Why housebuilders are demanding state hand-outs… More hilarity in the housing industry this weekend. Builders are now demanding state help. As housing sales have collapsed, the construction industry faces mass redundancies, while house builders themselves have seen their share prices dive.

I don’t know how many times I told Annie – my sister-in-law – to be careful with super-expensive stocks. She had one in her portfolio with a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of more than 100, and you can’t get much more expensive than that.