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Quoting dee1959jay:

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Quoting Mole:

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Quoting hydr0x:

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......Unlike the people who lost 100% of their saving through the Iceland debacle.

I wait with bated breath to see whether we get any of our £30,000 back from those, er, gentlemen!

Many Dutch citizens are affected by the Icesave debacle as well. It is my understanding that both the UK and the Dutch governments are talking to the Icelandic government. Last night the Dutch Finance secretary announced that one way or the other, Dutch people with an Icesave account would get their money back (up to the NL-guaranteed limit of 100,000 euros). Surely the British government should be able to offer something similar??
I also heard the Dutch government is opposing any IMF loans to Iceland as long as a settlement of the Icesave debacle is not part of the deal.

As you say they are talking - but I'm not sure that the use by the UK government of anti-terror legislation to freeze the Iceland bank(s) accounts in the UK was quite the way to gain meaningful dialogue.

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Quoting pauls42:

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Quoting dee1959jay:

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Quoting Mole:

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Quoting hydr0x:

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......Unlike the people who lost 100% of their saving through the Iceland debacle.

I wait with bated breath to see whether we get any of our £30,000 back from those, er, gentlemen!

Many Dutch citizens are affected by the Icesave debacle as well. It is my understanding that both the UK and the Dutch governments are talking to the Icelandic government. Last night the Dutch Finance secretary announced that one way or the other, Dutch people with an Icesave account would get their money back (up to the NL-guaranteed limit of 100,000 euros). Surely the British government should be able to offer something similar??
I also heard the Dutch government is opposing any IMF loans to Iceland as long as a settlement of the Icesave debacle is not part of the deal.

As you say they are talking - but I'm not sure that the use by the UK government of anti-terror legislation to freeze the Iceland bank(s) accounts in the UK was quite the way to gain meaningful dialogue.

I tend to agree, but at least it got their attention!

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Quoting Beastus:

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I know. I was just trying to explain the difference between some countries. Subprime don't really exist in Norway, and interest rates have gone from a low of 1,25% to 5,75% in a few years, and with the latest development interest rates from the banks have gone even higher. It may be a little tough for some, but there's no sign that the Norwegian housing market will collapse, because people are still managing to pay their mortgages.

The un-employment rate is at an all-time low, so all this crisis will do over here, is bringing things back to normal. According to the newspapers today, Norwegian banks are solid and the financial minister recently said that we would see a slowdown, but no crisis.

So yes, this is affecting everyone, but certain countries (like Iceland) did not have a good "starting position" when this hit.

Of course it could get much much worse, and we may see an economic collapse worldwide, but I doubt it.  So it was not to sound cocky or anything, but I do feel quite safe from where I sit.

I hope you're right, but I doubt it.

This is a global financial problem and no one is going to go unscathed.

Someone is using rose-colored glasses.

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Quoting Danae Cassandra:

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Really?  I guess I don't know much about economics, or I'm behind the times.  I always through payroll came out of profits or accounts.  Like I always thought it worked this way - your company makes X this month, out of that you pay Y in payroll, Z for expenses, put A aside for later, and B goes to you the owner.  I suppose I'm just naive about the way things are supposed to work.

That is how business is supposed to work.  Unfortunately, it doesn't.  More and more, companies are borrowing money based on projected receivables.  When those receivables don't meet expectations, they borrow more money.  It can turn into a vicious cycle that ends with the company going under.

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If the governments would just let the banks fall, what would/could actually happen to your average joey?

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Just sit right through it, Skip! You'll only experience damages once you start selling, which I would suggest it is not the right time to do. Until such a time, it's just virtual damage. Or am I missing something?

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There's another aspect of that that most people don't even realize.  Part of the reason many companies have to borrow so heavily to meet payroll is due to the overheard of benefit packages that unions have negotiated of behalf of employees.  Health insurance, retirement, etc., are a huge nut every month that must be covered as well as state and federal payroll taxes.  The actual wages are often less than the cost of all the taxes and benes.  This recession is going to hit the unions very hard as well.

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WAKE UP PEOPLE

The Federal Reserve is not part of the US Govenment, and Income Taxes are a fraud:

The truth about the Reserve and Taxes: