Laymans guide to Finance

[Surfr]

There are quite a few threads on financial matters today, and it's no surprise given the media attention to credit and financial status at the moment. The only problem is, I don't really understand what makes it all tick. I realise this is probably akin to asking 'how does the weather work?' but at the same time, the weather can be broken down into a few core systems which explain, for the most part, what is happening and why.

So Finance. How does it work. What are the input/output variables. How does consumer spending effect lending at a national level. how does market trading effect currency market differences. And how the hell can the world governments all be in so much bloody debt? the US national debt is in 13 figures. I don't even know how to say that in numeric terms!

Is it possible to summarise all of this or should I give up trying to find out? I don't like not being able to understand systems.

[digger_R]

http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?docid=-9050474...

[Alistair Darling]

Hmmm, I'm interested in this too......

[mybrainhurts]

Well, it's like this...

You have this thing called finance...

Then Gordon Brown fecks it up...

The End...

[JRM]

I think someone like the head of Goldmans Sachs once said that he would never be able to understand exactly how the global economy works, just as long as he understood his little bit of it, that would be fine, it's just impossibly complex

[mybrainhurts]

Alistair Darling said:

Hmmm, I'm interested in this too......

Sod off, Darling....

[mouk786]

Alistair Darling said:

Hmmm, I'm interested in this too......

You've done an exceptional job so far. Cheers