If you're not worried about what's going on....

Mrs_Bones

pqrdef wrote: »

Well the US government is now suing the banks, including BoA. So they must feel that the banks can totally afford this and the markets are nowhere near a total crisis of confidence, mustn't they.

I heard on the news it was more to do with the statute of limitations then any feeling that the banks can afford these lawsuits. If they had not given them notice now that they were being sued, then time would have run out on bringing any lawsuit and it could not have proceeded in the future.

I don't believe this is going to do anything to increase confidence. The markets should be interesting next week.

Wookster

I think Macque has the right idea going to work in Asia for a few years.

The world is changing and the culture of entitlement without responsibility or the inclination to work is pretty pervasive in the UK. Welfare commitments continue to rise.

I don't see anyone bold enough to make any wholesale changes.

pqrdef

Shakethedisease wrote: »

Didn't a lot of really rich people do that before the Wall St crash to try and bolster confidence ?? Is it not a known confidence trick in the markets ?

When Buffett announced that he'd been approached (unsuccessfully) by Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae for an injection of a few billion, their credit ratings were immediately downgraded to near-junk.

Thrugelmir

tomterm8 wrote: »

I think it is easy to be too pessimistic. These problems are not unique. They have happened before. This can give us great hope, since if our fathers and grandfathers could solve them, so can we.

The generation of 50 or 60 years ago had more in common with our Viking and Norman ancestors than us today. The world is a totally different place in so many ways.

The question I would pose is do people want to solve them? Or will the £10 donation to Comic Relief clear their conscious whilst still holidaying in the Caribbean.

Without a fundamental change of attitude there's a long road ahead.

Mrs_Bones

Thrugelmir wrote: »

The generation of 50 or 60 years ago had more in common with our Viking and Norman ancestors than us today. The world is a totally different place in so many ways.

The question I would pose is do people want to solve them? Or will the £10 donation to Comic Relief clear their conscious whilst still holidaying in the Caribbean.

Without a fundamental change of attitude there's a long road ahead.

That is what we need, but there is no one around it seems in any political party of any country who is radical enough to start thinking out of the box and help show the way.

TruckerT

Thrugelmir wrote: »

The generation of 50 or 60 years ago had more in common with our Viking and Norman ancestors than us today. The world is a totally different place in so many ways.

Without a fundamental change of attitude there's a long road ahead.

The world is indeed a totally different place, but surely that is precisely because there has already been a fundamental change of attitude to many things in life - the rise in materialism, consumerism and debt just happens to be a straw that finally broke one of the camels' backs - there are quite a few more camels under considerable strain!

What we need is another change in attitude - my priority would be knock the banks off their perch of invincibility, and whilst I was engineering such a massive change, I would make it compulsory for society's new movers and shakers to quit the talking, and start the action, whatever the cost, to avert the disastrous effects of climate change. The negative effects of any government's 'austerity package' are likely to seem insignificant in the face of serious global warming

I guess everbody will have their own ideas about what they would do first...

TruckerT

Thrugelmir

TruckerT wrote: »

What we need is another change in attitude - my priority would be knock the banks off their perch of invincibility,

Banking is changing. Back to old fashioned values. Change will take time.

Thrugelmir

Mrs_Bones wrote: »

That is what we need, but there is no one around it seems in any political party of any country who is radical enough to start thinking out of the box and help show the way.

To a politician telling people the truth is paramount to committing career suicide. Easier for the new to break first in the media........

Mrs_Bones

Thrugelmir wrote: »

To a politician telling people the truth is paramount to committing career suicide. Easier for the news to break first in the media........

That's ok to some extent, if it's the politician leading behind the news but we seem to have got in the sorry state where it's the news that leads the politicians. I'm struggling to think of a single politician now that has any strong convictions on anything or gives any impression of being trustworthy or even that they have any original thoughts on a direction for this country.

sabretoothtigger

I'll just leave this here then



I wouldnt have thought Generalli was a doomer Seriously though as well as people being completely unaware its also possible to overreact and be too negative


Its just about possible that when bad debts do completely unwind its a positive event for those who are productive, companies or people even.

Its a dim light at the end of the tunnel. Eventually it should be that less gravitas is seen with those who borrow and overspend, especially government schemes and the sort I hope. The other end should be more creative elements are valued higher and less restricted?

The negative view would be a downward spiral, reactionist government measures to seize and control & debt. Ending up something like communist revolution, thats not my view personally


I keep hearing how the German people wont allow a repeat or a change to their laws to favour debt and weakened currency.
Maybe they will be first to break the cycle and cause the next leg in events