Re: Rising cost of living
 

State pension figures for next year are outlined HERE :)

Re: Rising cost of living
 

He's right. You can't spend money if the shelves are empty.

Re: Rising cost of living
 

Robbing turds:td:

Re: Rising cost of living
 

Maybe he expects people to send their Butler to Aldi now rather than Fortnum and Masons for that big saving.

Re: Rising cost of living
 

The parking spaces at aldi aren't big enough to fit the Rolls Royce ;)

Re: Rising cost of living
 

:D True. And the Lobster Thermidor isn't up to much either.

Re: Rising cost of living
 

How exactly?
If you're thinking of wages element of the triple lock, then your argument, along with other peoples, is total nonsense.
The aim was to link to wages levels, the problem has arisen that it was based upon changes rather than actual levels.

To demonstrate the nonsense with a hypothetical example, wages halve for a period of 2 months and then return to the same levels. Why in that instance, should pensions rise? Wage levels are the same, so the intention of the triple lock is there should be no change connected with wages. Why should pensions double simply because of a quirk of basing it on changes, rather than actual levels.

---------- Post added at 13:08 ---------- Previous post was at 13:02 ----------

Perhaps people would prefer the CPI of 4.1% of Germany?

Re: Rising cost of living
 

the article states

When I checked my forecast (pension starts on 14/11/1956), it states

https://www.cableforum.uk/board/atta...4&d=1634904860

But I do have 47 years of full contributions.

Re: Rising cost of living
 

Things I hate about current trading
1)Selling short - this is just evil, betting on company failing and making money on someone's misery. I'd like to see this banned.
2)Futures - setting prices in advance. You should pay based on costs and yield. If it's a bad year but predicted good farmers get a pittance, and I bet sellers then hike prices as it's a bad year. Of course if it's a good year but predicted bad then farmers can make a profit and the sellers hold their high prices, based on expected, anyway and make more profit.

Re: Rising cost of living
 

It’s all part and parcel of capitalism. It’s how it works.

It is also necessary. For example, although selling short seems heartless, who else will actually buy a failing company? Ban the practice and everything is lost.

Re: Rising cost of living
 

The thing is, they're not empty.

Re: Rising cost of living
 

If you use cardboard fruit and veg pictures to disguise empty shelves they're not empty ....
https://www.theguardian.com/business...droidApp_Other

Re: Rising cost of living
 

That’s not what shorting is…

https://www.fool.com/investing/how-t...stock-meaning/ Shorting is speculation…

Re: Rising cost of living
 

True, and I know that. However, it is a cog in the wheel of capitalism.

I apologise if my use of the word ‘failing’ gave the wrong impression. I was using a bit of a broad brush with that comment.

Re: Rising cost of living
 

Far from this benign action that you portray it is done specifically to extract money out of the situation - rather than allowing the market (those genuinely interested in shares) to enter or exit the market and costs those parties money in the process.

If anyone wants to find out capitalism as we know it is a great ponzi scheme I recommend Googling (or your preferred search engine) "the day Volkswagen conquered the world" and reading the associated article. In short - pun intended - by massively distorting the markets Porsche bought Volkswagen and got venture capitalists to fund it when many expected the reverse transaction to happen.

A Sunday is an amazing day to announce that between the stocks you own, have options on and those owned by the state of Saxony account for 94.2% of the shares in a company when it was estimated that as much as 20% of VW shares were shorted.

Panic, panic, panic. A great laugh to read back about everyone who lost money in the process.

Re: Rising cost of living
 

I have worked at companies whose shares were falling and the comments on boards like "I've shorted this one, with any luck it's fold completely and I'll make a killing" without regard to the employees who could lose their jobs and "real" investors who could lose real money.
Yes the stock market is a gamble but investing in a good idea to support it and then reap a reward when it does well if fine, you could lose but it is overall a positive, creating wealth.
Shorting is hoping something fails and just withdraws wealth. Of course the only winners whatever are the stockbrokers who take percentages of the trade so win whatever happens.

Re: Rising cost of living
 

Re: Rising cost of living
 

Shorting is all about ensuring that capitalism works as it should. It's not about employees, they are simply amongst those who lose out.

This link may be of interest, but there are plenty of other links out there too.

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/10/05/expe...r-markets.html

Re: Rising cost of living
 

So did slavery, but it didn’t make it right.

Unbridled Capitalism is wrong, because, as you put it

Re: Rising cost of living
 

This is an interesting read on Short Selling: https://www.investopedia.com/article...elling-ban.asp

Re: Rising cost of living
 

Market Manipulation . . nothing new, in fact Bitcoin thrives on it :D

Re: Rising cost of living
 

The link is of no particular interest to be fair.

Any time I hear something “can be beneficial” the cynical part of me assumes for the majority of the time it probably isn’t. Asking someone who has likely benefitted financially from short selling their opinion on the matter isn’t likely to evoke an impartial response.

Re: Rising cost of living
 

:Yes: :clap:

Same as you never hear a car salesperson tell you "I had one of these once, right bag of crap, couldn't wait to get rid of it"

:D

Re: Rising cost of living
 

Not everyone buys a ford:erm:

Re: Rising cost of living
 

Re: Rising cost of living
 

I visited a local indoor market yesterday for the first time in almost a year. Meat prices were extortionate, some almost double what the supermarkets charge. One of the butchers told me that sales are "flatter than Twiggy" since they were all bought out by a sole vendor. "Mark-ups were always high, but now they are stupid, no-one wants to buy any of it".

Re: Rising cost of living
 

Back in the early days of Apple one of the founders sold his shares in Apple for $800.


Today those shares are worth over $20,000,000,000.

Re: Rising cost of living
 

Our local taxi fares have gone up, and I've been told that they've started to charge when they're stuck in traffic.

Re: Rising cost of living
 

I thought they always did ?

Re: Rising cost of living
 

Not as far as I know, the trip meter works using satellite positioning I think? So when the taxi is stationary, there's usually no charge.

Re: Rising cost of living
 

A charge seems reasonable. I don’t expect taxi drivers to work for no income. Whether you are moving or stuck in traffic, the taxi driver is still at the wheel and needs to feed his family.

If the traffic is bad and you don’t want to pay extra, there’s always the bus…

Re: Rising cost of living
 

Here in Cardiff, the basic fee is £4.00, the kilometer price is £1.06. For standing and waiting time, £15.00 is charged per hour.

So yes, you pay whilst stuck in traffic.

With 20mph speed limits being imposed all over the place, journey times have become longer, so fares will rise.

Re: Rising cost of living
 

https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/articles/taxi-fares

http://everything4taxis.co.uk/tariff1.htm

https://www.southtyneside.gov.uk/art...rs-and-charges

these all have charges for waiting time. As i said I was always under the impression there were in traffic charges as the same journey on the meter costs often varied when there was traffic to be stuck in

Re: Rising cost of living
 

You've obviously never had to rely on a bus service

Re: Rising cost of living
 

We have to use a taxi once a week, the rest of the time I use my free bus pass. So I definitely wouldn't order a taxi if we didn't need one.

Re: Rising cost of living
 

Nottingham [city] has those everywhere except main roads.

They are just pointless, and never enforced (just not practical).
I've yet to see anyone actually stick to them, including taxis and buses.
Oh, and if you live in one, they have increased your vehicle pollution by 50%.

Re: Rising cost of living
 

Exactly. Try driving at that speed in one of those areas and see how long before the driver behind starts flashing his headlights and overtakes you. Such a low speed limit is positively dangerous, in my opinion.

I think these 20mph limits should be used only in a small number of specific cases or as a temporary limit during school opening/closing times.

I hear people say that too many people disregard the 30mph limits and argue that they should therefore be reduced to 20. They really don’t see that if they are not obeying the 30 limit, there’s even less chance they’ll obey a 20 sign!

---------- Post added at 17:29 ---------- Previous post was at 17:27 ----------

I use buses a lot. There are bus lanes as well, which help on busy routes.

---------- Post added at 17:31 ---------- Previous post was at 17:29 ----------

Well, who would buy from a market if they are charging more than the supermarkets?

At least you know the supermarket stuff is unlikely to give you food poisoning.

---------- Post added at 17:37 ---------- Previous post was at 17:31 ----------

Please don’t say that. Don’t even think it. :shocked:

---------- Post added at 17:40 ---------- Previous post was at 17:37 ----------

There’s a lot more to come, though. Wait until those wage increases come through! The more people earn, the more they will spend, the more demand goes up, the more prices go up.

It’ll take a lot of management to keep prices down over the next year or so. I don’t expect to see much in the way of productivity gains in the short term.

Re: Rising cost of living
 

Apparently, the local taxi firm has been charging for when they are held up in traffic for some years, but only at peak times, but this has been changed since the 18th of this month to 24/7.

Re: Rising cost of living
 

Re: Rising cost of living
 

Crikey, most product recalls are by supermarkets :D

Re: Rising cost of living
 

I love them with Welsh Rarebit!

---------- Post added at 20:03 ---------- Previous post was at 20:01 ----------

Problem is, the fact that there are no recalls from market sellers does not mean their products are safe. I mean, you just wouldn’t know!
:sick:

Re: Rising cost of living
 

Having worked in food production for over 20 years, mainly producing for supermarkets, I know which one I'd trust :D

Re: Rising cost of living
 

Cardiff is the "experiment". If all goes well (all bad points will be swept under the carpet) the WHOLE of Wales will have a 20mph limit imposed in all urban areas.

And big chunks of motorways and "A" roads will have 50mph limits imposed too.

The M4 past the huge Port Talbot steelworks already has a 50mph limit to "reduce pollution".

Re: Rising cost of living
 

Re: Rising cost of living
 

I'm wondering how that reduces pollution, surely if people are on the road longer they're creating more pollution.

Re: Rising cost of living
 

The whole thing is because of intense lobbying by a group saying "Twenty is Plenty", I first heard of them in a local village, where older people had complained about not having enough time to cross a road. They spread like a cancer throughout social media.

Many people have asked about pollution problems and journey times, but no answers have been forthcoming AFAIK.

https://www.20splenty.org/

It's already cost a fortune for street furniture (signposts, etc) and the attitude seems to be "We've spent this much, we might as well carry on".

Re: Rising cost of living
 

That would only be the case if the vehicle’s fuel efficiency was the same at 50mph as at 70mph. But that’s not how it works.

If you have a turbo-diesel, for example, the turbo charger will kick in around 2,000rpm. Depending on exactly how the engine and gearbox is set up, at 50mph in top gear (6th, in my Berlingo automatic) the engine is revving around 1850rpm and the turbo isn’t operating. At 70mph the revs are in the region of 2,200rpm and the turbo is operating. At the lower speed the car will do about 60mpg, whereas at the higher it’s around 45mpg.

On that basis, a 60 mile journey at a steady 50mph will burn one gallon, or around 4.5 litres, of diesel. A 60 mile journey at 70mph will require about another third of a gallon on top of that - roughly 1.5 extra litres of diesel.

A car that gets from A to B using 4.5 litres of fuel is clearly causing less pollution than one that uses 6 litres for the same journey, regardless of how long that journey takes.

Re: Rising cost of living
 

Maybe we should just make car manufacturers limit the top speed of their vehicles to 50mph . . emergency vehicles an exception of course.

Re: Rising cost of living
 

I live in a 20mph zone -cars roar past at high speed all day and night, I think it just annoys people that the council is trying to slow them down, there are no schools near my house but it's for the safety of school kids:shrug:

Re: Rising cost of living
 

Plus the air resistance is proportional to the square of the velocity. So the drag at 70mph is roughly double that at 50mph.

In any car with a fuel consumption gauge it's easy to see the difference for yourself. Drive at 50 on the motorway and watch the mpg go up.

Re: Rising cost of living
 

I knew there’d be some science around the reducing efficiency aside from the manufacturer’s choice to make the turbo work in a certain way … thank you for filling in :D

Re: Rising cost of living
 

Iirc 57 mph is the most fuel efficient speed

Re: Rising cost of living
 

I’m guessing that’s why Citroen design their diesel turbo to cut in at 2,000 rpm. In 6th gear that’s around 55mph. So they seem to be aiming not to compromise the most efficient speed by only adding the turbo after it’s passed.

Re: Rising cost of living
 

The first areas to go 20mph here were streets full of immigrants and ethnic businesses where they treat the roads as they did back in their original countries, walk where you like, drive where you like, park where you like. :(

Re: Rising cost of living
 

Around here (in Leeds) it was mostly residential minor roads, and the justification was the research that showed if there was a car/child interface scenario, at 20MPH the child had a 80% chance of survival, and at 30MPH it was reduced to 20%.

Re: Rising cost of living
 

Why are they 24hr limits? many children out wandering at 3am, imo they're using public safety as yet another stick to beat motorists with, there is most definitely laudable reasons to have them but of bus lanes can cope without being 24 hrs then so can side roads speed limits.

Re: Rising cost of living
 

The chumps who keep restricting the speed you can travel at won't be happy until it’s 5mph with a bloke in front waving a red flag.

Re: Rising cost of living
 

Another thing that has appeared here are "School Zones" that are closed to all traffic when the kids will be around. Cameras monitor for fines to be issued.

They are still active during school holidays "to avoid confusion".

Re: Rising cost of living
 

Re: Rising cost of living
 

Captain Hugh...:D

Re: Rising cost of living
 

People drive at 40 in a 30 zone, and 30 in a 20 zone. That's why 20 zones work.

Re: Rising cost of living
 

People drive at 40 in a 20 zone as well.

---------- Post added at 22:04 ---------- Previous post was at 21:58 ----------

Pretty sure Nottingham would prefer you not to drive at all.
The city council is full of anti car muppets, and has been for a long while.

Their latest brilliant plan is to close the main road that links east Nottingham to West Nottingham, making it much harder to get from one side of the City to the other.

It used to be a good place to drive to, park, and then shop, but these days Id tell anyone to stay away from the City, carry on up the motorway to Meadowhall, or even {cough} Derby.

I rarely travel into Nottingham now, mainly just to get to the Showcase.

Re: Rising cost of living
 

Do you really think that, SP?

Re: Rising cost of living
 

Obviously I was simplifying, but yes, they do work. Plenty of data online if you are interested.

Besides, round here the 20mph zones are heavily policed. Exceed them at your peril.

Re: Rising cost of living
 

I can understand the 20mph in the area of schools, but anywhere else seems silly to me.

Furthermore, the Govt. should issue new guidance for pupils leaving school:

Look Right, Look Left, Look Right again.
If you don't see the family 4x4 double parked within 4 meters of the school gate, please wait patiently until it arrives.

;)

Re: Rising cost of living
 

Re: Rising cost of living
 

Nestle announce further price rises.

A quick scan of their product range HERE reveals most of their products are non-essential.

Easy to dump their brands. :)

Re: Rising cost of living
 

Damn, my Smarties are going to cost more. :(

Re: Rising cost of living
 

Anyone who has been a university student since the mid 1990s is likely to have been encouraged by their friendly neighbourhood Students Union to ditch Nestle anyway. Their business practices, especially in the developing world, are … disappointing.

Re: Rising cost of living
 

Re: Rising cost of living
 

The baby formula story is proper villainous behaviour, you would think it a plot from a film.

Re: Rising cost of living
 

What's that then?

Re: Rising cost of living
 

Re: Rising cost of living
 

Isnt that normal for students ? there is always something to boycott. :erm:

Personally I like Kit-Kats and Smarties, and wont be ditching them (nor would I have in the 1990's).

Re: Rising cost of living
 

The chunky kit-kat is one of the finest additions to civilisation that any society has introduced.

Re: Rising cost of living
 

Both products of course the creation of Rowntrees, a philanthropic British Quaker company. They were the victim of a hostile takeover by Swiss Nestle in the 1980s.
Chunky Kit Kats have steadily got smaller and more expensive ....

Re: Rising cost of living
 

Details on the £400 Energy Bill Support Scheme.

Re: Rising cost of living
 

Every bit helps, but prices are going to go up by at least 65% in Oct ! People haven't a clue what's going to hit them.

Re: Rising cost of living
 

Martin Lewis says 77% now

Re: Rising cost of living
 

Who ever the new PM will be it could be very short lived for them... will the common person accept what is going to happen to their energy bills and living standards or could there be protests just like that lovely Thatcher Pole Tax disaster.

Re: Rising cost of living
 

I do not think the public has the stomach for it. There will no doubt be protests but nothing like the Poll Tax riots imo. Remember we have a whole generation of snowflakes now whose idea of protest is posting on tiktok about how they had to go lie in a dark room

Re: Rising cost of living
 

Wow!

Any other denigrating stereotypes you’d like to share?

Re: Rising cost of living
 

Not that I can think of off the top of my head but if I do I will let you know

Re: Rising cost of living
 

One thing is certain, we've got potentially interesting times ahead. We've just been offered a flat rate pay rise of £1925, which is 10.5% for the lowest paid but I've been in meetings where even those who will be getting the largest percentage have accepted any extra money they'd get being more than swallowed by increasing prices early next year, so already don't think of it as a pay rise.

Add to this how insulted NHS staff will feel with the offer of a £1400 pay rise and who knows what could happen. If the nurses are considering industrial action what does that say?

Re: Rising cost of living
 

Constantly puzzled by what people think that Labour would've done differently. They would give in to their Union paymasters, and as a result increase inflation even more.

Re: Rising cost of living
 

Perhaps they would take a leaf from Spain or Frances books and curb excess corporate profits. This is the real cause of inflation not the average working person looking for enough money to break even as the government and tabloids would have us believe.

Re: Rising cost of living
 

Not making a profit from a profit from a public service?

Re: Rising cost of living
 

A more competent government would have:
1) Got our generating capacity sorted so we were not at the whim so much of global energy markets.
2) Implemented a windfall tax to reduce bills.
3) Not been so nimbyish of onshore wind power, cheaper than having wind turbines in the sea.
4) Regulated energy distribution more strongly so the companies have to charge less.

Re: Rising cost of living
 

Spain has inflation of 10%, so that didn't work. High inflation is a WIDESPREAD problem at the moment, eg EU average of 9.6%, so are all businesses in all those countries making massive profits?:rolleyes:

---------- Post added at 22:09 ---------- Previous post was at 21:57 ----------

And where would the energy magically come from instead? How did relying on wind power work out for Germany? Instead they had to rely on Russian gas, creating a shortage and increases in prices. The energy distribution companies are not making massive profits, but the regulations say they should be sustainable as they cannot fail.
How much of any inflation is down to energy costs?
How many other countries have somehow managed to avoid high inflation? Malta is lucky at the moment, as they have a long term fixed price agreement for their gas. When that agreement ends, inflation will shoot up, just as in the UK when fixed price deals come to an end, they complain about the larger increases that follow.

Re: Rising cost of living
 

That was an unpopular government policy, I dont think inflation is actually a policy. :)

Re: Rising cost of living
 

The tax cuts the 2 potential PMs are trying to bribe their electorate will fuel inflation.

Grab No 10 first, worry about inflation later. Can always blame something/anything else.

As a last resort say the other side would be worse. I can see a lot of posters/politicians have already used the last resort! It isn't the most positive statement and voters may be wondering how it could be worse.

Re: Rising cost of living
 

The problem is you really need to limit inflation before it occurs. Otherwise inflationary wage rises follow.
Tax cuts to individuals may make them feel better, but they will still see the inflation rate when it comes to wage demands.
Tax cuts to businesses may have some effect, but not much. Non-UK businesses that supply to the UK, wouldn't be affected at all. Any tax is based upon profits, not on the costs they incur, which is what fuels inflation.
Whatever tax cuts are introduced, will need to be reversed at some point to fund the increased spending and borrowing.

It may not be popular, but the only solution might be limiting wage demands, until the current price increases work their way out of the inflation figures(after a year). Hopefully no new increases occur in that time.
The Unions were initially ok with that in the late 1970s, with a voluntary incomes policy. It worked until, the Unions insisted on playing "catch up". Eg Engineering Unions insisting on restoring the "differential", ie the wage difference between them and lower grades.

Re: Rising cost of living
 

So says the forum’s very own Mr Hindsight, who of course would now say that he forecast the Russian invasion of Ukraine at least a decade ago.

---------- Post added at 19:30 ---------- Previous post was at 19:28 ----------

So government handouts wouldn’t?

Re: Rising cost of living
 

All the points I raised have been flagged by commentators in the last few years.

Geopolitical issues are not a new thing so not being beholden to global energy prices is prudent risk management. Perhaps working in the public sector shielded you from this approach?

Re: Rising cost of living
 

So which other countries did any of that?
1) Where would the energy come from? Fracking?
2) What has any windfall tax got to do with energy generation or supply?
3) Germany looked to rely on wind power, and look how that turned out. Still need gas for heating.
4) The distribution companies aren't making much, if anything, in the way of profits, so how could they reduce their prices? The standing charge also funds when other energy supply companies fail, because they aren't making profits.

Re: Rising cost of living
 

Gish-galloping at it’s finest…

https://12ft.io/proxy?q=https://www....a-ebd462f4142b March 2022

Re: Rising cost of living
 

Are owners meant to splash out billions and never, ever see a return, unless they sell? It's a bit like if you got a business loan to buy a business. The loan needs paying back. So not real profits that they can spend or be taxed on.

Still doesn't change the fact that the bulk of the increase in the standing charge has nothing to do with the distribution companies.
Link
I should imagine that installation of Smart meters is in those costs as well.
Link

Re: Rising cost of living
 

Brutal news today.

• 0.5% rise in interest rates. That'll be an unwelcome addition to anyone not on, or coming to the end of, a fixed term mortgage.
• Inflation set to sit 13% by the end of the year
• Recession predicted at the end of this year
• Ofcom is going to review the price cap every 3 months rather than 6

Re: Rising cost of living
 

You forgot climate change, baby boomers bleeding the country dry, war with Russia and/or China and Trump making a comeback.... Oh and PM Truss, how lucky we are...

Re: Rising cost of living
 

Just as well you don't live in Turkey, Mr K, you'd be jumping off the nearest bridge at their inflation rate.:p: