Comments for Investment and Business News

Comment on Should BP pay for damage caused by its bad PR? by Thomas James

Thomas James — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 14:48:35 +0000

Unless you are a crowd in Bhopal (union Carbide) or a flock of seagulls (Penguines) in Alaska (Exxion). Or for that matter Three Mile Island!! Funny how environmental mishaps are such big disasters when ‘Johnny Foreigner’ is thought to be responsible and it happens in (or near) the USA. Everything looks so different to Americans, (and ‘Dave’) WW2 before 1941/2! Terrorism before 9/11, US damage to the environment before this??!!!!

Comment on The great banking experiment. What matters most: price or service? by Thomas James

Thomas James — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 14:21:42 +0000

‘Some people will be turned away’ Well at long last! If we could really hope this bank may be in the vanguard of a return to commonsense values. Those who don’t have the means or ability to maintain a bank account SHOULD be turned away until such time as they have learned the skills and earned the income to be able to manage. When I was at school we had a school bank for us kids to put our savings and learn about how the system works. The cancer that has grown in our society is the belief that no matter what it is we should have an equal right to it irrispective of whether or not we have earned it or know what to do with it. Why save for a pensio when those who don’t get a better lifestyle than those who do. Why bother to work when those who don’t get handed everything they want. Maybe this will be ‘one small step for a man, one giant step for us all as a society!

Comment on BP losses enter the stratosphere, as failed boss gets payday and eyes look towards Russia and Libya by Charles East

Charles East — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 13:17:41 +0000

Michael

Hope that I am not teaching my grandmother to suck eggs, but…..
Paper losses are only paper losses at the time that the losses are declared. They originate from real shareholder losses.

The $93bn that Time Warner lost arose because an asset (AOL) was bought at too high a price. To illustrate my point – it is possible that $93bn could have been given to shareholders in cash instead of buying AOL. So the money is actually lost.

In the end, “Paper losses” are just a nice way of saying that the real loss did not occur in that particular accounting period.

Hope you agree
Charles

Comment on All stressed up, and nowhere to go: banks pass stress tests as regulator plays calming music by Pete Lynch Williams

Pete Lynch Williams — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 08:26:56 +0000

The problem with the stress test is that it was designed not to highlight a weakness in the overall European banking system. Imagine if the stress test was too harsh, rather than it being too weak [which it was]. This would have lead to an immediate meltdown in the markets owing to a lack of confidence. All we can do is continue to walk the tightrope of the credit crisis.

Comment on The two words economists forget by Michael Baxter

Michael Baxter — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 11:07:41 +0000

David

I don’t think government spend per se is required for further technical innovation. But rising consumer demand is essential. Saving, especially when the money being saved is not invested in business, but instead is thrown at bonds and gold, is counter-productive. The Keynesian theory behind government fiscal stimulus is that in an economic depression, our natural inclination is to save more; but high savings can make the depression worse. Therefore, the government should borrow money and spend our savings on our behalf.

The snag is, what’s right for the global economy is not right for all countries. Globally the problem is too much saving, and not enough demand, and this in turn could stifle technological progress. But this may not be the problem for the UK.

I don’t have a major problem with the UK austerity drive. But my concern relates to the fact that austerity is being applied globally. And this could be catastrophic.

Comment on Obama signs most important financial legislation in over half a century by Daniel

Daniel — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 20:17:49 +0000

Great post! Hire a professional mover for your upcoming relocation.

Comment on The two words economists forget by David

David — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 16:11:07 +0000

An interesting argument, but it seems to beg the following question. If Moore’s Law has been wrongly left out of the deficits debate then, were it to be included, whose argument would it support? You say the Law suggests that demand should be kept high, money supply growing, and the labour force educated and flexible. But both sides of the ‘spend or cut’ debate would, I think, say that theirs is the right recipe to obtain these outcomes over time.

So how do you think Moore’s Law actually impacts on the big immediate questions over deficits? I doubt that you really mean us to accept your final remark that ‘everything else is irrelevant’. Everything? Including whether we do or don’t borrow another £100 billion?

Comment on The two words economists forget by indigoboy

indigoboy — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 19:26:20 +0000

The growth that has endured since the mid 1800’s is down to fossil fuels. Throw a spoonful of sugar into a Petri dish, and watch the buggers grow. Now we’re near to the end of the sugar rush.

But hey,what a ride it was

Comment on The Long Tail explains Facebook’s clash with Cameron by Member-of-the-Underclass.

Member-of-the-Underclass. — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 10:25:44 +0000

OK, but what about those who have been left behind during the 80′s, and now, the next five years? The so called under class! If you are not part of a wealthy family or accept a middle class existence, what chance do you have of getting a Mortgage, collateral to start a business, or even start a family? It is, and will be (see Oxford Economics Report), even worse for the regions! Try starting a Business in Wales!

No Hope!

Comment on Gold: which way next? by MyCommodity

MyCommodity — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 08:59:34 +0000

Interesting article here that rightly draws attention to the risks and dynamics of bubbles.

However, whilst we would whole heartedly agree with the reference to a property bubble, we are not sure this is the case for gold.

There is so much talk of how gold might ironically become a bubble, the this can act as a healthy hand brake to slow price appreciation to a steady trend upwards.

We feel that the price of gold does not satisfactorily have the price of the risks priced into it of the continuing risk in the financial and monetary systems.

It is also true that far fewer people are invested in gold, than were invested in property.

Whilst we are always on the look out for bubbles, we are not sure gold can be bubble wrapped at this time.

Regards,
MyCommodity.com