Rolling UK Economy Into The Shitbin Thread

Unless of course people go on long term incapacity benefit - in which case unemployment can carry on being as low for as long as you like

Recession claims first casualty

Unless of course people go on long term incapacity benefit - in which case unemployment can carry on being as low for as long as you like

-- laxalt, Monday, February 11, 2008 3:58 PM (3 days ago) Bookmark Link

^^^ this. unemployment isn't low. people claiming JSA is comparatively low. depends how you slice and dice the figures innit.

How nice that the Times should include a detailed definition of the term "bankruptcy" in that Statto piece for the benefit of all those thrusting Thatcherkids who haven't got time to learn English. Still I suppose many thrusting Thatcherkids will know what the word means soon enough.

http://www.phill.co.uk/comedy/dadsarmy/da78.jpg

http://theliberati.net/quaequamblog/wp-content/comical_ali.jpg

how long till first "UNGRATEFUL IMMIGRANTS ABANDON UK: after taking advantage of our hospitality, mercenary poles and russians look to leave UK when going gets rough, proving they WERE only ever interested in our money" type stuff in the Daily Angry

It was in the Metro already this morning.

bah

(It actually was! Something about 'Poles abandon failing Britain')

looooooool

Looks like recession here is going to move much quicker than it has been arriving in the US

That "Poles leaving the UK story" was great, "Nowadays, the average British wage is only twice as high as the average Polish wage".

I'm still kind of amazed that thomas cook, woolworths and foxtons have staff

It's a shame Kazakhstan isn't in the EU, we'll have to wait until World Cup qualifying for that 'Borats leave sinking ship' headline.

I'm still kind of amazed that thomas cook, woolworths and foxtons have shops (with staff in them)

Foxtons have branches with fridges in them but I don't usually see much in the way of staff.

Aren't Foxtons Britain's most EVIL company? Although when I spoke to another estate agency dude, they were more critical of Foxtons for having 7:30am meetings, rather than the whole "ripping off innocent customers" thing.

Meanwhile in the real world where people aren't sitting around worrying about every dip and curve in the stock market...

Europe's second biggest holiday firm now says that bookings for both winter ski trips and summer beach breaks remain strong.

I'm not saying there's not going to be a recession, or a downturn, or whatever, I'm just saying it's not like we haven't been here before and, you know, we're still here. And things aren't so bad.

'Poles abandon failing Britain'

Fuck, that means the return of Australian barmaids and Sarf Ifrikan barmen :(

"Poles abandon failing Britain" - does that mean all our seaside piers will fall down? It's a disgrace.

Good article by Janice Turner in the Times about EVIL FOXTONS even if it does press the Our Children button a little too fervently.

im amazed they are still here when people can sort their own holidays out online

Europe's second biggest holiday firm now says that bookings for both winter ski trips and summer beach breaks remain strong.

Liverpool fans say this year is their year

I mean, who do you think that statement is actually intended for and what would you expect them to say? and even then, does it actually read that confidently to you? words like 'still' and 'remain' are pretty telling

No, I'm just bored of your doom and gloom.

Fair point. Though you maybe should expect a little of that on a thread called 'rolling UK economy into the shitbin thread'

the 'Rolling Street Style / Fashion Blog Thread' is quite cheery at the moment though, that is balancing things out somewhat

Is Thomas Cook a public company? If so they have an obligation to say things are going tits-up if they are going tits-up.

It's something of a red herring anyway as people won't stop booking holidays until things begin to bite, and they haven't bitten yet. And even then, holidays aren't the first thing people tighten their belts on unless they're actually made unemployed. I see no reason why holiday bookings wouldn't be holding up at this point in time (especially as this statement is retrospective anyway).

This is true, its more that im interested that their model survives when people can book things separately

Is Thomas Cook a public company? If so they have an obligation to say things are going tits-up if they are going tits-up

working a treat for alliance & leicester!

"england's second-largest widget retailer says customers abandoning its useless widgets in droves"

I believe Glen Campbell had a song about that, "Widget Alingment"

"Widget Alignment" even

And even then, holidays aren't the first thing people tighten their belts on unless they're actually made unemployed

Really?

i haven't been on holiday since 2005. this isn't really a money thing, more a being mental thing.

I'd say so - people tend to to value holidays very highly in this day and age. Your average family, if tightening the purse strings, is more likely to tighten them elsewhere so they can still afford a holiday ("we can wait for that new furniture?", "do we really need another TV?").

Of course, they may book cheaper holidays as well but Thomas Cook can still spin that as 'number of bookings remains high'.

(This is only true up to a point of course, but I don't think we've got to that point yet)

Unfortunately most families can't wait to pay those steeply escalating electricity, gas and council tax bills.

I aim for at least four holidays a year.

Thomas Cook can still spin that as 'number of bookings remains high'.

Is Thomas Cook a public company? If so they have an obligation to say things are going tits-up if they are going tits-up.

EXACTLY

though 'spin' isn't really working for Bradford & Bingley right now

We go on The Sun holidays - £38 for 4 nights! It is the ONLY thing The Sun is good for. Laxalt - you're right - why do I look at this thread? The same reason I pick up the Express sometimes - just so I can tut tut I suppose.

Your average family, if tightening the purse strings, is more likely to tighten them elsewhere so they can still afford a holiday ("we can wait for that new furniture?", "do we really need another TV?").

these are all things that have been increasingly paid for with credit. those lines of credit are being withdrawn quicker than harry kewell on a match day right now

Bradford & Bingley evidently didn't take hedge ineffectiveness into account(s).

Laxalt - you're right

No he isn't! He did the same "We're all doomed" routine, on the Rolling US Economy Into The Shitbin Thread! And they weren't all doomed!

Look no one's saying everyone in the UK is going to be sacked and we're about to enter a Great Depression where we have to huddle together for warmth and eat rats, they're just saying lots of people may be laid off, the economy might slow or perhaps shrink and we'll be through it after three years. Jesus.

that is exactly right

even the head of the bank of england is saying it. depends on your definition of 'shitbin' i suppose.

I meant he was right about the title being indicative of its content.

I think also that 'shitbin' offends me. It reminds me of all the HYS posts that start "This country has now officially gone to the dogs".

would you prefer "the dumper"?

dunno about 3 years, most other times its really been more like 5 (though the periods of 'technical recession' are often around 2 if you don't count below inflation growth, which is still pretty poor). i think it will be worse this time as the credit expansion period has been longer and fuller, but whether this means a heavy short(ish) recession, or a longer less immediately sharp one, only time will tell

No, what's going to happen is that everyone in the UK is going to be starved in order to subsidise the lifestyles of hedge fund managers and shareholder pension fund subscribers and then made to eat rats in the workhouse. Jehovah.

I think also that 'shitbin' offends me.

merely copying the US title. i wouldn't have chosen that word either, otherwise

this thread is key reading imo:

The Bank of England’s going to increase interest rates today. It may be by 0.25%. It could be by 0.5%. But the question is, why are they choosing to increase the price of money when we already have an inflation problem? A thread to explain…..

— Richard Murphy (@RichardJMurphy) August 4, 2022

it’s almost as if “cooling” (sunak) vs “stimulating” the economy (truss) is too simplistic a way to think about this quite grim challenge of profiteering, war and chronic underinvestment

Bump

negative growth in last 3 months blamed on... the extra bank holiday and not the fuckwittery of the truss government.

Christmas and a world cup in the next quarter though.

food inflation now running at 19%. not a typo.