Petrol Prices

The price just keeps going up - petrol and diesel are getting more and more expensive, yet the price of a barrel of crude oil HASN'T risen by the same %!

Why, coz the oil companies can charge what they like! Libya may have reduced production, but Saudi and the other producers ahve increased their's to compensate.

And surely this is a perect chance to get some money into the Iraqi economy - they have oil wells, so get their production up, get more money into the area and country and maybe that will help stabalise that area as the people see the results of the upheaval

But the price will still go up, as greed takes over - last week i read an article where a independant petrol station / company blamed the high price on the competition from the supermarkets! How can competition keep the price HIGH?

Competition lowers prices, by definition it makes it more competative not expensive!

And of course this rise has a knock on effect on everything, as transport costs etc rise, so do retail prices

the only thing not going up is wages

Budget - good or bad?

Well, after listening to yesterday's budget from Mr Darling, and then reading some of the paper's today I am now even more convinced that he, and the rest of our wonderful government, are brain dead. This is a budget for recovery and will help the normal, working person. What planet is he on? Booze tax up 2%, tobacco tax up 2% - that's hot pretty much everyone of us in some way. And the pubs n clubs, as all the drinks are going to be more expensive, so i know that i will have at least one less drink each time i go out. May not seem like much, but multiple that 1 drink sale lost by 52, and that's just me. How many other's will do the same? And petrol, going up again in September. more money from the pocket, less to spend on clothes etc n help the recovery! And the ISA changes, great if we had any money left to save! My mate is out of work, and this so called mortgage relief package - where is it? no one knows anything about it, not even the job centre or benefits people. Let alone how to claim it!