Archive for January, 2009

Obama slams Wall St bankers

Friday, January 30th, 2009

Are you reading this pork chop ?

Obama has slammed Wall Street bankers for awarding themselves $20bn worth of bonusses at a time when most of the institutions are teetering on the verge of collapse, and are asking for taxpayers to help sustain them. He called it the height of irresponsibility and shameful, and called on those on Wall street to show some discipline, show some restraint and show some responsibility.

Do you agree with him ?

PS Pork chop will be buying champagne cocktails at our social

Land Registry – House Price Index 29th Jan 2009

Friday, January 30th, 2009

First of all – a reminder. Peeque social evening Feb 6th in London. Yummy mummies reading the previous post welcome to join – free drinks and sparkling conversation guaranteed – and we won’t even talk about kids !

Right, back on topic then.  Here is the Land Registry House Price Index for December 2008

http://www1.landregistry.gov.uk/assets/library/documents/29012009e.pdf

Key headlines :

  • Annual house price decline of 13.5%
  • Prices are now at similar levels to late 2005
  • Number of transactions has fallen from 110,517 per month to just under 45,000 per month
  • London is down 12.9%. Average price £307,000, prices still at end 2006 levels
  • The South West has fallen the most, Wales has fallen the least
  • Hertfordshire prices down 9.6% year on year
  • The number of properties sold for over £1m decreased by 58%

Does that match up with what you are seeing round your way ?

Also, where do you think the house price indices will be at the end of 2009 ?

Let it all begin ….

Final Salary Pension Schemes

Friday, January 23rd, 2009

Obviously(?) I’m not a part of any Final Salary Pension Scheme, but even as an impartial observer if this is true I’m speechless (for now) …

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7846122.stm

Hats Off To ‘Em …

Thursday, January 22nd, 2009

… if you’re going to run a scam, may as well “go large”!

http://www.channelregister.co.uk/2009/01/22/satyam_in_court/

The yummy mummy set

Thursday, January 22nd, 2009

From earlier. As you may or may not know (and I think you probably do by now), I have a thing about yummy mummies. I find them very attractive. I like a woman in her late thirties / early forties, who has  grown into herself, is self confident, intelligent and succesful.

It’s a wonderful life. After dropping the kids off at school, they either go to the gym, go to the local coffee shop or down to the tennis club. They do lunch a lot. A lot of them have cleaners, some have au pairs even though they don’t work. You have to feel sorry for them though. A lot of them complain that housework is boring and that they don’t feel fulfilled.

But the credit crunch is in danger of ruining their lifestyle. Unless their husbands rein in their spending, they may not continue to live as they do now. Now don’t you think that would be a shame ?

UK is finished

Wednesday, January 21st, 2009

Well so says legendary investor Jim Rodgers

One of the world’s leading investors voiced the markets’ concerns. Jim Rogers, of the Singapore-based Rogers Holdings and co-founder of the Quantum fund with George Soros, told Bloomberg Television, “I would urge you to sell any sterling you might have. It’s finished. I hate to say it, but I would not put any money in the UK.”

Do you believe him ? I wouldn’t take too much notice of him as he has a commodities fund to hype and he’s been talking about the west being finished for years. However one thing really did worry me this week, and that was the Treasury giving the go ahead for “Quantitative Easing”

What is quantitative easing you might ask ? Well, it seems the government have found the ink and are about to put it in the printing press.They have been given the go ahead to ease recession by printing money. This is dangerous territory (see Weimar Germany or present day Zimbabwe). First thing to watch for is the loss of our AAA credit ratings.  If this happens expect to see a flood capital leaving the UK.

At current rates of progress, how long before the UK has to be bailed out ? What’s your view ?

Censorzilla

Tuesday, January 20th, 2009

NB – following this link may get you into trouble if you’re currently reading this via a corporate network …

http://www.jwz.org/doc/censorzilla.html

RBS

Tuesday, January 20th, 2009

http://www.thedailymash.co.uk/news/business/rbs-to-implode-like-house-at-the-end-of-%27poltergeist%27-200901201523/

Homeowner bailout – watch the smallprint

Friday, January 16th, 2009

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601102&sid=aICu0G6pjsL8&refer=uk

The money will be handed to housing associations, which will have the power to buy stakes in primary residences and then rent them back, the Department of Communities and Local Government said.

Ah so you have to sell a stake in your property to housing associations then. Mmm, can’t see a lot of people wanting to do that

 Only people earning less than 60,000 pounds a year are eligible for help.

Fair enough, but won’t help a lot of white collar workers in the south east

 Homeowners must also have an outstanding mortgage of less than 400,000 pounds and savings of less than 16,000 pounds to qualify for the program

That rules double bubble out then ! Who’s got a mortgage that small ?!!

“Ministers are guilty of running around like headless chickens announcing complicated, confusing and often contradictory plans, which later turn out to help far fewer people than the headlines would have you believe,” Conservative lawmaker Grant Shapps said.

He’s summarised government policy quite well there. Especially the part about helping fewer people than the headlines would have you believe

Still think it’s a good idea ?

Football and the credit crunch

Thursday, January 15th, 2009

What impact will the credit crunch have on football ?

My predictions :

2 premier league clubs going into administration in the next 24 months. One of them will be West Ham, and that will be before the end of the season

The transfer market collapsing

Wealthy owners walking away from clubs leaving them saddled with massive debt which will take a lifetime to pay off

The Man City Kaka move being looked back on as the turning point – the day football destroyed itself

An eventual return to a kind of normality, better more conservatively run clubs and a more level playing field.

Yours ?