fuck you BOE, and fuck you the city.
― That one guy that hit it and quit it, Monday, 17 March 2008 10:54 (sixteen years ago) link
My experience up here in the grim up north at the moment is of being in a recession. Would anybody like to buy a bike? I have plenty, and no takers at the moment.
― Pashmina, Monday, 17 March 2008 11:02 (sixteen years ago) link
I desperately need a bike actually. If I were up there Pash I'd know exactly who to buy it from! :/
― Tracer Hand, Monday, 17 March 2008 11:09 (sixteen years ago) link
If only you had a bike to get up to South Shields...
― Dingbod Kesterson, Monday, 17 March 2008 11:10 (sixteen years ago) link
He does orders, if you know what you need.
― suzy, Monday, 17 March 2008 11:33 (sixteen years ago) link
That whole Bear deal reeks of pre panic
― Dandy Don Weiner, Monday, 17 March 2008 12:46 (sixteen years ago) link
What is incredible to me is that Bear's employees accepted approx. 1/3 of their compensation as shares?? (I would hope that's an average, and that the top fund managers had more like 1/2 and the support and tech people had more like 1/10)
― Tracer Hand, Monday, 17 March 2008 13:12 (sixteen years ago) link
Oh, they should have a bit put away.
― Ned Trifle II, Monday, 17 March 2008 14:11 (sixteen years ago) link
Oh no, wait! They don't have plump financial financial cushions!.
― Ned Trifle II, Monday, 17 March 2008 14:14 (sixteen years ago) link
A plum cushion, yesterday...
http://www.shopdekko.com/products/630787m.jpg
― Ned Trifle II, Monday, 17 March 2008 14:17 (sixteen years ago) link
Wow, it seems like it was only yesterday when they paid their CEO a http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/22/business/22bonus.html4.8 Million bonus. In fact it was a whole 15 months ago. Bet he's kicking himself he didn't get it in cash.
― Ned Trifle II, Monday, 17 March 2008 14:21 (sixteen years ago) link
Ooops, fckd up... http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/22/business/22bonus.html
finding myself curiously indifferent as to the fate of bear employees :/
― That one guy that hit it and quit it, Monday, 17 March 2008 14:25 (sixteen years ago) link
Well I'm not sure it's fair that they have to shoulder the burden of risky strategies undertaken by the whizmenschen managers at the top of the pyramid.
Ana amazing fact that I've not seen on any of these threads yet: on Thursday, the chairman of Bear Stearns was participating in the North American Bridge Championships in Detroit. He and his partner were fourth in a field of 130. By Friday, they'd fallen to 26th.
― Tracer Hand, Monday, 17 March 2008 14:58 (sixteen years ago) link
yeh, this is the same guy who took a lot of shit for being away playing golf during some previous crisis.
― stet, Monday, 17 March 2008 15:11 (sixteen years ago) link
Is he some distant relation of the Bush family?
― Nicole, Monday, 17 March 2008 15:12 (sixteen years ago) link
^ well wasnt Carlyle one ot the dominoes for bear?
― laxalt, Monday, 17 March 2008 15:33 (sixteen years ago) link
The day Katrina hit New Orleans, Condoleeza Rice bought shoes at Ferragamo and saw a Broadway play.
― Tracer Hand, Monday, 17 March 2008 15:40 (sixteen years ago) link
As SoS Rice isn't that concerned with domestic shit. Not on her beat.
― Aimless, Monday, 17 March 2008 18:16 (sixteen years ago) link
That's true.
― Tracer Hand, Monday, 17 March 2008 18:24 (sixteen years ago) link
every C-level executive is part of the marketing effort!!
― El Tomboto, Monday, 17 March 2008 19:21 (sixteen years ago) link
ask seth godin!!!
-- Dandy Don Weiner, Monday, March 17, 2008 12:46 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Link
the spectacular run on Bear's liquidity was the panic... If the same happens to Lehman (however unlikely) the shitbin will burst.
― wanko ergo sum, Tuesday, 18 March 2008 03:28 (sixteen years ago) link
The share prices of the banks got a hammering today. RBS at 304p, HBOS at 460p. It was 1000p+ less than 12 months ago.
― stet, Tuesday, 18 March 2008 04:04 (sixteen years ago) link
HBOS at 460p. It was 1000p+ less than 12 months ago.
We sold at 1087p :)
― onimo, Tuesday, 18 March 2008 11:29 (sixteen years ago) link
so.....do we believe that the hbos business this week was all down to 'rogues shorting the market'?
they still went and got their extra funding from the boe, right? even though they told us they didn't need it when they were blaming it on the rogue shorters?
― laxalt, Friday, 21 March 2008 10:46 (sixteen years ago) link
Anyway this is what the banks wanted after Northern Rock, to be able to go get funding in secret. For them to complain now about this, when it was them that wanted transparency moved is ridiculuous. more likely that it is just fig leaf bluster
― laxalt, Friday, 21 March 2008 10:50 (sixteen years ago) link
I love it how the losers in these situations always blame people shorting the market when actually what they mean is "I wish I'd thought of/been able to do that".
― Matt DC, Saturday, 22 March 2008 00:19 (sixteen years ago) link
"Debt-Gorged British Start to Worry that the Party is Ending"
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/22/business/worldbusiness/22debt.html?_r=1&scp=2&sq=england+debt&st=nyt&oref=slogin
― Virginia Plain, Sunday, 23 March 2008 06:03 (sixteen years ago) link
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/World/Queen_cancels_party_to_mark_wedding_anniversary/articleshow/2911091.cms
even the queen thinks recession has come to UK
― laxalt, Sunday, 30 March 2008 17:11 (sixteen years ago) link
Does anyone have any idea what the point of todays rate cut actually is?
― laxalt, Thursday, 10 April 2008 09:19 (sixteen years ago) link
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7288909.stm
― Bodrick III, Monday, 14 April 2008 20:57 (sixteen years ago) link
Suppose we discover that before the economy gets back on track to normal growth of 2.25% to 2.5%, it endures two years of 1.5% growth.
That is far from the worst outcome one can imagine. But it leaves the economy permanently about 1% or 2% smaller than the chancellor has been assuming.
That small error would translate into a permanent annual deterioration in government revenues of about £9bn. When you add that to the shortfall we already have, you are half way to a very nasty problem.
In addition, raising large amounts of new money from the public - in return for no extra services - might feel somewhat uncomfortable when a significant economic slowdown is underway.
― Bodrick III, Monday, 14 April 2008 20:58 (sixteen years ago) link
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/carole_cadwalladr/2008/04/albion_come_to_great_confusion.html
slightly emotional yet schadenfreude-tinged piece -- it's basically otm, though, that this whole thing has been a ridiculous pyramid scheme.
― banriquit, Wednesday, 16 April 2008 09:47 (sixteen years ago) link
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7351073.stm
Anyone else think this is a bad idea? Where is the punishment for the bank's executives and shareholders for making such bad business decisions?
― Ed, Wednesday, 16 April 2008 17:32 (sixteen years ago) link
Indicative of anything or not, I don't know, but this is a pretty big case of tits-upness:
http://www.soundonsound.com/forum/showflat.php?Cat=&Number=610091&page=0&view=collapsed&sb=5&o=&fpart=1#610091
― Pashmina, Wednesday, 30 April 2008 15:56 (sixteen years ago) link
Never knew they owned Turnkey. I'd have thought that it's more of a Fopp-style screw-up than 'oh noes uk musicians aren't splashing the cash anymore', but I know nothing anyway.
― Bocken Social Scene, Wednesday, 30 April 2008 16:56 (sixteen years ago) link
http://news.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/spl/hi/pop_ups/08/uk_politics_enl_1210682649/img/1.jpg
― caek, Tuesday, 13 May 2008 13:32 (sixteen years ago) link
I don't know what the fuss is about with those notes. Seems completely right for a minister to have various scenerios to hand and for a minister to be also reminded to make some point about 'being on the publics side'.
Really, it's getting like this government can't even do a completely normal thing (like have private notes for a meeting) without it appearing in some way sinister.
What I don't understand is why, as I would have done by now if I were Gordy, he just doesn't give up, force a confidence vote or something. Clearly there's a load of treacherous bastards on the backbenches panicking about their seats. There's going to be nothing but bad news for a year or more. Why put yourself through it?
This is why I am not a politician though I guess.
― Ned Trifle II, Tuesday, 13 May 2008 15:12 (sixteen years ago) link
The govt are encouraging people to enter a market (including via disgraceful shared ownership schemes) that in private they admit is going to have at least 10% falls
― laxalt, Tuesday, 13 May 2008 15:16 (sixteen years ago) link
momentum is a bitch.
― caek, Tuesday, 13 May 2008 15:41 (sixteen years ago) link
Laxalt, what should the government do then?
― Ned Trifle II, Tuesday, 13 May 2008 15:43 (sixteen years ago) link
It's all part of the plan, locking them in with negative equity will stop them from emigrating.
― Ed, Tuesday, 13 May 2008 15:43 (sixteen years ago) link
Yeh, government ministers can't go around saying that market is going to fall 10% or it automatically becomes true and falls even further than it would have.
― stet, Tuesday, 13 May 2008 15:45 (sixteen years ago) link
And don't tell what they "should have done" either. xp
― Ned Trifle II, Tuesday, 13 May 2008 15:45 (sixteen years ago) link
i dunno
- make a stronger commitment to affordable housing - buy up languishing residential buildings and rent them out as council flats - insert a million other sensible progressive ideas here
― Tracer Hand, Tuesday, 13 May 2008 15:49 (sixteen years ago) link
It's not as if the housing market is going to fall 10% across the board. The idea of a decent quality house in a reasonable area of London doing so seems faintly preposterous.
― Matt DC, Tuesday, 13 May 2008 15:50 (sixteen years ago) link
But yes, Tracer OTM.
― Matt DC, Tuesday, 13 May 2008 15:51 (sixteen years ago) link
I'm aware of the above! That is why it is news. Obviously the govt cannot admit to the economic situation for the reasons outlined above. But when there own memos admit to it at the same time that they go on television to attempt to persuade people to go into the market
In the same way that internal memos which said "lol there are no wmds in iraq" being photographed from afar would have also been news
― laxalt, Tuesday, 13 May 2008 15:51 (sixteen years ago) link
The idea of a decent quality house in a reasonable area of London doing so seems faintly preposterous.
Why?