Are the eternal optimists on here still feeling optimistic?

shortchanged_2

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-29566009

With the global recovery looking ever more shaky are the regular band of optimists on here still positive about the economic outlook for the UK?

What positives can we take from this new (sorry, predictable) looming financial crisis?

Thrugelmir

Just another day. Governments can only deal with what's in front of them at the time. While us mere mortals steer a personal course.

Jonbvn

Thrugelmir wrote: »

While us mere mortals steer a personal course.

No we run around like chickens with their heads cut-off crying "we're all doomed"

michaels

Well what with Ebola and the Koreans shelling each other we are certainly all doomed.

I think with their new cheap energy and not that open economy the US can create its own self sustaining growth. Without either of those I don't think the UK can.

Masomnia

It's looking to me like things will slow down a bit. A bit like 2012 when the Eurozone was in recession and the UK sort of ticked over, no real growth, but no contraction either. Nothing too serious, I shouldn't think.

wotsthat

shortchanged wrote: »

What positives can we take from this new (sorry, predictable) looming financial crisis?

Cheap shares for the sipp?

Thrugelmir

wotsthat wrote: »

Cheap shares for the sipp?

Does cheap = good value though. Sometimes things become cheap for good reason. The art is to reason out the value.

vivatifosi

Well you can say "we're all doomed" or you can just carry on getting on with stuff. We've now lived with this new economic reality for seven years. People should have worked out what such new economic realities mean for them by now.

The thing with economies is that these changes are subtle. It's about different shades of grey rather than black and white. I think the description of this period as "The Great Recession" is an apt one. The metrics aren't great and not only do we have a very weak Eurozone coupled with a reduced ability for the other big global economies to drive growth; we also have a lot of political and social instabilities on a global level with potential for knock on economic shock.

But am I going to stop being optimistic? Heck no! It would be too easy to wind up with your own personal rain cloud otherwise.

Southend1

I don't think I will be optimistic until wages begin to keep pace with inflation. For most of us the new economic reality is that we are becoming slowly but steadily poorer while a few at the top see their wealth grow exponentially. None of the major political parties seem able or willing to challenge this. Even Labour's promise of an £8ph minimum wage by 2020 is a non-announcement. Maybe an £8 minimum wage by 2016 would set us back on the right track.

***Cue angry comments about how increasing the minimum wage to a decent level would "destroy" jobs and make everyone poorer.***

benb76

I'm not a doom monger, but am a realist and accept the the economy can go down every now and then. However, I'm a fully functioning adult, who is responsible for my own choices and making sure that I earn as much as possible.

I have an option of either taking on as much work as possible when times are good and making hay while the sun shines, or moaning about my bad luck in an Internet forum 8 hours a day and then blaming someone else - the government, bankers, landlords, boomers etc. - when I'm struggling to find a new contract, have been sacked or got no pay rise (probably because I spend the entire working day moaning about house prices and the economy on a Internet forum).

marathonic

I'm very optimistic. Economies will always recover eventually and I've over 30 years left until retirement. During the next 20 years of my life, during which I'm contributing to my pension and/or ISA with a high-risk portfolio, the lower the stockmarket is the better. Bring on the bad news - how I wish we were still in 2009.