warm thanks to the banks

Hurray! The banks are reporting profit and that means that banks are lending to those folks who see a business opportunity. But if it's true, some of the economic indicators should intercept the claim. But they don't. Actually there are people who closely monitor the rate small businesses default on the plastic deals and they say that the default figures are increasing. Whom do the banks lend the money to. The Martians?

These days, banking execs are free to redefine the term "profit" anyway they chose to just to turn the accusative public finger on someone else. Banks don't lend in the midst of knee-deep recession -- loans are too risky. It wasn't always true when banks were all too happy to lend to the sub-primers, insure the loan with AIG; or bundle the loans, put the triple A on it and sell it to Icelanders as an excellent investment. The experts on these "financial instruments," like Lehman Brothers, are gone, and you don't want to hire some amateurs to do the job.

So when will the banks start lending for real?
When the unemployment figures go down.

And when will the unemployment figures go down?
When businesses start hiring workers.

And when will businesses start hiring workers?
When demand exceeds supply.

And when is that going to happen?
When the banks extend lovely credit lines to the consumers.

And when is that going to happen?
When the unemployment figures go down.


Barney!
Let's go.

It's a cycle yes. And it seems to be an unbreakable one. People won't spend until they're secure in their jobs, people won't be secure in they're jobs until people spend. I think now that it's started if it keeps going it will just get worse and worse. How do we break the cycle?

The banks are making profits, good for them, NOT.

The banks always make a profit, look at the recent interest rate cuts, here in the UK then interest rate went down to 0.5% and do the people see any of that cut?
are they're mortgage rates cut to a lower rate than 5%?
Mine certainly isn't reduced .

People will never see any lowering of their rates in line with the banks.
Banks have all but stopped paying interest on your savings , but they'll still charge you for monies owed to them though.
Credits cards are still charging 14-19% interest.
savings are getting .25% .

so whos making the profits?

It ain't the customer, yet we are expected and told to go out and spend our way out of the crisis.
Spend with what? those in work are having to work harder and longer to make sure they keep they're jobs, those losing their jobs are having to claim benefits, taxes are soon to be on the rise, its a vicious circle .

All the money that has been spent bailing out failing companies so the board of directors can have holidays and new jets and bonuses could have actually been spent to rid the world of money altogether, jobs would have been done out of nessesity and need, but they wanted to bail out faltering companies when they should have let them go under and then paid the staff put out of work benefits and helped them look for another job or give them retraining.

People are happy moaning about the state of the economy and then going back to watching 'reality TV shows' because it helps to bury your head in the sand doesn't it. and it good for you to listen to your government and corporate leaders because they know how to make it better don't they?

I agree. The funny thing is, this very thing happened in the 1980s, when the small farmer was forced out, and the banks foreclosed on thousands of farms that were the people's life and livelihood. Thousands are losing their jobs each passing day, and thousands more will receive that dreaded notice in the mail today, telling them the home they raised their kids in is no longer theirs. This is the America I was born in? I think not. I was watching Lou Dobbs last night. He was reporting on Granite City Ill., where there used to be a big steel plant that employed a lot of Americans. Now a pipeline is being built, and the supplier of the steel and pipe is storing the pipe on the lot of the former steel plant. Guess where the pipe is made? India. It seems that India can make better pipe cheaper, and ship it 9,000 miles by ship and rail, and do this cheaper than Americans can. What the hell is this?

The credit card companies are again raising their rates, there goes a bunch more bank accounts down the tubes. How many homes are sitting empty before We the People do something about it? How many American citizens have to live in the cars because their home was taken by the bank? Chrysler is about the go bankrupt, and GM is shutting down plants right and left...they can't sell any cars! anyone care to guess why they can't sell cars?

I am no country music fan, but this guy John Rich sums it up pretty good. Listen to the song.