MSE News: UK economy still in recession

beaujolais-nouveau

Graham_Devon wrote: »

Construction output decreased by 1.1 per cent, compared with a decrease of 0.8 per cent in the previous quarter.

There's a comment on Peston's blog saying the Lloyds and HBOS are effectively funding construction companies.

I think that the reality is worse than that published today because of the various behind the scenes arrangements temporarily to prop up areas of the economy. That might explain why the prediction of a 0.2% growth this quarter was so wrong: people "in the know" miscalculated and overestimated the effectiveness of the propping up.

Another behind the scenes arrangement is deferred tax but this could turn out to be a gamble that went wrong, too, for the government. ("Taxman might have to write off £2.4bn of deferred tax as many businesses are still going bust", Accountancy Age 4 June 2009).

What with printing money, and our national debt increasing by the second, deferred taxes, banks funding construction companies with taxpayers' money (of which there will be less, as unemployment increases and tax revenues fall), VAT and employment taxes rising next year ... it is all ensuring that when the crash comes - when there is nothing left to hold back the crash - it will be more sudden and comprehensive and chaotic than any of us can imagine.

By reading these boards, I have learned with astonishment that some family units have more than £20,000/year to live on entirely paid in State benefit. The moment when the family and working tax credits fail to arrive in people's bank accounts will be the point of no return.

Gorgeous_George

Recession is good.

I have a 3 year pay deal and my mortgage is 1.24%. Happy days!

Only kidding!

GG

Asheron

Yea into the greatest Depression ever!

worldtraveller

beaujolais-nouveau wrote: »

...people "in the know" miscalculated and overestimated the effectiveness of the propping up.

What people would this be? Maybe the overpaid, totally pointless, city economists & analysts that sit in their Ivory Towers, research figures, take huge salaries and have absolutely no experience, whatsoever, of international commerce/trade.

The vast majority of them clearly showed their uselessness prior to, and during the crash, and will, no doubt, continue to do the same, ad infinitum.

Why do people not just accept that you need to do your own research and not rely on these fools.

I'll finish with a little story:

A mathematician, an accountant and an economist apply for the same job.

The interviewer calls in the mathematician and asks "What do two plus two equal?" The mathematician replies "Four." The interviewer asks "Four, exactly?" The mathematician looks at the interviewer incredulously and says "Yes, four, exactly."

Then the interviewer calls in the accountant and asks the same question "What do two plus two equal?" The accountant says "On average, four - give or take ten percent, but on average, four."

Then the interviewer calls in the economist and poses the same question "What do two plus two equal?" The economist gets up, locks the door, closes the shade, sits down next to the interviewer and says, "What do you want it to equal"?

:rolleyes:

Thrugelmir

worldtraveller wrote: »

A mathematician, an accountant and an economist apply for the [STRIKE]same [/STRIKE]job of Chancellor of the Exchequer

The interviewer calls in the mathematician and asks "What do two plus two equal?" The mathematician replies "Four." The interviewer asks "Four, exactly?" The mathematician looks at the interviewer incredulously and says "Yes, four, exactly."

Then the interviewer calls in the accountant and asks the same question "What do two plus two equal?" The accountant says "On average, four [STRIKE]give or take ten percent, but on average, four[/STRIKE]."

Then the interviewer calls in the economist and poses the same question "What do two plus two equal?" The economist gets up, locks the door, closes the shade, sits down next to the interviewer and says, "What do you want it to equal"?

:rolleyes:

I didn't realise how bad state education has become in the past 10 years. :rolleyes:

wageslave

I think it is a parable for our times

lostinrates

wageslave wrote: »

I think it is a parable for our times

Yes, from it i learned never to takr what seems to be a ''2'' at face value.

Wookster

Thrugelmir wrote: »

The most concerning aspect is that no sector in the initial stats has shown any increase at all.

If Government expenditure had been cut, as it should have by now. The figures would have been far worse.

A sign of things to come, no doubt.

Thrugelmir

Wookster wrote: »

A sign of things to come, no doubt.

No wonder Labour are proposing continued investment.

Generali

tomterm8 wrote: »

I always liked Major, it was just the nutbag majority in his party that put me off. Unfortunatly, it just got worse, as the moderate conservatism I agree with , and which major stood for, suffered and we've got the current lot of scoundrels.

It's funny, any other country in the world would be celebrating the rise of a suburban nobody to the highest elected office in the land. In Britain, the newspapers sneered at his wife for good housekeeping (keeping old bits of cheese to use in cooking) and at him for being a 'failed bus conductor'.