convenience, see various writings of Dawkins.

I applied once and got in. I wouldn't say I fitted "the profile". Theres a period while the audience gathers at the venue, and everyones submitting their questions and all seems open and fair, but you're right its after that that it breaks down. I spoke to a number of people there and found out what their questions were, a lot of them really interesting (during period of expenses/bank bailouts). In the actual programme, it was just as usual, the most inane pseudo-headline five-year-old questions get chosen. Whole exercise kind of pointless wouldn't bother again.

Patrick Hosking once accurately and illustratively wrote... You're the fur.

You're 40 and haven't got any roots? I think thats very sad, I'm sorry to hear it, but if you think buying a house is somehow going to give you that you're wrong. You can't buy those roots.

A wee bit predictable to post that today of all days, don't you feel a bit.. weak and short sighted? Its like those posts that pronounce sterling is doomed the day AFTER a fall. I think you're mistaken to be so gloomy about the lib/tory thing. Wait until the first budget/queens speech at least. If you expect absolutely nothing to change over the next 12 months that would be a mistake. Perhaps you have forgotten life without Brown? Personally, I'll be opening a bottle to celebrate his departure. Seeing the FTSE today is sickening, but I am comforted knowing the same can lies in the gutter a bit further down the road. The propping up that has occurred is evidence in itself of the deflationary forces, has cost billions borrowed from the future. What effect do you think it is having on the future? You can't see it right now. The FTSE sure as heck isn't showing it. The house price crash has been occurring, but no it doesn't turn up when Halifax report their monthly figures. Are you genuinely surprised? Did you really expect 10p houses affordable for all? That could never happen and yeh you'll wait forever. Sure its no good if you're sat with a fund all in sterling - and if you are you're a fool, why on earth would you go so long on one currency? Thats as daft as lumping it all on property, or all on gold. If you have no wealth to protect and are about to load up on a big fat mortgage then really, have you learned absolutely nothing during your time here? I know I have. Not for me right now, ta all the same. If your decision is because life dictates it be so, then don't question that for a minute, and I hope you get a good deal and good luck. I don't tie myself in knots every time I need to buy something, even if it might fall in price later, but I know my mind at last and no longer come here seeking reassurance. I dont need to buy a house, in fact, it would be a pain. I might move area before long. I've got much better things to do. Every last person on HPC can declare the game up if they wish, makes no difference really does it. Life is passing. Enjoy it. Where you sleep and eat, provided its adequate, isn't everything. In fact, its close to meaningless. Its the people you're doing it with that matter. Go to the beach, or go for a walk in town, or much better in the countryside, and realise you don't own a single freaking square inch of it.

So your city trader expert guru oracle mate has been watching the news then.

A rather interesting related story: Moodys, Berkshire, and the SEC

EU Prepares Euro Fund to Fight ‘Wolfpack,’ Halt Debt Crisis Stacy Herbert at maxkeiser.com asks the very pertinent question as to who they're borrowing from. I'm quite happy to lend some if I get those sorts of guarantees. Where do I sign up? ... oh

Thats ok I can take it Yes I sound pessimistic. I AM pessimistic about it. Give me one spark, one reason to be optimistic, and like I say, I'll be there. You ignored all the reasons I pointed out why I dont think things will change using the kinds of approaches discussed. I think they're valid reasons, I don't like them, but I think they're real. Having said all the above, I read a good argument the other day. The real evil does not lie in the nature of these monetary mechanisms. It could be a mistake to focus on trying to reform that system itself. It is the fact we're forced to use it rather than anything else. Removing legal tender laws and capital gains tax would allow the free market to decide what was the best form of money. Even if we were forced to pay our taxes using it, we could still freely exchange wealth into other things. I bet we wouldn't pick these currencies, and it would wither and die on its own.

You have my full support, go for it, and you're criticising someone who does at least bitch about it on forums, and has indeed written to his MP. Thats 100% more than just about anyone else I know.

I've never consciously been aware the government was saying that. The government can spend very nicely short term and boost GDP no problem. What effect did the cash for clunkers schemes have? Short term is all thats needed.

I somehow knew you were going to mention my MP. Try it. I have (ok not about an identical idea, but monetary reform nonetheless). The problem with this topic is you'll never generate enough popular support. You might get somewhere if one of the major parties had that or anything even remotely resembling it in their manifesto.... nope. What politician is going to have the balls to risk it? They'd rather just fiddle round the edges. Joe Average either does not get it, or does not give enough of a f*** compared to other seemingly more pressing matters. What you do about that I do not know. I do know writing on forums like this isn't going to do it. Writing a letter to the Times isn't going to do it. Setting up a website about it isn't going to do it. It really has to be top down rather than bottom up. The people at the top aren't nearly as bothered as you are. The BoE has the public image of a sensible old grandfather with some gold sovereigns in his pocket. Thats got to go for starters. Perhaps get some pictures of Mystic Merv with his trousers round his ankles humping a wax figure of Princess Di. That might be a start, and would at least get the Express on your side.

So you're saying the OP is not correct.

Doesn't expenditure make GDP rise?

I'd wait to hear what happens about the bailout fund first. To my mind, the creation of an "EMF" or another super bailout, with markets rising on the news, would be blacker than a failure and another day of falls.

Probably not, obvious problems (which perhaps can be mitigated somewhat with transparency and a well thought out structure). But can it be any worse?

They're just talking. I like what they're saying. Theres all sorts of people that say the right things. What do you propose to do? Show me the route, show me the mechanism, show me where I can help and I'm there.

On that topic, can't the Euro or any fiat currency be classed as a product? I'm trying to think of a distinction between euros and smarties. Other than the fact you can eat smarties I'm not sure I can.