Double bill thread: Hot investment tip + Laugh at Cameron

[Bugs ****ing Bunny]

Originally posted by C0ckney

to answer your question. what i'd like to see is some more serious action taken against firms and IFAs, who sell financial products to vunerable people who cannot afford them.

This is the first concrete suggestion in your post, so I'll start here. They can already be fined, forced to re-train, banned from trading and (where the mis-selling goes beyond incompetence into the realm of deception) jailed. So what would this more serious action be?

coupled with this i'd like to see more transparency and better advice for people who take out loans or credit cards, so they can really see what they are getting themselves into, and be made fully aware of the risks involved.

You already have full FSA regulation, coupled with full disclosure and cool-offs. What would this greater transparencey and better advice look like?

what i'd most like to see though, is a move away from our culture of easy credit. people are not responsible,

Achieved how? You're now looking at statutory restriction of credit and further moves away from personal responsibility, so what restrictions do you have in mind?

[Dauphin]

For those who don't want to gamble, you can get a short term savings accounts. I've seen 6 month saving rates at 1.7%(AER) higher than instant withdraw. 6.7% savings rate. Wow.

I like that my ISA savings are earning at an interest rate that is higher than my mortgage rate. Free money! Yay!

[Dauphin]

And, unless I am mistaken, saving with Northern Rock is now a better bet than buying government bonds - they have the same risk profile but give a better return.

[East Street Trader]

Hard to imagine anyone depositing with Northern Rock (the guarantee is limited to existing depositors).

Hence hard to imagine it continuing in business.

There is talk of a purchaser - who would acquire the mortgage book - but at a firestorm sale price.

If I am right to read this as one of the signs that house prices will now fall it is hard to see the full ramifications. A whole lot of lending is secured upon property and inflated prices have a direct effect upon confidence.

On the other hand the last time the property market went into a long period of stagnation, and prices fell, it did not seem to have very much of a knock on effect.

[Asher]

Cameron directed Titanic, yes?

[East Street Trader]

Indeed, yes. Also Aliens.

Is Mr Di Caprio a pin up of yours?

[Asher]

He's way too old.

[East Street Trader]

And rather short, I believe.