BoE rate down to 3.0%

[mockney piers]

Still, Labour won a by-election, pure coincidence I'm sure!!

[SeanMacGabhann]

I doubt a rate-cut, even of that size would affect that by-election in what the BBC insisted in pronouncing Glen Roathes - very annoying

My feeling is that with yer man in Washington from Next Year, there is a feeling that he and Gordon will work together pretty well, combined with a general improvement in the perception amongst many of GB in recent weeks. And one can pick all sorts of holes in that.. but on a simplistic level I think they might be right

[mockney piers]

You doubt, I don't.

Mind you, a couple of hundred extra quid in my pocket, I'll happily forgive Labour for all the corruption, the incompetence, the shitty foreign policy, the gold sales, the arrogance, the ID cards, the erosion of civil liberties, and will mandate them with my next vote, especially if GB massages my feet too.

[Jah Lush]

mockney piers Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

I'll happily forgive Labour for all the

> corruption, the incompetence, the shitty foreign

> policy, the gold sales, the arrogance, the ID

> cards, the erosion of civil liberties, and will

> mandate them with my next vote, especially if GB

> massages my feet too.

Do you want a happy finish with the massage MP? It could be worse, we could be under the Tories.

[mockney piers]

Don't remind me, and ewwwwwwwww.

could be a winner for the next election cmapaing

Gordon Brown, he's the right man for the [hand] job!

[LuvPeckham]

It is interrsting, with the rate at 3% (and for those who's mortgages do drop in line with the rate cut) should they accept the lower monthly payments, or pay the same as last month (when the base rate was 5%) and see savings in time and payments on their mortgage. I estimate that by keeping my payments the same as last month, I will shave 14 months of my mortgage without any actual effort or making additional over payments. but then as a friend said, the drop to 3% - if followed - will buy lots of beer.... short term drinking / spending or longer term savings ? tempted to go for the longer term savings at the moment I have to say.

It will also be intresting to see if my Mortgage lender tries to change the terms of my 2001 tracker, which has no collar at the moment. They can (if they so deem) give me 3 months notice of a change in the differental, but dare they and if they do what justification will they use and also would it stand up in a small claims court / Financial Tribunal if I challanged it?

Personally I think a drop in intrerest rates is needed to stimulate spending again, if no one spends, shops go under, if shops go under suppliers go under, if suppliers go under factories go under... all with increasing numbers of unemployed and at each stage the lack of spending increases thereby fueling the company closure / Job Loss / decreased consumer spending spiral until we end up deeper and deeper in a recession. Whilst I agree that living on credit isn't the best solution, without consumer confidence at the moment we face a year plus of discontent.

What we need is lower interest rates to encourage spending and keep the economy from sliding into oblivion and some government scheme to encourage savings (a bit like war bonds or something) which offers a good return, puts money in the coffers to then lend out to the financial institutions to stabalise the interbank lending rate to ensure that the country keeps on ticking over. And at the same time we need to get people off Credit and back into spending within their means (I guess this could also involve stores once again accepting cheques to ensure there is a real alternative to cash or credit card payments.)

Have to say, I wouldn't like to be Mr Darling at the moment, whatever he does is wrong and equally even if he does something right it won't suit everyone...

[lard]

What we need to start doing in this country is actually making good stuff that sells elsewhere. Everything else in whatever level of intricacy just perpetuates the pyramid.

[????]

yup lard...and 25% of corporation tax last year came from Financial Services...which is not a bad measure to show you the sh1t we are now in considering much of this profit was derived from a massive pyramid sale of F All that has now gone..for good...open them mines

[Jah Lush]

lard Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> What we need to start doing in this country is

> actually making good stuff that sells elsewhere.

> Everything else in whatever level of intricacy

> just perpetuates the pyramid.

Err...we did but Thatcher sold 'em all off.

[mockney piers]

Very very good points lard and quids, quite agree.

On the subject of the mines, when carbon products become far too valuable for simply burning for energy, we'll probably be quite glad of all that coal left in the ground!!

[Jeremy]

I know quids is very proud of his pyramid-selling analogy, but it's not accurate. And while London's financial sector may not ever been as dominant as previously, the industry is far from over.

I do agree that we need more diversification though, but I don't think that manufacturing is necessarily the way forward.

[Keef]

Have this row with Mrs Keef quite often, she hates the tories and Thatcher, and basically blames them for all the world's ills (okay slight exaggeration there). I am no fan and don't vote blue (or support any football team in that colour), but it's what, 18 years since Thatcher, and 11 years since the tories, surely there comes a time when someone else has to hold their hands up aswell!

[SeanMacGabhann]

Amen Keef

(well I can't say exactly right anymore)

[Jah Lush]

As per usual the Daily Mash has it's finger on the pulse of the nation.

Banks Are Thieving Bastards

[cdonline]

Keef Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Have this row with Mrs Keef quite often, she hates

> the tories and Thatcher, and basically blames them

> for all the world's ills (okay slight exaggeration

> there).

I can. Really, everything and anything.

Until I know her dried out husk has been burnt and scattered, I'll probably never be fully at peace.

[Jeremy]

Keef I do hear what you're saying... but once an industry has been dismantled, it's kind of hard to put it back together.

[Jah Lush]

With you on that Cdonline. Here's a bit of Dylan for yer Thatch.

And I hope that you die

And your death'll come soon

I will follow your casket

In the pale afternoon

And I'll watch while you're lowered

Down to your deathbed

And I'll stand o'er your grave

'Til I'm sure that you're dead

Oh and you'll not be getting any money back if the your bank don't comply with the Bank Of England's cut.

[SeanMacGabhann]

Didn't we have all this when she was reportedly close to death??

I sang "Tramp the dirt down" with vehemence in my day but frankly, she hasn't been near power for a loooong time, I'm now in my forties and it seems silly to be QUITE so in-yer-face-Thatch to a barely-coherent old lady. I still dislike most of what she did but let her age and die peacefully I say

[lard]

Jeremy Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> I know quids is very proud of his pyramid-selling

> analogy, but it's not accurate. And while London's

> financial sector may not ever been as dominant as

> previously, the industry is far from over.

>

> I do agree that we need more diversification

> though, but I don't think that manufacturing is

> necessarily the way forward.

The financial service industry should be just that - servicing the economy. When it creates it's own wealth out of proportion to the underlying economy then it is based on hot air. This is a classic pyramid. There is of course still an opportunity to service the "world market" which is what London became, but like house prices this individual part of the jigsaw became too inflated in comparison to the rest of the economy in this country. When things get pulled too far away from the equilibrium, then it can only lead to a snap back. This is not even counting all the toxic products they have been using to gamble.

Everything needs to be more stable, more in balance, more in line with sustainable natural growth.

Natural growth by creating "stuff" doesn't necessarily mean manufacturing, more just creating things or work which have value in the global marketplace. At the moment we spend too much on "ourselves", and when we rock up to the global market, we really don't have much to offer.

Another thing imo that looks out of equilibrium is public sector spending, employment and pensions...all going to be a bit of a headache in the future.

[Jah Lush]

Bollocks Sean. I'll never forget what that bitch did.

[Jeremy]

lard Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> The financial service industry should be just that

> - servicing the economy. When it creates it's own

> wealth out of proportion to the underlying economy

> then it is based on hot air. This is a classic

> pyramid. There is of course still an opportunity

> to service the "world market" which is what London

> became, but like house prices this individual part

> of the jigsaw became too inflated in comparison to

> the rest of the economy in this country.

But that's just it... financial services in London serves customers all over the world. Europe in particular, but also America and Asia to some extent. It's become a huge part of the economy (your 25% figure sounds about right), but I don't think we got there by re-selling things to ourselves recursively at higher prices. I can see how people may think that's the case in light of recent events, but there's much, much more to the investment services than CDOs and subprime lending.

Ideally we should have more diversity in the economy, but I don't think it's *inherantly* unhealthy that we have one quarter of our income coming from one sector. It seems a lot more better than building an economy based entirely on oil or gas exports.

[Keef]

Well, you may as well hate her now I guess, because something tells me that in 50 - 100 years time she'll be remembered as a great woman, not a figure of hate.

Please don't take this as meaning I am a fan, I was too young to really have had a clue back then, but I can't understand the ongoing hatred. Like a load of Ben Eltons bashing on against the teloned one.

I agree with you Jeremy that once the tories had dismantled something, it was gone. But I just can't understand people blaming all the ills of today on a government of the past.

For the record though, I will never vote tory.

[mockney piers]

I'd say that 25% of the economy dependent upon one sector based in one corner of the capital, whilst the other 98% of the population get by providing services to each other based upon cheap credit and confidence grounded in the housing market is a very unhealthy way to be,

We shoulld diversify and with so many important challenges in the world to be met, not the least coping with dwindling resources and climate change, we need technological advances and hi-tech industry to allow us to meet those challenges and produce goods and skills that will be of value for the rest of the wolrd.

For starters the nuclear industry is being touted as at least a medium term answer to our energy needs and security and we hardly have anyone left with any knowledge, hence we'll be chucking something in the order of trillions at the French over the next 50 years!! So plenty of opportunities for the country to do something worthwhile.

Much as we did need to prop up the financial sector in the short term, those billions would have been far better invested in the education and scientific research sectors.

[Brendan]

So you can?t just magic money into existence by moving it around in quite simple ways and then telling everyone that what you did was very complex and clever. You need to be producing something or offering a service to someone who is going to pay you for it. How much of the 25% of what the financial sector contributes/contributed is the former or the latter is a bit unclear to me.

[Jeremy]

Mockney - I kind of agree with a lot (OK, some) of what you're saying, but the financial bail-out here and overseas is *not* a short term measure. Quite the opposite, it's a long term measure. If our financial foundations collapse beneath us, where will the money come from to invest in alternative energy (which I agree is of paramount importance), and other business ventures? You can't bite the hand that feeds. And let's not forget that the government didn't wave goodbye to those billions, they now own a portion of these banks, and at some point they will sell the shares on, maybe even at a profit (ok, lets not get carried away).

I think you're right about the housing thing, I've never been comfortable with the idea of treating housing as a commodity... and for sure lessons have to be learned about consumer borrowing... but mortgages are really only one facet of what goes on within financial services.

Brendan - I think you're in the majority - there certainly isn't much transparency in finance/banking, I felt exactly the same as you did before I started working in the industry (albeit in a peripheral role). Quite clearly investments banks, insurance companies, hedge funds etc don't "produce" anything physical, but they do all provide services. Whether it's helping a company go public and issue shares, whether it's providing loans, buying/selling stocks on behalf of clients, managing pensions, providing derivatives and structured products, insurance... they're all services which consumers, companies, or governments want and will pay money for.