Gbp Sterling

[12DrinkMore]

Rant Warning : maybe TV could come up a suitable Emoticon?

My guess is that it will remain the single biggest impediment to Thailand's growth because of it's terrible effect on efficiency.

<start of rant>

The main impediment to growth in Thailand is not corruption. There is a much bigger underlying issue, and that is the level of "childishness" inbred, ingrown and propagated throughout Thai society.

Now, it might be a charming relief to foreigners who come over here from the overly earnest, stress and ambition ridden countries they come from. Thailand surely presents the opposite end of the scale. And it may be entertaining to be surrounded in a bar by a group of 30 year old mothers behaving as if they were 15 year old schoolgirls.

I have travelled through a fair number of countries and nowhere else have I seen this level of childishness in young adults. Throughout the schooling system where learning by rote "questions not allowed", the stationary shops, where everything is covered in "hello kitty", the figures of speech "dek serf" or "dek pump", family life, the TV soaps where childish behaviour reigns supreme, and people are judged by physical attractiveness and the colour of their heart; all is designed to keep the population at a childish level of intelligence, understanding and responsibility.

Here is an embodiment of it

http://www.ais.co.th/callcenter/en/index.html

So that is the webbased call centre of AIS, which looks like it has been thrown together by a couple of school kids and doesn't work anyway. Great job guys. Wonder who is responsible in that department?

If the level of maturity and a heightened sense of personal and social responsibility could be raised amongst the Thais a lot of other good things would fall into place. But it won't, so I'll sit back and have another beer.

<End of rant>

[chiang mai]

For those people who don't follow such things, GBP has fallen against USD and as a consequence it has also fallen against THB - today for the first time in a quite a while traders are talking once again about the possibility of parity with the EURO and this time around I suspect it could become a reality. SO, if you're staying in Thailand and you hold Sterling but spend THB, best get some changed PDQ because things are not likely to get any better for quite a while.

(No disrespect intended)

"you" refers to all Brits - and in large part towards the end refers also to the US, almost all soundly asleep at the wheel, the awake ones are roasting and toasting and watching in dismay

Were you asleep for the last 2 years? ..... GBP has been crashing since Nov 2007. The recent Jan - Aug rally, instead of being the opportunity to take protective means, no instead you got lulled back into Lalaland. Now you're getting f-ed again and wallowing in misery like crybabies.

Were you asleep for the last several decades, wherein decade by decade the UK gave up ground in almost every regard? So thoroughly surpassed and eclipsed by the USA that it invokes the priceless comparison, "a frog's p*ssy to the Panama canal"

Regardless where the GBP goes, hasn't the UK's past history been enough to sound the alarm about both it and the GBP? A relevant cliche ... those who don't learn from History are doomed to repeat it.

Chronology of events

England was the leading economy at the tail end of the 19th century but then was surpassed by: the US, Germany and Japan and now even overtaken by China and France, and get this, surpassed even by the now almost bankrupt California.

Lost reserve currency status to the Dollar.

Decided not to go with the Euro - in hindsight everyone is a f**in genius, so no comment here.

Recently interest rates dropping to the lowest in entire UK history.

Lloyds fall from grace into nationization (govt. owns 65%). Questions have been raised by ratings agencies such as Standard & Poors and Moody's over the long-term viability of Britain's gilt-edged triple-A rating. This event has not only been forgotten, UK-ites are back to being blissfully daft.

£--- bn stash of bad assets in euros and dollars leaves Britain on the verge of becoming the next Iceland. Next stop IMF. Remember these statements from just earlier this year? .... don't think they are a warning? Don't think they are just as valid a warning as the GBP's dance?

Gordon Brown said ... "This is an international crisis that has not been generated in Britain." He blamed the USA.

Here are the facts, Gordy and for the america bashers ...

USA leveraging = 12:1 ... Europe leveraging as high as 52:1.

Conclusion by UK thinktanks, This means European claims the US is the worst offender in this crisis, do not hold water

Read these 2 excellent DATED writeups by a Brit - astonishingly good work.

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/columnists/clarkson/article1655505.ece

http://www.nowpublic.com/tech-biz/uk-and-switzerland-could-soon-follow-iceland-bankruptcy

IMHO, UK bankruptcy is inevitable.

USA could go the same route eventually, but as long as the 3-month treauries continue to find demand, they can literally keep satisfying their short-term debt hunger indefinitely - until they can't anymore, which is anybody's guess when this whopping fiasco will eventually crash.

I confess I was asleep at the wheel until August last year when I started to see and understand the problem, mostly because it affected me directly. It was on the back of that observatuion that I started to shout that holders of GBP should buy USD and fortunately for me that worked, for others who still believed in a robust Pound, it did not. I'm shouting again today because I see a continuation of the problems of a year ago and yes, you are correct, the problems go a lot further back than when I first noticed them. For what it's worth I feel very sorry for some of the older expats who have retired here and their comfort and retirment existence has, through no real fault of their own, been put at risk - I for one cannot blame Joe Plumber or Fred the Salesman for not understanding these matters, not when they have worked all their lives witha single focus. But hey, I do not and indeed have never watched the financial markets on a continual basis, that's not my strength nor what I do for a living. All I can hope for is that threads such as these will a) cause others to begin to understand the issue and then hopefully act, and provide useful insight and discussion from those more knowledgable on the subject matter. Regrettably however, these threads today are still populated with the same type of opinion that existed a year ago when the Pound was at 70 - some posters were saying then that everything will be OK and Mother England will see them through and by the way, talk of a weaker Pound is not good financial adice so be careful what you say because it may cost inocent people their hard earned cash! Such a nonesence.

[mommysboy]

For those people who don't follow such things, GBP has fallen against USD and as a consequence it has also fallen against THB - today for the first time in a quite a while traders are talking once again about the possibility of parity with the EURO and this time around I suspect it could become a reality. SO, if you're staying in Thailand and you hold Sterling but spend THB, best get some changed PDQ because things are not likely to get any better for quite a while.

(No disrespect intended)

"you" refers to all Brits - and in large part towards the end refers also to the US, almost all soundly asleep at the wheel, the awake ones are roasting and toasting and watching in dismay

Were you asleep for the last 2 years? ..... GBP has been crashing since Nov 2007. The recent Jan - Aug rally, instead of being the opportunity to take protective means, no instead you got lulled back into Lalaland. Now you're getting f-ed again and wallowing in misery like crybabies.

Were you asleep for the last several decades, wherein decade by decade the UK gave up ground in almost every regard? So thoroughly surpassed and eclipsed by the USA that it invokes the priceless comparison, "a frog's p*ssy to the Panama canal"

Regardless where the GBP goes, hasn't the UK's past history been enough to sound the alarm about both it and the GBP? A relevant cliche ... those who don't learn from History are doomed to repeat it.

Chronology of events

England was the leading economy at the tail end of the 19th century but then was surpassed by: the US, Germany and Japan and now even overtaken by China and France, and get this, surpassed even by the now almost bankrupt California.

Lost reserve currency status to the Dollar.

Decided not to go with the Euro - in hindsight everyone is a f**in genius, so no comment here.

Recently interest rates dropping to the lowest in entire UK history.

Lloyds fall from grace into nationization (govt. owns 65%). Questions have been raised by ratings agencies such as Standard & Poors and Moody's over the long-term viability of Britain's gilt-edged triple-A rating. This event has not only been forgotten, UK-ites are back to being blissfully daft.

£--- bn stash of bad assets in euros and dollars leaves Britain on the verge of becoming the next Iceland. Next stop IMF. Remember these statements from just earlier this year? .... don't think they are a warning? Don't think they are just as valid a warning as the GBP's dance?

Gordon Brown said ... "This is an international crisis that has not been generated in Britain." He blamed the USA.

Here are the facts, Gordy and for the america bashers ...

USA leveraging = 12:1 ... Europe leveraging as high as 52:1.

Conclusion by UK thinktanks, This means European claims the US is the worst offender in this crisis, do not hold water

Read these 2 excellent DATED writeups by a Brit - astonishingly good work.

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/columnists/clarkson/article1655505.ece

http://www.nowpublic.com/tech-biz/uk-and-switzerland-could-soon-follow-iceland-bankruptcy

IMHO, UK bankruptcy is inevitable.

USA could go the same route eventually, but as long as the 3-month treauries continue to find demand, they can literally keep satisfying their short-term debt hunger indefinitely - until they can't anymore, which is anybody's guess when this whopping fiasco will eventually crash.

I confess I was asleep at the wheel until August last year when I started to see and understand the problem, mostly because it affected me directly. It was on the back of that observatuion that I started to shout that holders of GBP should buy USD and fortunately for me that worked, for others who still believed in a robust Pound, it did not. I'm shouting again today because I see a continuation of the problems of a year ago and yes, you are correct, the problems go a lot further back than when I first noticed them. For what it's worth I feel very sorry for some of the older expats who have retired here and their comfort and retirment existence has, through no real fault of their own, been put at risk - I for one cannot blame Joe Plumber or Fred the Salesman for not understanding these matters, not when they have worked all their lives witha single focus. But hey, I do not and indeed have never watched the financial markets on a continual basis, that's not my strength nor what I do for a living. All I can hope for is that threads such as these will a) cause others to begin to understand the issue and then hopefully act, and provide useful insight and discussion from those more knowledgable on the subject matter. Regrettably however, these threads today are still populated with the same type of opinion that existed a year ago when the Pound was at 70 - some posters were saying then that everything will be OK and Mother England will see them through and by the way, talk of a weaker Pound is not good financial adice so be careful what you say because it may cost inocent people their hard earned cash! Such a nonesence.

70 to the pound only gets mentioned in terms of nostalgia lately!

The debate seems to be will the pound hold 50 or not.

And the debate about giving advice only came to the fore when some ill advised posters very persuasively argued the case for 40bt or lower! Remember who that was?

[sbk]

Flaming post removed, please do not respond to posts with insults. Baiting is also not suggested, so lets keep this civil shall we?

[chiang mai]

Is it absolutely necessary for you to respond to every post I make on this forum Mommysboy, it's all getting just a little bit too weird for me and I refer to my previous comments about previous stalking! I for one seek different views from different posters, not just yours - my most recent response was to CaptainArk1's post and not anything you wrote!!

But regardless, I'm happy to recall my earlier posting record and restate that I believe that, "GBP/THB at sub 40, during the next decade, is entirely possible", in my view - I believe that is the core of my comments on that subject.

Edited October 2, 2009 by chiang mai

[badge]

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/Us-Destined-...41#entry3049941

[cmsally]

Here he comes !!!

It seems it really could become reality.

Interesting to see Cameron wrote a letter to the Czechs .

Wonder if he can make as good a job of trashing Europe as he did UK.

[clinique]

Interestingly it also assists the Government to increase its Gold reserves at a much cheaper price ....

Interesting to see from some minimal on-line research, which countries are currently increasing reserves of Gold during this "crisis" .. they have brought upon us...the taxpayers. And im pretty sure they dont pay the etail price of almost $1,000- per ounce. So if the price keeps going up does wonders for their balance sheet doesnt it..

[loverboy44]

As everyone can see, Ireland was very fast with agreeing suddenly to the Lissabon contract which they before blocked.

Nevermind good old GBP.

But they had the choice!

[12DrinkMore]

As everyone can see, Ireland was very fast with agreeing suddenly to the Lissabon contract which they before blocked.

Nevermind good old GBP.

But they had the choice!

I not sure that "fast" is the operative word, they have managed to stall this for a couple of years.

The USA is now talking about a G4 group - Europe, China, USA, Japan. Er, what happened to the UK in there, I wonder? Looks like the UK has been demoted to some small insolvent island off the north of Europe.

And what happened to the election promise that the UK would have a referendum. Never happened did it?

Now we are facing the possibility of Blair as President. Oh dear oh dear.

But maybe not.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/columni...Tony-Blair.html

[pkrv]

I have a very, very naughty question to ask.

Given that the UK has actually defaulted on its state pension system, i.e. if you retire outside of the E.U (it was worse in the past) your pension will not rise in level with inflation i.e it is frozen. (Which of course in times of inflation/err... growth is bad news)

What happens if the UK goes into deflation? Will those who leave suddenly be better off i.e. will the state pension still remain frozen, whilst those who remain in the UK take cuts?

Ohh the wonders of numbers ];-)

Edited October 5, 2009 by pkrv

[cmsally]

Boris is about our only hope to stop this stupid egotistical little man.

Go and sign the petition to give him a hand.

Stop Blair!!

[12DrinkMore]

I have a very, very naughty question to ask.

Given that the UK has actually defaulted on its state pension system, i.e. if you retire outside of the E.U (it was worse in the past) your pension will not rise in level with inflation i.e it is frozen. (Which of course in times of inflation/err... growth is bad news)

What happens if the UK goes into deflation? Will those who leave suddenly be better off i.e. will the state pension still remain frozen, whilst those who remain in the UK take cuts?

Ohh the wonders of numbers ];-)

Shurely you're not serious?

The UK hasn't defaulted on it's State Pension, if you retire to the Philippines then you get the increase, but not in Thailand. Some bullshit about reciprocal agreements.

But the answer to your question is, whatever happens, we will be worse off. Taken down by Brown and the incompetent &lt;deleted&gt; in the government. And the even bigger problem is that we are faced with a bunch of mediocre mudslingers at a time when we need somebody of stature, vision and integrity to pull the country out of the mess.

This is so depressing I need another beer.

:D :D

[mommysboy]

As everyone can see, Ireland was very fast with agreeing suddenly to the Lissabon contract which they before blocked.

Nevermind good old GBP.

But they had the choice!

I not sure that "fast" is the operative word, they have managed to stall this for a couple of years.

The USA is now talking about a G4 group - Europe, China, USA, Japan. Er, what happened to the UK in there, I wonder? Looks like the UK has been demoted to some small insolvent island off the north of Europe.

And what happened to the election promise that the UK would have a referendum. Never happened did it?

Now we are facing the possibility of Blair as President. Oh dear oh dear.

But maybe not.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/columni...Tony-Blair.html

Wow! you're reporting gets more biased every week.

The Telegraph incidentally was the paper that ran the big scare about the pound collapsing again, that reignited this thread. IMHO it is not reliable. It ran numerous scare stories during the meltdown that also proved grossly over exaggerated.

The G4 is an idea for the future for sure, and obviously EU is a heck of a lot bigger than UK and deserves the spot, that's life.

Blair would appear to be an ideal candidate for the Presidency of the EU. If that's what the rest of Europe wants it would be a shame if an opposition party damned the country for it's own greedy ends because he was once the PM of the UK. Many of his decisions would actually have to run counter to UK interests let alone those of the beleagured Labour party.

[12DrinkMore]

Wow! you're reporting gets more biased every week.

The Telegraph incidentally was the paper that ran the big scare about the pound collapsing again, that reignited this thread. IMHO it is not reliable. It ran numerous scare stories during the meltdown that also proved grossly over exaggerated.

The G4 is an idea for the future for sure, and obviously EU is a heck of a lot bigger than UK and deserves the spot, that's life.

Blair would appear to be an ideal candidate for the Presidency of the EU. If that's what the rest of Europe wants it would be a shame if an opposition party damned the country for it's own greedy ends because he was once the PM of the UK. Many of his decisions would actually have to run counter to UK interests let alone those of the beleagured Labour party.

I can never quite work out what position you are coming from.

Unfortunately we can't have Merkel as president, so I suppose Blaire is the obvious choice, there are not too many candidates for that position. Cameron should put a stop to all the Eurosceptic bickering in his party and get on with supporting the further integration with Europe. After all, the UK government have signed the piece of paper and this can hardly be withdrawn now. And he should replace that twit Osborne with Kenneth Clarke, who would almost certainly try to put the GBP into the EUR. A move which would be instantly beneficial to the UK, as it would require the government to reign in its spending and force in a bit of fiscal prudence. There would also be huge benefits for industry, as they would no longer suffer the effects of currency moves. The main losers would be the damned banks, as another toy would be taken away from their speculation. Which is reason enough to take on the Euro.

Another advantage is that it would render this thread utterly redundant.

[pkrv]

The UK hasn't defaulted on it's State Pension, if you retire to the Philippines then you get the increase, but not in Thailand. Some bullshit about reciprocal agreements.

I am aware that there is anecdotal evidence that there are a very, very, tiny number of countries outside of the EU that are exempt from the UK State pension fraud. But that the Philippines is one of them completely eludes me.

Surely that cannot be correct? The first European Empire to fall was the Spanish Empire. America went to war with the weakest of the old empires and ceased all overseas Spanish territories with the notable exception of Cuba (which still seems to really piss off these guys ). This lead to the fall of Queen Isabella, the rise of Franco, the Spanish Civil War, and Adolf Hitler’s weapons proving ground in dive bomber (Stuka) techniques.

The Philippines was a part of those 'err overseas Spanish assets'. What reason on god’s earth could explain why the Philippines is an exception, to the almost universal rule of – UK State pensions do not increase outside of the EU.

Some MP's haven't retired there by any chance have they?

[chiang mai]

As everyone can see, Ireland was very fast with agreeing suddenly to the Lissabon contract which they before blocked.

Nevermind good old GBP.

But they had the choice!

I not sure that "fast" is the operative word, they have managed to stall this for a couple of years.

The USA is now talking about a G4 group - Europe, China, USA, Japan. Er, what happened to the UK in there, I wonder? Looks like the UK has been demoted to some small insolvent island off the north of Europe.

And what happened to the election promise that the UK would have a referendum. Never happened did it?

Now we are facing the possibility of Blair as President. Oh dear oh dear.

But maybe not.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/columni...Tony-Blair.html

The Telegraph incidentally was the paper that ran the big scare about the pound collapsing again, that reignited this thread.

Another incorrect conclusion, I "reignited this thread" simply because the Pound was starting to weaken in international FOREX markets, nothing to do with The Telegraph whatsoever.

[mommysboy]

As everyone can see, Ireland was very fast with agreeing suddenly to the Lissabon contract which they before blocked.

Nevermind good old GBP.

But they had the choice!

I not sure that "fast" is the operative word, they have managed to stall this for a couple of years.

The USA is now talking about a G4 group - Europe, China, USA, Japan. Er, what happened to the UK in there, I wonder? Looks like the UK has been demoted to some small insolvent island off the north of Europe.

And what happened to the election promise that the UK would have a referendum. Never happened did it?

Now we are facing the possibility of Blair as President. Oh dear oh dear.

But maybe not.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/columni...Tony-Blair.html

The Telegraph incidentally was the paper that ran the big scare about the pound collapsing again, that reignited this thread.

Another incorrect conclusion, I "reignited this thread" simply because the Pound was starting to weaken in international FOREX markets, nothing to do with The Telegraph whatsoever.

At the risk of being accused of stalking: cause and effect CM. The markets reacted to scare stories about BOE tactics amongst other things. The GossipGraph picked up on this and was a prime mover in the press.

[mommysboy]

Wow! you're reporting gets more biased every week.

The Telegraph incidentally was the paper that ran the big scare about the pound collapsing again, that reignited this thread. IMHO it is not reliable. It ran numerous scare stories during the meltdown that also proved grossly over exaggerated.

The G4 is an idea for the future for sure, and obviously EU is a heck of a lot bigger than UK and deserves the spot, that's life.

Blair would appear to be an ideal candidate for the Presidency of the EU. If that's what the rest of Europe wants it would be a shame if an opposition party damned the country for it's own greedy ends because he was once the PM of the UK. Many of his decisions would actually have to run counter to UK interests let alone those of the beleagured Labour party.

I can never quite work out what position you are coming from.

Unfortunately we can't have Merkel as president, so I suppose Blaire is the obvious choice, there are not too many candidates for that position. Cameron should put a stop to all the Eurosceptic bickering in his party and get on with supporting the further integration with Europe. After all, the UK government have signed the piece of paper and this can hardly be withdrawn now. And he should replace that twit Osborne with Kenneth Clarke, who would almost certainly try to put the GBP into the EUR. A move which would be instantly beneficial to the UK, as it would require the government to reign in its spending and force in a bit of fiscal prudence. There would also be huge benefits for industry, as they would no longer suffer the effects of currency moves. The main losers would be the damned banks, as another toy would be taken away from their speculation. Which is reason enough to take on the Euro.

Another advantage is that it would render this thread utterly redundant.

See red.

The one that says this is a totally biased piece of reporting, no opinion, from a tabloid type paper that really has little in accord with reality.

Politically. Well I'm a true red I suppose, but one that puts the interest of the country first, and believes in concepts like team and winning. I'm a businessman too. I believe in tough decisions that apply to my own life , hence I'd apply the screw back in UK. responsibility where reaponsibility belongs.

Returning to the subject of the thread, another thread entitled 'strong Thai Baht still in the pipeline' is enough to send shivers through us all short term. 50 to the pound?

Whereas, the thread entitled 'Thailand household debt doubles' supports my belief that this is a punched out economy. I believe you understand the psyche of this country. It's immature to say the least and despite appearances, simply isn't interested in powering under its own steam.

I liked your piece on the juvenile nature of Thais and urge you to search my posting in general topics 'laugh or cry'. An insight in to monumental incompetence in my view.

My shop ran out of Leo and I'm on Chang- dreadful stuff 'light' or not.

[chiang mai]

Mommysboy Wrote:

"At the risk of being accused of stalking: cause and effect CM. The markets reacted to scare stories about BOE tactics amongst other things. The GossipGraph picked up on this and was a prime mover in the press".

Umm, no, it was the other way around. Forex rates do not, in my experience, tend to endure significant and protracted swings based on newspaper stories alone, my point being that the market had already seen the shift in GBP value long before The Telegraph wrote about it (as the swings were taking place) as the following table indicates. The cause was therefore market movement and the effect was a subsequent article in the Telegraph and other newspapers:

09/13/2009 57.42950

09/14/2009 57.43330

09/15/2009 56.83310

09/16/2009 56.26180

09/17/2009 55.86320

09/18/2009 55.75460

09/19/2009 55.28780 (Posting date)

09/20/2009 55.69130

09/21/2009 55.68530

09/22/2009 54.87760

09/23/2009 55.09570

09/24/2009 55.25030

09/25/2009 54.70040

09/26/2009 53.92740

09/27/2009 54.37770

09/28/2009 54.38520

09/29/2009 53.58050

09/30/2009 53.68110

10/01/2009 53.86270

10/02/2009 53.64090

10/03/2009 53.49650

10/04/2009 54.22670

10/05/2009 54.23020

10/06/2009 53.79980

Edited October 6, 2009 by chiang mai

[12DrinkMore]

I am aware that there is anecdotal evidence that there are a very, very, tiny number of countries outside of the EU that are exempt from the UK State pension fraud. But that the Philippines is one of them completely eludes me.

It is not anecdotal.

Straight from the horse's mouth.

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Pensionsandret...ght/DG_10014855

Check your entitlement to yearly rises

Bear in mind, though, that to receive State Pension rises you must live in the European Economic Area (EEA) or in one of the countries with which the UK has a social security agreement that covers State Pension increases.

and then head off to the list of countries

http://www.dwp.gov.uk/international/social...t-of-countries/

This is unbelievably unfair, why should anybody who has made the maximum amount of contributions to the scheme living in a country off the list not get the increases to somebody that does. A huge scam by HM government, and when my turn comes around, if the damned expense frauds aka politicians in the UK have not changed the rules, I will be doing my utmost to bend them in the right direction.

[12DrinkMore]

The one that says this is a totally biased piece of reporting, no opinion, from a tabloid type paper that really has little in accord with reality.

The truth is surely that Brown lost touch with reality. You state that you are a business man and believe in tough decisions. If you had run your business in the same way that Brown has destroyed the UK economy, then you would be standing in the line for unemployment benefit. Unfortunately we still have a year or so of Brown, and then it will take many years to recover, if, indeed, there will be anything left to recover. The self-appointed Saviour of the World will surely continue his scorched earth policy and try to spend his way back into office. That is all that occupies his selfish and destructive little brain.

Politically. Well I'm a true red I suppose, but one that puts the interest of the country first, and believes in concepts like team and winning. I'm a businessman too. I believe in tough decisions that apply to my own life , hence I'd apply the screw back in UK. responsibility where reaponsibility belongs.

It must be difficult to reconcile your ideals of simultaneously working your &lt;deleted&gt; off and and then donating all the proceeds back to the non-working big government, so they can spread inefficiency around. And as for putting the interests of the country first, well, how do YOU define the interests of a country? With a small bit of mental effort I could come up with a few trite definitions, but in reality it is inseparably entangled in the selfish goals of the people in financial and political power. And so arises the question whether you want to work your &lt;deleted&gt; off for these guys? And if not, then you are not a "true red" but a capitalist.

Returning to the subject of the thread, another thread entitled 'strong Thai Baht still in the pipeline' is enough to send shivers through us all short term. 50 to the pound?

Been there, done that and we're rolling down the railway tracks again....

My shop ran out of Leo and I'm on Chang- dreadful stuff 'light' or not.

Yep, the full strength stuff sends the elephants from Surin trampling down my brain.

Edited October 6, 2009 by 12DrinkMore

[billd766]

I have been tracking the GBP for a long time now but using the KBank rates of exchange simply because that it the bank I use here.

I normally check after lunch on a Monday to Friday just before I log in to ThaiVisa.

I have attached my file should anyone care to look at it.

Bills_Forex_2009_2.xls

[teletiger]

U.K. Faced ‘Bank Runs, Riots’ as RBS and HBOS Neared Collapse 

“Bank failures would have forced the government to cancel police leave and deploy troops as the breakdown of the financial payments system threatened the ability of utilities to provide essential services.”

“You are talking about a situation with mass disorder and panic. There would be “riots, pandemonium, everyone fending for themselves.”

The FTSE 350 Banks Index has more than doubled since its low on March 9. The FTSE 100 index of leading stocks gained 18 percent in the same period.

One wonders why?

“British banks have only recognized 40 percent of a likely $604 billion in writedowns from 2007 to 2010, and earnings won’t be sufficient to offset this, the IMF said Sept. 30. A sluggish economy and rising unemployment will add to loan losses, it said.”

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=206...id=aMfETcYI2t7Y

“Releasing such information would probably “have a destabilizing effect on financial markets,” damage the government decision-making process and cause commercial harm to the banks involved, the Treasury said in a letter.”

In the light of the current FED court and Congress cases, one can view this last statement with some skepticism. 'Or should we? This information has been released, one year on and life as we (some of us) know it, carries on as usual in the UK. So, just how bad was (is?) the US banking situation?

Regards.

[pkrv]

I am aware that there is anecdotal evidence that there are a very, very, tiny number of countries outside of the EU that are exempt from the UK State pension fraud. But that the Philippines is one of them completely eludes me.

It is not anecdotal.

Straight from the horse's mouth.

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Pensionsandret...ght/DG_10014855

Check your entitlement to yearly rises

Bear in mind, though, that to receive State Pension rises you must live in the European Economic Area (EEA) or in one of the countries with which the UK has a social security agreement that covers State Pension increases.

and then head off to the list of countries

http://www.dwp.gov.uk/international/social...t-of-countries/

This is unbelievably unfair, why should anybody who has made the maximum amount of contributions to the scheme living in a country off the list not get the increases to somebody that does. A huge scam by HM government, and when my turn comes around, if the damned expense frauds aka politicians in the UK have not changed the rules, I will be doing my utmost to bend them in the right direction.

I liked your response and considered the UK's state pensions liabilities with regard to one or two of the countries in the list you gave (thanks for that link filed for future reference )

Japan - Well this country has a notoriously low immigration rate, as I understand it three guinea pigs a small gerbil and allegedly a lepricon emigrated from the UK to Japan.

The cost of developing a policy such as

*** The agreements between Japan and the Republic of Korea are Double Contributions Conventions (DCC) which only cover social security contribution liability and do not include benefits. You can find more details on DCC's and the agreements between Japan and Korea on the HM Revenue & Customs website

could probably have sustained these retirees for (sorry I can't seem to find the infinity symbol on my keyboard) for quite some time.

Gibraltar well that’s as solid as a Rock total population 28,000 - possibly not too many there then.

The Philippines - Well this must obviously be a destination for UK MP's it is out there on its own. Perhaps Thailand should attract this type of person - Oh wait! Thailand has a policy of not accepting undesirables - Oh well.

Edited October 7, 2009 by pkrv

[mommysboy]

In response to drinkmore on my beliefs and thoughts :

I think basic human drives defy political categorisation, making money is making money.

The funny thing about all governments, institutions, etc, is that they are all hopelessly inefficient and dualistic in nature. Too right I'm angry, I've been hit by the recession really badly to the point now that I have decided to fold for pastures anew.

But with the UK, is it really all about Brown? what about people just wanting too much? what about sheer greed from the bankers, and what about the buy to let brigade, and the people who over extended themselves and the financial authorities, etc, etc. It's extremely tough to face, but truth is most of us having now taken losses are left with what we deserve! What we collectively contribute to the health service is not enough, the pension pot needed to be double, and that wage really is too high relative to what we contribute. Just my thoughts!

Regarding the present Govt, you could hardly call it 'loony left', in fact more blue than red I reckon. I suppose it caved in to mass demands and will the next one be any better?

[pkrv]

In response to drinkmore on my beliefs and thoughts :

I think basic human drives defy political categorisation, making money is making money.

The funny thing about all governments, institutions, etc, is that they are all hopelessly inefficient and dualistic in nature. Too right I'm angry, I've been hit by the recession really badly to the point now that I have decided to fold for pastures anew.

But with the UK, is it really all about Brown? what about people just wanting too much? what about sheer greed from the bankers, and what about the buy to let brigade, and the people who over extended themselves and the financial authorities, etc, etc. It's extremely tough to face, but truth is most of us having now taken losses are left with what we deserve! What we collectively contribute to the health service is not enough, the pension pot needed to be double, and that wage really is too high relative to what we contribute. Just my thoughts!

Regarding the present Govt, you could hardly call it 'loony left', in fact more blue than red I reckon. I suppose it caved in to mass demands and will the next one be any better?

IMO all posters are actually all in the same boat - There are great posts all round. Heated discussion, well so what. Otherwise we could play cricket - This involves giving your opponent a pointy (but blunted) stick whilst owning an arsenel of gatting guns with unlimited ammunition and manpower in response.

IMO - We are in this together - thanks for your thoughts - they help mine.

[rolypie]

looks like the baht is going to be ultra low on the exchange rates again just in time for the peak season!!!!

[loverboy44]

IMHO it looks likes the GBP is going to be 1 EUR to the GBP and further on going to be about 50 Baht a GBP. The GBP is pretty weak against all currencies. Must have a reason!

[mommysboy]

IMHO it looks likes the GBP is going to be 1 EUR to the GBP and further on going to be about 50 Baht a GBP. The GBP is pretty weak against all currencies. Must have a reason!

Very valid analysis! - short and sweet.

Certainly 50 to the bt is a real possibility. I suppose in a nutshell the bt is at or near its peak and the pound contrariwise. Reasons: big capital outflows and inflows, public debt, and quantitative easing. It's a well over the top reaction by the markets but that's the way they work.

Euro- surely overvalued?