The Atomic Bull

IEA: U.S. Set to Become World’s Biggest Oil Producer The United States is poised to become the biggest oil producer in the world within the next decade. The Paris-based International Energy Agency says the United States will surpass Saudi Arabia’s oil production by around 2020 with the aid of controversial extraction techniques such as "fracking" and horizontal drilling.

BBC How many new houses were built from 2001 to 2011?

Appreciate your support. from £269,999 update to follow 2014/15

no point, I have been a follower of HPC for some time and thought I would share. Maybe you're right. I know it's a gamble.

I graduated in 2001 and moved from Cheshire to Essex and then to Kent for work. I decided to rent because I thought the housing market was over-heating and I appreciated the flexibly of renting. Being able to relocate quickly was a key factor in getting my first job. For eight years I shared a flat / house or rented a room. Although I had a few bad experiences with landlords the low cost of rent allowed me to save a substantial amount of money for a deposit. In 2009 I married, we moved in together and rented for a year. The rental property was quite expensive compared to my house share (marital home and all that). My wife had also been saving hard. So in 2010, with house price slightly lower than peak, we found our ideal home which offered excellent value for money – a 3 bedroom period property with a large garden 50 minute commute to London. An old couple had lived there for 30 years and the property needed updating but it was mostly cosmetic (my level of DIY). We knocked them down to £249,995 to save paying stamp duty as first-time buyers. With a 40% deposit First Direct gave us a mortgage which tracks the base rate plus 1.69% - so 2.19% over 15 years. The premise of the decision was – money in bank earning no interest and wanting the freedom to make our home our own (without landlord hassle). We could cope with 15% interest rates and if interest rates remain low, worst case scenario re: house prices, the property will not deprecate quicker than we pay off the mortgage. Fortunately, as we speak, the property is worth a little more than we paid for it.

What should I do with £1,000 savings I have with Santander? Over the past five years I have bought gold coins and invested in a couple of funds.

I opened a student account with Barclays in 1998 and have been with them ever since. I currently have an additions plus account which, for a monthly fee, has benifits. When I opened the account, I remember being very impressed with Barclays. Everyone in the branch knew my name and if I had a problem the branch manager would either call me or meet with me. Wow! haven't times changed! I have a First Direct account for my mortgage - they are slightly better than Barclays. I also have a savings account with Santander who are dreadful. My wife has an account with national wide and they are even worse. Can anyone recommend a good bank for current accounts? Handelsbanken trupet themselves for customer service. Appreciate your comments.

Great video. Thanks for the link.

Labour blamed as home ownership falls to lowest level in nearly 20 years while rental sector booms Home ownership has plunged to its lowest level for nearly two decades, official figures revealed yesterday. The research highlights the nightmare of millions of Britons, particularly the young, who may never be able to afford to buy their own home. Just 67.9 per cent of English households own their home, the lowest percentage since 1991, according to the Government's English Housing Survey. Buyers are being crippled by the combination of soaring house prices, modest salaries and a mortgage drought which many fear is going to get worse. Experts warned yesterday that many people should accept that home ownership was a dream which will never become a reality. Tory housing spokesman Grant Shapps said: 'Home ownership is falling under Labour, with the lowest number of first-time buyers since 1974 and fewer homes being built than at any time since 1946. 'The Government's housing policy has been exposed as a failure.' Couple worrying about buying The new figures show the lowest number of first-time buyers since 1974. (Posed by model) As the level of ownership has plunged, the number of people forced to rent has soared. Since 2001, an extra one million households in England are privately renting, taking the number to three million, according to the authoritative survey. Nearly 60 per cent of those renting privately said they hoped to be able to buy in the future. But Liz Peace, chief executive of the British Property Federation, warned millions of Britons must accept that they may be 'permanent renters'. She said: 'It is sad to say that while we would all like a Porsche and a month in Rio each year, some of us have to make do with a Toyota and a week in Majorca. 'Similarly, for many, home ownership will remain an aspiration.' Yesterday's research comes after housing minister John Healey was criticised for saying he was 'not sure' that a fall in home ownership was 'such a bad thing'. Mr Healey added: ' Fundamentally, we need more affordable homes.' He said Labour would invest more than £7.5billion over the next two years to build more affordable homes to buy or rent, and to help first-time buyers onto the housing ladder. Read more: click here

buy RATM

.... a complete embarrassment to our country!

good post

gold will peak at $1400/oz and then crash massively.

my Conservative council is superb.... .... if Carlsberg did councils

this isn't a Tory Bill - the Bill is edited by the public. it just happens to be instigated by a Conservative MP.