In todays news...

[KungFooBob]

Cthulhu had them, it waiting for the rescuers so it can have them too.

End of days man!

[Screwdriver]

I may be the only one who thinks they stand a chance then.

I am quite confident that this submersible will have features designed to mitigate most if not all of the disaster scenarios you can think of. I mean YOU dear reader because if you can think of a potential problem in the five minutes you spent thinking about it, I am sure the designer will also have thought of them in the five years it took to build it.

It is tempting to invoke the Darwin Award for people who take such risks to gawp at a shipwreck but they're still people. Pretty good people too by all accounts so I hope they get out of this alive. It is looking grim but there is yet hope.

[MrLongbeard]

It's already surfaced, bobbing about in a fecking great big ocean like a ruddy tiny needle in a field of haystacks with no power or comms

[JackyJoll]

Yeah someone on the news said the detection of knocking noises means it’s likely to be drifting on the surface.

Any road up, some things are more important than some other things.

[Yambo]

Had to chuckle at this, pride it seems, actually does come before a fall.

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-leeds-65962037

Mohammed Nazam said in a Facebook post attending a Pride flag-raising event on Friday had been a "lapse of judgement".

He later apologised and resigned, adding he had not meant "any harm to the LGBTQ community". He added he had "personally repented for this error" and said he should have "respectfully declined" the invitation to attend the event.

I just love reading about multi-cultural England.

[Mussels]

I'm now waiting for the inevitable court cases where they blame the banks for not doing adequate affordability checks.
It's not a nice situation to be in and I feel sorry for them but expecting tax payers to cover for their financial planning mistakes is a bit much.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-norfolk-65761233

More than 400,000 people will see their fixed mortgage deals coming to an end over the next few months

She receives some benefits but they are not enough to cover the huge rise and she feels "very let down by the government".

[Mr. Dazzle]

This whole mortage rates, afordability thing boils/warms my piss in the same way the tram crash thing boils Iccy's.

I've got a mortgage...I imagine all of you lot either have, or did at one point. Every single time I've mortgaged or re-mortgaged the bank say "your payment will be this, but if rates change it could be that". Now you've got a bunch of people who basically ignored that information because "it'll never happen to meeeee".

Well, now it is happening to you! Fuck you, don't expect my taxes to pay for that

If the government bail people out, what exactly was/is the point of raising interest rates? It's supposed to make borrowing painful. That's the point.

[Potter]

Now you've got a bunch of people who basically ignored that information because "it'll never happen to meeeee".

Well, now it is happening to you! Fuck you, don't expect my taxes to pay for that

Ha.

The amount of abuse and shit I took a couple of years ago when I started the inflation thread and predicted all this. I honestly thought I was doing people a favour by warning them a couple of years in advance, but all I got was shit and apathy for it.

Inflation is sky high, interest rates will probably have to be pushed to the point that it triggers a recession and this isn't even the worst year, 2024 will be way worse.

[drops mic]

[Mr. Dazzle]

I do kinda wish I'd fixed for 10 years at 1.2% rather than my current 5 at 1.15%

Still got 3.5 years left on this deal though

[mangocrazy]

I have to agree with Mr D here. The concept of personal financial responsibility seems to have somehow gone missing somewhere. I've been mortgage-free for around 10 years, but I took out my first mortgage in early 1982 when interest rates were hovering around 14%. Interest rates are so fundamental to whether you can afford a mortgage or not that it is basically negligent not to factor in how any future base rate changes will affect affordability. I think the problem is partly that interest rates have been kept artificially low since the 2008 financial crash and people have (wrongly) assumed that this was the new normal and rates would always stay that low. What we are seeing now is simply a reversion to the historical mean.

[Greenman]

I'm now waiting for the inevitable court cases where they blame the banks for not doing adequate affordability checks.
It's not a nice situation to be in and I feel sorry for them but expecting tax payers to cover for their financial planning mistakes is a bit much.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-norfolk-65761233

More than 400,000 people will see their fixed mortgage deals coming to an end over the next few months

She receives some benefits but they are not enough to cover the huge rise and she feels "very let down by the government".

Do you think all people are financial advisors?

Some eople might not know that the interest rates are going sky high! Some probably dont even know what an interest rate is!

I was checking mine yesterday and i am fixed on 1.79% until aug 2025 which was a relief.

If the mortgage payments doubled i'd be fucked and would not be able to pay my mortgage, i don't see that would be my problem, rather it is the makings of the evil banks who are once again profiteering off of this that an the other.

If i was to have to move onto the current 6-7% rates this year i would probably have to sell the house. Not many people have the skills to make plans for 6 years down the line!

[Mr. Dazzle]

Banks have always made it super clear how future interest rate changes will effect your payment IME. You don't have to be a financial advisor, you just have to be able to look at two numbers planted right under your nose!

If you can't think 6 years down the line WTF are you doing borrowing money over 25 years?

[Le_Fromage_Grande]

Neither inflation or interest rates are "sky high" FFS, get a grip, both are a little higher than you're used to, get over it, if you can't afford to pay your mortgage then it's time to sell your house, life can be shit sometimes.

[Yorick]

Other day I read about a guy moaning about house prices.

They'd just had a baby but now couldn't afford the bigger house they now needed.

Idiot. Should have planned ahead and got the house before the baby.

[Potter]

Neither inflation or interest rates are "sky high" FFS, get a grip, both are a little higher than you're used to, get over it, if you can't afford to pay your mortgage then it's time to sell your house, life can be shit sometimes.

You'd have to be a hell of a stoic to describe a mortgage that doubles or a fuel bill that trebles as "a little higher than you're used to"

If you don't like "sky high" then how about "rocketing" - "Fresh-food inflation, which has been rocketing after spectacular increases in the price of sausages, milk, cheese and eggs, fell from 17.8% to 17.2%."
(https://www.theguardian.com/business/20 ... ave-peaked)

[mangocrazy]

What's all this nonsense about mortgages 'doubling'? The average mortgage interest rate has risen from a low of around 1% up to around 7%. How does an interest rate rise of 6% count as doubling?

[Potter]

What's all this nonsense about mortgages 'doubling'? The average mortgage interest rate has risen from a low of around 1% up to around 7%. How does an interest rate rise of 6% count as doubling?

"Victoria Watts, who lives with her husband and two children in Norwich, knew her mortgage of £1,300 a month was going to increase but she was shocked to learn by how much.

The 35-year old senior insurance manager received a letter last month saying her fixed-rate deal was coming to an end, and the family would need to find an extra £1,400 a month."

[Mr. Dazzle]

250k at 1% for 25 years is £940pcm and 280k total paid
250k at 6% for 25 years is £1611/483k

Not quite doubled, but not far off.

[Potter]

250k at 1% for 25 years is £940pcm and 280k total paid
250k at 6% for 25 years is £1611/483k

Not quite doubled, but not far off.

Mate, honestly, I don't know why we bother.
They literally haven't got a clue and yet all they want to do is tell you you're wrong all the time.

[mangocrazy]

OK, fair cop. I had forgotten the power of compound interest.