UK may go bankrupt

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

The country stands on the precipice. We are at risk of utter humiliation, of London becoming a Reykjavik on Thames and Britain going under. Thanks to the arrogance, hubristic strutting and serial incompetence of the Government and a group of bankers, the possibility of national bankruptcy is not unrealistic.

...

Gordon Brown is engaged no longer in a standard battle for re-election; instead he is fighting to avoid going down in history disgraced completely.

This catastrophe happened on his watch, no matter how much he now opportunistically beats up on bankers. He turned on the fountain of cheap money and encouraged the country to swim in it. House prices rose, debt went through the roof and the illusion won elections.

...

Brown is a historian. He should know that when a nation has put all its chips on red and the ball lands on black, the person who made the call is responsible.

...

It is finally dawning on the Government that the liabilities of the British banks grew to be so vast in the boom years that they now eclipse the entire economy. Unfortunately, the Treasury is pledged to honour those liabilities because it has guaranteed not to let a British bank go down.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/columni...bankruptcy.html

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

Well it is entirely possible from what i've been reading.

Economy there is a lot worse than it is here.

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

Britain's banking crisis 'may last for almost a decade'

[Pinocchio Liberal 268]

Sell the queens jewels!

[Yoink 7]

Can we invade and set up a trade syndicate?

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

Time to turn out the lights on sterling?

[spookyturtle 9,466]

It looks like the only solid countries left are a few OPEC members in the Middle East. Of course that may not last too long if the rest of the world goes down the drain and doesn't need their oil. Go US, alternative energy sources are on the way.

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

Britain is now 'bankrupt', Tories claim

Unless we are decisive Britain faces bankruptcy

[luckytxn 2,265]

Yes and I read days ago that those Opec countries are now in big trouble. They spent wildly banking on continued high oil prices and even Saudi Arabia needed oil to be at least 70-75 dollars a barrel to stay in the black. Oil is now under 40 a barrel. Not looking like anytime soon it will go much higher. The house of cards is falling.

[NickD 203]

Use to admired the British for their electronics, sports cars, and English language accent. All that seems to be history as well as producing some of the greatest scientist in the world starting with Newton.

So what killed the British? Could be the Beatles and the Rolling Stones, timing is about right. Canada and Australia seem to be doing well, do they send money to the UK? Haven't figured that out yet. Could bring back the slave trade, that worked for them as well as having the worlds greatest navy.

For a time, was hoping the British would take us back, it was we that revolted against them, but not if they are broke. We use to be great too until all this global warming and economy ####### took over. Feel our last leaders sold us out, would never trust any politician to find a used car for me, would pay more than our national debt for it.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Britain is now 'bankrupt', Tories claim

Unless we are decisive Britain faces bankruptcy

Are they also blaming their economic woes on the minorities in America for going bad on the home loans?

[SpiritAlight 1]

It all sounds too familiar.

Isn't it interesting to watch history keep repeating itself?

Well...that is...if anyone is paying attention.

Ha!

[alienlovechild 75]

Are they also blaming their economic woes on the minorities in America for going bad on the home loans?

Not enough minorities to blame in the UK when compared to America . I was expecting Bush to get the blame but it seems as the Britons were equally greedy and no one questions things when the price of your house appreciates for no reason year after year. Worse, they've gone down the bailout route as well with little accountability and to little positive effect.

"This catastrophe happened on his watch, no matter how much he now opportunistically beats up on bankers. He turned on the fountain of cheap money and encouraged the country to swim in it. House prices rose, debt went through the roof and the illusion won elections. Throughout, Brown boasted of the beauty of his regulatory structure, when those in charge of it were failing to ask the most basic questions of financial institutions. The same bankers Brown now claims to be angry with, he once wooed, travelling to the City to give speeches praising their "financial innovation".

The Government's bail-out of the banks in October with £37 billion of taxpayers' money was supposed to have "saved the world", according to the PM, but now it is clear that it has not even saved the banks. Our money kept the show on the road for only three months.

As the Liberal Democrats' Treasury spokesman Vince Cable asks: where has the £37 billion gone? The answer, as Cable knows, is that it has disappeared down the plug hole.

It is finally dawning on the Government that the liabilities of the British banks grew to be so vast in the boom years that they now eclipse the entire economy. Unfortunately, the Treasury is pledged to honour those liabilities because it has guaranteed not to let a British bank go down. RBS has liabilities of £1.8 trillion, three times annual UK government spending, against assets of £1.9 trillion. But after the events of the past year, I wager most taxpayers will believe the true picture is worse."

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

... it seems as the Britons were equally greedy and no one questions things when the price of your house appreciates for no reason year after year.

Was it really for no reason though? Take the US for example. Home prices shot up in places like metro New York which are almost 100% "built out" as a natural response to increased demand for a finite amount of resource (land); while they didn't shoot up in places like metro Dallas which still have vast swathes of land and a relatively inexpensive and quick building permit process.

Of course, how does this explain metro Las Vegas? I don't think it does.

[NickD 203]

... it seems as the Britons were equally greedy and no one questions things when the price of your house appreciates for no reason year after year.

Was it really for no reason though? Take the US for example. Home prices shot up in places like metro New York which are almost 100% "built out" as a natural response to increased demand for a finite amount of resource (land); while they didn't shoot up in places like metro Dallas which still have vast swathes of land and a relatively inexpensive and quick building permit process.

Of course, how does this explain metro Las Vegas? I don't think it does.

Ha, I can't believe that so-called hunting land in Wisconsin went up from a hundred bucks an acre to 1,500-3,000 per acre in the last twenty years. Why even buy it back then, just have to pay property taxes on it. Some of it is pretty loaded with woods, others, debatable, but the nearest anything ain't even near.

Ha, most of it doesn't even have public road access, did look at a piece that was beautiful with a high peak that overlooked a river, but needed to buy at least a 50 foot right away from the neighbors and would have had to build a 2 mile road to get back to it. Let alone a power pole, would have cost another ten thousand bucks just to run a wire. But people from the cities buy this land because they think it's cheap without looking into minor details, so the prices are skyrocketing.

I know I said this before, not easy living in a country loaded with idiots.