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While this sounds nice in theory, unfortunately it's a bit naive. Throughout history, many a private company has hoodwinked investors into giving more money. In many cases these windfalls end up benefiting employees in the form of pay rises or stock options. Also, it's surprising the number...

What about all the "economists" talking about a soft landing?

They are two sides of the same coin though. As an illustration, take for example a recently built estate somewhere in Ireland. Those in negative equity will have to have larger mortgages than their neighbors.

It is difficult to be in negative equity unless you have paid over the odds. Cars as an asset class in unusual due to extremely high cost of ownership.

I know what negative equity is thanks very much. Since someone in negative equity has invariably overpaid for a property, this has ongoing repercussions to them. If it is funded by long term debt, such as a mortgage, it will be a drain on their cash flow into the future.

I'm not saying they are directly affected by their neighbor's actions per se. I am just pointing out that comparatively, the person in negative equity will be worse off, even if they have no intention of selling. I guess there is also the danger that a floor on wages will be dictated by those...

While this may make a nice soundbite in the press, it is not backed up by fact. In all instances, negative equity affects the quality of life you can afford compared to your neighbors. Take an example of two people with the same job and wages, living in the same type of house in the same area...

This is a common misconception. Negative equity is also a problem for the general economy, in that it reduces the amount of disposable income out there. Those that are in negative equity end up spending a lot more income over their lives servicing the costs of a property than the younger...

Re: Change the law on bankruptcy for those in serious negative equity? Your suggestion is not possible in Ireland. Should a bank take bankruptcy proceedings against someone who defaults, they can have recourse to future income. I think that maybe after 12 years the slate can be cleaned, but it...

Re: What I have actually said about property, prices and borrowing Or the cynic could just as easily argue that it was due to his pro-banking outlook and "don't rock the boat" nature shown during his policing of the financial regulator.

Re: What I have actually said about property, prices and borrowing Link: Some ideas to get your foot on the housing ladder Your warnings on the state of the Irish property market may have been too obtuse as I failed to see them. I'm sure I'm not the only one. People were taking major risks in...

Re: What I have actually said about property, prices and borrowing Part of the problem though is that we are not talking about accounting here. In the real world sometimes things don't balance. Hindsight, has clearly shown that there was no valid arguments for property prices maintaining such...

Re: What I have actually said about property, prices and borrowing In fairness Brendan, a lot of the stuff you have said over the years has been very bullish on property. The above quote being the first example I came across where you are trying to come up with a way of helping first time...

I'm just about to finish an MBA and at 30, am around the average age in my class. There are quite a few classmates in their mid 30's so I don't see any problem with you finishing up at 36. This is the typical age profile in Europe, while in the US it tends to be quite a bit younger. It's worth...

No, I don't see it that way at all. I consider the determining factor of whether funding is a bailout or not to be the intended use of the funds. Funding to provide support for future growth and expansion can't be considered a bail out for example. Funding to simply plug holes in the balance...

Since when has the term "bailed out" been reserved exclusively for government-led rescues? Frankly, I don't see the difference with who provides the funding to stop the company going under. At the end of the day it is still a bailout. You have to give it to Barclays though. They were very...

Your understanding is incorrect. Barclays were bailed out, under rather unfavourable terms, by sovereign wealth funds based in Qatar and Abu Dhabi. http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2008/oct/31/barclay-sovereignwealthfunds They are not a conservative bank by any means. A large portion of...

Sorry to hear about your friend MandaC. I think stories like these serve as a perfect example of why Ireland needs to change it's antiquated bankruptcy laws. The biggest asset the country has is it's young educated workforce and we are about to send them all packing. Crazy stuff!

Some interesting quotes by Rabobank in the Irish Times today that touch on some of the items I raised yesterday. [broken link removed] Is this a negotiating tactic by ACC? Could the Irish taxpayer be left holding the can on the bad loans made by foreign banks elsewhere in Europe? Would...

It's hard to know where their loans originate to be honest. Is NAMA able to distinguish on that basis though? Can it choose to only rescue loans that were made on Irish assets? It really sounds like it could be opening up a legal can of worms. One of the things that stood out to me about these...