What Brexit tells us

[PsB]

PS the stock market FTSE100 has risen 30% over the last year and those of us with investments have a big smile on our faces.

Cheers,

DV

It's actually 27% up. Now imagine if you'd been really clever and had invested in the DAX exactly a year ago, you would be 43.2% ahead today in £ terms. If you had invested in the S&P500 you would be 44.3% ahead today. Heck, even if you had invested in Paris (CAC40) or Madrid (IBEX35) you would still be better off today than with your FTSE100 (+33.2% and +30.5% respectively).

 

[tqineil]

quelle surprise!

 

[TheDecameron]

So you don't know! You just accept something that you have read. A bull led by its nose. And they are young and inexperienced. My own 22 yo voted to stay..... Doh!

The FTSE 100 effectively gives confidence in the performance of the World.

I would encourage anyone who wants to invest for their future after they have saved enough to support themselves for 3 months to go into investments within the stock market. Banks are just rip off merchants laughing all the way home to... their banks.

Cheers,

DV

The Brexit demographic (by and large) have neither the capital nor the wit to invest in shares DV. They are going to disproportionately pay the penalty for Brexit- tax burden at a 30 year high, benefits and pubic services under siege.

 

[Brian]

The Brexit demographic (by and large) have neither the capital nor the wit to invest in shares DV. They are going to disproportionately pay the penalty for Brexit- tax burden at a 30 year high, benefits and pubic services under siege.

You can't possibly know that.

Where is sue when you need someone to complain about opinion being asserted as fact?

 

[eternumviti]

The Brexit demographic (by and large) have neither the capital nor the wit to invest in shares DV. They are going to disproportionately pay the penalty for Brexit- tax burden at a 30 year high, benefits and pubic services under siege.

 

[stephen bennett]

Don't get too excited about automation, there are many jobs that are either uneconomic to automate or the technology is not available to enable automation.
There will still be many jobs in industry for many years to come, unfortunately not in the UK.

Brexit or no Brexit there will be fewer well paid jobs, except for the 18% state workers who have not been hit by economic reality. Compound this with divorce, extended families, student loans, increased retirement age, poor government, poor career prospects for many, we are agreed on that point

I absolutely agree with the latter, but not the former. Depends what you mean by 'many years' , but apart from care I can't think of an area of human activity that won't be done more cheaply by machines.

I met a mortgage adviser yesterday. There was nothing in that meeting that could not be done by machine today. That job is already dead-it just hasn't realised it yet.

Stephen

 

[jackbarron]

Went to borrow some money from the bank the other day. The advisor took my card, ran it through an electronic machine, and gave me an answer immediately.

Anybody could do that. They will be some of the last people whose jobs go though.

Jack

 

[Sue Pertwee-Tyr]

Went to borrow some money from the bank the other day. The advisor took my card, ran it through an electronic machine, and gave me an answer immediately.

Anybody could do that. They will be some of the last people whose jobs go though.

Jack

And would you be content if the "computer said 'no'" and you had no way to make a case to a living person? What if the computer is operating on incorrect data or via a dodgy algorithm but you have no way to get the record set straight?

 

[davidsrsb]

And would you be content if the "computer said 'no'" and you had no way to make a case to a living person? What if the computer is operating on incorrect data or via a dodgy algorithm but you have no way to get the record set straight?

Assuming the person did anything but read out what the computer said. In a world where people are not even allowed to calculate your change in their heads, I don't think so

 

[Colin L]

A theory from a plasterer this week was that Labour MPs were no closer to the workers than the Tories. They both recruit from universities and have very little life experience or real world work experience. In the past they would have come from the areas they represent, had life experience and worked in those areas.

I heard the same from a taxi driver.

 

[Seeker_UK]

 

[droodzilla]

Some facts and figures about MPs' previous education and employment, and the historical trend up to the 2010 (clicking the link will open a pdf document):

https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&r...m3w1jb3Hr9Q5aIPog&sig2=LbhbkBtI8rnxi-CFixrlWw

There's plenty of real world experience but the majority is from various professions and business. The percentage of MPs from manual labouring backgrounds has declined since 1979 (it was never very high) and the number of former political advisors, activists etc has indeed gone up (but Parliament is hardly dominated by this particular demographic, as is often maintained).

 

[stephen bennett]

And would you be content if the "computer said 'no'" and you had no way to make a case to a living person? What if the computer is operating on incorrect data or via a dodgy algorithm but you have no way to get the record set straight?

If the companies are saving millions of pound they will not care a jot.

They can just employ a few AIs you can call for questions or, in the final instance, a few 'real' people for those rare occasions.

Stephen

 

[Sue Pertwee-Tyr]

If the companies are saving millions of pound they will not care a jot.

They can just employ a few AIs you can call for questions or, in the final instance, a few 'real' people for those rare occasions.

Stephen

Perhaps, in the short term. But I think lessons are being learned about the wisdom, or otherwise, of outsourcing your customer service to call centres in places like India. The customer backlash against staff working from scripts which don't fit the problem, or accents which are difficult to follow, means that some companies are repatriating those services. I think companies which automate those services will suffer a similar backlash, sooner or later.

 

[davidsrsb]

There's plenty of real world experience but the majority is from various professions and business. The percentage of MPs from manual labouring backgrounds has declined since 1979 (it was never very high) and the number of former political advisors, activists etc has indeed gone up (but Parliament is hardly dominated by this particular demographic, as is often maintained).

A background in business potentially includes many that are not traditional businesses like lobbyists and think tanks

 

[wacko]

Went to borrow some money from the bank the other day. The advisor took my card, ran it through an electronic machine, and gave me an answer immediately.

Anybody could do that. They will be some of the last people whose jobs go though.

Jack

Even if your card shows you are in arrears on payments due you have the right to convert excess to a loan at a sensible rate of interest, and not card rip-off rate.
If your card shows anything else I do not see how it can preclude you from a loan without discussion.
Challenge them and/or change your bank.

 

[Colin Barron]

Some facts and figures about MPs' previous education and employment, and the historical trend up to the 2010 (clicking the link will open a pdf document):

https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&r...m3w1jb3Hr9Q5aIPog&sig2=LbhbkBtI8rnxi-CFixrlWw

There's plenty of real world experience but the majority is from various professions and business. The percentage of MPs from manual labouring backgrounds has declined since 1979 (it was never very high) and the number of former political advisors, activists etc has indeed gone up (but Parliament is hardly dominated by this particular demographic, as is often maintained).

Good information. the main changes i can see: 1979 to 2010
White collar 9 to 84
Politician/political irganiser 21 to 90

Farmer 23 to 10
Manual worker 98 to 25
Miner 21 to 7

Over one third of MPs are from fee paying schools (11% 0f children over 11
nationally attend fee paying schools)

There appears to be a trend away from MPs who can relate to the average voter. What we don't know is the change in local MP who has lived in the community as opposed to an MP who moves in the week before the election.

 

[Sue Pertwee-Tyr]

Even if your card shows you are in arrears on payments due you have the right to convert excess to a loan at a sensible rate of interest, and not card rip-off rate.
If your card shows anything else I do not see how it can preclude you from a loan without discussion.
Challenge them and/or change your bank.

I don't think jack said, or implied, he was turned down.

 

[stephen bennett]

. The customer backlash against staff working from scripts which don't fit the problem, or accents which are difficult to follow, means that some companies are repatriating those services. I think companies which automate those services will suffer a similar backlash, sooner or later.

I think that's a temporary blip. Sophisticated AIs won't suffer from these problems. They will have access to potential issues from right across the companies, and reply in natural language (or accent!) Initially they will learn from humans—then replace them.

Removing the thousands of employees (who do not always get things right anyhow) and employing a deep learning AI would save millions. I can't see companies walking away from that—their shareholders would demand it.

I think we are still in a world of pretty dim automated systems—but we are pretty close to getting some very smart ones.

Stephen

 

[jackbarron]

I don't think jack said, or implied, he was turned down.

No I didn't. I haven't asked for money from a bank for over a decade. I was gobsmacked that the decision was made by running my card through a machine.

I said to the bank worker that it seems like the days of coming up with a great idea and speaking to your bank manager to get it funded have gone. He just said "Yeah, sorry."

In other words the decision was made by the machine.

I have no time whatsoever for banks anymore. Among other things, they are robbing savers to pay for the billions they lost through gambling with their money. And they are still at it every single day. It amazes me that the public put up with it.

When the next crash comes who is going to pay for it? Unlike Iceland, there is little chance of the banks being liable in the UK, let alone directors being fired and imprisoned.

Brexit won't help to deal with this. It is the Tory's chance to deregulate things even further.

Jack