AcedOut

Please be a Virgin Active.

Cool, will check it out. Thanks.

Yes, you can short property actually. Have a look at spread betting against the house price index, or even through UK listed warrants (buying puts). As for agents trying to increase the prices through talking-up the market, it's probably more in their favour JUST TO SELL! A good strategy in the current climate would actually be to talk the vendor into dropping the price to get a quicker sell. Ok, so they loose a little commission, but at least the liquidity remains high. Better to have some commission than none at all. For an agent on 1.5%, a ?10,000 drop in price is only costing them ?150. If the place is worth ?250,000 then that goes from ?3750 to ?3600, or a 4% drop in commission. It will hurt them, but better than to loose out to another agent.

Wow, didn't know anything about this. Where exactly does it take place and what time?

Look for the YMCA sign near Barclays! Just to add though, I was there last week for the first time and quite enjoyed it. I didn't brave a cocktail (friends did and were satisfied), but the T&T (Tanqueray Tonic) I ordered was strong. Unfortunately no Hendrix or Aviator gin though. Toby - any chance you can at least stock Hendrix (and of course cucumber!)? ;) Incredible what they have done with the space. I'll bet the previous owner of Inside 72 is kicking himself now.

completion price changes?

LEA - That looks like an honest overview, so thanks for sharing.

True, there is a lag. All depends on your trust of estate agents though.

Would anyone feed rats? I've never understood the act of feeding Pigeons.

Which one? Did they get 'em?

I am physically incapable of reading that message. Can someone please truncate/translate.

Sean - I can't wait to see it. I actually used to work on the top floor of WTC1 back in the summer of 2000 (was actually on the top floor the morning of Sep 11 2000), so I knew those towers pretty well. Looking forward to watching on DVD. Last I checked it wasn't still playing on screen. It's not about the refresh rate of the digital projector. They all (to my knowledge) use LCD and I'm not sure the LCD can actually perfectly refresh at that rate. It takes a certain amount of time for a completely white picture (on) to turn perfectly black (off), since the crystals do not 'switch off' fast enough. I don't have time to research it completely, but someone will probably Wikipedia me wrong...

Really, most films are recorded in digital now!? I'd be surprised. You can't really talk about films such as Wall-E, since every step of the process is digital anyway, so as long as the resolution is maintained, then I'd agree it should be the best picture you can possibly get. I still don't think that a modern LCD is up to scratch though, even if the resolution is extremely high. figgins - What's Man on Wire like? I really wanted to see that, but missed it.

Let's hope Peckham Rye is next. Sick of having to queue to buy a ticket one a week (Friday mornings, as I leave the scooter in the city after a few drinks!)

Dead cat bounce affects all markets!

figgins - what was better about it for you out of interest? For me, you could make out the pixels in the image and on panning shots, the image was quite blurry. Until they use LCD's with as many pixels as there are photo-particles in projection film, it's a losing battle. Plus the fact LCD's are still quite 'laggy' compared to changing the whole image at 25fps in film. Maybe I'm being too technical, but I still found the picture inferior to film, aside from there being virtually no dust specs! But I like dust specs - that's all part of the movie theatre experience for me!

Take a look on Right Move sell prices. All the data is out there.

They can still pay a higher coupon on the Gilts without raising the BoE rate though...

Sticky floors I can put up with, but noisy people I can't. If you're willing to travel, then West India Quays has one of the best cinemas in my opinion. THX certified sound and all very large screens. It always used to be quite cheap also, but I've not been there for a while now. Btw - avoid digital screens (projectors) if you can. It's no way as good as traditional film (you can see the pixels and it's blurry). It's just a money saving exercise by the film companies as the cinemas simply download the movie via a satellite link or high speed internet connection. The only improvement is that it doesn't degrade over time. The last time I watched a film with a digital projector I almost walked out.

Now is too soon to take advantage of the situation in my opinion. There are still some cherries out there though, but it depends on the vendors' desperation to sell. I will be waiting another 6 months at least. It's a good place to be if you're a first time buyer or looking to move up the property ladder. Time is on your side. As for city jobs, last I checked, they contribute to around 8% of GDP. If you could look at GDP regionally for London, that's obviously going to be significantly higher. The reduction in salaries/bonuses and jobs is going to have a huge knock-on affect on the housing market. The best thing you can do right now is put all your money in Swiss Franks (or any other mostly hard currency). Our currency is going to weaken dramatically over the coming years (as is the USD). Printing money doesn't come for free and with prices going up in China etc anyway, our import costs are going to go through the roof. If you must invest in property, then go buy land near the beach in Cambodia. The Chinese are only getting richer and that's going to be a huge holiday destination for them. All just my personal opinion.

And no one knows how much NR will be worth for shareholders. Still, mildly amusing. That email did its rounds here last week.

Peckham was ok when it was only ?3ish, but it certainly isn't worth the currently inflated price tag. I would rather watch the film at home than pay ?5.50 to watch on a relatively small screen and rubbish soung with sticky floors and noisy yoofs. For two people paying ?11, you might as well wait and buy the DVD. Hardly what I'd call a bargain. I go to Surrey Quays all the time though (it's only 10mins on bike) and find it fine. The biggest screens in the area and best sound. Loads of leg room and generally a quiet audience. I've still yet to try Ritzy or Greenwich PH though. Been meaning to give those ago, but a BIG SCREEN and decent Dolby sound for me is essential. Not sure those will cut it?

Doesn't the housing market usually lag the financial markets by approximately 6 months? If so, prices will continue to slide 'till at least April of next year. I'm still holding out, although I'm sure there are bargains still to be had - but only if asking prices can be beaten down at a good offer. Your most likely enquiries are undoubtedly from concerned sellers I'd imagine.

Mrs B - Were you in compliance at Bear Stearns per chance? Best of luck with what's going on right now. Most people forget that the city is made of of thousands of non-trader and non-banker staff also.

Banter!? That was weak! *yawn*