Northern Rock: rocking on?

[captainnemo]

A couple of points to ponder:

How much support would a certain financial organisation be drawing down from the Government (via the Bank of England) if it were called Cheltenham & Gloucester as opposed to Northern Rock?

How much of OUR money do you suppose is going to be used to support the debt portfolio of a company whose business model is apparently so unconvincing to other players in the financial system that they are NOT prepared to lend NR any money?

Never mind the politics, the sums involved are sufficient to distort the wider economy and certainly affect national expenditure on minor matters like education, defence and the health service. If Gordon and Alastair can find £20 or £30 billion in the sock drawer for NR, why have our squaddies been coming home to slum housing? Why are so many health outhorities in arrears? Why are school facilities so often reliant on contributions from parents and local business. It all seems a bit odd when apparently all the time Captain Prudence and his mates had a wad stashed away for a rainy day...shame it wasn't considered reasonable to invest in some flood defence earlier in the year when it got unseasonably rainy.

Or could it be that the 'prudence', like the NR business model, owes more to hope than reality?

There may also come a point when the EU belatedly recognises that the loans being pumped into NR at the moment might reasonably be called a subsidy....which might be frowned upon in the bigger, badder financial world.

Again, forget the politics, these financial problems are going to eff up whatever party is in office (forget about power) and have the potential to give everyone in the country with a mortgage rather more than a headache (think ebola). The last time things went pear shaped, back in the early 90s, a certain bunch were banging on about the iniquities of the markets. The dynamics of the capital market remain apolitical but one thing remains constant, the market will always trump national politics. And the shape of problems looming on the horizon make pears look yummy.

If you want a practical demo, just look at Zimbabwe. Uncle Bob has passed numerous laws and even wiped out the odd market but his country still appears to be going down the crapper....even the Chinese are starting to get antsy. The official Zim rate for inflation is sort of on the high side and the reality is that the Zim dollar ain't worth having. Obviously the situation in the UK would never go that way, European states don't do hyper-inflation.....let's not go there!!

I almost wish I hadn't opened this can of worms but hopefully there will be plenty of people to explain that the economy is absolutely fine and lovely.

[Scubee]

Originally Posted by captainnemo

I almost wish I hadn't opened this can of worms .

Like the several others that you have opened in a determined affort to cause rucks on here?

[Buoyant Babe]

Originally Posted by Scubee

Like the several others that you have opened in a determined affort to cause rucks on here?

I was thinking similar myself Scubee.

[Stesh]

Point 1 :- The Government has LOANED Northern Rock the money, not given it to them as your making out.
Also Northern Rock wasn't helped by media bullshit and a load of stupid panicking pensioners.

Point 2 :- Northern Rock didn't invade Iraq, cause the floods in southern England.

Point 3 :- The viz in St Abbs at the moment is 5 metres.

[Jay]

Originally Posted by captainnemo

A couple of points to ponder:

How much support would a certain financial organisation be drawing down from the Government (via the Bank of England) if it were called Cheltenham & Gloucester as opposed to Northern Rock?

How much of OUR money do you suppose is going to be used to support the debt portfolio of a company whose business model is apparently so unconvincing to other players in the financial system that they are NOT prepared to lend NR any money?

Never mind the politics, the sums involved are sufficient to distort the wider economy and certainly affect national expenditure on minor matters like education, defence and the health service. If Gordon and Alastair can find £20 or £30 billion in the sock drawer for NR, why have our squaddies been coming home to slum housing? Why are so many health outhorities in arrears? Why are school facilities so often reliant on contributions from parents and local business. It all seems a bit odd when apparently all the time Captain Prudence and his mates had a wad stashed away for a rainy day...shame it wasn't considered reasonable to invest in some flood defence earlier in the year when it got unseasonably rainy.

Or could it be that the 'prudence', like the NR business model, owes more to hope than reality?

There may also come a point when the EU belatedly recognises that the loans being pumped into NR at the moment might reasonably be called a subsidy....which might be frowned upon in the bigger, badder financial world.

Again, forget the politics, these financial problems are going to eff up whatever party is in office (forget about power) and have the potential to give everyone in the country with a mortgage rather more than a headache (think ebola). The last time things went pear shaped, back in the early 90s, a certain bunch were banging on about the iniquities of the markets. The dynamics of the capital market remain apolitical but one thing remains constant, the market will always trump national politics. And the shape of problems looming on the horizon make pears look yummy.

If you want a practical demo, just look at Zimbabwe. Uncle Bob has passed numerous laws and even wiped out the odd market but his country still appears to be going down the crapper....even the Chinese are starting to get antsy. The official Zim rate for inflation is sort of on the high side and the reality is that the Zim dollar ain't worth having. Obviously the situation in the UK would never go that way, European states don't do hyper-inflation.....let's not go there!!

I almost wish I hadn't opened this can of worms but hopefully there will be plenty of people to explain that the economy is absolutely fine and lovely.

What a pity you have absolutely no idea what you are talking about

The run on Northern Rock was caused by the media induced panic, not on liquidity. Very few banks are currently lending each other money because of the worries over the sub prime market, again not because of liquidity.

Bank of England money is NOT yours - has nothing to do with taxes.

Inflation is a mainly a result of credit and spending - current markets are vastly different from the early 90s.

Still, never let the truth get in the way of a good story, eh?

[Buoyant Babe]

Originally Posted by Stesh

Point 1 :- The Government has LOANED Northern Rock the money, not given it to them as your making out.
Also Northern Rock wasn't helped by media bullshit and a load of stupid panicking pensioners.

Point 2 :- Northern Rock didn't invade Iraq, cause the floods in southern England.

Point 3 :- The viz in St Abbs at the moment is 5 metres.

At last, someting interesting...

[Scubee]

Originally Posted by Buoyant Babe

At last, someting interesting...

i am not driving for 14 hours for 5m viz. Now if it was 10m, I might be tempted, particularly now that my strobe appears to be fixed

[SilvaFish]

Originally Posted by Stesh

Point 1 :- The Government has LOANED Northern Rock the money, not given it to them as your making out.
Also Northern Rock wasn't helped by media bullshit and a load of stupid panicking pensioners.

Point 2 :- Northern Rock didn't invade Iraq, cause the floods in southern England.

Point 3 :- The viz in St Abbs at the moment is 5 metres.

Yeah, what he said. If you want a happier Nemo, remortgage with NR! Or buy some shiney new gear with the blessing of a NR loan!

[Scubee]

Originally Posted by Stesh

Also Northern Rock wasn't helped by media bullshit .

You mean that the reports in the papers were a bit exaggerated? or not entirely accurate?
Shirley not? Shirley the press upheld their mantra of telling the truth, the whole truth and not exaggerating anything in the hope of selling more copy?

[Jay]

Stop calling me Shirley