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MJP

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Posts posted by MJP

    Pound Starting To Stenghen.

    in Jobs, Economy, Banking, Business, Investments

    Posted

    . . . no do go on! dam_n good stuff!

    But lets just hope and prey for a clear result regardless and then personally I want to see spending cuts, pay freezes, and those bar stewards in the financial sector hit with just about every windfall and stealth tax under the sun for the next 20 years. SCUM.

    Spending cuts and pay freezes with Labour???? I don't think so, all they have ever managed to do in the entire history of the party is to increase spending, increase taxes, increase the size of government and award themselves inflation busting pay increases, with whopping pensions on top.

    And, as you rightly observe, the Conservatives look like a bunch of ineffectual twits.

    So I do not hold up much hope for the UK. There is nobody with the charisma, mettle and strength of purpose to force the necessary measures through. Basically

    - slash the size of government by a third in the first year and then another 20% in the next year

    - dissolve all quangos

    - stop pissing around wasting shed loads of cash on the army abroad, bring them back

    - slash public service salaries, which have risen way out of line with the private sector

    - stop pandering to the so-called minority groups, who are taking the majority of the cash and causing the majority of the waste

    - stop all family allowances, single mother allowances, brats allowances. If they can't afford to have brats they shouldn't have them, and certainly should not expect the rest of us to pay for propagating their genes.

    - no special schooling for minorities/religions/foreigners. They should be integrated, and not be allowed to segregate themselves and have the tax payer pay for it

    - allow the banks to fail

    - stop printing cash to monetize the debt

    - remove the Bank of England. What function does it really perform? Give Merv a permanent government position with a reduced number of staff.

    - remove that anachronistic bunch of <deleted> in the house of lords.

    - introduce a "Glass-Steagal" act

    - decriminalize the whole prostitution scene

    - introduce a savers' culture and not have a debtors' culture

    - move all pensions to a defined contribution and not defined benefit as soon as possible. And do not allow the pension savings to be used to invest in property.

    - educate the population that they are all individually responsible for their own lives and finances, and that it is not the job of government to tax the prudent so that the stupid, idle and hangers-on can sponge off the system

    That'll go someway to solve the problems, and I could go on and on....

    Pound Starting To Stenghen.

    in Jobs, Economy, Banking, Business, Investments

    Posted

    'It's like Bedford Falls if George Bailey had never been born', INTERNET QUOTE OF THE DECADE. That deserves a round of applause.

    Only slightly off topic but directly related to the discussion thus far - yes, another article from the Daily Mail (sorry) but a really useful and interesting chart embedded in the middle of the article showing how the UK has changed under Labour, the chart specifically describes reductions in the number of public service outlets and facilities (libraries, police stations, hospitals etc) versus the growth of other establishments such as betting shops, lap dancing clubs, supermarkets and the like, a very interesting picture which helps explain to me at least the some of the reasons for the demise of the UK as we once knew it.

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12...rn-Britain.html

    It's like Bedford Falls if George Bailey had never been born.

    Pound Starting To Stenghen.

    in Jobs, Economy, Banking, Business, Investments

    Posted

    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/election-2...n-outright.html

    $USD:GBP filled a gap from last May today. Should be good for a wee bounce. It's trend seems to be guided by it's 150 ma, which it is well under. Negative till that condition changes IMO.

    post-25601-1266569683_thumb.png

    Wait until the possible hung parliament, forthcoming election. :)

    That's a scary thought but it does look likely since no party has really grabbed the lead and impressed (me at least) - I kinds had it in the back of my mind some months back that Cameron and Co would win it all easily but they do look like they might just be able to manage to blow it. The problem is going to be I think that far too many voters will, out of despair, cast votes for non-mainstream parties and that will dilute the potential for a clear cut Lab or Con victory.

    Pound Starting To Stenghen.

    in Jobs, Economy, Banking, Business, Investments

    Posted

    I actually make you right there old chap. It actually makes no difference.

    Electoral options for the UK can really be summed up, thus...

    My guess is Labour will get back in.Too many people will remember those awful Thatcher years which did little save fill some already fat pockets. And Tories seem weak and ineffective too me anyway.

    But lets just hope and prey for a clear result regardless and then personally I want to see spending cuts, pay freezes, and those bar stewards in the financial sector hit with just about every windfall and stealth tax under the sun for the next 20 years. SCUM.

    tumbleweed.gif

    Pound Starting To Stenghen.

    in Jobs, Economy, Banking, Business, Investments

    Posted

    http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/12d6e176-1d75-11...?nclick_check=1

    $USD:GBP filled a gap from last May today. Should be good for a wee bounce. It's trend seems to be guided by it's 150 ma, which it is well under. Negative till that condition changes IMO.

    post-25601-1266569683_thumb.png

    Wait until the possible hung parliament, forthcoming election. :)

    That's a scary thought but it does look likely since no party has really grabbed the lead and impressed (me at least) - I kinds had it in the back of my mind some months back that Cameron and Co would win it all easily but they do look like they might just be able to manage to blow it. The problem is going to be I think that far too many voters will, out of despair, cast votes for non-mainstream parties and that will dilute the potential for a clear cut Lab or Con victory.

    Indochine Market , Mukdahan

    in Isaan

    Posted

    If you know where to get it, the teak root furniture is fantastic (and bizarrely cheap) if you have a country home.

    But yes.

    Most of it is junk here.

    I was there last week and it is a junk market filled with garbage and knock offs of purses and plastic crap. Forgetaboutit. What you are looking for does not exist in Thailand, There are no ancient quality antiques here in Esaan or any place for that matter. These folks have no furniture now or in the past. A covered floor was a hiso fixture. Same true for most of SE Asia. I have been all over looking for the same things that interest you. China, Korea, and Japan is where the culture and the furniture are. I am headed up to southern China next month looking to buy and bring back here. Indonesia does have some nice things but getting them to here is a poain.

    Brother-in-law Wants To Buy Land

    in Isaan

    Posted

    Just looking at it this way.

    If it's 350k for 7 rai.

    Well. If it's agricultural land and not domestic building land, 7 rai should be 175k. Funnily enough 175k x 2 = 350k.

    You're buying it and giving the same again in cash.

    Watch these b@stards!

    Pound Starting To Stenghen.

    in Jobs, Economy, Banking, Business, Investments

    Posted

    There needs to be a greater than 6% swing to the Tories to avoid a hung parliament.

    Quite frankly, hang the lot of 'em.

    $USD:GBP filled a gap from last May today. Should be good for a wee bounce. It's trend seems to be guided by it's 150 ma, which it is well under. Negative till that condition changes IMO.

    post-25601-1266569683_thumb.png

    Wait until the possible hung parliament, forthcoming election. :)

    That's a scary thought but it does look likely since no party has really grabbed the lead and impressed (me at least) - I kinds had it in the back of my mind some months back that Cameron and Co would win it all easily but they do look like they might just be able to manage to blow it. The problem is going to be I think that far too many voters will, out of despair, cast votes for non-mainstream parties and that will dilute the potential for a clear cut Lab or Con victory.

    Pound Starting To Stenghen.

    in Jobs, Economy, Banking, Business, Investments

    Posted

    Okay, I know it's the Dialy Mail and I apologise.

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12...p-recession.htm

    Gordon Brown yesterday signalled the prospect of an early election after Britain was battered by a wave of dire economic news.

    A slew of torrid reports triggered fears that Britain will tumble back into recession with a worse budget deficit than Greece.

    It was revealed yesterday that the Treasury borrowed money in January for the first time on record. January is normally a month of big surpluses, because of the tax receipts that come rolling in at the beginning of the year.

    The Prime Minister will tomorrow indicate his intention to hold an early election by spelling out Labour's main election pledges - one of which is to 'ensure the recovery' of the economy. Gathering fears of a 'double dip' recession could force him to call an election before April 23.

    That is the day the Office of National Statistics releases growth figures which could show the UK has plunged back into the red. On a bleak day:

    • The Treasury said it was forced to borrow £4.3billion in January - normally a month when it reports bumper surpluses.
    • The housing market took a new dive as mortgage lending tumbled to a ten-year low.
    • A Bank of England survey showed lending to cash-starved businesses fell by the most on record in December.
    • Britain tumbled in a league table of economies, recording the second-lowest productivity among G7 countries after Japan.
    • A report revealed the number of new homes built last year fell to its lowest level since the 1940s.

    Mr Brown has long been expected to call an election for May 6, the day local elections are held.

    Labour strategists openly admit that his best hope of victory will be to convince voters that he made the right economic choices to drag the country out of the economic slump and that the Tories would endanger the recovery.

    Three of the four major themes of the Labour manifesto depend on the green shoots of economic recovery.

    In an economic speech today the Prime Minister will set out the action that the Government is taking to 'protect future jobs and new industries', one of the four pledges.

    The others include 'protecting frontline services' from spending cuts and 'helping the many' - a new foray into class warfare.

    But Mr Brown's plans were undermined by the dismal economic numbers yesterday, which triggered a slide in the pound, as international investors took fright at the scale of Britain's budgetary meltdown.

    Sterling fell 0.7 per cent to $1.55 against the dollar, and by 0.2 per cent to 1.15 euros.

    The Treasury normally records a healthy budget surplus in January because that is when tax receipts usually flood in to the Exchequer. But a combination of job losses and sluggish growth have led to a slump in the tax take.

    Last month saw the first deficit since records began in 1993, the Office of National Statistics reported.

    The £4.3billion of net borrowing compares with surpluses of £5.3billion in January 2009 and £14billion the January before that. So far this year the Treasury has borrowed an unprecedented £ 122.4billion, twice the tally recorded at this point last year.

    That leaves Britain on course to record a deficit for the fiscal year of 12.8 per cent of gross domestic product. That would be even higher than the 12.7 per cent deficit in Greece, which is seeking a bailout from its fellow eurozone nations.

    The numbers prompted alarm among business leaders, who warned the UK could lose its triple-A credit rating, forcing up interest rates - which would lead to mortgage misery for millions.

    David Kern, chief economist at the British Chambers of Commerce, said: 'The worse-than-expected January figures further emphasise the dangers facing Britain's international credit rating.'

    Conservative Treasury spokesman Philip Hammond said: 'These appalling figures - showing the first January deficit on record - illustrate the scale of Labour's debt crisis.

    'Every British family faces a bill of £4,800 to pay for Gordon Brown's borrowing so far this financial year alone.'

    Yesterday's report showed the Treasury is being forced to devote a growing amount of money to servicing the £848.5billion national debt.

    Interest payments are already running at a record £4.26billion a month, nearly twice the Foreign Office's £2.3billion budget for the current year.

    This is becoming a huge drain on the economy, as increasing quantities of public money are effectively flushed away.

    A Treasury spokesman played down the concerns about the public finances, saying Chancellor Alistair Darling is on track to meet his £170billion Pre-Budget report deficit forecast.

    'With only two months remaining, borrowing including financial sector interventions is at £122.4billion against a full year forecast of £170.4billion,' he said.

    But separate reports suggested the UK is sinking even deeper into an economic mire.

    A report from the Council of Mortgage Lenders showed that mortgage advances were just £9.1billion in January, the lowest level since February 2000.

    Separately, a Government report revealed that just 118,000 new homes were built last year - the lowest figure since 1947.

    Taken together, the reports suggest that the UK's tentative recovery could easily lose steam. While unemployment slipped back to 2.46million in December, many analysts expect it to rise beyond

    2.5million later this year as businesses struggle. The economy grew only 0.1 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2009, leaving Britain perilously exposed to a double-dip recession.

    Heightening those fears, a Bank of England report showed that lending to businesses plummeted by an annual 8.1 per cent in December.

    The record decline will deepen fury at the banks, which are continuing to starve their customers of credit despite receiving a near-£1trillion public bailout.

    But the continued lending drought could also derail hopes for a private sector-led recovery. Unsecured lending to consumers also saw a record fall, according to the Bank's report.

    Pound Starting To Stenghen.

    in Jobs, Economy, Banking, Business, Investments

    Posted

    THE POUND IS IN FREEFALL ONCE AGAIN.

    51 today and 15.5 to the usd, how can it drop from 70 baht to the pound in 15 months, i feel like crying.

    its being kept at an artificial low ,

    An my waste line is being kept artificially large!

    But seriously though - GBP/USD at 2.10 was artificially high and 1.70 is probably about where it should be, 1.50 means that it's losing control of the game.

    http://www.oanda.com/currency/historical-rates

    Alsways useful if you want to know the history of any FX rate.

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