ScrewsNutsandBolts

Sometimes... but not in my case as 2 out of 5 on the second top level went (in a company employing 40k globally), and I know one of them and they did not get great redundancy terms. As far as the public sector goes... sorry they have been dumped on but it happens to all of us. A struggling private sector can not afford this.

Yes... sadly a sign of the times. I survived a cull at my previous employer (private sector engineering) in 2003, and those that went got 2.5 weeks (salary) for every year of service capped at 25 years. That works out at 62.5 weeks (salary) redundancy. They also didn't force people to work their notice, so everyone was officially "told" they were redundant on their last days, so they all got 3 months extra pay as well. It was a good package and would have netted me X after 8 years working for them. I did not survive last years swing of the axe, and my 14 years service got me around 1/2 of X. Almost double the service and half the redundancy package (and double the salary). A pain in the **** for sure, but that's life isn't it. Times change and people and companies have to adapt. Reminds me why I hate unions and public sector lifers with such a strong sense of entitlement... edits in brackets... didn't read clearly

As an owner you stand a far better chance than me at being right... so you're probably right ! I looked long and hard at NSXs when I came back from working abroad in 2003, and unless you coughed up good money at the start I was sure it would end in tears. With 11K in my pocket an NSX still wouldn't be on the list, but if I could stretch further then perhaps yes, especially the facelift one which makes it look a little less 90s. And rare as hens teeth is an understatement, I remember when they discontinued it in the UK they had sold only 8 the previous year. Interestingly, at the time the Civic Type R was faster round my old companies test track the NSX, but it was a pretty tight and twisty affair. That is the other problem with cars like the NSX, they are not really suited to the UK roads. Still the Boxster is a real winner for someone who can buy right and sell right, and I still think there are chance to run them virtually free for a year or two. Also, if you buy well within your means then you worry less and enjoy more.

No... buy the Boxster NSX is awesome (I have had the pleasure of driving one when I worked in Japan), but it is a terrible ownership proposition. Huge insurance, nightmare to repair and service, and I imagine very difficult to shift when you want to sell. Buy an old Boxster in the middle of the winter, and sell on a sunny day at any point in the next three years and get nearly all your money back.

Plenty of venom and hatred on the Sun website too... although not quite as witty as the one above

I had checked OANDA and noticed that they wouldn't accept payments by third parties, so the key seems to be opening a euro savings account (as you suggest, thanks). Will go in and ask at HSBC and Barclays today (if they're open). Should clear me an extra £100 or so a month my my reckoning...

If you contract abroad and get paid in Euros, does anyone have advice on getting the best rate for bringing the funds back to the UK in GBP (I need to receive in GBP). I need someone who will allow third party payments in Euros into an account, that then get automatically transferred into my nomintated UK account in GBP. At the moment I am being paid directly into an HSBC account and the rates feel like a rip-off. Any help greatly appreciated !

I was made redundant in the Spring and am now self employed and providing engineering consultancy services in Germany. Had a pretty good salary before, but am now able to earn the same working only 10 days a month. Engineering in the UK is pretty much a lost cause in my eyes, sad really given our enginering heritage...

I agree that a lot of engineers probably start university with pretty poor social skills, and studying on such a male dominated course doesn't really help with socialising with the opposite sex. Having said that I think most engineers are pretty normal by the time they have worked in the real world for a few years, and I think their skills are very transferable into project management roles. The biggest problem in the UK is the poor image that engineering has, and the relatively poor salaries that engineers command (I say this in respect to other professionals, such as medicine, law, accounting, etc. I think the blame here lies with people like the Engineering Council and IMechE who are tuly hopeless when it comes to PR, and the frequent misuse of the term engineer in the UK. Look at Germany as an example where engineers are well thought of and well paid, and where the country benefits hugely from the its successful engineering industry...

I think these days managers understand the benefits that come from good working conditions, and if you pay rubbish and offer sh!tty terms you will not get and hold the best staff. Companies are up against it right now, and they have to take some kind of action to survive. Whether bad management has compounded problems doesn't really matter. I think people need to be realistic. I lost my job in the Spring, but I understand why the company had redundancies, I understand why I was on the list, and I am glad that my ex-coworkers have increased security as a result.

Interesting story run on ITV as well... the reported dealer Lois in Brum is pretty fair in my experience, but there was a quoted example of rip-off mail order companies. I watched it around a month ago so can't remember the exact numbers, but it was someting like £8.00 paid for £35.00 worth of scrap... http://www.itv.com/central-east/goldbuyers72623/

Currently contracting in Germany and earning in Euros, so I take a lot of interest in the GBP/Euro rates. I would be surprised if the GBP truly tanked, as like others say it is no worse than any other currency. How much are you imagining it will drop, and how would you plan to short?

I think quite a few of us bailed, and I exited at around todays prices but on the way up. What is the consensus about buying in ? I am looking for around £600gbp/oz. Three weeks ago I was expecting this to happen within a month. I was wrong. My guess now is a low in the next month, with an upward push in mid-Jan. All based on my feelings about sentiment. Anyone now of any actual supcoming events that may provoke a move ?

Not sure what you mean... a succesful trader is surely anyone who outperforms the market, and the truth is most people with normal jobs can consider investments successful if they outperform their personal bank savings accounts. Of course gold has not been as great a returner as other investments, but in this year alone I have cleared more than 40 percent return on gold investments which I am more than happy with. On the other hand I sold out of Barclays at just over a quid which I should have held, and Enterprise inns was another similar lost opportunity. But money I have played around with has done far better than it would have in the bank, and that is really all that matters. Not sure the same would have happened at the Casino... I think we all have to remember that pretty much everything that everyone says on here is opinion and ot fact. Gold may hit $15000 in the near future. It may not. Sorry but we are all just guessing to the best of our ability

Even if this is the case (and two points, 1934 and 1980, are hardly enough to predict a trend with certainty) it is surely difficult to predict the timescale involved. We could crash back to $200/oz before rising back to the balance point with fiat money. Who really knows? The question here is whether now, right now, is a good time to get out of gold. In these cases it definitely depends on the investors reason for moving into PMs. If it is an investment, then I would say selling now could be smart. I did at around the price it is now, but on the way up a month or so ago. I missed the top by around 4 percent. I will buy back in if it drops to around £600/oz. If this never happens, then I will invest elsewhere. I try to make my money work for me through investing in the best places for short to medium gains. However, if the buyer is moving into PMs for wealth preservation reasons, then they should catagorically hold. That is the point of wealth preservation, where you must not exit in case a step change occurs whilst you are out. An investor could see this as a missed opportunity, whereas a weath preserver will not have preserved their wealth. As I think the global economy will somehow muddle though this mess, and that gold is basically a useless material, my advice to myself was to act on gold as an investment and exit.

I think debates such as this have to split into two camps, those with families and those without. I am contracting and can take home around 60K pa by working 30 weeks a year. As part of a married couple without kids this is great. Loads of free time with my partner and plenty of disposable income (that is almost entirely saved). The big downside is my work is in mainland Europe, but my partner is currently not working so she joins me on trips around half of the time. Off to the Christmas markets in Germany for the next two weekends... But... IF we had kids (and we want to), then my perspective on this would change entirely. I would be miserable as hell, three weeks away from home leaving a wife and child alone. On top of that there may be financial pressure to work more, and spend more time away. In neither case would money make me happy, but in both the absence of money would be very likely to make me sad. If we reject materialism, and think of what creates happiness, such as feeling safe, eating healthily and maintaing ones health, perhaps holidaying once or twice a year to get away, then I would say £100k should be more than enough to make any family happy (including those in London).

Roughly my thoughts... albeit in more detail ! However I do feel that the US is still fundamentally shafted, and that this is a bounce type scenario rather than the start of a consistent recover. As is usual it won't take long to work this out, and gold will trough in the mid 600s (GBP) before another upwards move. Personally even if it reaches mid 600s I won't be going back in. I am waiting for sub 600 with the acceptance that this may never occur !!

Very shaky start this morning, down around 1.5% in gbp already. I think (hope ) this is the start of a correction, but I am not convinced it will be an almighty crash as some predict. My guess would be 635-655gbp hit sometime this week. Edited for spelling... not number changing

The idea of holding enough land to self-sustain is appealing for all sorts of reasons (I would say my brother is pretty close to this), but if things get really tough then your neighbours will just steal anything you produce or the state will grab it. If that is your chosen route then it might be wise to do it in a less densely populated country than here...

Is there a way to avoid being part of that "majority", or are the cards already dealt ?

I think most people reading this understand the difference between absolute values and percentages, but however you cut it 5% (or in the case of gold at $1250, $62.50) is a big move. A 5% drop on the FTSE or DOW would be big news. With the massive gains in recent months, most holders of gold have built up a large buffer and won't get unduly worried by this. However, those who are buying in now should be prepared for some very stressful days ahead. Up or down it will clearly be turbulent...

Future direction seems very hard to read from graphs, and these "wild" daily fluctuations are not uncommon. If we see sustained drops over two days or more (i.e. no-one inclined to buy back in after the first day drop), then I think we will see a proper correction. I got out of gold a few weeks ago... so down would be good

Probably been already suggested, but pretty much the only way to get back into work is through existing networks of contacts. Get in touch with old colleagues, firends in similar industries, and so on, and let them know your predicament. I was made redundant back in April, applied for loads of jobs with little success, then an old ex co-worker sorted me out an interview with his employer. Started in September and it's going well. It is in Germany, but the sad truth is we have to be flexible these days. Good luck and hope it goes well

Couldn't agree more.... and the "great unwashed" will have recent experience of a deadcatbounce, and they will remember not to get drawn in again. Well, not for the next 6-12 months or so.

"Bluntly, prospective sellers cant see anywhere better to put the proceeds" Aren't most prospective sellers looking to move house, hence the proceeds go into another house? If he is talking about the BTL brigade, does he really believe their refusal to sell will stop further house price falls in the broader economy? They may keep their money in the housing market, but they are not bringing new money in, and at some point normal families living in their own homes will need to start moving, for new jobs, upsizing, downsizing, whatever, and when this starts (especially forced downsizers when interest rates pick up) a downward correction is unavoidable. Only whether it is big enough to be called a "crash" is debatable.