Hold Fast

+1 for First Direct. Very helpful on the phone, website is a bit quirky though.

Second from top now. I voted but you need a few more. Maybe I've seen too much porn but those two in the pic look like they are about to get it on for the camera. Possible future income source maybe?

You probably want investment advice but here's what I would do. If you don't have any, buy some good quality tools. A general selection for doing jobs around the house and car will (IMHO) provide much more benfit than investing that amount of money. The idea being you'd save more having them than you could possibly gain from investing the same amount. My 2p worth

Agreed, before he dropped that little bomb he likely could have played out his hand as intellectually competent but hamstrung by the politcal side of things. Denying there was a bubble leaves him wide open to a negative historical judgement. Gordon Brown won't be looked upon kindly in the history books, Merv better watch it or he'll end up the same.

He must really hate having to say that. Mind you, having seen it a couple of times he does come over as quite a nice bloke - amiable I suppose. My other half is in to crafts so we I had to endure Kirsty's craft programme on in the background. I can just imagine her telling herself "bide your time, property will go back to normal soon". Both have had to face reality in order to stay on TV. Hopefully facing reality is something more pople will have to do from now on.

Nice anecdotal. sounds like one person at least is firmly in the fear phase.

Property at the higher end in my area seems to be at a standstill. I've found this interesting as we (me & the mrs) always though "people with money always have money". Seen a couple houses on for ~ £700k come off the market after 12 months, sit on rightmove rentals for 3-4 months at close to £2k/month and then go back up for sale. No drop in asking price though, that doesn't seem to be an option. Also have seen a similar property get both its long running (12 month +) listing dumped and relisted at £100k less. However the new listings excluded the the land it previously had which is now "available by separate negotiation". I'll take a wild guess that the land would be available for around £100k. Seems like a lot of frustration but still no motivation to drop prices. Oh and I recently found out that the house we are renting was bought by the owner for them to live in rather than rent. They have been unable to sell their house though so here I am posting to HPC from their (possible) future living room.

I'm currently reading The Mystery of Banking by Murray Rothbard. In it he mentions a case from the 1700s which sounds like the one you mention. Basically before the ruling banks were like self storage, you took something in and got the exact same thing back. The ruling allowed them to change this so they didn't have to keep the exact same money for you, allowing them to lend it out. He uses a particular term for their original status, can't remember what it was though.

I would just like to point out that contrary to this person's opinions I'm not jealous of anyone's car. My original point was that I feel a lot of money in pensions goes as fees and I'd like to avoid paying that if possible, I can't be arsed to reply to the rest of it mate. Let's just say you are right. Pat yourself on the back and move on.

Cheers for the suggestion on percentages, my initial reaction is to tell you to f**k off but I'm assuming you are trying to help Maybe I am a bit thick but 1% of the whole pot every year will add up, no? I don't think I'm gaining by coming out of the scheme but I don't think I'm losing that much either. I also gain some flexibility in being able to save the money myself and having that lump some available should I need it, rather than when someone else says I can have it. Oh and it isn't sitting there waiting for some chancellor in the future to apply a tax to it either. My original point though was that I personally don't want to be able to invest in different stuff. I just want an account that holds money and is worth what I paid in to it when I retire. I don't want promises of big gains, I just want a store of value (and a stable currency). I'd also rather not contribute towards the Mercedes the pension advisor turns up in.

I recently left my employers pension scheme as I don't like them taking 1% of the total pot every year. My employers contributions balance that out but it just looks like a sitting duck tax wise so I knocked it on the head. If these people want to come up with something new how about this. An account that you can only pay in to until you reach retirement age. No management fees and no promises of massive gains. Just a bog standard account that pays interest at ISA equivalent rates. Here's the important bit.....the account would enjoy the same legal status as a traditional pension so it doesn't count as savings if you lose your job. Now that I would vote for.

Good tip. Easy way to read the FT for free just google for any headline on their front page e.g. site:ft.com Euro denominated oil hits record

Does anyone know how many houses an EA can be expected to sell weekly or monthly? There is an agent near where I live who has approx 90 houses in his window and about half of them have sold on them. Doesn't seem right to me.

IMHO, new bikes, especially top sports bikes are too expensive. They were charging too much and relying on MEWers and the sort of people who sign on the dotted line and worry about it later. When the pound devalued after the credit crunch the tide really went out. A Honda Fireblade is now £12k. The same bike in 2008 was £9200. Drove path a BMW dealership today, big banner outside pushing the 1000cc sport bike (S1000RR) on 0% finance. That says it all for me. As for George White, I live near the Plymouth branch. It was originally a private dealership (GT Motorbikes) and was bought out by GW. The guy who built up the original business still owns the building (and has a right to some of the stock too, apparently) so it could be back trading soon, although not as George White.

I think this is it: Wikipedia article

That's the newspaper game though isn't it, write what people want to read. Same as politics, how many politicians would sign up for shared ownership? I would guess 99% less than the amount who would be willing to instigates such policies should it get them elected.

Worth a look just for this comedy gold from "LisaOrme": Seriously, she is bemoaning the fact she wasn't able to sign up for shared ownership on a new build? There's no point even attempting to talk to someone so obviously clueless and brainwashed. Then again the other woman is called "Jo King" so maybe it is a wind up.

Seen car dealers do this before, put in a for sale advert on autotrader with a price of say £100. I think the idea is that people selling are checking out what other sellers are doing and might decide to take the advice in the advert. Also on ebay, adverts for cars that are sold suspiciously quickly. the advert could easily be removed (if genuine) but they just put "SOLD, similar required".

Surely everything on QVC is "luxury" Here's one for anyone who does remember the QC ads

That's interesting, the one time I went in there all three of the people in our group said on leaving that the staff were really flirty. Thought it must have just been that branch but maybe not then? Also noticed that the Coop mini-market near work has programmed the staff to say "sorry to keep you waiting" when you get to the checkout.

Excuse the dyslexia, obviously that's GQ not that drink they used to advertise at Christmas. If only I knew how (or had the ability?) to edit my posts.

As in I'm loving it because I didn't pay for it, they sent me one free. The mutual back-scratching between manufacturers and magazines is one of the reasons I don't buy any these days. Motorbike mags are terrible for it...."I loved this fireblade, it really showed what it could do when Honda sent us on an all expenses trip to Spain to test it for three days." Same with game mags, write a good review and we'll give you the inside track, otherwise you're in the cold. I guess in the fashion world it is easy to fawn over Tom Ford jumpers at 600 quid a pop (last time I read a QC or similar) when you don't have to pony up your own hard-earned for them.

Brilliant, shows exactly the sort of thing he's up against.

He looks a sharp contrast to the usual media friendly types they vote for. I saw a clip where one of the candidates couldn't remember what government departments he wanted to abolish: Or this guy with another cringe-worthy memory problem about 40sec in: Herman Cain gaffe Then you watch Ron Paul and see this man who obviously knows what he is talking about finance wise. Self confident and won't get drawn by stupid questions, e.g.: From what I've read he may fall down on other issues such as abortion, gay right or separation of state & religion. Nails it economy wise and just at the right time too.