Doomed I tell yer!

[DimPrawn]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7458209.stm

Rising food and energy prices have pushed UK consumer inflation up again, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has said.

The Consumer Prices Index (CPI) measure of annual inflation was 3.3% in May, up from 3% the previous month.

The rise means that the governor of the Bank of England must write to the chancellor to explain what it is doing to control price rises.

The wider Retail Prices Index rose to 4.3% from 4.2% in April.

The biggest contributor to consumer inflation was the rising price of food and non-alcoholic drinks, the ONS said.

This was mainly due to the increasing cost of meat products, particularly bacon, and vegetables.

Increasing household energy bills were also a significant factor, along with the rising cost of books, stationery and foreign holidays. However, this rise in the cost of leisure and recreation was offset by a fall in the price of DVDs, according to the ONS.


So, stop eating, stop travelling, stop heating, stop going out and buy more DVD's

[Bagpuss]

BBC breakfast this morning on inflation... someone emailed in "Things are bad enough, so why do they have to consider putting up interest rates and making things worse?"

Jaysus, there are some thickos in this country.

[moorfield]

I've been reading this recently ...

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Last-Oil-Sho...3694539&sr=8-1

Yes, we're all doomed.

[rootsnall]

I think they'll not raise rates unless sterling starts to get hammered ( quite possible ) but the market is doing the job for them ( the 2 year swap rate at 8 year high at 6.5% ) and mortgage rates will keep on rising.

[Bagpuss]

If you can remain in contract, halcyon days are back for contractors. The general populace being without cash and strapped for credit means luxury goods will have to fall.

[TimberWolf]

I've been reading this recently ...

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Last-Oil-Sho...3694539&sr=8-1

Yes, we're all doomed

Looks interesting, can you summarise it in a few paragraphs to save us the bother of buying it?

I like the synopsis:

This may be the most important book you or anyone else will read in the next fifty years.

Followed by:

Assuming humanity survives that long

I agree with this:

will spark a crisis far more dangerous than international terrorism, and more urgent than climate change

World leaders know it, so why aren't they telling?

Is it 'cos they is thick?

David Strahan explains how we reached this critical state, how the silence of governments, oil companies and environmentalists conspires to keep the public in the dark

Doomed

[Marina]

Sounds like David Strahan will comfortably survive the "oil shock", if enough conspiracy theory mugs buy his book.

[TimberWolf]

Sounds like David Strahan will comfortably survive the "oil shock", if enough conspiracy theory mugs buy his book.

We are living on borrowed time as far as cheap energy goes though, if we don't find alternatives to dwindling oil supplies. Especially since oil consumption is rising.

[TheBigYinJames]

We are living on borrowed time as far as cheap energy goes though, if we don't find alternatives to dwindling oil supplies. Especially since oil consumption is rising.

It makes previously uneconomical sources of it more viable now, so the tail-off won't be as dramatic as some doom-mongers predict. We're seeing the seeds of our 'weaning off' process starting petrol consumption in the UK is down 20% on last year (for instance) and we have electric/hybrid cars which we didn't see 10 years ago. Once peotrol gets too dear, things we wouldn't drive now (30mph solar cars for instance) will start to look like a viable alternative.

The weaning-off is going to be painful, though. But it needs to be done.

[DimPrawn]

Horses. They are going to go up in price.