And here it comes. The bankruptcy wave.

Post by **Oscar Namechange** » Tue Jan 13, 2009 7:00 pm

Scrat;1108853 wrote: I walked through 2 large malls in my area just before christmas and I didn't like what I saw. Most items deeply discounted, not a lot of people buying things and not really a lot of people. One of the big reasons I don't like malls is the parking, especially at Christmas time. It just occured to me as I was writing this that the one store I visited in the evening had plenty of parking.

I know it's not normally that way at Christmas. You normally can't get witihn 2 blocks of the place.

What's going to happen?

Which retailers are next for bankruptcy? - MSN Money

It's the same here. Christmas, we saw shops offering 75% discount, however, the shops were heaving with people and they were buying. A survey showed the shops had beaten last years Christmas and New Year Sales spend.

It's great for the consumer but not the small shops and business's.

Another large outfit here was announce as bankrupt today.. 'World of Leather'. I think many of them are cutting their loses and running.

Patsy Warnick · Post by **Patsy Warnick** » Tue Jan 13, 2009 8:56 pm

Mervyn's Dept. Stores closed here - had everything on discount right before C'mas... WHAT A MESS - I just did a walk thru, tables of clothes piled.

Interesting - a customer injured himself at this store during this time, and Mervyn's didn't own it anymore..???

A Company was hired to run the discount sale & wasn't insured.....

Tradition brings me out to browse on Black Fri., go to Breakfast etc...

Wasn't hectic - wasn't those long lines and every one had TV'S...

Stores really didn't hold the great deal Sale to bring you out.

and they're still not.

I felt this Holiday Season was more sensible - basic - memorable, than materialistic.

Patsy

Clodhopper · Post by **Clodhopper** » Wed Jan 14, 2009 3:58 am

I've been watching this whole thing with the horrified fascination I usually reserve for major rows or car smashes. It's so big I haven't even begun to get my head round it.

It's a result of arrogance and greed and the stupidity of the very clever. Heaven knows what happens next. Can Obamarama save the world from climate change and the credit crunch? Why do our major problems all begin with the letter "c"?

Who needs the movies? Real life is far stranger and less believable!

Galbally · Post by **Galbally** » Wed Jan 14, 2009 4:50 am

I remember when Lehman went down saying to spot that "This was the big one, we're all going to a lot poorer very soon". It seems to me that this catastrophe will be something that in hindsight was entirely predictable, just like the South Sea Bubble, or the Catastrophe of August 1914 in Europe was in hindsight, but while its happening it seems to make so sense, to be happening for reasons that no one can quite get their heads around, be they powerful, weak, rich, or poor.

There is a grim inevitability to what is happening now to me, its going to be a very difficult year and many things that we have taken for granted for most of our lives are going to change now, and probably quite quickly. What the end point of this is, I don't know because its too profound and wide-ranging in its impact, but certainly things are changing, some will be bad, but over the longer term much may be for the good.

Its the end of the "consumer society" in the West for a long time, that I do know. Its a choice of lifestyle that we will no longer be able to afford for many years to come.

Post by **Oscar Namechange** » Wed Jan 14, 2009 5:09 am

Galbally;1108933 wrote: I remember when Lehman went down saying to spot that "This was the big one, we're all going to a lot poorer very soon". It seems to me that this catastrophe will be something that in hindsight was entirely predictable, just like the South Sea Bubble, or the Catastrophe of August 1914 in Europe was in hindsight, but while its happening it seems to make so sense, to be happening for reasons that no one can quite get their heads around, be they powerful, weak, rich, or poor.

Do you really think for one moment that the largest Jewish bank in the West went down leaving them all bankrupt???

mikeinie · Post by **mikeinie** » Wed Jan 14, 2009 5:12 am

Galbally, I think that Ireland is in very big trouble. Dell was only the first of many of the big ones to start leaving. Intel has been in the process of building a massive plant in China, it is only a matter of time before they go.

The public sector issue will result in general strikes, and the banks....

yikes. The wife and I are actually starting to move some money into Northern Rock and other non-Irish banks.

The flame has been sparked and is traveling very fast towards the powder keg in the center of the ammunitions storage facility¦¦ I am concerned that we are truly fecked and will soon be back to saying good-bye to our children again as they will need to emigrate to find work, if there is any to be found.:yh_worry

Post by **Oscar Namechange** » Wed Jan 14, 2009 5:19 am

Clodhopper;1108919 wrote: I've been watching this whole thing with the horrified fascination I usually reserve for major rows or car smashes. It's so big I haven't even begun to get my head round it.

It's a result of arrogance and greed and the stupidity of the very clever. Heaven knows what happens next. Can Obamarama save the world from climate change and the credit crunch? Why do our major problems all begin with the letter "c"?

Who needs the movies? Real life is far stranger and less believable!

And don't the tabloids just love to print the crap that we're all going to die, there will be anarchy in the UK and we'll be stealing potatoe's from the Irish to feed our children with by the end of 2009?

Don't the tabloids just love to hide what the government is actually doing to help recovery in small print? i.e. the millions being invested into creating more jobs for the un-employed, the slashing interest rates, the two year--no interest on home-owners, the reduction in VAT, Fuel, clothing, food...... I could go on.

No, it's far better to blame the government for every-one's self obssessed greed that has brought the West into this meltdown in the first place.

Obama won't change any-thing. The American problem is massively far worst than the UK.

Galbally · Post by **Galbally** » Wed Jan 14, 2009 6:04 am

mikeinie;1108941 wrote: Galbally, I think that Ireland is in very big trouble. Dell was only the first of many of the big ones to start leaving. Intel has been in the process of building a massive plant in China, it is only a matter of time before they go.

The public sector issue will result in general strikes, and the banks....

yikes. The wife and I are actually starting to move some money into Northern Rock and other non-Irish banks.

The flame has been sparked and is traveling very fast towards the powder keg in the center of the ammunitions storage facility…… I am concerned that we are truly fecked and will soon be back to saying good-bye to our children again as they will need to emigrate to find work, if there is any to be found.:yh_worry

Milkenie, I am afraid that I have to agree. We were facing a very serious crash without the Global credit crunch anyway, the fact that they have happened concurrently, means that we now staring down the barrel of economic armageddon as a nation right now.

Its my own belief that most of the wealth that we accruded during the whole "celtic tiger" period is going to get wiped out, most of it through the collpase of asset values, share prices, and earnings. I think house prices are going to crash by 70-80 percent, back to what they were in the early 1990s, or even before. There will be wholescale devaluation as wages, prices, and asset values fall, and the economy shrinks. Many of the retail and service businesses that have sprung up based on servicing the housing market and its associated follies will close down.

There is nothing underpining our current cost base, other than denial that its totally unrealistic, and has been for years. We pay ourselves too much, our retailers charge too much for everything, and everything we own is valued at more than its worth. There has to be a huge correction and acceptance of that before we can start again.

There are things we can do, but there is nothing that is easy or that will have a certain outcome, certainly we will have to somehow make the governance of the country run on less money while trying to keep as much economic activity going as possible and maintain essential things to our people, such as jobs, food, energy, and hope.

At least thank god, we are in the Euro so they can't start this nonsense of fiddling with the currency or messing about with that side of policy, otherwise we'd end up like Iceland or even worse, the downside is that we can't avoid pain with easy measures like devaluation or printing money, but thats good because in the long-term those things would just ensure our long-term poverty anyway by destroying confidence in one of the only things that people have any faith in at the moment.

In terms of what happens next, yes, most of the major manufacturers are going to slash employment, the housing market will really collapse this year as reality dawns, the government will do a knee-jerk slashing of public jobs, spending and services, while still having to increase borrowing.

Unemployment will be at 15-20 percent within a year, the economy will shrink by up to 10 percent (at least, though probably more) and we will still be borrowing enormous amounts of money, while looking at hundreds of thousandcs of empty houses (we have just paid for by bailing out the totally discredited banks that loaned the money to the very rich guys who owned the companies that built them). The government decided to do that, don't ever forget that. The nation is going to hell in a hand cart, yet one of the main priorities of our Ministers seems to be in maintaining banks whose purpose is to facilitate loans to property developers, like Anglo Irish, I have one question: why?

We are going to have a lot of social and political unrest, and we may end up bankrupt nationally by this time next year. We have to make sure that we can maintain the system more than anything right now, we need to look realistically at the situation and recognize the gravity of it, while also realizing that panicking about it now is pointless, its not going to help.

At some point we will reach a nadir, and probably at that stage you will see something new emerging from the wreckage of the Celtic Tiger Economy, consumer culture, and philosophy of planning for a country where everyone has 7 plasma TVs, 2 Mercs, and three houses, and that this was somehow desirable or useful or what we fought to have a country for, because for me, it wasn't. I think that the people will probably fall back on their innate Irishness to cope with whats happening, and the older things that we used to rely on to get us through our past hard times.

You will see a smaller sustainble economy, much more integrated with the rest of the European economy, with most of the drive coming from innovative, young Irish companies that will work off the benefits of Ireland's then much lower cost base, and still highly educated and motivated young people. The agri-science, pharaceutical, and renewable energy sectors will prosper, as will agriculture in general, anything linked to construction and the finacing of it is over, other than for essential infratsructal projects for now.

Unfortunately yes, many people are also going to immigrate, however at the moment thats been tempered by the fact that there isn't anywhere much better to immigrate to.

My way of looking at it is like this, yes, we are totally fecked for now, there is no way out of what is happening. But we have survived a lot as a people, and essentially we still have what we always had, which is our beautiful Island, our Irishness, and each other.

Their the only things that have ever meant a damn to me anyway, I hated the whole Celtic Tiger crap, and I'm glad its dead, for good.

I'm just sorry for ordinary people that have bought into it and are now going to suffer terrible stress and pain at losing all the things they thought they had gained, permanently. I'm also worried that the country, The Republic, which I still love, despite its follies, will be seriously damaged by this, and we may encounter a lot of serious political and social consequences in the impact of the crash and anger its going to cause.

For me, I think its time for us to be getting back to realizing whats important in life, because a lot of the superficial stuff has proven to be very bad for us.

mikeinie · Post by **mikeinie** » Wed Jan 14, 2009 7:39 am

Once again, well said and very true. Ireland drifted somewhat from the values that made it what people liked about us, and money became our new God to replace the fall of the rule of the church. Perhaps we can re-find ourselves somewhere in the middle.

As far as being part of Europe, I just hope that we don't go and blow it with the re-vote on Lisbon, if it is rejected we will stand alone within Europe.

Post by **Oscar Namechange** » Wed Jan 14, 2009 8:02 am

mikeinie;1109040 wrote: Once again, well said and very true. Ireland drifted somewhat from the values that made it what people liked about us, and money became our new God to replace the fall of the rule of the church. Perhaps we can re-find ourselves somewhere in the middle.

As far as being part of Europe, I just hope that we don't go and blow it with the re-vote on Lisbon, if it is rejected we will stand alone within Europe.

I my-self believe the vote will go through. It was a very narrow margin last time.

Galbally · Post by **Galbally** » Wed Jan 14, 2009 8:32 am

mikeinie;1109040 wrote: Once again, well said and very true. Ireland drifted somewhat from the values that made it what people liked about us, and money became our new God to replace the fall of the rule of the church. Perhaps we can re-find ourselves somewhere in the middle.

As far as being part of Europe, I just hope that we don't go and blow it with the re-vote on Lisbon, if it is rejected we will stand alone within Europe.

Yes, I agree, the fact that we lifted ourselves out of poverty and repression and intro prosperty and confidence was a great thing, but somewhere along the way we lost something fundamental about who we are, or why we were doing it in the first place. I am not sure when that point got reached, but its been wrong for a long time now. I think a lot of Irish people have felt that in their hearts anyway.

I also agree about Lisbon, its really make or break time for us now, if its a NO vote, I think we are really finished, and we will end up back as a defacto, backward economic region of the U.K., which is probably what Mr Ganley wants anyway seeing as the UKIP are his new best friends, (what the shinners think, I don't know, cause they don't say everything they think out loud), its going to be one hell of a year.

along-for-the-ride · Post by **along-for-the-ride** » Wed Jan 14, 2009 5:24 pm

We have been led to believe, especially by the news media, that a healthy economy depends upon consumer spending. I, personally, have been tired of hearing this (during the Christmas season especially).

Is there another way to define and maintain a "healthy economy"?

Post by **Oscar Namechange** » Wed Jan 14, 2009 5:28 pm

along-for-the-ride;1109499 wrote: We have been led to believe, especially by the news media, that a healthy economy depends upon consumer spending. I, personally, have been tired of hearing this (during the Christmas season especially).

Is there another way to define and maintain a "healthy economy"?

For the government to invest in the infrastructure of the country such as health, education and travel. It will create more jobs and employees paying tax.

Post by **Bryn Mawr** » Wed Jan 14, 2009 5:43 pm

along-for-the-ride;1109499 wrote: We have been led to believe, especially by the news media, that a healthy economy depends upon consumer spending. I, personally, have been tired of hearing this (during the Christmas season especially).

Is there another way to define and maintain a "healthy economy"?

Firstly, a balanced economy where money is based on assets held rather than notes printed.

An economy where the amount spent equals the amount generated by the labour of the population.

Currently, the majority of that labour is "servicing" the population rather than creating wealth and therefore generates nothing.

Post by **Oscar Namechange** » Thu Jan 15, 2009 10:50 am

Scrat;1109511 wrote: Damfino. One thing you have to keep in mind is that what we had 3 years ago was not a healthy economy. Debt is not an asset. We also need to stop this practice of using money to make money and start using money to make brick and mortor industry/infrastructure. A $100 bill you give to a stockbroker will disappear, $100 worth of bricks will be around for along time.

On the radio today I heard that in the Seattle area retail sales were down from last year (and keep in mind last year the retailors barely broke even) 9 to 13%. Seattle is said to have one of the best economies in the US right now.

I think the guy I heard on the radio that said by summer the US would have twice as much retail space as it needed was correct.

There has been many reports in Britain that house prices have stayed the same dispite the credit crunch.

This is the last thing the 'doom and gloom' merchants want to hear.

These merchants do nothing but frighten home-owners into rash decisions to sell up quickly.

The difference between predictions and reality is very different.

Halifax doubts house price crunch despite fall

gmc · Post by **gmc** » Thu Jan 15, 2009 11:41 am

oscar;1109947 wrote: There has been many reports in Britain that house prices have stayed the same dispite the credit crunch.

This is the last thing the 'doom and gloom' merchants want to hear.

These merchants do nothing but frighten home-owners into rash decisions to sell up quickly.

The difference between predictions and reality is very different.

Halifax doubts house price crunch despite fall

I suggest you look at the date of the article or have you not realised this is now 2009:D

Post by **Oscar Namechange** » Thu Jan 15, 2009 12:08 pm

gmc;1109958 wrote: I suggest you look at the date of the article or have you not realised this is now 2009:D

I did notice auld yin but i thought no-one else would:sneaky:

I saw a prog on TV recently though that said it was not as bad as predicted.

gmc · Post by **gmc** » Thu Jan 15, 2009 12:21 pm

oscar;1109974 wrote: I did notice auld yin but i thought no-one else would:sneaky:

I saw a prog on TV recently though that said it was not as bad as predicted.

Maybe a daily mail reader might not have Not being a daily mail reader.

Unless you are wanting to buy or sell a house it doesn't really affect you. anyone who is is stuffed.

Post by **Oscar Namechange** » Thu Jan 15, 2009 12:30 pm

gmc;1109979 wrote: Maybe a daily mail reader might not have Not being a daily mail reader.

Unless you are wanting to buy or sell a house it doesn't really affect you. anyone who is is stuffed.

Even as a non Daily Mail reader... you know that they love the shock headlines such as 'your all going to die of bird flu'. It's what they do best and the Mail is not alone.

Galbally · Post by **Galbally** » Thu Jan 15, 2009 3:50 pm

oscar;1109982 wrote: Even as a non Daily Mail reader... you know that they love the shock headlines such as 'your all going to die of bird flu'. It's what they do best and the Mail is not alone.

I'm actually dying as we speak, (cough, cough, whimper, whimper). I totally blame the daily mail, if they hadn't said anything maybe the birds would have left us alone, those maniacs! They will be telling us there is life on Mars next!

Post by **Oscar Namechange** » Thu Jan 15, 2009 4:23 pm

Galbally;1110046 wrote: I'm actually dying as we speak, (cough, cough, whimper, whimper). I totally blame the daily mail, if they hadn't said anything maybe the birds would have left us alone, those maniacs! They will be telling us there is life on Mars next!

Life on Mars? .. No, it was 'The Sun' actually and not the Mail. The Mail was unable to report the story due to there being some element of truth in the story.

Your dying as we speak? Well, i suppose life does throw you a bonus occassionally :yh_rotfl:yh_rotfl:yh_rotfl

Galbally · Post by **Galbally** » Fri Jan 16, 2009 2:34 am

oscar;1110063 wrote: Life on Mars? .. No, it was 'The Sun' actually and not the Mail. The Mail was unable to report the story due to there being some element of truth in the story.

Your dying as we speak? Well, i suppose life does throw you a bonus occassionally :yh_rotfl:yh_rotfl:yh_rotfl

Oh that was harsh, harsh.

gmc · Post by **gmc** » Fri Jan 16, 2009 2:53 am

Galbally;1110314 wrote: Oh that was harsh, harsh.

Just keep calling her dear that should should annoy her :sneaky:

Post by **Oscar Namechange** » Fri Jan 16, 2009 8:42 am

gmc;1110317 wrote: Just keep calling her dear that should should annoy her :sneaky:

Don't encourage him auld yin..... Flights to Dublin are very cheap at the moment :-5:-5

mikeinie · Post by **mikeinie** » Fri Jan 16, 2009 8:51 am

Anglo Irish Bank is nationalized:

Anglo shareholders express anger at directors' loans - The Irish Times - Fri, Jan 16, 2009

The corruption is unbelievable. CEO’s and Chairmen providing to each other undeclared loans in the millions at discounted rates.

The Irish ‘watchdog’ the Financial Regulator did what is says in the name, they watched and did nothing.

The entire board of directors should be fired, the CEO should be put in jail, but this is Ireland, so nothing will happen to any of them because no one is accountable in the country.

Galbally · Post by **Galbally** » Fri Jan 16, 2009 10:01 am

mikeinie;1110489 wrote: Anglo Irish Bank is nationalized:

Anglo shareholders express anger at directors' loans - The Irish Times - Fri, Jan 16, 2009

The corruption is unbelievable. CEO’s and Chairmen providing to each other undeclared loans in the millions at discounted rates.

The Irish ‘watchdog’ the Financial Regulator did what is says in the name, they watched and did nothing.

The entire board of directors should be fired, the CEO should be put in jail, but this is Ireland, so nothing will happen to any of them because no one is accountable in the country.

Yes you are correct, and the fact that no one ever seems to be made accountable in what the economists call "Ireland Inc" if they are company directors, political hacks, or well-heeled property developers is obviously because the laws we have only apply to Anto the pill-pusher from Cabra and not Breifne from Blackrock.

I guarentee you that if we don't collectively do something very quickly to shore up confidence in this nation we will all be made accountable for this folly; in that whats going on will make the outside world wake up, take one look at our financial sector, hows its run, who runs it, and promptly pull every penny out of the country because of these clowns. Thats what they are, clowns.

Just don't forget we have repeatedly voted in the people in who have presided over all of this, in fact we just had a general election in 2006 when it was already apparent that we were coming to the end of a totoally unsustainable boom that was caused by greed and what can only be described as a property "mania" encouraged and abetted by sucessive Fianna Fail governments, as well as the entire national planning system, from the Dail and the DOE to every single local county council.

We need as a nation to start making there people accountable for something, I suggest we start at the ballot box in the next General election. Which may not be very far away, as I can't see this government last that much longer.

I think Anglo Irish Bank is a metaphor for the whole ethos of the country and how its been run during the Celtic Tiger period, again and again the rich and powerful are shielded using the resources of the state while now tens of thousands of young families across this country are being literally being wiped out and have no where to go and no one to turn to, (I know, because I know some of them, its not pretty). This is a shameful episode in Irish history and I'm truly disgusted at the lot of them, and angry that we seem incapable of understanding that you end up with the leaders you deserve.

mikeinie · Post by **mikeinie** » Fri Jan 16, 2009 11:06 am

Galbally;1110531 wrote: Yes you are correct, and the fact that no one ever seems to be made accountable in what the economists call "Ireland Inc" if they are company directors, political hacks, or well-heeled property developers is obviously because the laws we have only apply to Anto the pill-pusher from Cabra and not Breifne from Blackrock.

I guarentee you that if we don't collectively do something very quickly to shore up confidence in this nation we will all be made accountable for this folly; in that whats going on will make the outside world wake up, take one look at our financial sector, hows its run, who runs it, and promptly pull every penny out of the country because of these clowns. Thats what they are, clowns.

Just don't forget we have repeatedly voted in the people in who have presided over all of this, in fact we just had a general election in 2006 when it was already apparent that we were coming to the end of a totoally unsustainable boom that was caused by greed and what can only be described as a property "mania" encouraged and abetted by sucessive Fianna Fail governments, as well as the entire national planning system, from the Dail and the DOE to every single local county council.

We need as a nation to start making there people accountable for something, I suggest we start at the ballot box in the next General election. Which may not be very far away, as I can't see this government last that much longer.

I think Anglo Irish Bank is a metaphor for the whole ethos of the country and how its been run during the Celtic Tiger period, again and again the rich and powerful are shielded using the resources of the state while now tens of thousands of young families across this country are being literally being wiped out and have no where to go and no one to turn to, (I know, because I know some of them, its not pretty). This is a shameful episode in Irish history and I'm truly disgusted at the lot of them, and angry that we seem incapable of understanding that you end up with the leaders you deserve.

We loved that Celtic Tiger

It made feel real good

We thought the Tiger Loved us

And gave us all it could

Then the tiger died

The shock then woke us up

The tiger did not feed a nation

It fed off of itself

(I just made this up)

Galbally · Post by **Galbally** » Fri Jan 16, 2009 1:03 pm

mikeinie;1110569 wrote: We loved that Celtic Tiger

It made feel real good

We thought the Tiger Loved us

And gave us all it could

Then the tiger died

The shock then woke us up

The tiger did not feed a nation

It fed off of itself

(I just made this up)

Thats good!

But I would change the last line to

"and now we face starvation"

Galbally · Post by **Galbally** » Fri Jan 16, 2009 1:12 pm

The Celtic Tiger is truly dead,

Sean Fitzpatrick has his head

He mounted it on his study wall

And now he's laughing at us all

We wallowed in a housing bubble

That was all debt, and we're in trouble

We look for friends, but they're all gone

Cause Lisbon came, and we said NON!

The people have some big decisions

The powerful now face derision

But thats not all we have to face

Because we loved this big rat race

So lets make Ireland green and free

Like the way it used to be

The shopping malls, we'll turn to parks

and the SUVs forever park

Developers can go to hell

And bring bankers with them as well

We'll build old Eire from anew

Live on the taters we once grew

Cause we're the Irish, and we should know

That money out of tree's don't grow

These times are dark, we'll see them through

And come back, like we always do :-6

mikeinie · Post by **mikeinie** » Fri Jan 16, 2009 2:20 pm

Galbally;1110621 wrote: Thats good!

But I would change the last line to

"and now we face starvation"

I like it... we could be on to something

mikeinie · Post by **mikeinie** » Fri Jan 16, 2009 2:22 pm

Galbally;1110623 wrote: The Celtic Tiger is truly dead,

Sean Fitzpatrick has his head

He mounted it on his study wall

And now he's laughing at us all

We wallowed in a housing bubble

That was all debt, and we're in trouble

We look for friends, but they're all gone

Cause Lisbon came, and we said NON!

The people have some big decisions

The powerful now face derision

But thats not all we have to face

Because we loved this big rat race

So lets make Ireland green and free

Like the way it used to be

The shopping malls, we'll turn to parks

and the SUVs forever park

Developers can go to hell

And bring bankers with them as well

We'll build old Eire from anew

Live on the taters we once grew

Cause we're the Irish, and we should know

That money out of tree's don't grow

These times are dark, we'll see them through

And come back, like we always do :-6

Ya jammy fecker.... clearly we know who the real poet is here in FG

That is really good, did you write it?

Galbally · Post by **Galbally** » Fri Jan 16, 2009 3:03 pm

mikeinie;1110674 wrote: Ya jammy fecker.... clearly we know who the real poet is here in FG

That is really good, did you write it?

I did, you inspired me, its my contribution to the economic situation going forward, budgetary conditions allowing, etc etc etc.....:wah:

Galbally · Post by **Galbally** » Fri Jan 16, 2009 3:05 pm

I wrote an ode to Brussels Sprouts once as well, I quite liked that one, I must find it somewhere, we should have a recession poetry thread, it might help ease the angst!

Post by **Oscar Namechange** » Fri Jan 16, 2009 3:29 pm

Galbally;1110756 wrote: I wrote an ode to Brussels Sprouts once as well, I quite liked that one, I must find it somewhere, we should have a recession poetry thread, it might help ease the angst!

Are you after the crown of worst poet ever that gmc awarded me??

Because you'll never take it do you hear........ NEVER

Galbally · Post by **Galbally** » Fri Jan 16, 2009 3:45 pm

oscar;1110775 wrote: Are you after the crown of worst poet ever that gmc awarded me??

Because you'll never take it do you hear........ NEVER

Oh you have to write your own "Notes on a Depressionary Situation" please please!

Post by **Oscar Namechange** » Fri Jan 16, 2009 3:50 pm

Galbally;1110783 wrote: Oh you have to write your own "Notes on a Depressionary Situation" please please!

How can i my little shamrock when in Britain we do not have a Depressionary Situation?

Here in Britain, our government assures us that house prices are on the up, the pound is soaring, shares are up, the cost of living is down, tax is slashed, crime is down, immigration is under control and exports are up.

It has to be true, i read it in the Daily Mail.

Galbally · Post by **Galbally** » Fri Jan 16, 2009 4:22 pm

oscar;1110785 wrote: How can i my little shamrock when in Britain we do not have a Depressionary Situation?

Here in Britain, our government assures us that house prices are on the up, the pound is soaring, shares are up, the cost of living is down, tax is slashed, crime is down, immigration is under control and exports are up.

It has to be true, i read it in the Daily Mail.

Oh really? Fair play to ye cause we are buggered, and our government are saying, erm,

"Look ye's feckers, we tink dat ye are in the shyte, its our fault, but ye're paying for it, now go to bed and in the mornin we'll be round to take all of ye're money away and give it to them rich lads up dere in Dublin" Signed: De Government. "P.S. Shut up".

Post by **Oscar Namechange** » Fri Jan 16, 2009 5:10 pm

Galbally;1110825 wrote: Oh really? Fair play to ye cause we are buggered, and our government are saying, erm,

"Look ye's feckers, we tink dat ye are in the shyte, its our fault, but ye're paying for it, now go to bed and in the mornin we'll be round to take all of ye're money away and give it to them rich lads up dere in Dublin" Signed: De Government. "P.S. Shut up".

You could just watch Father Ted re-runs.

Life on craggy Island seems idyllic :yh_rotfl:yh_rotfl

Galbally · Post by **Galbally** » Mon Jan 19, 2009 8:24 am

So, they lift the ban on short selling on the FTSE on Thursday and by Monday the entire British banking system is on its knees again, oh jaysus here we go.

This is the second wave of banking failures, this is probably going to be the decisive phase of this credit crunch thing when the people who are trying desperately to prop up this failed global financial system using the credibility of their nations (and taxpayers money) finally realize the futility and instead start acting quickly to shore up their nations' econonomic life and political stability instead; and let the utterly discredited banking and financial sector go to the wall via the market, or just be damned with it and nationalize it completely, at least I hope thats what they do, otherwise we are going to be in a meltdown both economically and politically.

Post by **Oscar Namechange** » Mon Jan 19, 2009 3:27 pm

Galbally;1113085 wrote: So, they lift the ban on short selling on the FTSE on Thursday and by Monday the entire British banking system is on its knees again, oh jaysus here we go.

This is the second wave of banking failures, this is probably going to be the decisive phase of this credit crunch thing when the people who are trying desperately to prop up this failed global financial system using the credibility of their nations (and taxpayers money) finally realize the futility and instead start acting quickly to shore up their nations' econonomic life and political stability instead; and let the utterly discredited banking and financial sector go to the wall via the market, or just be damned with it and nationalize it completely, at least I hope thats what they do, otherwise we are going to be in a meltdown both economically and politically.

Why do you comment with such timely regularity on the British banking Institute.

Let's explore the farce of the Irish banking institution??

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/news ... chdog.html

Post by **Bryn Mawr** » Mon Jan 19, 2009 3:41 pm

oscar;1113603 wrote: Why do you comment with such timely regularity on the British banking Institute.

Let's explore the farce of the Irish banking institution??

Inquiry at Ireland's banking watchdog - Telegraph

Because British banking is rapidly going to hell in a handcart?

Aided and abetted by the British media it has to be said.

An example?

Friday, the ban of short selling expired - all banking stock was promptly sold short and dropped up to a quarter of their value. At one point the six top losers were all banks.

Today, RBS announce £7 - 8 Bn in expected losses and that they will be writing down £25 Bn goodwill (a non cash accountancy item) and that they must report, at the lead partner in the group that took over ABN Ambro, that one of the other partners will have to write down 20 Bn EUR on theri part of the deal. Effect on the bank? £7 - 8 Bn. Headline in paper? British bank £45 Bn in Red. Result? RBS shares lose two thirds of their value in a day.

Post by **Oscar Namechange** » Mon Jan 19, 2009 3:45 pm

Bryn Mawr;1113621 wrote: Because British banking is rapidly going to hell in a handcart?

Aided and abetted by the British media it has to be said.

An example?

Friday, the ban of short selling expired - all banking stock was promptly sold short and dropped up to a quarter of their value. At one point the six top losers were all banks.

Today, RBS announce £7 - 8 Bn in expected losses and that they will be writing down £25 Bn goodwill (a non cash accountancy item) and that they must report, at the lead partner in the group that took over ABN Ambro, that one of the other partners will have to write down 20 Bn EUR on theri part of the deal. Effect on the bank? £7 - 8 Bn. Headline in paper? British bank £45 Bn in Red. Result? RBS shares lose two thirds of their value in a day.

Yes, i have read about the latest disaster created by Fleet Street Hacks. I'm sure galabally is a secret hack that has subscribed to Fg to bring more doom and gloom headlines to the attention of the public to aid and abet panic within the market. :sneaky:

Post by **Bryn Mawr** » Mon Jan 19, 2009 4:04 pm

oscar;1113624 wrote: Yes, i have read about the latest disaster created by Fleet Street Hacks. I'm sure galabally is a secret hack that has subscribed to Fg to bring more doom and gloom headlines to the attention of the public to aid and abet panic within the market. :sneaky:

I look to Gal's posts for a balanced view of what's going on, the story really is doom and gloom at the moment - I just object to the papers making it out to be even worse than it is.

Post by **Oscar Namechange** » Mon Jan 19, 2009 4:10 pm

Bryn Mawr;1113643 wrote: I look to Gal's posts for a balanced view of what's going on, the story really is doom and gloom at the moment - I just object to the papers making it out to be even worse than it is.

Feeling patriotic, I confess to getting some-what narked at the celtic one for high-lighting only British inadequeny's and wish he'd explain some of the financial bloopers that his own country is making. Your right and the Daily mail has to be the biggest culprit for panicking the nation into believing we are in total melt-down.

Post by **Bryn Mawr** » Mon Jan 19, 2009 4:27 pm

oscar;1113649 wrote: Feeling patriotic, I confess to getting some-what narked at the celtic one for high-lighting only British inadequeny's and wish he'd explain some of the financial bloopers that his own country is making. Your right and the Daily mail has to be the biggest culprit for panicking the nation into believing we are in total melt-down.

Oh, he's done that often enough and with more feeling than when reporting about the UK.

Post by **Oscar Namechange** » Mon Jan 19, 2009 5:03 pm

Scrat;1113689 wrote: Galbally has been pretty even handed with his posts when it comes to the mess over there.

One thing people in the media are missing is the long term effects of this mess on government. Tax revenue. With more people out of work there will be less taxes coming into the coffers. Washington state is already feeling in here, bad I suspect.

This government is investing millions into the infrastructure to create more jobs.

Galbally · Post by **Galbally** » Tue Jan 20, 2009 2:30 am

oscar;1113603 wrote: Why do you comment with such timely regularity on the British banking Institute.

Let's explore the farce of the Irish banking institution??

Inquiry at Ireland's banking watchdog - Telegraph

Oh absolutely Oscar, I am talking about across the board, our banks are worse if anything, but Dublin is just a regional European Capital of a small EU state our banks are largish but not that important, whereas London is one of the three premier cities of World Capitalism, and the UK is still the world's 5th largest single economy and one of the big four of the EU member states. If we go down its a tragedy, like the palestinians; however, if you go down its the end of London based market Capitalism in Europe, and it has global repercussions. Thats the slight difference.

PS I think our Irish banks are screwed by the way, unless our government allows the bad ones to fail and stop trying to prop up developers with Tax payers money, we are going to go into meltdown.