Personal Blogs

Now this new global economy. You'd never think that we used to buy cotton from America and do something with it in the mills of Manchester. You'd never think that we took gold mined from South Africa. You'd never think that we took meat and wool from Australia and New Zealand, to feed and clothe the masses. You'd never think that we took young men from the Dominions to fight to save democracy in World War I. Thousands dead on foreign fields.

As for finance, find out about Arbitrage where we would buy mining shares in South Africa and sell them in London making a quick turn. Ask about over-the-Counter trading, where bits of paper, bearer bonds could be traded for cash settlement.

What I would like to see is the international global markets bring back exchange control. You know what the Tories abolished when they last came into power, under Margaret Thatcher. You had to limit the amount of money transferred out of the country and all authorisation had to be through the Bank of England. You also had to pay a premium when buying currency. So, bring in an international system of exchange controls. Now that may well help.

As for Gordon, resign as Prime Minister and resume the role of Chancellor, you enjoy it, you do have power, because what you failed to mention at all was the occupation of Iraq, the war in Afghanistan, and the deteriorating situation in Pakistan. Why no mention of any of the sad deaths of the events in Pakistan, why not remember the names of those soldiers killed in Afghanistan.

isn't it weird the way that we can so easily lose our freedoms. Take freedom of speech for instance. If you say how serious the financial situation is because of City malpractice, you can be accused of talking down the economy. If you talk about the situation in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan you are being disloyal to the troops out in these foreign places. Without getting personal, we really must look at the bigger picture and realise that nobody can see the real big picture. We are losing our freedoms, slowly but inexorably.

If we can no longer tolerate the other persons views then we all become poorer. We are all losers. I would go along with Locke that we are also being irrational. There are many ways to persecute the innocent, could it be a case of shooting the messenger, rather than the message.

What do others think. Are we losing the fredoms which so many have died for, or did they die for nothing.

 

The BBC have been very good at telling the world about short-selling well here's another one for you.

A bear squeeze.

Now this is where you sell stock you haven't got to somebody but eventually you have to buy it back to cover your short position. Now when you go to buy back there is now a seller, only they know that you are forced buyer, so they will say want a price of GBP1, then they know that you are desperate to cover so they then increase the price to GBP2, and if you are having to pay GBP2 then you really must be desperate so hey lets try GBP3, and so it goes on.

You are so finished, all those gains you made on the way down gone, just like that.

So, commentators, lets have the classic bear sqeeze explained, because the bankers have got the speculators over a barrel, or the short and curlies if you like. They will be, as Alastair Darling will say, well 'pissed off'.

Come on give us another scoop, or are there now going to be complaints that they used the options market to purchase call options to cover there short positions and now they are making even more money on the way up. What did they say about Mohammed Ali, floats like a butterfly stings like a bee. Study the options market then you may just understand.

Everything happens behind closed doors. You should know that by now.

The problem is that it was decisions made in 1928 which led to the Great Crash of 1929. There were problems in the New York Stock Market which were solved by putting ever more money into the market.

Eventually all the money was spent, by 1929 there was just no money left. It is next year that you will see the real effluent. This is just a fretaste of what is to come.

In the meantime Britain yet again will be worst placed to deal with this because Gordon will have to go to the country in 2010, he will not be able to delay, unless there is some sort of emergency! Every day this gets worse. America with its toxic loans will survive, but what of us.

Is not the problem that the crash must happen before any charges can be brought for say driving without due care and attention.

You can see the cars on a collision course but at the very last second they swerve and miss each other. Nobody is guilty, because there is no proof and there is no evidence. There was no crash.

However, the two cars which swerved drive off and two family cars behind the are distracted by the events unfolding that they crash and two families are wiped out.

The people who really caused the crash walk away and leave the carnage behind them.

Is this not what has happened to the financial markets, the guilty must not be allowed to get with this, they have ruined so many lives. There must be a thorough investigation, who are the guilty ones. Could it even be the pension fund trustees who let their stock be lent without realising what it meant.

this is the end. The politicians have to realise that the game is up. This cannot be allowed to continue, and I will suggest what must happen.

Gordon Brown must resign as Prime Minister, and then resume his position as Chancellor, that is his job, that is where he can best serve the interests of Great Britain. I am sorry he is not Prime Ministerial, because what has happened is that the role of Prime Minister is Presidential, whether  we like it or not, it has happened.

Jack Straw must then be installed as Prime Minister, and there must not be an election, I stress not be an election.

If the conservative, and the liberal democrat MPs have any bit of decency left in them with regard to this country then they must support the Chancellor in all things economic.

As for ID cards, forget it, as for the changes to abortion make it a completely free vote, it is down to individuals moral compass and should have nothing to do with party politics.

An announcement must be made that the 2012 Olympics gave been cancelled. This amount of spending will break the taxpayer and cannot be funded by the banks.

The implementation of computer systems into the NHS must be severely scaled back.

This is a time for unity, not party loyalty or personal advancement. If the politicians think only of themselves then this could be worse than anybody ever dreamed of.

As for some people thinking that governments never default on their debts then go back to 1928/9 when Britain defaulted on War Loan. Tell me has it ever been repaid, no! It still pays 3.5% and is irredeemable. It can happen, even to America.

A government of national unity, because the party is over.

it is not my fault that this forum has died, it was always going to die once the OU have got all their money from the course. There are other forums which can be accessed, have you never heard of the UN Charter and Freedom of Speech, Expression, Thought etc.. it seems that some people want to be ever so selective.

Oh, and its not my fault if you can't concentrate. Best wishes Terry

Surely if you have read any of my comments in the past relating to the economy you will realise like many others will that there is nobody quite like TA Griffin. I may be accused sometimes of false modesty but you can thank the OU for giving me so much knowledge that I can use. Don't make the mistake that I think of myself either as Socrates or Plato, I am so much better than that. A revolution the type of which has never been seen before is just around the corner, hope that I am alive to see it. It's the internet that has changed the world, can you imagine what Socrates PLato Kant Nietche et al would do with it if they were around today. Kind regards Terry

just listened to Nick Clogg, and I will pick up on one point specifically.  He mentioned the fact that as aprt of his departing package the former Chief Executive of Northern Rock when he left received GBP30,000 tax free and he sort of indicated that this should not happen.

Now excuse me but when I was made redundant part of my package was the fact that the first GBP30,000 was tax free, anything over that sum was taxed at the appropriate rate. Now, is Clogg and Cobble going to take that away. Is he going to tax the tax free element of commuted pension payments.

Apart from that little issue, may I say that 'Make it Happen' is the wrong strategy at this time. In fact if we are going to make it a better life for our children then we should be paying more tax, interest rates must rise, because this appalling generation, of which I am part, are leaving with our children and grandchildren with huge debts, debts which will hold back any opportunity whatsoever. So, somewhat bizarely I suggest, raising taxes, raising interest rates, put an immediate end to short selling in the Stock Markets regulated in Britain, have no trading in futures and options, and nationalise all the utility companies.

The FSA which was set upi with Gordon Brown was Chancellor must ac now. Dealings in HBoS must be suspended, this is such a false market that nobody benefits. So, if anybody in this godforsaken government is reading this then do something, share dealing in HBoS must be suspended. Message timed at 10:22. Do something you idiots before it implodes completely.

So now we have 'lost' AIG as well. This is shameful, has America lost all of its senses, loaning it billions of dollars. I know this is economics not politics but what on earth is happening, this is the octopus economy, where tentacles wrap around governments and drag them down into the deep blue sea.

Gordon Brown cannot stay in his bunker waiting to say anything until the party conference. The oil price has collapsed, yet where is the reduction in the price at the pumps. He was responsible for the fall by going to Saudi and talking to the producers, so this is something he should be rightly proud of. But, now get the oil companies to bring down the price at the pumps.

Inflation, as measured by the Retail Price Index, is down from 5.0% to 4.8%, this is good, however it will fall further next month. Why am I confident of that. Because the October RPI is used to calculate pension and benefit increases. It is this month that the price of petrol will fall at the pumps having a beneficial effect on the RPI, I want it higher not lower. It can come down after my pension increase.

He will also want to tell us about the withdrawals from Iraq, the war is over as far as we are concerned. We can withdraw with our American Allies and the civil war can start. A Federal Iraq made up of three states.

As for Afghanistan, well the Americans are having problems with Pakistan, we are losing soldiers to death and injury, it is not that we have lost it is that there is no winner, everybody lost.

So, Gordon, you are keeping your powder dry for your validictory speech which will be cheered to the rafters by the party faithful, but you will not see in the new year as Prime Minister.

I was trying to think of a word that could be applied to Gordon Brown and his current predicament.

The word that I will use is that has Gordon no dignity left. I mean it it just so demeaning. That is what is sad. Can we expect him to shed a tear aka Margaret Thatcher when eventually he vacates number 10.

This lack of dignity reflects badly on all of us, so as i have said before when, and if Gordon next attends PM Question Time then that is the time to show how awful the situation has become. Just stand up and walk out, leave him to it, just like David Davies, walk out, and say this really is the end. It is in the hands of the worst parliament in living memory to act. Do it.

please note that I am nearly 60, next April to be exact. My older brother was born 1944 my sister 1947, me 1949 there is then an 8 year gap between me and my younger brother.

My point, over the next 5 years we will start to receive our pensions, both state and private.

As we are typical of the immediate post war generation hundreds of thousands, millions around the world, of people born between 1944 and 1949 will start retiring.

The proverbial will start to hit the fan because I don't think that the money is there to pay. The disabled will be taken off the statistics as being in receipt of disability payments. The unemployed will disappear off the unemployment figures. Those taking early retirement, if they can afford it, will not bother to sign on because there is no work, and they get their national insurance stamp paid for them over 60. For those who don't know contributions based unemployment is removed after 6 months and there is now income rules which will remove the early retirement pensioners from the need to sign on, they will have earnt to much to have any entitlements.

listened to Alistair Darling this morning telling us about the credit crunch and the financial crisis and he was asked about Hedge Funds.

Just a quickie for your readers . In order to be able to sell short a hedge fund still has to make delivery of stock to the market in settlement, so they borrow the stock.

Now who do they borrow the stock from, why the Investment Banks who manage the assets of Pension Funds. So, when you are a Trustee of a Pension Fund and you are asked will you permit any of the assets of the pension fund to be 'lent' then just say no.

The Investment Banks cannot do anything without the approval of the Trustees, so just say no. So, Alistair pass legislation immediately to prevent any stock lending.

There are implications because the Investment Banks pay interest on the value of the borrowed stock but that is far outweighed by seeing the value of the pension fund assets fall in value.

So, to assist the Chancellor, stop stock lending and disallow the activity which is known as Contracts for Difference, which avoids the need to settle with physical stock within the Settlement period.

I do not expect any financial aid from the Chancellor for my contribution but if he does this right away he will have the gratitude of all of us. By the way please note that Pension Funds cannot 'trade' their assets, that is they cannot just buy and sell because they are meant to invest for the long term, not just short term speculative gains.