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foolishblogwatcher

Listed below are comments made by foolishblogwatcher between Thursday, 11th December 2008 and Wednesday, 14th January 2009.

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The cost of bringing banks home 11:36am on 14 Jan 2009 The Scottish philosopher Adam Smith described a nation’s economy as the product of innumerable self-interested decisions to trade which, as though guided by an invisible hand, proved overall beneficial. Last year’s banking crisis caused debtors to realise that they could not continue to shop as though in possession of (as the Rt. Revd. Peter Selby put it) a ‘credit card with no limit to their credit and no date by which repayment will have to be made’. Wisely, Britons have self-interestedly decided to pay-off their debts. Thus, business people and politicians must recognise a paradigm change in the nation’s psyche: confidence to repay (sometime) has ebbed away. The issue is not availability of credit but confidence. Meantime, there's no point making things for which there is no demand. Stock unsold only ties up capital.
Insurance that worsens crunch 07:42am on 12 Jan 2009 Let's rewrite the rules and ban this form of insurance, making banks bear the risk of loans. No more laying-off risks.
Our banks 'have to lend more' 08:15am on 05 Jan 2009 A second comment:

The more I read RP's blog, the more I realise that many people identify the basic malaise and people's sagacity.

The bubble has truly burst, reality has returned, and we watch the fallout. The age of instant gratification has passed, and we live - as if in slow motion - the unfolding consequences of a debt-fuelled economy unravelling.

We may have felt the the banking crisis brought us to a precipice, that we managed not to descend into the abyss, but what we are learning this economic crisis is like slipping on scree: it can be pretty sheer, but there's no stopping until the bottom is reached!

The Great Depression did not last just a year and this event has lasted not that long.
Our banks 'have to lend more' 07:52am on 05 Jan 2009 I wonder if HMG and others in authority will now consider the downsides of globalization, the most fundamental of which is that effective control of a country's economy is domiciled elsewhere, in the hands of unelected entities?

As to 'the banking crisis', how about revoking all banks' licences and designate the BofE as the sole bank allowed to operate in the UK?
Bank of England: wrong and powerless 2:05pm on 22 Dec 2008 Many far-sighted people have been wary of globalsation and it is crucial that this phenomenom be carefully considered. Free markets might sound 'right', but if unelected, and unregulated corporations can take decisions that effect whole economies, that cannot be right.

As to interest rates, the Bank has known and accepted that its Bank rate has no formal link to any other, so it was imprudent expect it to work. The solution is to separate retain banking, mortaging, and money creation into completely separate entities, with ONLY the BofE licenced to create credit. No more SPVs, etc, etc, no more creation of credit by one institution lending to another, expansion of credit being restricted to real deposits and the velocity of circulation of money.

We need real money backed by real assets, even, perhaps, only gold. Beter a lower level of economic activity, than wlf booms and deep busts.
2008: The Brown rollercoaster 8:52pm on 19 Dec 2008 No more boom and bust ... Hmm.

But Mandy's back, so black's white, and white's black, and it's all down to those nasty American salesmen. As Viv Nicholson said, 'spend, spend, spend'. Spend like there's no tomorrow. HMG have a credit card with no limit.

As Capt. Mainwaring might have said when asked who will pay, 'You foolish people!' (Perhaps not, we know that we are at the precipice.)
Fixing the Jag 08:12am on 19 Dec 2008 If HMG decides that it really must make loans to companies producing goods that are not selling, simply to add to huge stocks that have not sold, then will Britain really be a capitalist country? It could hardly be labelled communist, because the production will be unplanned. Perhaps we could pay Social Security benifits in kind - big motor cars that no one wants nor can afford to run?

Joking apart, we are between the devil and the deep, have built our economy on a fragile base, using smoke and mirrors. Now the gale has hit us, we can see clearly what a mess we're in. There are no easy answers, only great pain.

One soultion for J-LR is to separate the Divisions, take-over LR for the amount advanced, and say TATA to Jaguar.
Fixing the Jag 4:22pm on 18 Dec 2008 Jaguar is one company that we really do not need. Its products are for the wealthy, and it behoved those who took it over recently to have ensured that they had funds enough for any eventuality. Wrong business decision, so ask the taxpayer for support? Not with my taxes!
Taxpayers to subsidise wage costs? 1:46pm on 11 Dec 2008 This presupposes the economic future can be predicted. Politicians cannot be expected to back winners or we would not be in this mess!
Global recession and domestic lending 08:06am on 11 Dec 2008 ArmchairNo10 ( #223) Alexander is the male form of the name. Alexandra is the female. That aside, perhaps he shouts because no one is listening to him. It is a habit the English have when they are not understood.

By he way #30 somali_pirate_SP500 , your conclusions are probably right. The old times are over. #3 applepeach1's prediction could be preceptive.

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