It's not that amazing considering it's always been about the banks, how they operated in the past and how they should operate in the future. UK debt might be higher than the official figure since most PFI doesn't show up on the governments books. But it's not 1000 times our GDP. If you're going to make such a bold statement you really should be backing it up and explaining how you come to such a figure. Saying so and so said so isn't good enough. A lot of people worked for Goldman Sachs. It doesn't mean they're taking over the world or something kinky is going down because a few former employees got good jobs elsewhere. Yes David Cameron used his veto option to protect our banking and financial services sector. He said so when he exited the meeting on his way to the car that was waiting to whisk him away. He said so again at the press conference he held to explain why he did not sign up to the treaty and he said it again in parliament. It's old news and it's on the public record. Nothing sinister there. Now to be honest I think Cameron was right to use his power of veto. To have signed up to this new treaty would have required signing over new powers to the EU. It would have required the UK to allow the EU to ratify UK economic policy. If the EU rejected the UK governments economic policy, the UK government would have been required to change it to the EU's liking. Our banking and financial services sector would also have had to answer to the EU. Including the Bank of England. The banking tax they want our banks to pay, is to bailout the Eurozone. Basically the EU would have taken complete control of our economy. They would have been able to tell us like never before what we can and cannot spend our money on.
I've seen a few sources for the 1000 times GDP quote but here's one http://www.zerohedge.com/news/pssss...want-cool-it-britain-bashing-uks-950-debt-gdp
That truly is an utterly stupid way of calculating debt in comparison to anything much less GDP. Privet household debt for example has absolutely no direct relation I'm aware of as to how much money a government can borrow.
maybe it is ,but if you calculate other country's debt in the same way, then it gives a clearer picture of where you stand, and they did that with the chart. The figure has been bandied about for quite a while and by different sources. From what I can tell nobody is quite sure just how much debt there is out there.
How much debt is out there? That's easy. All the money in the system is effectively debt since money is created when governments issue bonds to a central bank. These bonds are redeemable to the bank + interest. A bond is just an IOU.
Its pointless and inaccurate. Many of the financial institutions that will be included within that chart's dataset don't trade exclusively within the UK and many of the liabilities will not be held solely within the City of London, so it is not purely UK debt.
It's a bit like musical chairs it doesn't depend on where the companies trade but where the bill is paid..just look at MF global, an American company which traded through London.but all the damage happened back in the US......nobody knows exactly who holds toxic debt, that is the problem
How are UK taxpayers in any way liable for the debts of HSBC? If HSBC go under, out economy is toast. But so are the economies of pretty much every country on the planet. With the exception of Greece, Ireland and Iceland, whose economies are already crispy.
Well why are we having to pay for "northern Rock" ? I honestly don't know about HKSB, the Chinese market looks like it is heading for a bubble......too much real estate.like Ireland and spain .it is hard to call.....the problem is that people are dealing with paper assets and things that can pop up on a computer screen and be sold or derivated ( is that a word?..far too much leverage everywhere.even against physical things like the metals Gold ,silver etc..are traded by paper and not physical....the spot price on gold is not the same as the physical price.and soon they may diverge at a parabolic rate........don't be surprised when the price of gold and silver falls on paper.or when the physical is hugely expensive....."Don't rub an Elephant in the same place too long, and don't be surprised by a real dragon".......we will just have to see
What are you on about? We haven't paid for Northern Rock, it has been bought by Virgin. What does China have to do with the UKs debt? I'm starting to think you're just stringing random words together. And you misused the ellipsis every time you tried to use it in that post.
Well you did mention Hong Kong Shanghai Bank.i.e HKSB..what does China have to do with UK debt...well just look at all the things that you buy how many of them have "made in China " stamped upon them.honestly holyierthanthou I think that you are just loking to prove how clever you think you are and not addressing real issues..I'm tired of your silly insults.just try to grow up
HSBC is a British bank, based in London. And owning something manufactured in China doesn't make me indebted to the Chinese. I don't have to try to prove how clever I am when discussing things with you. I just have to wait for you to post something stupid.
We're paying for Northern Rock because the government decided off it's own back to step in and save Northern Rock to try and stave off a run on the banks. For the banks the government has saved, it is the guarantor of last resort. This however is a temporary arrangement to help those banks get back on their feet. The government didn't have to save them. The government also acts as the guarantor of last resort for high street consumer deposits for all high street banks and building societies. However there is a cap on the amount the government will guarantee for any one account and I think some types of account are excluded. Proper sentences and paragraphs make you look as though you've at least given a second or two's thought to your posts. They're also easier to read.
