Wow-hindsight, Mr. Tightend take a bow, some very prescient chat on this thread regarding the current financial situation...ok crisis... I think my first post (of several) points out mortgage lending as a problem but your insight is far more...well...insightful....

Oh wait I've just reread the whole thread.

Nah, nothing's changed. I still minimise what I pay for alcohol. I don't have a drink problem, until I run out

* bonus for who originally said that

Fuck me, I posted this two years ago....


I've totally changed my attitude to alcohol and drinking in general.


Well I say that, but what's really changed is my almost ridiculous belief in the ability and responsibility of the individual.

As an individual, I am capable of consumption of alcohol in large quantities at times; the only side or ill effect I've noticed is a preponderance for posting on poker sites....

Oh yeh and I have worked and studied almost constantly since the OP. I must have been at the bottom when this came up.....

I'm sorry ironside, should have made explicit the fact that the printing of money will go hand in hand with either a hold on the base interest rate at 4.5 or further cuts.

Not that the base rate is particularly important, most credit is based on the LIBOR rates (in fact $300 trillion of various financial contracts are anchored to the various LIBOR rates) which continue to rise apace, irrespective of policy responses. Nevertheless, assuming the real interest rate will remain a positive constant is an assumption totally unjustified by past events, just look at Japan over the last decade...real interest rates have barely pushed above zero.
 
However my long run perspective is, that if you increase the supply of money, like any other good, its per unit value will decrease (esp relative to other stores of value) , hence my argument about debt.

THe political coda to this economic argument is that both the US and UK are running up debt at historicallly unprecedented levels; they are not allowed to default, but by allowing an inflationary 'binge' they both avoid the trap of the Great Depression (ultimately deflation in developed financial markets)  plus reduce the real value of the nominal national debt.

Hmmm if the FSA aren't interested in Rab Peston's market making, or more accurately destroying, news I reckon a poke discussionr site will get away with  it. Anyhoo.... the only solid advice vis a vis equities is examine the company in question's balance sheet. Look for bugger all debt ( esp no reliance on overdrafts....) and steady-ish revenue. I can't actually think of a FTSE 250 share that meets that criteria right now but I'm sure they're out there....

0-3

The only credible/likely policy response to current crisis is print loads of money, hence inflation, hence people who owe money end up owing a lot less in real terms.

Discuss.

Oh oh, additional thought....sterling versus dollar....hold onto poker site cash assets (denominated in dollars) or move into interest paying sterling deposits. Discuss. Or toss a coin.....

 

This is the problem, it has nothing to do with race or immigrant workers for that matter it is to do with immigrants coming here purely for handouts be it via benefits or the nhs, it's wrong.

But most immigrants come here for economic reasons- not to scrounge or sponge, but to work. A great deal of anecdotal evidence suggests that many of those who do rely on the state for their income (i.e. asylum seekers/ refugees still awaiting confirmation of their right to remain) would prefer to earn their own living but are prevented from doing so by their legal limbo.

As for people coming to the UK for the NHS, I would have thought the bigger problem would be Brits going to poorer countries for cheaper healthcare thereby pushing up the cost for locals?

Geo makes a good point about good governance...definitely there is a massive case for aid being targeted rather than being purely cash

I can copy and paste loads of articles too with Conservative tax increases.

Means fukall, bottom line is they all very similar now and a lot of the increases are dependent on our economic situation.

What a ridiculous statement.   The Labour Party have done this country in, open borders with no controls, bottomless pit welfare state, bloated civil service non jobs - massive pensions, PFI,  god, I could go on all night.

So your saying the parties are wide apart in how they would run the country and tax people? they are virtually identical once the rhetoric is taken away. The only party with slightly different policies are the Lib Dem's who can say whatever they want as they will not get in.

I agree with you this country is done in, its in such a state.  I mean all those people feeling the pinch will have to cut back on their sky TV subscription, not continually overspend on huge mortgages, or stop getting take aways every night, or getting pissed up and wasting their money. Fuck me how will we cope?

I also agree with you, now the boarders are open all those minimun wage jobs are being taken up by well manered hard working people who pay taxes! It's now so hard to get a job, you have my sympathy's.

You forget Ecosse is a racist bigot so don't  read too much into his posts.

One of the best things that has happened under the Labour government is the tide of foreign hard working minimum wage workers that now live and work in the uk.
[/quote

100% agree

Well change that to 70%, don't know about Ecosse's alleged bigotry but more agreeing that most immigrants are hardworking and contribute plenty to the exchequer...how it's spent is a different matter.

To further respond to the post asking why "should hour hard earned cash should be spent on aid"...if  one takes the view that the welfare of every human being on the planet is equal, giving aid to less developed countries probably gives a higher rate of 'welfare' return than the same amount spent here in blighty

I actually believe that house prices will drop, lending will become tougher as a direct result of media hysteria.
Labour of course have screwed us badly taxwise obviously (cuz it's historically correct), tories will come in and help a bit but they cannot reverse the trend.
I say cut all overseas aid, immigrant benefit and pump the cash back in via tax breaks subsidies before we are all screwed.

Sorry if this is toungue in cheek and I've just been wooshed but are you seriously advocating reallocating resources away from those with a degree of need (LDCs, benefit recipients) to homeowners simply because  equity gains over the past decade may end up being 150% instead of 200%?

House prices will drop, in part because lending is tougher, yes. However lending criteria are entirely unaffected by "media hysteria". The criteria have been too loose because loan originators (Mortgage providers) have had their incentive to check the credit worthiness of loan recipients eroded away by well developed secondary markets for loans-loans could be sold on. However, as loan performances have dropped below historical averages, the demand for repackaged loans has evaporated, financial instiutions are stuck with the loans they've made and are belatedly realising a default by the debtor once again directly hits them in the pocket.

I do agree that taxation, borrowing and above all spending by the government are too high but I think there are better targets than the ones you've suggested.

If the BB is known to be loose, hero has to be raising pflop for value, unless by loose you mean aggressive, i.e. there's a probability of a raise from BB?

After limping, jam it on the flop, 1200 into 1625 pot seems like pair to me, top pair,and ,in general, at this level they call.
 
Slowplaying KK is ok with deepstack, good read on table and willingness and ability to throw it away, given a difficult situation. In this case I think it's ABC all the way

does a missing child not constitute evidence of abduction then laz?

no absolute proof that an abduction has taken place perhaps...

i still drink cheap ass tennents (scottish lager) and asda vodka (1.5 litres for £15, beautiful), so asda did a box 'o wine for £8, I'm only human!

Anyway mister fighting the working class fight from south london....christ thats a clumsy nickname...... have you not got married?

you cant drink a superT indoors, its just wrong!!

Why not? I do...

 i still drink cheap ass tennents (scottish lager) and asda vodka (1.5 litres for £15, beautiful), so asda did a box 'o wine for £8, I'm only human!

Anyway mister fighting the working class fight from south london....christ thats a clumsy nickname...... have you not got married?

wow looks like an excelllent debate. sadly ive just skimmed through it. I read, depending on what day it is:
The Times
The Guardian
The Torygraph (it really does take the piss)
The Glasgow Herald
The Scotsman
The Economist
Private Eye
Daily Record
Evening Times


The debate whether newspapers shape opinions or opinions are shaped by opinions, i believe, goes on. But what I know, some people don't need a newspaper to be ignorant, bigoted XXXXs. So I would generally allow no excuses.