Credit deflation and the reflation cycle to come (part 2)

[XswampyX]

43 minutes ago, reformed nice guy said:

The crypto global market cap is about $1.5 trillion. Imagine how much higher house + share prices would be if some of that new printy printy money hadnt went into crypto!

It hasn't gone into "crypto!". Yeah it might be worth about $1.5 trillion but if there was only 1 coin and I bought it for $1 then I obviously took $1 out of the bank and gave that $1 to somebody, who put it back in the bank, it's now worth $1.5 trillion and I sell it. So somebody takes out $1.5 trillion and gives me the $1.5 trillion and I put it in the bank.

The money never left the bank and it certainly didn't end up in crypto.

What do you think I did with my $1.5 trillion crypto investment? I bought a house, some cars a nice holiday...

Edit :- Trillions not billions. Numbers eh?

[XswampyX]

You could have a bitcoin that was mined by burning money. I have a bitcoin worth $1 and you want some of the action. You send me $1... I burn it, live on Youtube and that makes my coin now worth $2. I then send you 1/2 of a coin worth $1.

That would fuck the banks in the ass.

 

[MrXxxx]

1 hour ago, reformed nice guy said:

The Chongs are focussing on stability, education and growing wealth. The West is focussed on skin colour, genitals and where you want to stick your cock

100%!

[spygirl]

2 hours ago, reformed nice guy said:

I see where you are coming from but I disagree with the trend. The way I see it is that the Chinese people will still do well despite the shitty authoritarianism that they are subject to, similar to the Russians. Most of the Russians knew it was all a load of bollocks but a tiny clique of hardline believers enforced it (sound earily familiar to present times?) but despite that they launched satelites, made fancy missles etc. I have to point out that the Russians were not that isolated - they built pipelines during the cold war that went all the way to Germany and Italy for both gas and crude.

As a random example, here is a Chink student that made a self driving bike that self stabilises, collision avoidance and such. Similar to the Tesla car autopilot yet he made it entirely himself (OK, he got a friend to help weld when 3d printing wasnt working):

https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1fV411x72a

Skip to about 8:30 to get to the interesting bit.

I am not saying that he is the best student in the whole world but that is usually the type of thing we see from MIT or other prestigious Western universities. The Chinese uni he is at was probably a rice plantation 20 years ago.

The Chongs are focussing on stability, education and growing wealth. The West is focussed on skin colour, genitals and where you want to stick your cock.

They work, they get the money they earn.

UK was like that till the 60s.

US prob til the 90s.

Pols then give more n more away to dossers.

Chinas doing the same, giving money to favoured people.

The people who work then start kicking back.

[Talking Monkey]

6 hours ago, Harley said:

But they don't unless they own more than one.  It's a distraction scam while the real assets are taken.  It's also probably a trap.  Like an ambush, funnel everyone there then bang bang.

I reckon that's a real possibility Harley that BTL gets targeted by the government for revenue raising, it just seems the easiest of options. 

[Clueless Imbecile]

Thanks to all who replied to my huge dilemma / 3 problems post a few weeks back....

Castlevania
Bobthebuilder
CVG
MrXxxx
DurhamBorn
Fully Detached
UnconventionalWisdom
sleepwello'nights

 

Sorry if I've missed anyone off the above list, and sorry I've taken so long to reply.

Buying a cheap house in the north east sounds tempting. The problem is, I would feel bad about leaving my parents, especially since they are at the age where they are more likely to need me. By coincidence, my mum recently had a medical problem over a weekend. My dad was out, and I ended up calling the NHS helpline, arranging a same day appointment for her (God bless the NHS for that!) and driving my mum to hospital. Luckily it turned out not to be serious, but it did make me think "What if I was living 100 miles north when that happend?". I could buy a house up there and rent it out, but I'm not really brave enough to buy a house that is more than, say, 20 minutes drive away from where I live. It would be a ball ache to go there to check on anything.

I'm wary of stating too much detail on here about my life because I value anonymity. I think there is a fair chance that I will inherit enough to buy an entry-level house in an ok area. However, I've always tried not to count on inheritance because there are so many things that could get in the way of it (e.g. if parents were to sell up and then spend the proceeds on living in a care home).

It sounds like the benefits option is ruled out for me since I don't have any kids. Looks like my options are:

1) Keep working and keep my ISA stockmarket investment & savings. (Default option / path of least resistance).
2) Keep working and buy a modest house. Would then have possibility of taking a lodger or renting it out while I live at parents house.
3) Stop working and live off savings until they run out (years away but probably before I reach retirement age), and then what?

If I buy a house it would be more likely to be within 10 miles of where I live. Luckily/unuckily I grew up in a fairly nice part of Cheshire, but it is poor value for money when it comes to housing. I could probably manage to buy an entry level home in the area, or I could look a few miles away where there is better value for money. If I was going to live there (potentially part of the week and spend the rest of the week at my parents house) then it would make sense to buy a place that is within walking distance of my parents house. If I could get by without owning a car, I reckon that would save me approximately 2 grand per year in insurance, road tax, MOT, maintenance and depreciation.

It's a difficult decision to buy a house when I'm quite comfortable & happy living at my parents house. The main worry I have is that my pension and the rest of my wealth is mostly in the stock market, whilst I don't own a home. Seems like too many eggs in one basket, particularly with all the talk of once in a lifetime market crash, decades to recover, etc.

It would be cool to meet DurhamBorn and you guys for a beer or two. Does anyone know any good (cheap!) hotels or B&Bs up there?

Cheers,
Clueless Imbecile

Disclaimer: I am not an expert. Anything I post here is just my opinions, which may not be factually correct. My posts are intended purely for the purpose of debate and are not to be taken as advice. If you act on any of the above then you do so entirely at your own risk. I do not accept any liability.

[spygirl]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-57531716

We're trying to do the best we can, but this is crippling us," says Scott Humphreys. "Before the pandemic we were paying $2,500 to $2,800 (£1,800-£2,000) to bring a 40-foot container from China. Now we're paying $16,000 - if we can get a booking."

Mr Humphreys is managing director of Peppermill Interiors, which supplies furniture for homes as well as to the bar and restaurant trade.

Like many importers, Peppermill is feeling the effects of serious bottlenecks in the global container shipping industry, which have led to delays and pushed up prices.

The company, based near Cannock, in Staffordshire, has been operating for 25 years, and currently employs 40 people.

Although it does use suppliers in the UK, roughly half of its stock is imported from East Asia, mainly from China. It will typically bring in between 200 and 250 containers each year.

Now, Mr Humphreys says, the rise in shipping costs is taking a heavy toll on his business. "We physically can't absorb the extra costs. We have to pass them on," he explains.

"A single armchair used to cost us £12 to bring in from China. It now costs us £100. So the price we sell the chair for has gone up by 25% - but that isn't extra profit for us.

"Some of the cheaper items, they've doubled in price. There's no point bringing them in anymore," he said.

He makes it clear who he blames. "It's all going to the shipping lines. They're working together. It's like a cartel out there."

 

Course they are...

Get your stuff sourced closer to where you sell it.

China isn't going to be cheap anymore.

 

 

[JMD]

3 hours ago, reformed nice guy said:

I see where you are coming from but I disagree with the trend. The way I see it is that the Chinese people will still do well despite the shitty authoritarianism that they are subject to, similar to the Russians. Most of the Russians knew it was all a load of bollocks but a tiny clique of hardline believers enforced it (sound earily familiar to present times?) but despite that they launched satelites, made fancy missles etc. I have to point out that the Russians were not that isolated - they built pipelines during the cold war that went all the way to Germany and Italy for both gas and crude.

As a random example, here is a Chink student that made a self driving bike that self stabilises, collision avoidance and such. Similar to the Tesla car autopilot yet he made it entirely himself (OK, he got a friend to help weld when 3d printing wasnt working):

https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1fV411x72a

Skip to about 8:30 to get to the interesting bit.

I am not saying that he is the best student in the whole world but that is usually the type of thing we see from MIT or other prestigious Western universities. The Chinese uni he is at was probably a rice plantation 20 years ago.

The Chongs are focussing on stability, education and growing wealth. The West is focussed on skin colour, genitals and where you want to stick your cock.

That's fine that you and I disagree. In fact i think it is interesting we may hold diametric views about China, perhaps a bit like those two camps, one pro crypto, the other anti?                                                                                                                   Bringing the topic back on thread - you mention the Chinese 'investment trend', by which I assume you mean that you are a serious investor in Chinese companies? If so I don't deny that there is money and returns to be made and good luck to you(I mean that). However I am buying for the long term and really only want to own companies in sectors for a 10-20 year investment time horizon. So  beyond short term trading, I personally don't see a case for having investments in China in say 10 years time. I could be wrong, but it's a big part of my macro thinking. For example what is the 'investment upside' for us in the West if China comes out on top during/after the predicted east-west Cold War 11?... That outcome would seem a massive lose-lose proposition to me.                                                                                                                                                        Yes I was aware of that Russian oil pipeline, it earned Russia some valuable scraps of hard foreign currency during the cold war But that was really part of my point, the USSR was mostly starved of foreign capitol and of western IP. China however, has been gorging itself on all those types of goodies, plus indulging itself rather schizophrenically imo, by ramping up the worst excesses of both communism and capitalism. The Chinese CCP think they have a date with destiny, just like so many regimes before them, so perhaps things will be different this time?... however i think it's just political hubris, and merely another house of sand.

[DurhamBorn]

36 minutes ago, spygirl said:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-57531716

We're trying to do the best we can, but this is crippling us," says Scott Humphreys. "Before the pandemic we were paying $2,500 to $2,800 (£1,800-£2,000) to bring a 40-foot container from China. Now we're paying $16,000 - if we can get a booking."

Mr Humphreys is managing director of Peppermill Interiors, which supplies furniture for homes as well as to the bar and restaurant trade.

Like many importers, Peppermill is feeling the effects of serious bottlenecks in the global container shipping industry, which have led to delays and pushed up prices.

The company, based near Cannock, in Staffordshire, has been operating for 25 years, and currently employs 40 people.

Although it does use suppliers in the UK, roughly half of its stock is imported from East Asia, mainly from China. It will typically bring in between 200 and 250 containers each year.

Now, Mr Humphreys says, the rise in shipping costs is taking a heavy toll on his business. "We physically can't absorb the extra costs. We have to pass them on," he explains.

"A single armchair used to cost us £12 to bring in from China. It now costs us £100. So the price we sell the chair for has gone up by 25% - but that isn't extra profit for us.

"Some of the cheaper items, they've doubled in price. There's no point bringing them in anymore," he said.

He makes it clear who he blames. "It's all going to the shipping lines. They're working together. It's like a cartel out there."

 

Course they are...

Get your stuff sourced closer to where you sell it.

China isn't going to be cheap anymore.

 

 

I closed my import business doing exactly what they are a few years ago and got out all my capital that went mostly into gold and silver miners and then into everything else when it crashed.I saw exactly what was coming of course because its what i do.I didnt know exactly where the cost increases would go,i expected some shipping,but more factory inflation and a falling sterling,but its  classic example of the end of a long dis-inflation.They make TVs now where i live,and they make washing machines 3 miles away again.Anything bulky is a no no now from China.There are lots of products we could actually make here with a small unit,big dog cages for one,but i cant be arsed with all the red tape of going Ltd etc.

[JMD]

7 hours ago, DurhamBorn said:

Yes its down to endless liquidity.The Fed has printed so much US assets cant produce an income so entities are taking that liquidity now and buying up whatever they can elsewhere.Most countries have blocks,but the UK will flog off everything.Interest rate increases will change everything,but the question is how much damage is done before that happens.

Iv noticed since i was 21 and investing hard how much the UK has moved away from equity investing to houses.Lots of that is due to the cycle,dis-inflation etc,and houses couldnt of had a better macro backdrop.

I expect they would need to pay £2.60 minimum ,and could be a counter bid.I guess il just buy some more TEF Germany with the money.

Cheap leverage, or for some 'free money' even, is another driver...             I have only listened to half of this podcast, so don't know if they arrive at any useful (for us) information/conclusions... 

                   

                         

 

[Hancock]

1 hour ago, JMD said:

 The Chinese CCP think they have a date with destiny, just like so many regimes before them

About 6 years ago, I was speaking to a Chinese man who was lecturing at at Oxford university ... he was amazed upon arriving in England when he realised the EU is very similar to the Chinese system, where those who make the laws are appointed as opposed to being elected.

He was a staunch Brexiteer!

 

[goldbug9999]

6 hours ago, XswampyX said:

You could have a bitcoin that was mined by burning money. I have a bitcoin worth $1 and you want some of the action. You send me $1... I burn it, live on Youtube and that makes my coin now worth $2. I then send you 1/2 of a coin worth $1.

That would fuck the banks in the ass.

No it wouldn't because burning bank notes makes all the existing units worth more so banks would be delighted if people started burning bank notes as its one less IOU they have to honour.

When people talk about money "moving into crypto" what they really mean is that some part of the global call on wealth, the "buying power" moved.

Lets say I have a £, I buy a bitcoin off someone for a £ whose just mined it, we've now set a market price for the bitcoin of a £ so end up with two things with a value of "one £" where before we only had one - the pound itself and the bitcoin. Given that the totality of currency is a call on the totality of actual wealth (give or take), by creating a new currency unit (the bitcoin) and establishing its relative value to existing currency through market price discovery, I have moved some tiny share of the call on the worlds wealth to the bitcoin. In doing so the currency used to trade for the bitcoin becomes worth a tiny bit less.

So counter intuitively the fact that fiat currency used to buy bitcoin is not destroyed actually makes each unit of it (the fiat) ultimately worth less than if it was destroyed because its very existence keeps the fiat diluted.  

Hence the $1.5tn "value" of crypto represents buying power that has moved from fait to crypto - all the worlds non-crypto money (e.g. fiat + PMs) is worth the equivalent of $1.5tn less than it would be if crypto did not exist.

[goldbug9999]

6 minutes ago, PrincessDrac said:

So in essence are you saying the market cap of BTC has drained FIAT to the same extent?

All that new money has gone into creating a new currency with a huge MKT Cp.

Well not ALL the new money sadly  but ... yes thats in principle whats happening, all fiat and PM holders are kindly donating some of their spending power to bitcoin - well cheers lads 

[Bilbo]

12 minutes ago, goldbug9999 said:

Well not ALL the new money sadly  but ... yes thats in principle whats happening, all fiat and PM holders are kindly donating some of their spending power to bitcoin - well cheers lads 

Which has the value of a Dutch tulip bulb 

[goldbug9999]

27 minutes ago, PrincessDrac said:

So when the cabal drop the monkey hammer on BTC.

All our pm holdings and reflationary stock to the moon?

Well on current values you might get a half a % windfall.

[Animal Spirits]

One for @Harley.

[King of Fools]

On 19/06/2021 at 16:45, DurhamBorn said:

Im getting my none means tested JSA now for 6 months.Then il claim my 1 years none means tested ESA.Il tell the quack over the phone iv got mega anxiety etc and want to kill myself ,sick note or as they are called fit note il get the ESA until they manage to arrange a meeting where il score zero points and they will stop it saying nothing wrong with me,but at the moment those arent happening.I might do the odd 3 or 4 months a year down the line,but i might not.

Thanks DB, good information. I’m currently working my notice, I’m effectively retiring at the end of July ( long story short, I had a bad dose of Covid  which turns out to have damaged my heart. I’m OK now, but It’s made me rethink my priorities). I expect  I’ll get sanctioned for 3 months, but I’m going to claim anyway. 

[Hancock]

Comrade Sunak is coming for your pension .. if its a private sector one .. i know its just putting ideas out there, but its inevitable to "balance things up".

Triple lock still in place though. 

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2021/06/20/pensions-raid-pay-covid-pandemic/

Treasury officials are drawing up plans for a pensions tax raid this autumn to help pay for heightened public spending during the Covid pandemic, The Telegraph understands.

Three different reforms to the way pension contributions are taxed are being considered amid pressure on the public finances, according to well-placed Whitehall sources.

One idea being examined is reducing the pensions lifetime allowance from a little above £1 million to £800,000 or £900,000, lowering the point above which extra tax charges kick in.

Another would see individuals contributing to pensions getting the same rate of tax relief, meaning higher-rate taxpayers lose out, while a third is new taxation on employer contributions.

"Our job is to keep people out of poverty, not to enrich the middle classes," said a senior government source familiar with the proposals, which are still at the exploratory stage.

–– ADVERTISEMENT ––

Downing Street and the Treasury are locked in debate about how to pay for the public spending spike seen as the Government moved to prop up the economy during the pandemic. 

Rishi Sunak, the Chancellor, who sees himself as a low tax Tory, has vowed to try to rebalance the public finances and officials see pensions tax changes as one way to help achieve that. 

But Boris Johnson has said there will be no return to austerity and has made expensive policy promises at the last election and more recently on issues like tackling climate change. 

Well-placed figures believe pensions tax reform could be included in the Autumn Statement, due in November, when the new spending levels for Government departments are revealed. 

A Treasury source close to Mr Sunak last night played down the likelihood of an imminent overhaul, stressing he is opposed to raising taxes on families.

 

 

The Prime Minister vowed not to return to austerity during the December 2019 general election, drawing a line under previous Tory policies, and has made new spending promises since.

It has left Rishi Sunak, the Chancellor, who considers himself a fiscal conservative, trying to rebalance the public finances after a surge in spending to prop up the economy during the pandemic.

A Treasury source close to Mr Sunak played down the chance of an imminent policy change and stressed that he opposes tax rises on families.

On Sunday, Downing Street moved to dismiss the possibility of breaking its "triple lock" on pensions, noting that the policy remained the Government's position.

It promises that each year state pensions will rise by whichever is highest – average earnings, inflation or 2.5 per cent. But average earnings have jumped by around six per cent during the Covid crisis as lower-paid jobs were lost, triggering a similar rise in pensions.

There is concern in the Treasury about the cost implications of the rise, with the door still open to a change – such as a tweaked definition of average earnings or even a year-long delay – in the autumn. Government departments are being urged to put forward proposals for future spending as the Treasury plans the Autumn Statement, expected in November.

The Telegraph understands that figures in the Treasury are interested in major changes to the tax rules for pension contributions as a way of boosting revenues. The Tories promised in their manifesto not to raise the rates of income tax, national insurance or VAT – meaning the usual big revenue-raising levers are not available to Mr Sunak.

The senior government source said: "You can't increase income tax, you can't increase national insurance rate. I don't think the Chancellor wants to increase capital gains tax. Pensions tax reform would work politically because the short-term impact on an annual basis would be virtually imperceptible for most people."

One idea being looked at would see the pensions lifetime allowance lowered from around £1,073,000 to £800,000 or £900,000. Pensions savings above that amount incur a 55 per cent tax charge if they are withdrawn as a cash lump sum or 25 per cent if they are withdrawn as an income.

Lowering the allowance would mean more people paying tax to withdraw their pensions in the long term. Mr Sunak froze the allowance earlier this year, showing a willingness to change the threshold.

A second idea would be a single rate of tax relief for pension contributions. Currently, higher-rate taxpayers who put money towards their pension each year tax free get a tax relief rate of 40 per cent, but lower earners who do the same get just 20 per cent.

Critics argue this means higher earners getting more support from the Government, and the Treasury is understood to be looking at a single tax relief rate of around 30 per cent. A third change being considered is to employers who can contribute to their employees' pension pots each year tax free, with a tax increase of some form being mulled over.

Steve Webb, a former Tory pensions minister who is now a partner at consultants Lane Clark & Peacock, warned that the changes would hit Tory voters and be politically risky.

"If you want 200 more Chesham and Amershams, put together a package like this on pensions tax relief," he said.

"It's absolutely targeting your base. It is people who are working, earning a good wage and being frugal. Of all subjects, pensions should be a long-term business. People are planning for a generation. What they can't have is constant chopping and changing of the pension rules because the country is broke."

[DurhamBorn]

22 minutes ago, King of Fools said:

Thanks DB, good information. I’m currently working my notice, I’m effectively retiring at the end of July ( long story short, I had a bad dose of Covid  which turns out to have damaged my heart. I’m OK now, but It’s made me rethink my priorities). I expect  I’ll get sanctioned for 3 months, but I’m going to claim anyway. 

No sanctions,just tell them you got laid off,dont say you left,they never ever check up.Then just tell them when they ring every two weeks,you have been sorting CV,then sending CV to agencies,then applying blah blah,remember the advisors name and when they ring always start with a "hello xxxx,hope your well/good/ etc etc" iv found  friendly polite tone means they dont bother with any hastle.When the 6 months ends then claim ESA ,iv rang my quack every 4 or 5 years and told him im really down etc,and he has singed me off and given me loads of pills,all in the bin,but builds a record over many years for when you need to pull it.No quack ever says no when you say you hate the world and people etc,they dont want blaming if you wack someone or hang yourself.

[spygirl]

5 hours ago, DurhamBorn said:

I closed my import business doing exactly what they are a few years ago and got out all my capital that went mostly into gold and silver miners and then into everything else when it crashed.I saw exactly what was coming of course because its what i do.I didnt know exactly where the cost increases would go,i expected some shipping,but more factory inflation and a falling sterling,but its  classic example of the end of a long dis-inflation.They make TVs now where i live,and they make washing machines 3 miles away again.Anything bulky is a no no now from China.There are lots of products we could actually make here with a small unit,big dog cages for one,but i cant be arsed with all the red tape of going Ltd etc.

 negative views of China more n more.

The spook type have always been negative.

Others were pro cheap labour or new market.

So many western business have been burned by bent Chinese. Very much fuck tge cunts, raise tariffs.

 

[XswampyX]

3 hours ago, goldbug9999 said:

No it wouldn't because burning bank notes makes all the existing units worth more so banks would be delighted if people started burning bank notes as its one less IOU they have to honour.

When people talk about money "moving into crypto" what they really mean is that some part of the global call on wealth, the "buying power" moved.

Lets say I have a £, I buy a bitcoin off someone for a £ whose just mined it, we've now set a market price for the bitcoin of a £ so end up with two things with a value of "one £" where before we only had one - the pound itself and the bitcoin. Given that the totality of currency is a call on the totality of actual wealth (give or take), by creating a new currency unit (the bitcoin) and establishing its relative value to existing currency through market price discovery, I have moved some tiny share of the call on the worlds wealth to the bitcoin. In doing so the currency used to trade for the bitcoin becomes worth a tiny bit less.

So counter intuitively the fact that fiat currency used to buy bitcoin is not destroyed actually makes each unit of it (the fiat) ultimately worth less than if it was destroyed because its very existence keeps the fiat diluted.  

Hence the $1.5tn "value" of crypto represents buying power that has moved from fait to crypto - all the worlds non-crypto money (e.g. fiat + PMs) is worth the equivalent of $1.5tn less than it would be if crypto did not exist.

Thanks for the reply.

I  don't  can't believe having more assets to purchase (houses, gold bars or bitcoin) will make the value of fiat go down. Nobody has ever said "We have more things to buy, but the same number of things to buy them with. so the price will drop.".

So is it actually counterfeit money (bitcoin) that when it's exchange for real money dilutes the money supply?

You don't have to answer GOLDBUG, I just wanted to acknowledge your reply.

Cheers!

[DurhamBorn]

13 minutes ago, spygirl said:

 negative views of China more n more.

The spook type have always been negative.

Others were pro cheap labour or new market.

So many western business have been burned by bent Chinese. Very much fuck tge cunts, raise tariffs.

 

Chinese will rip you off every single time.You can deal with them for years,big business,yet still rip you off for a few dollars.You need an agent over there who is ruthless.I had a woman ,tiny little thing,but she would rip them a new arsehole when they tried anything,they expect it and dont hold it against you.Their QA is horrific as well,ie there is none usually.You send your own QA into the factory to inspect the work once packed,and you never let them pick the boxes.I always paid a guy to go and check and then watch my orders loaded onto the container.I never ever let him QA then go away.I was very very good at it.Only problem i had was that when i was younger id been fingered for smuggling,though they could never prosecute and my containers kept getting pulled and inspected and left a mess,plus they send you the bill for inspecting them.Looking back it was a crazy business to run as a one man band as i had to be about 20 different managers at once,but one hour a day work for 8 years made up for it.

[goldbug9999]

52 minutes ago, XswampyX said:

Thanks for the reply.

I  don't  can't believe having more assets to purchase (houses, gold bars or bitcoin) will make the value of fiat go down.

The amount of fiat is increasing much faster that any of those things so over time there are more fiat units per unit of any of the others, ergo the nominal price in fiat rises (fiat unit value falls). This why all the non-fiat things are used to various degrees as a store of value.

[macca]

On 19/06/2021 at 16:45, DurhamBorn said:

Im getting my none means tested JSA now for 6 months.Then il claim my 1 years none means tested ESA.Il tell the quack over the phone iv got mega anxiety etc and want to kill myself ,sick note or as they are called fit note il get the ESA until they manage to arrange a meeting where il score zero points and they will stop it saying nothing wrong with me,but at the moment those arent happening.I might do the odd 3 or 4 months a year down the line,but i might not.

My old neighbour in rental was a long term benefit claimant for Anxiety.. Was always down the gym every day, her partner was her carer as she had anxiety so bad she could not leave home,, except every day to go to the gym that is.

They had been at it for years.. not a bad life they seemed to have, all rent paid, had a car, 2 dogs and a lazy life..

She used to sunbath topless in the summer.. So i felt like i was getting my tax payers monies worth, all those years of gym she was a well maintained 40 year old scorcher..

[Lightscribe]

NIKKEI down by almost 4%. We could be looking at a hairy week in the markets.