Financial chaos ?

[BrilloPad]

Executive summary please.

"We're suffering the aftereffects of the collapse of a Tinker Bell financial market, one that depended heavily on borrowed money that has now vanished like pixie dust."

Bankers have been playng "Heads, you win; tails, you lose someone else's money. "

"Academics now feel that the 1929 slowdown morphed into a Great Depression in large part because the Fed tightened credit rather than loosening it. With that precedent in mind, you can see why Bernanke's Fed is cutting rates rapidly and throwing everything but the kitchen sink at today's problems. (Bernanke will probably throw that in too, if the Fed's plumbers can unbolt it.) None of this Alan Greenspan (remember him?) quarter-point-at-a-time stuff for him. "

"Okay. Is there good news here? Indeed, there is. Sooner or later, all this money being thrown at the debt markets will stabilize things. "

"But the costs will be steep. Those of us who have been prudent, lived within our means, and didn't overborrow are paying a huge price for this. Income on our Treasury bills, money market funds, and CDs has dropped sharply, thanks to the Fed's rate cuts, and our wealth has eroded relative to foreign currencies and commodities."

HTH

[Moscow Mule]

House price inflation -25%

Cool, in four years time I'll be able to afford a house for two years pay - I'll buy two!

[BrilloPad]

But that would fuel the economy thus making the doomsters predictions invalid. Boomed, I tell yer!

Provided enough people have jobs and enough money from paying mortgague plus other essentials.

debt is reality. house prices fantasy.

[BrilloPad]

Cool, in four years time I'll be able to afford a house for two years pay - I'll buy two!

If you have a job.

And suppose house prices then fall another 25%? Why not wait?

Buying in a falling market is like catching a falling knife.

[Moscow Mule]

If you have a job.

Well, indeed.

And suppose house prices then fall another 25%? Why not wait?

I'll have bought it for cash - it's my asset with no debt, I'll have somewhere to live.

Buying in a falling market is like catching a falling knife.

Bloody impressive if you can do it well?

FWIW, I seemed to have called the top of the market quite well - lets see if I can do the bottom of the market too - come back in 7 years

[DimPrawn]

I'm building up my war fund. Cash is king.

Houses will be cheap as it will be impossible to borrow to fund one, so the only buyers will be cash buyers.

This is about 2-3 years away I reckon, when most UK banks are bankrupt and the UK government owns them all with tax payers money.

[threaded]

This is about 2-3 years away I reckon, when most UK banks are bankrupt and the UK government owns them all with tax payers money.

Gordon Brown in charge of all the banks, how jaw-droppingly frightenin' and yet, what a fantastically amusing prospect, to watch from another country.

[PAH]

Gordon Brown in charge of all the banks, how jaw-droppingly frightenin' and yet, what a fantastically amusing prospect, to watch from another country.

Indeed. I'm sure there's loads of people on mainland europe that would be interesting in a house swap, seeing how they seem so desperate to come here.

[Pickle2]

"At least 10,000 jobs could be lost in the next 3 months", doesn't look too rosy! Hope they're not all contractors.

This 10k doesnt even include contractors does it? A contract is not a "job" in this context is it? The bank that is my current main client has got rid of about 15 of 30 contractors in the section I work, without having to announce a single layoff.

Though now there are far too many chiefs for the number of indians, you can see that it wont be far off.

[DimPrawn]

Though now there are far too many chiefs for the number of indians, you can see that it wont be far off.

Give the New Labour work permits dept a call. 10,000 work permits in the post by 5.00pm

Sorteeeeeeeed.