Realistbear Posted January 13, 2006 Share Posted January 13, 2006 http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4604346.stm Financial workers in the City of London are set to earn £7.5bn in bonuses this winter, according to the Centre for Economics and Business Research. The record figure is 16% up on the £6.4bn it estimated was paid last year. The centre said that the average worker would receive £23,000, while some reports estimate that 3,000 people will get a windfall of £1m or more. It said a 10% rise in stock market activity and 20% increase in mergers and acquisitions were responsible. Check out the photo on the above link--seems most of that cash is going into liposuction! My guess is that quite a large portion of those funds will end up on the Nikkei which promises to outperform the housing market in the UK (said to maybe return 3% in 2006) by 10 to 20 times. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malco Posted January 13, 2006 Share Posted January 13, 2006 http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4604346.stm Financial workers in the City of London are set to earn £7.5bn in bonuses this winter, according to the Centre for Economics and Business Research. The record figure is 16% up on the £6.4bn it estimated was paid last year. The centre said that the average worker would receive £23,000, while some reports estimate that 3,000 people will get a windfall of £1m or more. It said a 10% rise in stock market activity and 20% increase in mergers and acquisitions were responsible. Check out the photo on the above link--seems most of that cash is going into liposuction! My guess is that quite a large portion of those funds will end up on the Nikkei which promises to outperform the housing market in the UK (said to maybe return 3% in 2006) by 10 to 20 times. Typifies why Britain is a country living off debt and get-rich-quick generally. The concept that to make money you have to make something useful and sell it has largely vacated the culture of this country. No wonder our industries have died and we can't pay our way in the world; the most highly paid occupation is being a speculation-bandit. There is nothing these people do that is essential. Useful, to a degree, to some, yes, but not essential. It is real things that make a civilisation powerful - energy, ideas, production skills, technical and scientific insight, making real things happen. These people contribute nothing to that, and it will become all too painfully obvious just how useless they are once the teeth of this energy crisis start to bite flesh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuyingBear Posted January 13, 2006 Share Posted January 13, 2006 Typifies why Britain is a country living off debt and get-rich-quick generally. The concept that to make money you have to make something useful and sell it has largely vacated the culture of this country. No wonder our industries have died and we can't pay our way in the world; the most highly paid occupation is being a speculation-bandit. There is nothing these people do that is essential. Useful, to a degree, to some, yes, but not essential. It is real things that make a civilisation powerful - energy, ideas, production skills, technical and scientific insight, making real things happen. These people contribute nothing to that Not directly, but they provide finance to allow all that to happen. You may not like the City but it's about the last industry we have that actually exports something of value. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malco Posted January 13, 2006 Share Posted January 13, 2006 Not directly, but they provide finance to allow all that to happen. You may not like the City but it's about the last industry we have that actually exports something of value. Well actually, you have a point, but have you never stopped to wonder why? It's a tumour that has sucked Britain's industries dry before moving on to suck the world. It is the mechanism by which the rich get richer. It reduces the serious business of real industrial activity to a casino in which whole industries are mere gambling chits for the play of the aforementioned disassociated superclass. That superclass skims off the cream from doing nothing but playing the tables - no involvement in real industrial activity, just speculation in shares. Through this process, the FTSE100 typically rises at about four times the rate of wages. The richer you are the more discretionary income you can get into the Stock Market and so the faster you get ahead. That is the basic reason why the rich are getting richer. There is nothing in the real economy that could not happen without the City. I agree that currency transactions, hedges, capital transfers and so forth are rendered more efficient by certain operations of the City, but these are basic operations in the commercial system. They could happen other ways. You should not imagine I really despise the system. Actually, I am in awe of its subtlely. It is far and away the greatest machine of exploitation ever devised by any ruling class. It is far too embedded in the culture, and far too obvious, for even objectors to figure out how it works. There must have been something in the methods of Thomas Arnold to have produced minds subtle enough to figure out how you become the richest aristocracy that there ever was - leeching wealth out of the Industrial Revolution - without ever having to sully one's hands actually doing anything. They did it - and there was no revolution, just Lloyd George, eventually. They had a hell of a long innings though. Amazing achievement. I don't thing the Victorian and Edwardian gentleman class has ever got the recognition it deserves from political scientists for its contribution to the theory and practice of exploitation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oracle Posted January 13, 2006 Share Posted January 13, 2006 (edited) and what,recisely,does 23k buy these days?? ...going into BTL is ********!!...the average worker who receives this bonus will spend it on a new car!!...not even financially savvy enough to save it.....just sucked into the "alpha male...must buy a merc!!..frame of mind. it does happen in finance as well!!!......it's all about status......and the more bonus you get,the flashier the car!! too bad loads of these folks can't see it. there are a lot of skilled people who work in finance,our very own Dr Bubb is one of them,but as with any industry,it is prone to blaggers and johnny-come-lately's who talk a good game but cannot produce the goods when times get tough. ...it's just the same in electronics.I have met a lot of project managers who think they know it all,but when it comes to the crunch they either have great technical skill and sod all business sense or vice versa. ...one who has both is a very rare breed. ....oh and whoo...hoo for me!!!I have just won a 4 year contract!!! Edited January 13, 2006 by oracle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuyingBear Posted January 13, 2006 Share Posted January 13, 2006 and what,recisely,does 23k buy these days?? ...going into BTL is ********!!...the average worker who receives this bonus will spend it on a new car!!...not even financially savvy enough to save it.....just sucked into the "alpha male...must buy a merc!!..frame of mind. They all have Astons on order this year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lookingafterthekids Posted January 14, 2006 Share Posted January 14, 2006 Thats nice. How many city traders are going to earn that £7 bill? And how many hours to earn it per week? Nice if you like money but no life. Horses for courses. £1mill can buy you what. A bigger house - still got a door a couple of windows regardless of size, a car - still got 4 weels and a windscreen, happiness - now dont make me laff..... Oh, and will these bonuses be spent in Salisbury, Wolverhampton or Craven Arms? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gone west Posted January 14, 2006 Share Posted January 14, 2006 (edited) Thats nice. How many city traders are going to earn that £7 bill? And how many hours to earn it per week? Nice if you like money but no life. Horses for courses. £1mill can buy you what. A bigger house - still got a door a couple of windows regardless of size, a car - still got 4 weels and a windscreen, happiness - now dont make me laff..... Oh, and will these bonuses be spent in Salisbury, Wolverhampton or Craven Arms? Not a lot of celebrating going on this year, from what I hear. Maybe they know that next year won't be so lucrative. Housing takes about 50% of the bonii, IIRC. About 3000 will be earning a stick or more each this year. Edited January 14, 2006 by gone west Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lookingafterthekids Posted January 14, 2006 Share Posted January 14, 2006 A stick = £1 mill? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gone west Posted January 14, 2006 Share Posted January 14, 2006 A stick = £1 mill? Yes...well, one million of anything really, usually $, but in this case, GBP. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TenPinTom Posted January 14, 2006 Share Posted January 14, 2006 "There is nothing in the real economy that could not happen without the City. " Useful things that the city does . . . . - its the UK's number one industry which is actually growing and allows 1% of UK population to produce 17% of UK GDP in a few square miles - provides billions to the corporate and personal tax system - non-polluting, not dangerous - provides a system to grade measure and evaluate in an unbiased way virtually every corporation, mortgage, country, central bank , student loan and credit card customer in the entire world - provides returns to anyone who has a pension or an insurance policy with a massive range of investment opportunities - Allows well run companies to take over badly run companies acting as the ultimate check and balance to management (M&A) - enable companies to borrow money for expansion(equity and debt markets), trade cross-boarder (FX), plan for the future (interest rates hedges) - enables govtments to borrow billions to build roads, schools, hospital, olympic stadia (PFI) - enables the average joe to get a mortage at just a few bps above the largest corporation on earth (asset backed sucurities market) There are a couple of idiots on the trading floor but most people have advanced degrees and impressive CVs: the days of fruit and veg sellers running around yelling at each other are over - guy 2 desks over from where I sit is recognised as one of the top ten number theorists in the world. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bedsprings Posted January 14, 2006 Share Posted January 14, 2006 I'm a tax consultant with quite a lot of clients who are in the City earning between #800,000 and #10 m. Without exception they are incredibly impressive - clever, and so clear-thinking. So far as I know none is thinking of buying a new house. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malco Posted January 14, 2006 Share Posted January 14, 2006 (edited) I'm a tax consultant with quite a lot of clients who are in the City earning between #800,000 and #10 m. Without exception they are incredibly impressive - clever, and so clear-thinking. So far as I know none is thinking of buying a new house. Wihout a doubt so. But in a more productive culture they would be actually running high-tech companies, or leading R&D programmes towards new products that will dominate world market. Do you never stop to ponder why most of the top-quality products in the world are American, Japanese or German? Because in those cultures the really impressive people are actively engaged in the real world of real scientific and technical development (though less so in the US, it's just such a huge industrial effort it can live carrying Wall Street). The fundamental corruptionin Britain is the ex-Imperial social pecking order that draws the best minds into Law, the Civil Service and the City, all essential in their way, but these are not the fundamental bases of national wealth. This is derived either a) from natural resources, or b ) effective commercialisation of high technology. Britain's strength in a) is waning rapidly and in b ) has been in decline for at least a hundred years, despite some star success like the steam turbine. Put it this way, had you been a tax consultant in the France of Louis XVI, you would have been impressed by the brilliant minds of many aristocrats like Lavoisier, Descartes etc etc, even the King himself was a highly accomplished man in many ways, and you would have noted that all essential activities were the responsibility of the aristocracy, but the culture was ineffective and doomed because it failed to draw talent to where it mattered. The film "Ridicule" perfectly illustrates this. Britain is just a rather less extreme example. In the long run Britain hasn't a very promising future on its own. Edited January 14, 2006 by malco Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogbox Posted January 14, 2006 Share Posted January 14, 2006 Well actually, you have a point, but have you never stopped to wonder why? It's (THE CITY) a tumour that has sucked Britain's industries dry I see the City as part of natural evolution. Capital is allocated so as to cause the entities receiving the capital to perform better. Others wanting to attract the capital have to run a tight ship or end up ignored and whither away. Survival of the fittest. Capital now flows to overseas entities as they are often the best placed to merit such attention. Its no good enough decrying our loss of manufacturing capability. The simple truth is we are too expensive what with all our ridiculous cosseting working conditions and regulation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smell the Fear Posted January 14, 2006 Share Posted January 14, 2006 Its no good enough decrying our loss of manufacturing capability. The simple truth is we are too expensive what with all our ridiculous cosseting working conditions and regulation. Back in the real world: The simple truth is we are too expensive compared to countries prepared to treat their workers like an expendable piece of firewood. Do you seriously think we should return to Dickensian working conditions? Why not argue that workers rights should be improved abroad? Why not boycott goods from countries who do not compete on a level playing field with us? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogbox Posted January 14, 2006 Share Posted January 14, 2006 (edited) Back in the real world: The simple truth is we are too expensive compared to countries prepared to treat their workers like an expendable piece of firewood. Do you seriously think we should return to Dickensian working conditions? Why not argue that workers rights should be improved abroad? Why not boycott goods from countries who do not compete on a level playing field with us? "Why not boycott goods from abroad" The problem with this is the 'selfish gene' holds the reigns. We all decry outsourcing , but then in our own private realms we take great satisfaction from sourcing a bargain, be it a DVD, insurance policy or Ski suit. We dont stop to think 'hang - on, if I buy the more expensive UK dvd, Ill be ensuring Ms Smyth gets access to family freindly working conditions'. I am realistic enough to recognise these fundamental truths. Edited January 14, 2006 by dogbox Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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