Dubai

Have you been away Tuggy, or have I just been missing your posts??

The difference is, the general public will face serious jail time. If caught, of course.

Classic! That should really make its way to the Readers Comments of every National newspaper!

It would make a nice graph.....

I bet Savils forgot to mention this to their clients at the time..... "go on, buy it. House prices only ever go up!"

Because it's the Bustless recovery.

They paid $450,000 for the house. It's now worth about $120,000. Now that's a crash..... Sad for the "owners" but at least they can walk away and not be liable for the amount not recovered against the mortgage when sold by the bank.

Many thanks Yellerkat. I think I have issues with my browser, Safari, so I've switched to Firefox! My Mum lives in a retirement apartment, and there is only the service charge (which is a bit of a rip off, methinks!). Having said that it hasn't been sold yet so she may be in for a surprise!

Sorry about that..... the link seems to have some sort of "no follow" code in it! If you're interested in reading the details go to www.latimes.com and type a search for New home sale fee.... it's worth a read.

Here's the link (I am still having trouble with my main browser.... I have to use firefox for anything like proper formatting!) http://www.latimes.com/business/realestate/la-fi-harney-20100808,0,7521777.story

OK, this is the USA, but will the idea reach the UK? ... Here's how the plan works. Say you buy a $300,000 house in a subdivision where the developer is participating in a private transfer fee program and has recorded liens on every lot. When you later sell the property, you will be required to pay a fee of 1% of the price you receive. The money must be disbursed out of the closing proceeds and sent to a trustee representing investors. Those investors fronted cash to the developer in exchange for the right to receive streams of payments for decades as individual houses sell and resell.So, if you buy a house this year for $300,000 and resell it for $325,000 a few years from now, you will owe $3,250 at closing. Even if the house drops in value, you will still owe the 1% fee. And if you refuse to pay it, the deal will not close because a lien has been recorded that runs with the title to the property and mandates that every seller pay. http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-harney-20100808,0,1183989.story?track=rss&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+latimes%2Fbusiness+%28L.A.+Times+-+Business%29

Child labour was the crucial ingredient which allowed Britain's Industrial Revolution to succeed, new research by a leading economic historian has concluded.After carrying out one of the most detailed statistical analyses of the period, Oxford's Professor Jane Humphries found that child labour was much more common and economically important than previously realised. Her estimates suggest that, by the early 19th century, England had more than a million child workers (including around 350,000 seven- to 10-year-olds) – accounting for 15 per cent of the total labour force. The work is likely to transform the academic world's understanding of that crucial period of British history which was the launch-pad of the nation's economic and imperial power.Early factory owners – located in the countryside in order to exploit power from fast-flowing rivers – found that local labour was scarce and that those agricultural workers who were available were unsuitable for industrial production. They therefore opted instead to create a new work force composed of children, tailor-made for their factories."Factory owners were looking for cheap, malleable and fast-learning work forces – and found them ready-made among the children of the urban workhouses," said Professor Humphries. Her statistical research shows, for the first time, the precise extent to which the exploitation of children massively increased as newly emerging factories began their operations in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.Her work has revealed that during most of the 18th century only around 35 per cent of ten year old working-class boys were in the labour force while the figure for 1791-1820 (when large scale industrialisation started) was 55 per cent, rising to 60 per cent for the period of 1821-1850. We weren't that compassionate after all.... ........ http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/revealed-industrial-revolution-was-powered-by-child-slaves-2041227.html

Judging by the comments section I'd say it appears that people are no longer being taken in by the ******** being spouted by the msm..... good! That's strange..... I can type shit but not bull shit.....

I wondered too.... found this: Stall holders are preparing to shut up shop for the last time. Newton Heath Market is closing at the weekend after more than 80 years.A group of nine stall-holders formed a co-operative to take over the running of the market last year and had hoped to reinvigorate it.But they say they that falling visitor numbers and the combination of rates, rents and bills, means too little income and too high costs.Dorothy Lees has worked at the market off Droylsden Road for 22 years, and now runs the cafe and bedding stalls.She said: "It's very upsetting. We've got to shut down because we can't afford to carry on."I have several faithful customers who come to meet their friends and have a natter, but there aren't enough people coming overall.The open air market is held on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays, and sells items such as clothes, stationery and household goods.Two years ago Manchester City Council bought it from a private landlord and refurbished it.A spokesperson for Manchester City Council said: "We very much share the disappointment of the traders that the market is having to close." http://menmedia.co.uk/northeastmanchesteradvertiser/news/s/1312285_market_closes_doors_after_80_years

Military trucks and petrol company vehicles were employed yesterday to alleviate a fuel shortage as more 30,000 lorry and tanker truck operators ignored a government order to return to work on pain of prosecution Good for them.

Because of Birkenfeld, the feds are now going after hundreds, possibly thousands, of tax evaders. They have collected a $780 million fine from UBS and forced the bank’s cooperation in finding previously secret customers.The list of those so far charged in the scheme numbers nine, led by Raoul Weil, the former chief executive officer of global wealth management for UBS.So why is the man who blew the whistle on a mammoth tax fraud facing prison time? The feds will tell you it’s because he played a role in the conspiracy, a fact he failed to mention when he first stepped forward. ..The gumment isn't protecting the super rich, of course. http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aLtxtJDMz9P0

It's almost as though some gumment agency has summoned all the editors and told them "right, this is the way sentiment is going to go...." and they all ran back to their journos and dictated the right message.....

Apologies, I can't get the embed media thing working! It's a 3 minute long humour slot in typical Aussie style. Worth a watch.

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And now they're in Afghanistan (after the Luftwaffe was used for bombing in Kosovo? ) I'm afraid we the people can wish for whatever we like.... the "leaders" will do what their superiors tell them, regardless. That's how the UK ended up in Iraq, despite having one of the biggest protests ever against it.

Thanks for the post. Maybe I've lost it, but I don't see anything remotely TFH in that Journal. It tells it like it is.

More likely 30M for the top 50 leaving 61 M for the remaining 1950 = 31k ish!

It's started..... http://www.speedcam.co.uk/index2.htm

Yep, me too. See you on the dark side tomorrow.

Mods are slack tonight. We're still on the "real" forum.