Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but this article deserves reading - by Mark Whitney - market oracle.

http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article4037.html

Flim flam men and hucksters!

I think the majority of posters on here were only too aware of this. The most annoying thing is that the ones who were so utterly wrong will never recognise it!

They play - we pay. What's new?

Those <...> "analysts" in Manhattan, pretending they could find the crystal ball and getting 7-digit salaries for that, got the better of us again. Not that they have really found the crystal ball, or predicted anything right, but the Government is now saving their 7-digit extravagance at other people's expense.

Will NI be affected in a greater way than the rest of the UK? If so, why?

It's hard to know what to do in this situation. I'm wary of going ahead and buying a load of gold because gold has increased by a large amount over the last year and it just looks like another bubble.

My head's pickled - at this stage if the house sale goes through I won't clear all debt (no renter for last 9 months, no income for first few as I wound down biz assuming I'd be moving countries) means it has rocketed; will clear the lion's share but don't know if I should invest somewhere too? always thought don't save/invest while in debt but gold question has me wondering...

...But for now, off for a pub lunch and pint of Bulmers. Happy Paddy's Day y'all.

It seems to me that NI has least 'say' on the UK as a whole. We have very limited importance as far as the vote is concerned and are a part of the country that many dont even realise is part of the country at all. I suspect that we will be the last to get help from the central government and thus have a great potential for trouble. When you add to that that we have almost no industry and the largest bubble of all, I cant see how we can do better than average.

I'm not so sure the outlook is that gloomy. I think on a business level, companies are seeing Belfast (and NI in general) as a growth market. Take a look at that new shopping centre and there are a fair few shops that have been around on the mainland for years, but have only just come to NI. I think retail is probably not alone here, but it's the most obvious. While ever there is growth countering any economic slow down, it should result in less damage to NI. I think some (many?) companies may have trouble, but imagine how much harder it could hit a sleepy, poor, English city during a down turn.

However, I do think there will be a portion of the general populous who will lose a lot of money and/or jobs. There are those struggling with personal debt, but I'm hoping there are a limited number of people who tried to outbid the investors or MEWed themselves to the hilt; time will tell.

As for the property investors themselves, I'm expecting a fair few to get hurt badly. That's the danger of investing in a speculative bubble market though. I'm sure many have made plenty of money and got out early. I'm equally sure, there will be many still dreaming about their properties going up 10%+ a year or some such rubbish. They will be in for a shock and a hard lesson.

Unless you know exactly what you are doing then I would not advise it. I'm going to spend at least another 6 months - 1 year learning all I can about investing before I get involved, otherwise I think it's just too much of a risk

my brother works across from the entrance to the Victoria shopping centre....he's got a running game with the others in the office to see someone go into the centre and actually come out with a shopping bag.

Problem is not too many PA's earning enough to buy that £4k snake skin coat!!! He says it's VERY telling that there are people going in to browse but few are buying anything. Of course there's those that can afford it but the majority see the VC as a gimmick with few things to buy

BTW Vimac....cracking find that link....really informative

I dont know retail, but the story is not the same for manufacturing.

One should not forget that the coming of retail does not mean they see NI as a growth market. It means they see it as having more potential than adding to an already saturated market on the mainland. It also is exceptionally important to realise that these organisations committed themselves long before the current trouble was accepted by the wider global community. There is no guarantee that they would make the same decision again if they had seen the economic climate as it is now!

Happy Paddys day to everone as well. My heads pickled as well - but hey we live in interesting times...

I would be researching/getting professional advice beforehand - didn't want to sound like I'd just up and throw a load of cash at something in a panic.