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Thought that I might have to employ a spiritualist medium it has gone so quiet on here.
I was amazed tonight on the Chanel 4 news to hear that the capitalist system isn't working - "WHAT HAVE I BEEN SAYING" - eery isn't it. The CBI are worried it seems at the lack of investment and are now looking at the "*ankers" and thinking them to be villains, because they seem to be the only people making any money.
Boris still thinks that Brexit is the answer and spoke today about a wall of money just waiting to be invested - in what ? The High Street - when Boots is quietly being offered for sale. Corbyn promises the CBI that they will never have seen so much money being spent on "progressive" ideas. As the artificial consumption created by credit falters, all the businesses that have been built up during the bubble created by QE are stumbling because the economy is shrinking.
It will be blamed on Brexit by Boris, but we all know what is causing it, falling growth in the economy - no new ideas - hence a lack of investment which creates employment in the economy.
Where we have employment in banking and the public services we also have staff shortages due to a lack of liquidity (cutbacks) or the sheer workload imposed due to lack of trained people in the NHS. The system here is still working but it is under very serious pressure and not helped at all by the sanctioning of agency staff who are employed at rates which exceed the pay levels of full-time staff. The hospital staff here are paid less than the rest of the UK, so naturally they are going to opt for the agency option because it pays well enough to allow them to choose the days that they are prepared to work.
I would love to know how hospital "managements" can get away with sanctioning these pay scales or do our politicians choose to ignore this drain on resources. The whole policy with regard to health needs to be looked at, because we are going to have very serious problems going forward - as the bankers and the DUP love to say.
The Assembly here needs to be put in motion and I am very hopeful that faced with Brexit and all its inherent risks, minds will be concentrated and voting will depart from the siege mentality so that we can "hopefully" get some people in place who will work for their constituents. This election will be followed by another, for the Assembly where hopefully the change that I am hoping for will be further reinforced by some fresh faces and the departure of some of the trouble makers.
I am not however holding my breath - this is after all Northern Ireland WARTS AND ALL....

Good luck all.

Feel sure that you meant Oops !!!!

Nite nite...cold here tonight. Thank God for a warm house when so many suffer outdoors...

Where all the money that the political's have promised to sped is coming from - it occurred to me that with so many people employed/now falling, and paying all their taxes and deductions it could be a very long time before we see a return.
Eye watering salaries in the City, lavish expenses for MP's, when the governments duty is to maintain a level of growth in the economy as a means of re-distribution.
The flow has been diverted and with it shareholders money, no wonder jobs have declined by 47,000 over the last quarter as the economy shrinks and with it our funds.
I'm ranting again.
Good luck all...

That Aristotle Onassis has returned......

And now it's Mothercare with its large number of staff - the modern day philosophy is to wait until someone has a bright idea and then copy it - this is made all the easier when supermarkets can buy from the original source usually in the Far East as we call it, which increases the appeal of their offering without necessarily making any money - it does however increase footfall - who ever came out of a supermarket without buying something !!
The internet of course has changed many things, particularly competition, it is possible to hold stock in one location instead of many and to locate your business almost anywhere except on the High Street, greatly assisting margin you'd think.
With the increase in competition two things usually suffer first - choice and quality, which usually determines the value of the product.
Then add China into the mix and you start to have problems with quality maintenance and "knock off" brands across a whole range of products now being bought in a "hands off" situation from some distant location - who already have your money - who hasn't done it.
The businesses that manage to survive will "eventually" prosper - if they can survive - when customer confidence has been sufficiently damaged by businesses that oporate from afar with no regard for customer relations.
Free returns is a good ploy, which is becoming less and less available, it is usually necessary to obtain a returns reference via a toll charge phone number which keeps you hanging on so long that you almost pay again for the item in the none refundable phone charge.
I'm ranting again - but it does explain why it is so hard to make money these days.
Good luck all.

Have had this experience myself - must be due to nocturnal tinkering/updating.

Martin - I see you still have the same trouble sleeping from the time of your post or you have a great pub nearby. You mention Santander, I had a niece working for them who gave up her job with them in Madrid because she could not stomach the way that they work. She is a very bright girl with a first and a Masters in applied mathematics who would rather now run a hotel.
A nephew is still in the city with a big name bank but only plans to continue with his fifteen hour days with an occasional all nighter until he has paid off his house and feels comfortable enough to set up his own operation back in Ireland.
This is an almost universal experience and sentiment expressed by many of our bright young people. Modern day capitalism has more to do with the mechanics of the casino than the creation of wealth through the development of new ideas which are the result of research and development such as happens at Cambridge. The City used to exist as a source of capital in the coffee houses where finance could be arranged to aid development of promising projects and so the empire was built with all the attendant industries associated with it.
What we have now is a series of monoliths around the world which seem to be sucking the life out of businesses whilst claiming "as they used to say to me" that they were SUPPORTING ME.
There is nothing at all wrong with capitalism when it operates properly or do I mean as I remember it. In those days when you had capital it earned you interest and banks gave good employment within the economy and were respected because of it - what we have now seems only to serve the interests of the elites and we must pay for it, with the results that are only too painfully obvious in the UK and were before we crossed the water to this presently prosperous little acre. Not so long ago it was fashionable and profitable to build shopping centres all over the place, because it was assumed that the economy would continue to grow way into the future secured by mountains of "insured debt" - now we can see how well that worked.
enough enough ranting......
Good luck all.

When I posted earlier pouring cold water on Joebop's bullish views, I was not taking a hand at him, I was reflecting on the current state of the economy in the UK.
Ireland's economy is admittedly doing well at the moment BUT the levels of debt are increasing again which hampers growth - if interest rates rise that create a further brake on growth because that has to be serviced. If it cannot be serviced the bank loses money instead of making it.
The UK is shedding jobs, the levels are debt are increasing, which makes it harder for people to spend in the economy, then we have Brexit and an election which Boris thinks he is going to win. If he does, the economy and jobs are going to suffer from more zero hours contracts and falling economic activity in a market where BOI has always been active but not always successful - I am thinking of their purchase of Bristol and West Building Society where even the bond holders were burnt.
The only way that I can see a prospect of worthwhile growth is for Brexit to be stopped, that would produce a bounce I am thinking, because that would release a short flurry of activity, delayed investment decisions would be dusted off and enacted with the participation of the banks as enablers - for a fee and interest of course - result "Ker Ching."
Leo calls an election to take advantage of the brighter news, whether he wins or not when it is over the clouds will start to gather. If people have borrowed money the cost of servicing that debt reacts on the economy like a flat tyre.
Good luck all.

I wish that I could share your optimism Joebop - but the current state of the economy pre Brexit does not look that encouraging...

Mr Grapes - if it is necessary to explain what I posted I'm sorry - between now and the election there will not be enough time for you to catch up with the rest of the class.
You would probably have the same problem on the Golf course where your expression WTF would no doubt be of great use to you as you ploughed your way around.
Halloween is now moved to the 12th of December apparently....and what have we heard from the DUP as the clock starts to tick...

Good luck all.

And with that they all disappeared over the Wicklow Mountains - or were they monitoring the DUP conference which Arlene called to see how many voters in her party would turn up. Apparently their discussions were somewhat subdued because of their present predicament.
I have been told by my daughter that I must no longer refer to them as Orange Men, they are to be described as our "Separated Brethren" - so as to renounce any form of tribalism.
Whatever I call them, I feel that they should not be devoid of some sympathy, they misplaced their trust in people like Arlene and Ian Paisley Jnr. who have long since proved that they are not up to the job and in fact are corrupt, but that is hardly news these days amongst our crop of MP's and Presidents.

Good luck all..

Mine are sour-grapes - my shares were consolidated at 7.40 by market makers who were about as much use as Boris.
I refuse to invest more so as to average down, having done that already, that only improves your odds of benefitting from a rise - but you have to give them some more money first.
When the Directors won't put some skin in the game why should I - I'm better off buying some fruit trees for the garden and maybe a few chickens - if only I ate eggs.

Good luck all...

My post of last night was visible - NOW IT's gone - what I said was "The Speaker seems to be the only hope of preventing a slide into the Abyss - or is that the Media.

Good luck all.

M B. They have indeed lost - when I wrote a week or so ago that change was on the way I was reporting the discontent among the Orange Men whose acquaintance I have gained on the golf course. The surest way of disturbing their equilibrium is to ask what they think of Boris and Brexit and follow it with a question about the success of the recent Northern Secretary's.
Their siege mentality is beginning again to express itself due to their much diminished "human rights" - the loss of their Veto, will no doubt result in much noise and marching - in spite of the weather.
Eventually it will be realised that if you leave other people to sort out your future, when they are paying for it, you really cannot complain when they take a purely practical course much like Europe will do when the dust settles.
Behind the scenes at the DUP should be quite something to see and hear, it will probably be quite a lot worse than having a fox in the hen house. They have had their chance and have really blown it, when they should have been listening to their constituents at home, while they have been on holiday effectively for the last 1,000 days.
They no longer have a majority in Stormont - following the election there will probably only be enough of them to raise an echo.
My feeling is that at last real politics will start to take root here - yes I am sure that it will be bumpy for a while - but really they have upset so many people up here with their dereliction of duty that both they and Sinn Fein will suffer when the ballot boxes are opened after the election.
Good luck all...

More like we have a fox in the hen house

We seem to be on a lifting tide - or is it the bottle of Jameson that I've just opened - anyway spirits are lifting. Don't know about Arlene and Co but Boris is mustering his troops in time for Thursday in Brussels and then Friday in the commons.
It is beginning to seem more hopeful, for the life of me I cannot imagine why!!

Good luck all - visited the course this afternoon and came home quite pleased.
Good luck all.

Once again - thank you Mr Mac a most useful article - I am not in the market for bonds at the moment because the colleen wants me to replace the vorsprung. She is going like a clock - fast, economical and reliable but I am worried in the event of misshap - the insurance would simply write it off because of its now depreciated value. It already feels like a bereavement because it has served me so well - like my colleen.
Good luck all..

The Kamikaze is still causing trouble - this time he's determined to CRASH OUT...

Tesco's boss is leaving - some Pheonix.

Is it really true ? The silence is deafening whilst we wait for the next calamity to overtake the nation. The news today of John Lewis and its chief executive maybe does herald Armageddon. When John Lewis admits that it is in trouble and the Tottenham lose 7 - 2 followed by news of hurricane out in the Atlantic the pestilence afflicting the Conservatives just about completes the set.

Never the less - Good luck all.