In the News

[Mike]

The not so eagle eyed of us will be able to spot Mr Gorden in the crowd here! Nice chanting and clapping there Al.

[Andy]

Considering it was a last-minute winner and what was at stake, Al was extremely reserved

To be honest, this was quite unlike me tonight who screamed down the walls of my front room. Get in!

[BarcelonAl]

Considering it was a last-minute winner and what was at stake, Al was extremely reserved

I was in shock! Hadn't really 100% sunk in that we'd finally stuffed the ball in the net!

Won't my Mum be proud!

[Mike]

Inflation at 3.4% is this a precurser for interest rates rise!

Nurse takes her eye off the ball and the Doctor amputates! Ouch.

[mr_e]

Don't worry, Mike, interest rates won't move as they reckon it's a short-term movement due to oil prices.

Slappers cause earthquakes? Although I think the Iranian definition of immodest is somewhat different to mine...

[Mike]

IMF recommends a global Bank tax to pay for future bail outs of the banking sector. To be honest I don't support this measure. It is a simple way to introduce a brand new tax for no good reason, in the commercial sector it would be called revenue raising.

Ultimately every industry pays tax and then the governments decide how to best spend the revenues (supposedly). If an industy needs bailing out it should be provided by the general tax. It is then up to the fiscal prudence of each government to ensure that expendeture does not exceed income, exactly like everyone does on a mini scale.

For example, my boiler breaks so I decide to raise a charge on my employer to pay for any future break down in boilers. Does it make sense? No.Would it be accepted? No.

Alex Ferguson identifies Moyes to replace him as United Manager at the end of next season. Interesting that he is suddenly thinking of retiring now the funds are running low.

[BarcelonAl]

Alex Ferguson identifies Moyes to replace him as United Manager at the end of next season. Interesting that he is suddenly thinking of retiring now the funds are running low.

He talks about retiring every few years or so, last time he changed his mind so I wouldn't put any money on him leaving. The side is coming to a big transition period with Giggs, Neville, Scholes and Van Der Saar coming to the end of their careers so maybe he's decided the time is right to all go at the same time.

I do like Moyes though, solid, no-nonsense manager whose got a relatively minor team like Everton playing with the big boys again.

[Mike]

Cletus is down to his last $30 and then goes on to win $170 million. Nice.

[Mike]

Nice image about government spending and income. I wonder how we would be treated if something like this was said.

I earm £25k a year but my budget says I want to spend about £32.5k a year. I will continue to spend at £32.5k per year until I have run out of funds or the banks stop lending me money. Oh and £1980 will be spent on interst maintaining our current debt level.

By the way, what is Social Protection. If you are telling me this is job seekers allowance etc for people who are long term unemployed then I would suggest cutting the budget by £163bn.

[johnriley1uk]

Benefits are a huge problem. People don't have work, but we can't let millions starve, so they get benefits. This is paid for by, in theory, those who work. Less people work, so less tax is taken, so there's no money to balance the books. So the government borrows. But as this doesn't add up and the borrowing can't go on indefinitely, where does that leave us?

In a big black pit.....

The only long term solution is to stop giving money away to others (overseas aid, EU contributions, IMF contributions...) because we're borrowing to give it away, and to cut back our own spending that we can't afford anyway.

The World Bank Credit Card that the UK is using could do with being cut up. Then we offer token payments to the creditors. And no more borrrowing!

[mr_e]

I earm £25k a year but my budget says I want to spend about £32.5k a year. I will continue to spend at £32.5k per year until I have run out of funds or the banks stop lending me money.

In some economic theory (Keynesian?) we should be borrowing during a recession to maintain or increase spending levels, then repaying it during the better times. Unfortunately the previous extended boom was financed by continued borrowing, which now leaves the national debt in the piss-poor state that it is.

Social Protection includes any social security benefit, not just Jobseeker's Allowance, so likely the State Pension as well. The amounts of money involved are mind-boggling. As is the fact the government provides about 30% of employment in the UK, so you can see why any expenditure cuts need to be treated with caution.

[johnriley1uk]

I can see that is true mr_e, but over the longer term how can this not all end in disaster? Financial collapse, social unrest, mass starvation, all these things could be possible. Maybe War as well?

It's possible to see where some literature gets its inspiration from. I have concerns that governments, rather than seeing themselves as the servants of the people, actually see the people as a liability. Then of course it's a small step towards wishing there were less of them...

Not pretty thoughts.

[Mike]

HP buys Palm in a $1bn cash deal. That is not a bad price for the struggling company. It has a good operating system that has been well reviewed. HP now need to get into the mobile computing market quite vigerously to ensure the capitalise on Palm's knowledge.

Who wrote Shakespear?!

[Andy]

Man survives without food for seventy years?
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/5/20100429/twl ... d0ae9.html

[Mike]

I saw that one two and thought that it has to be BS. Surely that is not possible! I suppose that the scientific study will come to an interesting conclusion. Weird isn't it!