Funn3r

It feels a bit stuffy in here now you mention it. NEED AN ECONOMIST NOW

There's no hope for some people then, as I am sure you might have at least hinted to them already

Just to clarify what I meant to say about my own circumstances. I was sold a house by a developer using a coagulated fatberg of debt which included an IO, but I did not know it included an IO. If you don't know you have an IO then of course you won't have a plan to pay it off. If you're not in arrears with your monthly payments you probably think you are doing fine, although you're not. I was taking exception to sneers on this forum about IO mortgagees being so subhumanly stupid that they deserved financial ruin etc. This is not true. I think the average person wanting to make any kind of expensive credit purchase can expect to get eaten alive by sharky professional salespeople. This is easily demonstrated by the huge numbers of those who were mis-sold PPI and qualified for compensation - after the light was shone on the cockroaches. A reasonably happy ending for me personally as quite a long time later after a bit of self-tuition I realised how my debt package actually worked and restructured it into a proper repayment with no IO and no endowment. That was long after the sales people had clinked glasses celebrating me helping them meet their sales targets of course. For avoidance of doubt; I am not getting the violins out for the poor suffering IO.

Some family who needs a rental, and faced with huge fees but they know fees are soon to be abolished. They are not going to want to pay and (hopefully) there will be DM stories about vampire bloodsuckers etc.

No son, I'm one of the old breed who thinks good manners is a worthwhile effort.

I very rarely watch TV (download off Internet instead) but recently it's been the snooker, which I like. Looking at other channels during mid session intervals and amazed at how bad the adverts are. (Adverts are what stopped me watching in the first place; when I first bought virgin media for the kids I just assumed paying 30 quid a month was the premium deal therefore meant no ads! Seriously, and was I cross.) Anyway you are not wrong and I nearly fainted when I heard Help to Buy (a car.) How bad have things got.

You say that, but not really. It's one thing understanding the basic concepts of how things are bought and sold, quite another deciphering a large wodge of small print, especially when the counterparty has an interest in you not understanding it. Mine was not just an IO, it was an ugly package of endowment, IO, and personal loan from developer. Not defending IO but it could work if done with full understanding and eyes open. People who bought them don't deserve a bailout but they also don't deserve to be talked about as if they were thick neanderthals.

I bought one and am not too stupid. They never told me it was interest only and if they did I would not have understood that it had implications 25 years from now. It was just like pcp cars now, they kept me focused on the monthly payments. All I knew was that if I signed here here here and here I could buy a house and afford to pay it back every month. Yes it was stupid but I was only 20 odd and never done anything like buying a house before.

Quite a while since I heard "aged" used as a put-down. Not very pc

I've lost the plot on this thread tbh. Seems to be about the future availability of and job opportunity for talented and not so talented workers. I'm just going to put in my usual 2p. I receive several PowerPoints per week all saying the same thing in different ways - our business needs better margin and the only way is cut our number 1 cost which is payroll. Get rid of jobs if we don't need them, automate the jobs if we do need them, if we can't automate then send them to somewhere cheaper (Poland, India, doesn't matter.) Doesn't matter much what your skills are; if you get paid decently for them you will be got rid of. All you can do is delay it a bit.

Sick of handing over my tax money which is then used to deliver freebies for which I don't qualify. I am not 18, so what, is that somehow my fault? There would be uproar if the EC used some other criteria to hand out the largesse. Are you a white male? Would you like to explore Europe? Then you are the perfect candidate to apply for a new European Union initiative to be officially launched shortly.

I would really like to buy the security of gold but obviously would prefer to buy when it is cheap instead of when it is expensive. WTF does that chart mean? "Multi Year Pennant Pattern" ?? I read it as the price topped out in 2010 then reduced until 2013 where the price remained roughly the same until today. Is there a conclusion to be drawn from the chart? Preferably one which doesn't come with a disclaimer "past performance is no guide to future."

I think Jacob has done a similar thing to Boris and over-emphasised his brand image with resultant damage to electoral chances.

Yes it's one thing for us on HPC to grind our teeth, quite another when you find out the wider population feels exactly same way Also the more that s24 finds its way into public consciousness the more that the less-informed LLs will start to think about it as well. Same goes for HMRC catching up with LL tax.

Don't understand your comment. How do you connect local elections with a potential brexit?

Gets tiring hearing the same old stuff. "Right we've decided who we don't like, now let's find some reasons."

Have to concede your point about laptops. Although the price of that package makes my teeth itch. Wonder how come Warren isn't worried about Apple's channel stuffing and lack of a new must-have up their sleeve?

HUKD have a lease for a 5L V8 Mustang, 6k deposit and 300/month. Was reading the comments and people are saying "so what" all Mustang dealers are practically giving them away at the moment. Certainly doesn't sound as though posh new cars are exactly scarce at present.

That's exactly how the MSM have written it up this morning. A rather more astute analysis here by Craig Murray.

Friends just bought in Hampshire (Farnborough) for quite a lot below asking. Although I still think with hindsight they will say they paid too much. Like 2rocketman though felt they couldn't put it off any longer.

Won't rehash it all again but last year I met socially a German automotive designer who was bang certain the future was 2-stroke hybrid. I laughed but he said forget the indelible bad name Honda gave 2-stroke, it's the future.

"A couple" is generally considered to be two. Soon to be a threesome if Mark C doesn't go for the "300 bps hike" option.

I haven't been to Billy Elliot so have not heard the song. Something to do with coal mining so I suppose I can guess the Thatcher connection. OK I was mistaken when I said unique in British politics and a Thatcher Death song is equally insectoid behaviour. I still find it quite creepy how there is such a swell of actual hatred towards a few Labour personalities. Reminds me of the same towards Donald Trump actually where it is the guy himself who gets mindless abuse about pussy-grabbing or whatever rather than criticism of his political acts and statements.

I was in the Lexicon shopping centre in Bracknell. This smoked-glass and stainless-steel glitzy place has been open less than a year and is heavily populated by what I would characterise as "relatively posh" and expensive shops like Fenwick, M&S, and patisserie cafes. Although true there is a Primark. Went in a shop which think is "Whittards" that only sells high-end (dry) tea and coffee and my well-off shopping companion bought a tin of English Rosebud tea 12 pounds and a metal tea-strainer thing 6 pounds, although it looks more like 99p. Remember this is Bracknell for goodness sake where at least 50% are on benefits. I am surprised anyone can make a go of this mall right now at the moment, but what's going to happen in any kind of downturn?

Completely agree and it is both unique and a disgrace. I have never seen anything like it in British politics in my lifetime.