Bobbie Bobster Posted January 3, 2012 Share Posted January 3, 2012 All the conspiracy theory rubbish in multiple topics is really affecting the signal to noise ratio of MF. It might be time to consider having a separate sub-forum where they could all be sandboxed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cambon Posted January 3, 2012 Share Posted January 3, 2012 Good points, well made. However I don't live in the pacific region, latin america nor asia therefore I am concerned with the capacity of my government to be able to safely negotiate it's way out of the mess that the western economies are presently in. The UK has approximately 1000% debt to GDP, higher than any other country, and as the Isle of Man is intrinsically linked to the UK on a number of levels (and has financial problems now of it's own) then my immediate concern is not how Vietnam or Peru is shaping up, but how solvent is my bank and how much clout have my elected officials got to look after my welfare in the face of a financial crisis should it arise. (We all know the answer to that one). It is easy enough in this day and age to get investments in those countries though. That said, if the whole system does collapse, they will not be immune. They will recover first though. As for the 1000% debt to GDP ratio, that is not strictly true, and most of it would cancel itself out on the balance sheets if the worst did happen. For me, I will continue to keep my diversified portfolio. If or when things start to go belly up, I will move my money into a low risk currency/ market. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albert Tatlock Posted January 3, 2012 Share Posted January 3, 2012 If things were to go severely 'tits' up', the first thing many would know about it would be currency controls imposed on their investments. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manshimajin Posted January 3, 2012 Share Posted January 3, 2012 For me, I will continue to keep my diversified portfolio. Totally agree - if you can diversify your assets that is the best way to go. A number of years ago an economist won the Nobel Prize for coming to this conclusion. There is no perfect strategy but not having all your eggs in one basket, or in one country (or region) is sesnible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lxxx Posted January 3, 2012 Share Posted January 3, 2012 For me, I will continue to keep my diversified portfolio. Totally agree - if you can diversify your assets that is the best way to go. A number of years ago an economist won the Nobel Prize for coming to this conclusion. There is no perfect strategy but not having all your eggs in one basket, or in one country (or region) is sesnible. I agree, I've not said any different. It just happens that my view of the potential severity of the situation differs from others. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wheels Posted January 12, 2012 Share Posted January 12, 2012 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-16517432 The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has said it is planning to cut 3,500 jobs as part of a shake-up of its investment bank operations. The losses, which will be split between its UK and international offices, come on top of 2,000 cuts previously announced. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nom de plume Posted January 12, 2012 Share Posted January 12, 2012 When will we hear more on how Greece & Italy are managing with the implementation of their 'new improved' austerity measures ... ? I'll be ****ed if I can understand any of it ... "They" say the markets are dictating & controlling the Eurozone crisis but all I see is the FTSE rising!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wheels Posted January 12, 2012 Share Posted January 12, 2012 Ulster bank to lose 950 jobs http://www.u.tv/News/950-Ulster-Bank-jobs-culled/3f6ade46-b326-40ea-b1fd-39a54d1522cd Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albert Tatlock Posted January 12, 2012 Share Posted January 12, 2012 I heard Barclays IOM losing 1 in 7 staff shortly. Any confirmation? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manshimajin Posted January 12, 2012 Share Posted January 12, 2012 What continues to puzzle me is how can countries be expected to repay such mind-boggling borrowings in 3-5 years? It took Germany just under 100 years to pay off its debts from World War I. It will take the MEA 25 (+?) to pay off its debts for Pulrose etc... In the real world how can one expect the Greeks, The Italians, the Portuguese, the Irish (or the Brits) to get their borrowings down in such a short time? I'm not a financial wizz so I must be missing something. I am sure that we are in for another round of refinancing of debt when the term runs out on the current sets of loans. And that will bring more disturbance to the markets ina few years time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lxxx Posted January 12, 2012 Share Posted January 12, 2012 What continues to puzzle me is how can countries be expected to repay such mind-boggling borrowings in 3-5 years? It took Germany just under 100 years to pay off its debts from World War I. It will take the MEA 25 (+?) to pay off its debts for Pulrose etc... In the real world how can one expect the Greeks, The Italians, the Portuguese, the Irish (or the Brits) to get their borrowings down in such a short time? I'm not a financial wizz so I must be missing something. I am sure that we are in for another round of refinancing of debt when the term runs out on the current sets of loans. And that will bring more disturbance to the markets ina few years time. They're not supposed to. 'Austerity Measures' are a way of buying more time and shuffling more cash to the bankers before the thing goes t*ts up. It's about extracting the last dregs out of us and transferring the wealth out of the pockets of the common man into the already obscenely wealthy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guzzi Posted January 12, 2012 Share Posted January 12, 2012 Or looked at through rather less dark glasses, austerity is intended to return Euro zone member states to the borrowing parameters that they should have followed all along, I.e. no more than 3% of total economic output annually.In so doing, the hope is that market confidence in the Euro will be restored, and that closer fiscal union will be a less bitter pill for Germany to swallow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manshimajin Posted January 12, 2012 Share Posted January 12, 2012 Or looked at through rather less dark glasses, austerity is intended to return Euro zone member states to the borrowing parameters that they should have followed all along, I.e. no more than 3% of total economic output annually.In so doing, the hope is that market confidence in the Euro will be restored, and that closer fiscal union will be a less bitter pill for Germany to swallow. But I wonder if the 'elephant in the room' remains the repayment of the capital? Austerity will allow countries to finance their more austere public services plus the interest charges on the loans. But as the loans are all relatively short term they will have to refiance them as there is no way whatosever that they will be able to pay them off. Perhaps the thinking is that if you are able to meet the target then interest rates on borrowing will reduce which will ease the financial pressure. But the countries will remain incredibly indebted and still be spending a very significant part of their budgets on debt servicing rather than on economic development. Which means that borrowing costs will probably remain fairly high, which means austerity and low growth will be ongoing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chinahand Posted January 12, 2012 Share Posted January 12, 2012 Manshimajin, try reading the pieces by Paul Krugman and Greg Mankiw linked here: Link Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guzzi Posted January 12, 2012 Share Posted January 12, 2012 Presumably, manshimajin, the hope us that with closer fiscal union will come the ability for Euro zone members to borrow more cheaply, through 'Euro bonds'. Repaying the capital entirely is way out of reach, and theta has already been default in all but name. It is now about rebuilding confidence, I think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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