Seriously doomed

[DimPrawn]

Very smug! So you don't know either?

This is all starting to sound very Chicken Little to me.

OK I found this:
http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/credit-crunch

So, if you're in debt or seeking credit, then there's a problem. If you work in an industry that relies on people taking on debt to purchase your product (motor vehicles, houses) then your job is at risk. And I can see that has a knock-on effect in the high street.

But I still reckon that for many averages joes, the sky is not falling in, nor will it.

Move along. Nothing to see here.

You might like to think that a large % of the UK tax take comes from:

1. Big profits made by the city
2. Stamp duty on property sales

You might like to think what New Labour will do when this source of £ trillions dries up.

[Ruprect]

Anyone out there going perm? Has it got that bad?!??!

[HRH]

This would not have happend under a Conservative government.

[Platypus]

my fear is if it plummets in value.

If everyone else's does too, then you'll remain as well off (relatively) as now, surely?

I've never really understood why people get so excited about the value of the house they live in. Isn't it all relative?

If you were planning to cash in and move abroad then fair enough, you may have a problem.

[Marina]

I enjoy a good doom 'n gloom story as much as the next guy (including guyess), and Ambrose Prichard is a pro. But at the end of the day, even if they/we collectively end up "losing" a trillion dollars, the total value of Western economies is probably something like (say) ten trillion dollars. So that's only a 10% drop, which given annual expansions in GDP equates to ending up up back where we were only three or four years ago. Or am I being naive?

[Platypus]

Move along. Nothing to see here.

You might like to think that a large % of the UK tax take comes from:

1. Big profits made by the city
2. Stamp duty on property sales

You might like to think what New Labour will do when this source of £ trillions dries up.

Good points, thank you.

[sli_gryn]

alright, here's an interesting one...

UK rate = 5.25% (or thereabouts, right?)
US rate = 3% and looking to go down (hopefully no more than 25 basis points)
Australian rate = 7% and looking to go UP to 7.25%

HSBC makes a £12bn+ profit and writes down $17bn using gains in Asia to balance it out...

is this REALLY as bad as all this or is scare-mongering going to bring about a self-fulfilling prophecy here?

[BlasterBates]

Adding to the gloom

[HRH]

If everyone else's does too, then you'll remain as well off (relatively) as now, surely?

I've never really understood why people get so excited about the value of the house they live in. Isn't it all relative?

If you were planning to cash in and move abroad then fair enough, you may have a problem.

Yeah totally agree, I remember my dad telling me that even if your house has gone up 20%, its only worth anything in real terms if you downsize or move to a worse area as so will everyones elses....

Just like when people used to say 'how can that house be worth 1/2 a million?'

Simple- its worth what people are willing to pay fo it.

[BrilloPad]

This would not have happend under a Conservative government.

rubbish! all the things I hate about labour were started by conservatives (under major) and extended under liebour.

bring back maggie.