Perhaps I’ll just never buy property

I read this very interesting article in the Daily Telegraph this week and the author – Tom Stevenson – makes some excellent points. I don’t think the UK property market is anywhere near the bottom yet… so I’ll just continue to rent, then, shall I?

The debt is still there

I read this article in the FT today, and it struck a chord. The financial crisis isn’t really going anywhere… all of that debt has just been transferred from the balance sheets of banks to the balance sheets of world governments. At some stage it will need to be paid back, and no one is providing a compelling explanation as to how.

Also read today about Goldmans and the likelihood that they will pay out billions in bonuses this year. I have no problem with high bonuses, provided that they are paid within a context where there are appropriate regulatory mechanisms to protect a bank’s customers and the wider market. What rankles with Goldmans is that the US government bailed them out just months ago. The government really should get a higher return in exchange for the bailout, but in America, nationalisation is a dirty word,  and so we have the ridiculous situation where losses are socialised and borne by the many, while profits accrue to the few.