from up north

Maybe this really is Fred Harrisons "Winners Curse" period?

Could you live on £120 per week? It would be possible if you where living free of rent/mortgage/bills. Tea lady and factory sweeper are real jobs but at present if these jobs pay less than the minimum wage it is just not worth doing them. Jobseekers Allowance pays £60 per week plus housing costs and council tax. This is paid by out of housing benefits. If someone takes a low paid job they still have to claim housing benefits, which means these low wages are subsidised by the taxpayer. If housing cost where lower maybe it would be possible to live on a lower wage.

Possession is nine tenths of the law. If you don't use it, you lose it. Can someone define "Property". Is it just something you pay for, or have finished paying for? Or is it only something you have responsibility for? Any thoughts?

Sorry, what do you mean "Is your job too tight" ?

Hi, It's all explained here. http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/mortgages...ge-arrears-help It's unbelievable that as a private tenant I get absolutely no help to pay my rent if I loose my job. A fresh claim of housing benefit can take around six months to come through and meanwhile I have to struggle to pay the rent from my own resources. If my landlord was to default on his mortgage I could be removed from my home immediately by bailiffs. Surely it's time that private tenants be given a similar amount of help.

I hope that rents do fall as the rent I pay for a 10 x 12 bedsit in West London is ridiculous. I feel competition in the private rented sector will have a more immediate effect on rents, hopefully reducing them. Long established Professional landlords in particular who are more aware of what it takes to survive may lead the way. The BTL landlords won't survive. Registered social landlords charge a lot less rent anyway and government takes a long time to respond to market conditions. Anyway that's what I think. I'm off to watch Bremner Bird and Fortune now.

The deflationary effects of the falling oil price (due to falling demand) will be balanced by the increasing cost of imports. Because we are in recession people are buying less goods, so less stuff needs to be imported, so there is probably an overall deflationary effect. How they work it out to 1% I don't know though. One thing is certain though is that they'll get it wrong as they always seem to.

There are some success stories like Triumph Motorcycles and Ariel who make the Ariel Atom. These are unfortunaley in a niche market, but are doing well at the moment. I believe that the UK has a bright future in Biotechnology but this can't be called manufacturing.

Bump This is a serious post. I would be grateful for anyones experience of buying ishares ETF's as part of an ISA. Has anyone done this and how does it work? Thanks. David.

Hi, I recently opened a mini self select shares ISA with Motley fool. As a complete newby to stocks and shares I am at a loss to how this ISA works. I pay a small amount in each month and have so far not invested in any shares or funds as I'm scared of losing money. There is provision for regular investments on a monthly basis and something called tradeplan. Has anyone any experience of how to use such an ISA and can you give me any pointers to sources of information. I want to learn as I go along and preferably want to avoid losing any money. Thanks. David

Hi, I've been lurking for a LONG time and have finally decided to join in. I really believe that the next 12 month will be the start of something big. I just hope it wont be TOO bad a recession as I feel that is on the way. I'll post more later as I'm getting hungry. Bye for now.

I pay £520 per month for a bedsit in West London.That's 50% of what I earn a month (£1070 net). It's pure madness having to pay this much,but I have no choice at the moment. This is not a joke its my reality.Needless to say I hope a housing crash and some sanity returns to housing.

Hi, I'm new here and thought it was about time I posted something.I was just reading in the news blog about so called 'independent' group 'item club'. What does independent mean I wonder when this group is sponsored by Ernst and Young. It's a shame that academics can be influenced by sponsorship produce soundbite articles for a newspaper. What do others think of this. Be gentle