BEWARE! THE BANKS ARE OUT TO GET YOU!

[Stanley]

See THIS for a report on what looks like a possible re-run of the Carrillion fiasco. Informed opinion seems to be that it isn't quite that bad yet but needs watching very carefully.

[Tizer]

Our shiny capitalist economy seems to have become a bit tarnished these days.

[Stanley]

Later, bad news coming in from Debenham's as rumours spread that suppliers are refusing to supply them. Mike Ashley announces the closure of another two stores, the landlords of the High Street are announcing staggering falls in rents received due to the closure of many smaller stores that haven't hit the headlines.
This is being buried under Brexit but is alarming. Watch out for trouble if the Xmas campaign falters......

[Stanley]

Thanks to Private Eye for alerting me to the following. They have pursued this matter tirelessly and could have had an influence on what is happening.
It starts like this "A trial pitting 560 sub-postmasters against the Post Office in the high court last week began with the remarkable revelation that executives knew of flaws in its Horizon IT system that could see dozens of people convicted but covered them up"
The Post Office has repeatedly voiced confidence in the system which is essential for their business model. Evidence has been presented that as early as 2012 senior managers discussed discrepancies and mismatches thrown up by Horizon that could be on the point of 'impacting about 40 businesses'.
Despite this internal knowledge they kept the matter secret and prosecutions for fraud continued resulting in bankruptcy for some and imprisonment for others.
A even earlier memo from a senior Post Office manager described a visit to a post office where until the advent of Horizon the postmistress had always achieved a perfect weekly balance but now had a shortfall. The memo ended with 'It is Horizon related in bold type.
I hope justice is served. It has taken a long time to get to court, perhaps now the truth will emerge. As I said earlier the system is essential to the current business model and this could be a very serious matter, not only in terms of compensation but for the business as well.

[Stanley]

I think THIS fits this topic. A BBC account of a 'Which' report that shows that Black Friday 'bargains' might not be all they might seem. Why do I not feel surprised by this?

[Stanley]

I think this is the right place to report about a discussion I heard on R4 last night, the group of economists included Stiglitz and I always take note of what he has to say. He was agreeing with the other participants that there is a linkage between the banks lobbying for more deregulation and apparently succeeding, the rise of debt in all the major economies, trade wars and the rise of right wing attitudes including the rabid nationalists. It all fits in with "America First" and the hardening attitudes we seem to be seeing. It's even spread to the advisers to UKIP! The context of the discussion was that an 'adjustment' in the markets is sure to happen and all the factors noted above could make it worse than 2008.
All I can say is that it made sense to me.

[Tizer]

I think THIS fits this topic. A BBC account of a 'Which' report that shows that Black Friday 'bargains' might not be all they might seem. Why do I not feel surprised by this?

When I saw that report last week (which happened to be Black Friday) I clicked the link for the tracker web site with the silly name CamelCamelCamel out of curiosity Camel ditto . It gives you current and past prices for any item being sold on Amazon, so you can see how the price has varied and where it currently lies with respect to the past. Coincidentally I'd been looking for a garden vac/blower and I put the details into the site. It gave me the price I'd expected from having earlier looked at Amazon and which was claimed to be at a big discount. The graph showed that the price really had been substantially higher for much of the time. I did nothing more because I'm in no great hurry to buy the item (most of the leaves have already fallen and been swept up!). But at the end of the day I took a last look at the bookmarked Camel link and the item was shown at two-thirds of the previous price. So I went to the Amazon site (by putting in the genuine Amazon address, just in case of spoofs), found the item there with the lower price, checked it was free delivery and `sold by Amazon' (not by Associates) and bought it. The following morning it was back up at the higher price again! It's not often I get a bargain!

[Stanley]

Well done Tiz! Nice when the system works for the individual. I ordered a book from Amazon the other day which I suspect is coming from the States and it was 'free delivery'. (I'm not sure how free 'free' is though.....)
On another topic.... There has been a discussion on World Service this morning about the WTO and the difficulties raised by Trump in his fight against China which is what his trade war is about really. The general consensus was that the neo-liberal and right wing think tanks are proposing draconian solutions to what they see as the failure of the WTO to curb China's distressing habit of giving state aid to business sectors whose promotion is important to the overall Chinese economy. These 'solutions' all contain the usual rhetoric about privatisation of public services as 'the market' is more efficient. They specifically mention health services.
This is a powerful reminder that shining examples of public good like the NHS are under constant attack by the Right-wing, the neo-liberals and big finance on a global scale. Friedman and the Chicago School are still alive and well for one very simple reason, it opens up the route for channelling more and more public capital towards the highest capital owners. Taking into account the overwhelming dominance of big finance in global government lobbying this is perhaps one of the biggest threats the lower 90 percentile face in the future and has implications for the rise and rise of the great financial sectors at the expense of the value adding peripherals like the regions and basic manufacturing. Boring I know but this is an existential threat to us down in the engine room!

[PanBiker]

I ordered a book from Amazon the other day which I suspect is coming from the States and it was 'free delivery'. (I'm not sure how free 'free' is though.....)

Make sure you didn't inadvertently sign up to Amazon Prime. Free delivery is often linked to a subscription to Prime where you have to consciously deselect the service if you don't want it. If you do join by mistake you have 30 days to cancel the subscription or they will take a monthly charge from your credit card or payment method.

[Tizer]

When buying from Amazon I always aim to get the item `Sold by Amazon' and `Free Delivery'. It's possible for most things that I buy, the rare exceptions being unusual items that aren't popular. I log in, do a search for the item then adjust the settings on the LH side of the page by ticking both `Free Delivery' and `Sold by Amazon' (the latter listed under `Sellers'). Then I add it to the shopping basket and go through the buying process, checking at each stage that it still shows as `Free Delivery'. `Prime' is offered as an option and, as Ian says, is best avoided. Free delivery is usually quicker than the dates they give which seem to be there to cover themselves if it takes longer. The Black Friday item I ordered is different because it warned me on the item's page that they wouldn't be back in stock until 6th December therefore delivery wouldn't be until after that date. Fair enough, I'm not in a hurry and it helps them spread out their sales load. I try to always use Sold by Amazon because if you buy from Amazon Associates and anything goes wrong then you have to pursue the matter with the Associate, not Amazon, and there have been some bad stories there.

China's distressing habit of giving state aid to business sectors whose promotion is important to the overall Chinese economy.

They're not only opening mines for coal and minerals in other countries around the world to supply their own expansion, they're buying up land worldwide to ensure their future food supplies. What is beginning to annoy the countries concerned is that China is not using local workers but sending in their own Chinese workers. In some places the locals are now attacking the Chinese people and their property.

[Stanley]

Ian, I once fell for that one and did a reverse ferret immediately!
Tiz, I do the same unless I know the vendor. You do have protections via Amazon and in say the case of non-delivery, they act immediately and give you a refund, no questions asked. I'll bet there are people out there who use that service to get free goods but the vendors and Amazon stand it rather than damage their reputation.

[Tizer]

You do have protections via Amazon and in say the case of non-delivery, they act immediately and give you a refund, no questions asked.

That's correct if the item was sold direct from Amazon but if you buy it from Amazon Associates (aka `Marketplace') and you need to return it you have to deal with the Marketplace seller, get their agreement then send it back to them. There have been reports online and in the newspapers in the past about problems with that. Most of the time it's OK but there have been bad apples in the barrel.

[Stanley]

I avoid such sales Tiz.

[Tripps]

Not in the spirit of the thread title, but I've just had a letter from the bank saying they are going to make a payment to me of £43.32 because '" I may have paid more or received less than I was expecting between October 2011 and 2016. Well it certainly isn't 'paid more' as I pay zero, and I don't think it's a hoax / scam - so thanks very much.

[PanBiker]

Winner.

[Tizer]

It makes you wonder if bankers are fit to handle money. Perhaps they now work to an accuracy of plus or minus a few tens of pounds.

[Stanley]

David, I suspect an algorithm somewhere has been checking your account. Doubtful if the bank are even aware they have sent you a refund. Frightening isn't it!

[Tizer]

This seems most appropriate in this thread...
`Motability charity boss to go after extra bonus revealed' LINK
`The boss of Motability Operations is to step down by 2020 following criticism over his pay and a scathing review from the government's spending watchdog. The report from the National Audit Office revealed Mike Betts was in line for an extra £1.86m bonus on top of already "generous" pay. The firm operates the Motability scheme which provides wheelchairs, cars and scooters to the disabled. Mr Bett's level of pay was described as "obscene" by MP Frank Field. Mr Field, who chairs Parliament's Work and Pensions Committee, said it was "beyond appalling to learn that money that could have been used to improve the lives of disabled people will be lining his pockets instead". The Motability scheme arranges cars, scooters and powered wheelchairs for disabled people in exchange for some of their state disability allowance. Motability Operations - the firm which runs the scheme - is a monopoly which faces no competition and also benefits from tax concessions. The NAO report said the scheme had made more profit than intended, and that its customers had been charged £390m more than was required to cover lease costs. ...'

[Stanley]

The NAO report said the scheme had made more profit than intended
I heard a figure that Motability can provide cars and services on average 44% cheaper than the open market. How the hell can they make a profit, let alone a bigger one than expected?

[Tizer]

Just when the Brexiteers are telling us we can turn towards the US...
`Is the US heading for a recession?' LINK
`Recessions are painful. Shrinking output tends to mean huge job losses, stagnant incomes and widespread misery. And when that recession is in the world's largest economy, it's a major headache for its trading partners, not least the UK which sells 30% of its exports to the US. Investors are increasingly concerned there's an American recession brewing....'

[Stanley]

Good clear article and a timely warning Tiz. Boom and Bust has not been eliminated yet! Remember the cheerful news about 'The New Economics' which preceded 2008? Gordon Brown congratulating the financiers at a dinner in London?

[Stanley]

See THIS for a BBC report on the latest state of HS2. It begins to look as though the rumours of a vast overspend denied by Grayling could have some substance. This man dooms whatever he touches...... How does he survive?

[Big Kev]

I find it ridiculous to spend obscene amounts of money to shave 20 minutes off of a journey (20 minutes is the figure I read somewhere). Just factor in the journey time and save the billions...

[Tizer]

..and also prevent all the trouble and distress for those having to give up their homes and businesses and all the damage to wildlife and environment.

[chinatyke]

I find it ridiculous to spend obscene amounts of money to shave 20 minutes off of a journey (20 minutes is the figure I read somewhere). Just factor in the journey time and save the billions...

Kev, there is a wonderful high-speed train service in this part of the world and I use it regularly. I happily pay over double the fare to use this service compared to the normal express, 40rmb by HS versus 19rmb by express (we now call it the slow train). It takes about half the journey time, a saving of about 40 minutes on my usual journey to Nanning. The key to this is setting the fares at an affordable level, I read about fares for UK train journeys which are astronomical.