DoubleBubbleTrouble

Apparently we are maintaining lending at 2007 levels according Peston... wasn't this what bankrupted the banks in the first place?

This is a pretty unusual situation... we always assumed Mr Brown wouldn't be able to twist the banks arms to lend again... now he's in charge... What happens next? You decide!

Recently I've felt a bit like someone watching a volcano going off thinking "Wow look at that, I knew it was gonna blow!" but suddenly realising I'm about to be fried alive by a pyroclastic flow!

I'm going to stick with Vince... things must be pretty damn bad for him to be calling for a rate cut. And they are, look out the window; 1. Banks going bust on a daily basis 2. Countries in danger of going bust (Iceland!) We are in a situation that really threatens to spiral out of control. A full scale run on the system. Perhaps a base rate cut might help settle things perhaps not. They didn't do much good for the US or Japan. They certainly ain't going to kick the credit party off again and they will eat into our savings. But what use are savings if you are having to spend them all surviving when you are unemployed. That's the present danger right now. I think Vince is just calling it as he see's it.

Sir, I salute your courage, your strength, your indefatigability for having the hard neck to post on this forum!

Was that the new fangled AAA (i.e. the one that means nothing) or the old fashioned AAA (i.e. the one that means something)? So a big sorry to all the guys/gals with the boxes and a large dose of non-sympathy for the investment bankers. That's my final offer.

No you missed my point, one which I've laboured to mention several times, I know the difference between an investment banker and a secretary. I know some derivative traders, I know an analyst, hell I even know someone who works for the FSA. It was you who took that to mean all city workers... not me. Thus my point being I find it hard to get any sympathy up for any investment bankers and if you care to point out any struggling ones who happen to have been working on 20K a year and don't have 10/100's of thousands of pounds of bonus money sitting in the bank then perhaps you might change my mind. I await with my breath held. Whereas everyone who isn't where you are didn't work hard, and it's their own fault. That is the implicit assumption you perpetrated and it's wrong. I look around me and I see people working hard, working long hours, to make ends meet. Couples we know who didn't take the hard decisions we took to not participate in the madness now trying desperately to service mortgages they couldn't afford. Mothers working evenings, husbands working weekends. Kids missing out on family life. That's were the world of easily available credit has taken us and yes it makes me angry. Actually I deliberately interpreted your point to highlight how ridiculous it is you think that 20 or 30K is a bad salary... which would rather make my point you are out of touch.

Perhaps you could do community service to make amends. I sentence you to build me a house. And when you are done feel free to lecture me all you want about how it's my own fault.

Let's be absolutely clear here, I elucidated on my personal position merely to highlight why I'm having trouble getting much sympathy up for investment bankers who have lost their jobs as a result of trading their company into bankruptcy. I neither ask for sympathy nor care for it. There are hundreds of thousands of people in worse situations than me, save it for them. As for "taking personal responsibility" remind where exactly I didn't take it. I take it every night and every day and it's always there. Funnily enough the only time I hear this phrase being trotted out is when people who are well off are busy telling people who aren't to stop complaining... would that be about right. You give away your privileged position with the figures you mention and how out of touch they are... care to take a guess at how many work for >30K and took >4 fig bonuses last year... So don't you dare lecture us on how we should feel in the face of this tragedy that has ground good people down. And welcome to the dangerous split, I'm angry and you know who has made me angry. Are you surprised.

Tell you what to repent at my schadenfreuded selfish self-obsessed and whiny rant I'll punt you half of my Lehman shares towards buying your place.

Ever been divorced?

It's going to be a while before they fall enough I can stop whining... Perhaps you could put your life on hold and buy me a house, go on, you know you want to.

I did, then I had to give up waiting as it was that or no family at all. Ok I draw the line at being called a bigot. Let's just say I can see there will be some personal tragedy in there, but there is a lot more out here happening with the rest of us too. I'm sure there were lots of nice people who worked there who didn't deserve it, I'm just having trouble summoning up much sympathy, but then I don't know anyone who worked there.

Can I say on behalf of the nation how sorry we are to hear how expensive pints are in your area and that your friends might have to scrimp and save like the rest of us. Perhaps the government could tax us all a bit more and start a reduced pint price benevolent fund for unemployed investment bankers so as not to upset your social life too much.

Who said I was happy, I'm sitting here wondering if this landlord will try to flog the house we're in before our next baby comes. I'm angry not happy. Of course they did they worked for one of the companies that helped make it. You can't shirk what Lehman and Bear and the rest have done.