8 minutes ago, Jack100 said:

When the   Obama  left office the debt was 16$ trillion. I wonder what caused  the other  $8 trillion increase in the last 3 years ? Must be all those new roads , bridge repairs and  other improvements .

No. It was already close to 20 trillion.

' When we announced the Brexit (?)  ( in January 2016)  everyone said the pound would go down,,,it went up hahah "

Nigel Farage  May 2016.

The high season will go on as it does every year but the Brits won't be there.

Well at least one more wont,a friend of ours just cancelled because the baht was so high,lost his deposit

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59 minutes ago, Angry Dragon said:

I would say it's not comfortable territory, but still affordable and in line with many other OECD countries (UK in particular).  It's the debts of Greece (150% of GDP), Italy (150% of GDP) and especially Japan (250% of GDP) that are worrying

I wouldn’t be too worry about Japan as most debts are domestic and denominated in yen and therefore not vulnerable to dollar fluctuation and also can be re-structure internally.  It is the Greece and Italy foreign denominated debts that are worrisome. If their currency not strong enough, they get double whammy of more debts in their own currency and higher import costs. Ditto UK. 

9 minutes ago, Jack100 said:

' When we announced the Brexit (?)  ( in January 2016)  everyone said the pound would go down,,,it went up hahah "

Nigel Farage  May 2016.

I think the quote should have been “ah ha” ... like Alan Partridge. Take a look at how GBP has performed since January 2016 ... has it soared? 

On 7/30/2019 at 12:29 PM, khastan said:

You are all lucky! My UK pension has gone down from over 34000 baht before brexit to now today 26000 baht and from April 6th next year if the exchange rate continues to fall I will be lucky to get 17000 baht a month.

So what are you living off...savings, investment/rental income--I'm guessing you've got money in a Thai bank to secure your annual extensions...

9 hours ago, Angry Dragon said:

aren't all the world's main currencies fiat currencies ("backed by nothing")? If that's the case, then what will the US$ crash against?  The pound, yen and euro are all propped up by nothing but fresh air as well.

There will be a world digital currency backed by many central banks, not just the US. The US$ as the world's reserve currency will end. I am not talking Bitcoin. Something far more advanced than that. 

On 7/30/2019 at 5:13 PM, Angry Dragon said:

Not really.  By some measures (the big mac index) the Baht is still 30% undervalued against the USD.  Tourists still get a decent value for their money, even if it's less of a value than before.

 

What does the Whoppa and fries index say?

 

????????

 

 

On 7/30/2019 at 9:49 AM, britishrepublican said:

As a currency trader, I expect the pound to fall dramatically in the 2-3 days after the 31st. Once the initial panic passes I expect common sense to prevail and the pound will recover to pre referendum rates within a year. 56-58 baht.

 

It's worth the short term pain in the long run.

 

I like your point about market jitters. 

 

There must an opportunity for anyone holding Baht or other currency to be ready to buy GBP if or when the market has a panic to pick up the bounce. I guess the smart money will stay longer for the recovery, though I expect that will much longer than you do.

What the cost of new friends in Pattaya is too high? 

He did not lose his deposit with us ,but through an agent he was going to rent through

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15 hours ago, tracy3eyes said:

Ouch!!! What a sensitive soul! Have a nice day.

Yes I agree. My computer is getting wet by all the sobbing fellows on the other end. Advice: Save more money , do some overtime, work harder and you can come to Thailand to play.Easy !!

On 7/30/2019 at 12:50 PM, Longbow212 said:

 

No hate friend, and your points are valid if one isn’t preparing for the future you describe. Thailand for all its faults is making progress and Asia is the place to be for the younger generation. It would be a pleasant surprise to see the exodus of the negative, cynical, chastising characters that try to attack too many members and give this forum a bad reputation.


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I haven't met many working class or poor Thais who think the country is progressing.. Most of them have even less money these days and those that rely on the tourist industry are going to suffer more. It's generally only the 1-2 % rich that are doing well and are sticking 2 fingers up at the rest of the people living here 

Edited July 31, 20196 yr by fabman5
Misspelled

On 7/30/2019 at 11:39 AM, shackleton said:

I have already mentioned before about Brexit  not going to be a good thing  for the UK

especially the exchange rate for expats here ( Pensions ect )  in Thailand and else where 

The people of the UK voted  to come out of the EU

Boris has promised to get us out by the 31st October with a deal or no deal

expect worse for the pound sterling in the near future 

 

Bullshit the strong Thai baht has nothing to do with brexit

18 hours ago, Isaan sailor said:

I call ‘em as I see ‘em, Marcus.  Have watched my currency sink for nigh on 2 years—and it’s not pretty.  Not a cheap Charlie.  Have invested millions in this 3rd world country—only to see hot money intoxication at Bank of Thailand—taking all western currencies down.

You said because of trade deals Thailand was a Chinese colony which the trade figures for 2019 clearly show it is not, Thailand trading partners 2019.  China 11.9%.  America 11.7%.  Japan 9.9%.

 

You said you call's em as I see em but obviously have not been looking at any facts.  

4 minutes ago, fdbob said:

Bullshit the strong Thai baht has nothing to do with brexit

The pound has been going down against all currencies since Brexit vote and the baht is one of those currencies.  Nothing to do with Thailand it's due to UK fiscal mismanagement.  

3 hours ago, fabman5 said:

I haven't met many working class or poor Thais who think the country is progressing.. Most of them have even less money these days and those that rely on the tourist industry are going to suffer more. It's generally only the 1-2 % rich that are doing well and are sticking 2 fingers up at the rest of the people living here 

Average wage among the 8 million people in Bangkok is 25,500.  Thailand is an industrial economy.  It the poor people want a job they must move to an industrial center.  Many jobs available.  

https://checkinprice.com/average-minimum-salary-in-bangkok-thailand/

 

Edited August 1, 20196 yr by marcusarelus

On 7/30/2019 at 4:16 PM, Snow Leopard said:

You are talking a handful of people. Not a nation. 

and their armies and followers. A few years ago I read about genetic testing that was done throughout England and wales and compared to similar testing done on the continent, The people of England had more genetic closeness to Germans (almost indiscernible) than to the Welsh.

34 minutes ago, marcusarelus said:

Average wage among the 8 million people in Bangkok is 25,500.  Thailand is an industrial economy.  It the poor people want a job they must move to an industrial center.  Many jobs available.  

https://checkinprice.com/average-minimum-salary-in-bangkok-thailand/

 

What absolute nonsense “Thailand is an industrial economy”  … how did you manage to make that up. Thailand is an agricultural economy, almost every consumer product you can buy here is either made in Japan / China / Korea etc, or like many of the Japanese cars, assembled here.

 

Thailand has practically no manufacturing industries, and you then expect the 60 odd million Thais that don’t live in Bangkok to move there for a job, when a large percentage are farm workers with limited education. The Thai economy is based on farming and tourism, to call it industrial is preposterous and shows a complete lack of knowledge about this country.

When this 3 years of dithering is finally over (thanks to the wicked witch of the west) and the pound rises again a silver lining could be all the extra things we've done to maximize of spending power will mean even more returns

Come on Boris, I have a wife and 2 cats to feed!

The Australian dollar finally cracked 20 today and the Euro cracked 33 today ...The Pound is just a quarter point away from cracking 36....

The Dollar seems to weak but holding firm....

Edited August 1, 20196 yr by fforest1

38 minutes ago, fforest1 said:

 

The Dollar seems to weak but holding firm....

How are expats with $ holding up over the last few years, have they seen many drastic ups and downs with their baht?

 

A Thai friend joked with me the other day and said the Gbp and Brexit was my problem, i explained most politely that if he were to ask me for another loan he would find my reduced pension was now also his problem, it all went a bit quiet.

After all of the lies, mis-information and total mis-management by successive Conservative governments who are only interested in lining their own pockets, and the clarity now of what Brexit ACTUALLY means and the hell-bent attitude of the current PM in wanting to leave the EU....... why can't there be a referendum to see if the people of the UK still believe in this lunacy? The original vote was 48% to 52% to leave - that is hardly a convincing margin back then when NOBODY knew the what Brexit meant and were fed a total bunch of lies. They should stop this nonsense now, give the British people another vote and THEN see if they still want Brexit - only this time the British people will be much more aware of the outcome and have full knowledge of the fact that we could be leaving with 'no deal', damaging business and trade for many years to come.

 

12 minutes ago, RabCNesbitt said:

After all of the lies, mis-information and total mis-management by successive Conservative governments who are only interested in lining their own pockets, and the clarity now of what Brexit ACTUALLY means and the hell-bent attitude of the current PM in wanting to leave the EU....... why can't there be a referendum to see if the people of the UK still believe in this lunacy? The original vote was 48% to 52% to leave - that is hardly a convincing margin back then when NOBODY knew the what Brexit meant and were fed a total bunch of lies. They should stop this nonsense now, give the British people another vote and THEN see if they still want Brexit - only this time the British people will be much more aware of the outcome and have full knowledge of the fact that we could be leaving with 'no deal', damaging business and trade for many years to come.

 

 

It's brinkmanship. He has to call their bluff. But at the same time he has to be prepared for if they don't blink.

He most definitely wants to stay within the Customs Union for years to come. No one really wants all of that disruption.

1 hour ago, RabCNesbitt said:

After all of the lies, mis-information and total mis-management by successive Conservative governments who are only interested in lining their own pockets, and the clarity now of what Brexit ACTUALLY means and the hell-bent attitude of the current PM in wanting to leave the EU....... why can't there be a referendum to see if the people of the UK still believe in this lunacy? The original vote was 48% to 52% to leave - that is hardly a convincing margin back then when NOBODY knew the what Brexit meant and were fed a total bunch of lies. They should stop this nonsense now, give the British people another vote and THEN see if they still want Brexit - only this time the British people will be much more aware of the outcome and have full knowledge of the fact that we could be leaving with 'no deal', damaging business and trade for many years to come.

 

 

I notice that (some) people that voted to remain in the European Federal State, are now wetting their pants and reaching for their teddy, because after three years of palavering and thinly disguised attempts to derail the process, the UK now has a Prime Minister with a steadfast resolve to deliver what the people of the UK voted for.

 

Democracy must be a nightmare when you disagree with either the results it gives, or indeed, the very principle of it; maybe best of five would be more up your Strasse.

22 hours ago, Snow Leopard said:

There will be a world digital currency backed by many central banks, not just the US. The US$ as the world's reserve currency will end. I am not talking Bitcoin. Something far more advanced than that. 

You mean is Littlebitcoin  ?

11 hours ago, fforest1 said:

The Australian dollar finally cracked 20 today and the Euro cracked 33 today ...The Pound is just a quarter point away from cracking 36....

The Dollar seems to weak but holding firm....

AUD$ is 21.7 - never broke 20

Euro is 34.13 - never broke 33

 

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