Are you feeling richer?

[PeterClarkson]

So it is about 5 years since the financial crisis. Just recently I have started to see the signs of recovery. In London at least property prices are on the rise and showed good growth last year. The stiockmarket has has teh best start to the year since the crisis. And in my other business customers are starting to order again.

Is this what everyone else is experiencing or are you just as depressed as ever.

Also is anyone seeing any signs that this recovery is extending to the pron industry because as of yet things don't seem to have changed for me here. Although I do realise there are structural reasons why this may never happen.

[one eyed jack]

What recovery? Everytime I watch the news I hear a economic growth of 1 or 2% at best then the next month its down 2 or 3%

They create new jobs and put thousands more out of work for companies going to the wall.

Same shit different day

[Porn Baron]

It's a dead cat bounce!

House prices have remained relatively high due to low interest rates. Meanwhile pensioners have suffered as they get nowt on their savings.

The government haven't even started to make cutbacks as yet. The debt gets bigger by the hour Expect taxes to rise or they will have to sack lots of people. But Osborne hides under the bed. Expect things to get much worse over the coming years. Petrol, heating and food will rise well above inflation as they devalued the pound. The ordinary working man is fucked. !glum!

[Zorro]

In a word YES

Like you I have noticed a big increase in spending this year, and talking to customers you get the feel that people want to and will spend money as they feel we are turning a corner.

We at mi-porn.com and My Naughty Pleasure have noticed the biggest increase in sex toy sales, a lot brought on by 50 Shades of Grey, but also people going back to buying more than just one product a year, the same is noticeable with DVD sales customers are ordering more often than last year and the year before. All good signs for the future of both porn and the UK.

[David Johnson]

"Is this what everyone else is experiencing "

Nope. London house prices are a law to themselves. London has no validity whatsoever as a guide to how the UK economy is going as a whole.

Oct-Dec saw a decline in GDP in the UK. A similar result in the first 3 months of this year will mean that the UK has had an unprecedented third recession in a few years.

1. UK debt continues to rise.
2. The UK deficit is rising again.
3. The IFS has stated there will either have to be huge tax rises or public sector service cuts or both for the 2015 to 20 period by the UK government.
4. Despite having control over its own currency which has resulted in an enormous devaluation in the pound in the last 7 years, the trade gap is as big as ever.
5. The UK has done worst economically amongst all the G20 countries apart from Italy.
6. Osborne has realised that Plan A was a disaster and has dropped it as the IFS make clear. Obviously he cannot admit that but basically that is why money is now going into capital projects and paying down the deficit is drifting far into the distance instead of being cleared in the present parliament.

"The stiockmarket has has teh best start to the year since the crisis."

The UK stockmarket no longer reflects how the UK economy is going. It is more an indicator of market sentiment with regard to the US and Euroland health.

[Arginald Valleywater]

New car launches, especially expensive models are on the rise. Satellite TV and other luxury items are selling well. Rolex has just opened a new factory.
However house prices are falling so far more in negative equity and unable to downsize as banks and other lenders won't remortgage as the asset has decreased and the ltv jumped.
Golf Clubs across the country are in trouble with minimal / no joining fees and no waiting lists so that tells me the squeezed middle are getting battered.
On a personal level got small pay rises in last 2 years but mortgage rate is a mere 1.5%, property still worth a lot more than I paid, still got a final salary pension and not had to cut back one iota. The only thing that hurts is fucking fuel prices.

[David Johnson]

On the subject of negative equity, in Northern Ireland, it is estimated that 35% of households are in negative equity. The only saving grace for most people is that the mortgage rates has gone down. In many parts of Northern England, house prices have dropped 20%+ during the recession.

This sums up the UK economic situation quite well.

[sparky]

NO!

I have just had a slight salary increase but it is less than basic costs of living e.g. food, fuel rose last year which means in real terms another cut in my disposable income.

For the last few years any increase in my pension fund has been lower than the headline inflation rate so again in real terms a fall. Similarly outside of ISA's which are just about matching headline inflation in real terms investments are loosing value.

My employer has now secured orders that will cover us until late summer. Longer term this job may well be my last. I would be very happy to be proved wrong but currently feel the start retirement is more likely to forced by redundancy rather than be when I choose. This will only change if the government work to create real jobs that pay a living wage so reducing both unemployment and imports. Locally around 400 mostly skilled and semi-skilled jobs will be lost in the next few months on top of the losses over the last few years.

Hence I'm certainly not feeling richer nor have the confidence to spend more on non essentials.

[David Johnson]

"For the last few years any increase in my pension fund has been lower than the headline inflation rate so again in real terms a fall. Similarly outside of ISA's which are just about matching headline inflation in real terms investments are loosing value."

I've noticed that there has been a collapse in the rates that banks are giving to savings whether they be ISAs, online savers or fixed rate bonds. The rates have dropped by over a third.

The reason for this is that the government last year introduced a Funding for Lending scheme aimed at banks. The reason they did this was that despite the taxpayer bailing out the banks to the tune of hundreds of billions, they weren't lending money to businesses or people wanting mortgages in any numbers.

The Funding for Lending scheme gives banks access to billions at a rate of about .25% interest provided the money is lent for businesses or mortgages. So why should any bank be as interested in getting money in from savers? Hence the collapse in rates.

[Arginald Valleywater]

Agree ISA rates are garbage. Paying off mortgage is a better investment than saving at poxy rates. Would get ?15k or more redundancy if I was made redundant but getting another well paid job in my area would be nigh on impossible...remove Sellafield's inflated wages from Cumbria and we are on a pittance with South Lakes and Eden Valley needing 12-15 times average wage to buy a property.