The Economy (Super - Thread)

[fourthirtythree]

Hodges Figgis is also Waterstones so that was always on the cards.

[Dave Cahill]

Perhaps THE must-read article on our current situation, by Michael Lewis (author of 'Moneyball' and 'Liars Poker') for Vanity Fair. Its a long one (13K words) but well worth it.

http://www.vanityfair.com/business/feat ... ntPage=all

[hugonaut]

Perhaps THE must-read article on our current situation, by Michael Lewis (author of 'Moneyball' and 'Liars Poker') for Vanity Fair. Its a long one (13K words) but well worth it.

http://www.vanityfair.com/business/feat ... ntPage=all

Brilliant article.

[sheepshagger]

Consumers start year in savings mode

Monday, 7th February 2011 11.19am

Consumers began the New Year with a strong desire to save, sending the January Nationwide UK (Ireland)/ESRI Savings Index up 19 points compared to December.

The improvement in the Savings Index was driven by increases in both the Savings Attitude and Savings Environment sub-indices. A 22 point gain in the Savings Attitude Index was driven by an increase in the percentage of people who are saving regularly, up from 37pc in December to 40pc in January, and a decrease in the percentage of people who believe they are saving less than they think they should, down from 63pc in December to 61pc in January.

The Savings Environment sub-index witnessed an 18 point gain driven by a 3 point increase in January in the percentage of people who believe that now is a good time to save, up to 28pc in January from 25pc in December, and a decrease in the percentage of people who believe that now is a bad time to save, down from 47pc in December to 41pc in January.

In January there was also a slight decline in the number of people who said they would use surplus cash to pay off debts including mortgages (55pc in December versus 53pc in January), whilst only 10pc said they would spend excess cash.

"Looking at the trend since the autumn, and ignoring the impact of the budget in December data, the index has been trending upwards, indicating an increase in saving behaviour and a reluctance to spend amongst consumers. This trend and other economic indicators mean that there is still no sign of a consumer demand led contribution to economic recovery and this situation is unlikely to change at least until after the General Election," said Brendan Synnott, Managing Director of Nationwide UK (Ireland).

http://www.fxcentre.com/news.asp?2728548

[sarah_lennon]

Good news... the recession is over. I mean it must be right, the Dart & Bus have put up their fares

[Scott]

Perhaps THE must-read article on our current situation, by Michael Lewis (author of 'Moneyball' and 'Liars Poker') for Vanity Fair. Its a long one (13K words) but well worth it.

http://www.vanityfair.com/business/feat ... ntPage=all

Brilliant article.

Read his latest book The Big Short -inside the doomsday machine. Fascinating stuff

[sheepshagger]

Good news... the recession is over. I mean it must be right, the Dart & Bus have put up their fares

Yep as opposed to the revolutionary idea of cutting costs (cue the union vs banker debate, we should probably have a seperate on going thread for that!)

[Leinsterman]

I think these increases in bus and DART fares are due to an ending of certain subsidies to the public transport companies.

[mfjoc]

I think these increases in bus and DART fares are due to an ending of certain subsidies to the public transport companies.

There have been no pay reductions in CIE so the only alternative is to put up the fares unless we want to borrow even more money from the EU/IMF.

[Leinsterman]

Here we go:


FARE INCREASES

The National Transport Authority (the Authority) entered into the Public Service Contracts with each of the CIÉ companies in December 2009 for the provision of passenger and ancillary services. Following the Budget 2010, the subvention payable to these companies was reduced by €32m or 10%. This cut came on top of falling demand and increased fuel costs. Following the Budget 2011, the subvention to the CIÉ companies was cut by a further €12.5m or 4.5%.

Dublin Bus estimates its numbers have fallen by 29 million in the period 2007-2010 (18%). The company is estimated to make a loss of €41m over the same period.
Dublin Bus last increased fares in 2009. Subsequent to this, its subvention was reduced in 2010 by 8.9% (€7.4m) to €75,790,000. In Budget 2011, the subvention was cut by a further €3.3m, or 4.4%.

In addition, the withdrawal of fuel duty rebate, increases in excise duty and the introduction of the carbon tax have resulted in increased costs of €15m per annum in 2010 (compared with 2007 costs), rising to €16m in 2011.
Dublin Bus has implemented a wide range of cost saving measures to meet this new challenging environment. By end 2010 recurring cost savings of over €40 million will have been achieved (when compared with 2007 costs) through reductions across all areas of activity in the company.
Payroll costs have been reduced through cutting numbers employed and changing terms and conditions of employment. Since 2008, average driver earnings have fallen by 7%.
Staff numbers will have been reduced by approximately 375 since 2008 and cost savings have also been achieved in operating costs, maintenance, and administration.
An additional €15m additional cost savings are targeted for 2011 through a combination of redesigning services to optimally match customer demand in line with the Deloitte recommendations and operational and general business efficiencies.

[Hornet]

The countless times i have seen "Out Of Service" Buses heading out of town at all times, or inbound on a weekday afternoon, when there are people waiting for services into town, defies belief. (The 77/77A are particular routes in question). That is down to a pathetic ability to plan timetables by people who purport to be timetable planners. F**kin' useless waste of spaces that they are!

[CRAZYDAVE]

Good news... the recession is over. I mean it must be right, the Dart & Bus have put up their fares

Yep as opposed to the revolutionary idea of cutting costs (cue the union vs banker debate, we should probably have a seperate on going thread for that!)

The fall-off in bus users over the past two years has been really noticeable. I can now get a cross-city bus at 8am, rather than having to be at the stop at 7:30am.

They have cut costs, changed routes, eliminated routes, and now appear to have a policy of non-replacement of drivers who don't show up. Question is, has this improved the service ?

[Leinsterman]

The countless times i have seen "Out Of Service" Buses heading out of town at all times, or inbound on a weekday afternoon, when there are people waiting for services into town, defies belief. (The 77/77A are particular routes in question). That is down to a pathetic ability to plan timetables by people who purport to be timetable planners. F**kin' useless waste of spaces that they are!

A lot of this is due to where the depots are. There was uproar over this if memory serves me correctly.

They have cut costs, changed routes, eliminated routes, and now appear to have a policy of non-replacement of drivers who don't show up. Question is, has this improved the service ?

The service appears to be worsening.
In Lucan they split the 25A service into 25A and 25B and said that it would improve the service.
It's made it far worse and we're left with the ridiculous sight of an A and B engaging in relay races into town with large gaps between additional buses.
Of course, Dublin Bus has ignored complaints by the general public despite saying there would be a review in January.
The 46A has also been changed and now no longer serves Monkstown Farm, thus denying a very large ageing population immediate access to a bus route.
I think the 4A and B have also been affected.

[sarah_lennon]

Its grand though because its such a reliable and punctual service. I'd pay much more for it really.

[Broken Wing]

To get into work during the high winds I waited 40 minutes for an every 15 minutes 19A, gave up, walked home, changed into bike gear and drove past the same people waiting at the bus stop.

To quote Pat Ingoldsby's excellent, but brief, poem "no one fks your day like Dublin Bus".

[ronk]

Good news... the recession is over. I mean it must be right, the Dart & Bus have put up their fares

No price increase for smartcard users on the DART.

[gfo]

changed into bike gear and drove

Surely a bit pointless to get changed then?


I know, I know, you mean a motorbike.

[sarah_lennon]

Good news... the recession is over. I mean it must be right, the Dart & Bus have put up their fares

No price increase for smartcard users on the DART.

Saw that. I have that so am happy.

[Hickiefan]

Good news... the recession is over. I mean it must be right, the Dart & Bus have put up their fares

No price increase for smartcard users on the DART.

Saw that. I have that so am happy.

I'm alright Jack

[sarah_lennon]

I'm alright Jack

Basically.

I had a half written rant about integrated ticketing that I deleted though, so I haven't totally changed, just self moderating