Britian outside the Euro zone - sinking or swimming ?

[mintogrubb.livejournal.com]

Britain - I love the place . In spite of the awful weather and the clapped out and creaking political system, it is my home, and I like it here.

The Euro - OK, it lets me travel almost anywhere in Europe on the same currency, with no need to convert my cash into anything else at enormous expense. And yet, it is geared to cater to the French and German interests at the expense of Irish and Italian ones, not to mention any that we Brits might want to have.

So, I am pretty anti the Euro on principle- give every country its own currencty and let 'em set their own exchange rates , I say.

having set that down , I note that French and German politicians are warning that ' Britain will become isolated" and that the UK will cease to be a major financial trading centre in Europe as a result.

U - hu ? Go read The Times, people. You will notice that VW- who make German cars, have decided to come to Britain for their financial services. that's right . this is after the furore of Cameron playing the veto card.

The fact is that the Euro will need to be propped up for some considerable time, and the UK will not be taking any of the strain - that will be the French and the Germans.

Now, is the loss of of this extra outlay harming the British finance sector? Er, no.
We may not build trains as good as the German ones, but if you want a financial services package, or insurance for your company, we in Britain have ben doing this since Lloyds first opened a coffee house, and we happen to be good at it. So, people like VW come here, not to Bonn or Paris. Sorry, but the latest move seems to underline the fact that money makes the world go round, and financial interests will trump national ones if push comes to shove.Much as the French would like to see Britain shunned, I am afraid that corporate interests will still do business with the Uk in spite of French or German politicians, should it suit them to do so. the Euro is alost certainly doomed without British help, but is England doomed without the Euro, or will Cameron become more popular for his use of the veto? Sadly, I think the Euro will sink and Cameron's popularity will rise as a result.

For me , this is bad news. I mean, I don't like Cameron at all. Watching him kick the Euro into touch is like watching the German goalie save an England penalty - not helping my side at all, but its exactly what I would do myself if I was on his side. Cameron has stuck up for his mates and seen to it that his cronies don't lose any of the unfair advantages that going to Eton and working in the City of London have given them in life. It would be nice to see him do something nice for the poor and disadvantaged in the UK, but that would be like expecting the Germans to score a hat trick of own goals, or England to win a penalty shoot out - it just won't happen!

In an ideal world, Cameron would veto the Franco German proposals but still impose Tobin tax on principle in order to help the poor - any money raised would assist the pound, and not the euro. Sadly we do not live in an ideal world - we live in a country where the Tories are in government.

Comments

[htpcl.livejournal.com]

Lj-cut?

[mintogrubb.livejournal.com]

We have had so many cuts in the Uk lately - I guess one more will not do any harm :)

[htpcl.livejournal.com]

AHAHA!

[geezer-also.livejournal.com]

line de jour :D

[htpcl.livejournal.com]

Oui, mon cheri.

[dv8nation.livejournal.com]

I still think the Euro will win out in the end. It's just too handy not to happen.

[mikeyxw.livejournal.com]

I think an app that acts like Paypal + Visa + exact change will win out in a decade or two for the same reason.

[peamasii.livejournal.com]

the best and friendliest would be an app on mobile phones, link it with your bank account + credit card and then pay with it for anything: goods, services, transportation, peer-to-peer payments, online purchases, etc.

[gunslnger.livejournal.com]

Don't worry, it's coming. You'll be locked into the system soon enough.

[onefatmusicnerd.livejournal.com]

I do not know where you have been, but it has been here since September.

[mikeyxw.livejournal.com]

It's a bit ironic that on of the few things Google didn't relase for two years as a beta really, really is a beta.

[gunslnger.livejournal.com]

It's been in Japan longer than that, but I wouldn't call Google Wallet or ISIS as actually being "here" yet, since there aren't any phones that support them yet (the Nexus doesn't count as a real phone).

[peamasii.livejournal.com]

it's a free market, whoever doesn't like it can go live in the woods

[okmewriting.livejournal.com]

Problem with the Euro is it is not built on a sound economic foundation, if it was there would only have been one country in the eurozone when it started.

[okmewriting.livejournal.com]

but still impose Tobin tax on principle in order to help the poor
And who do you think will be paying the financial transaction tax hmm? Where do you think the banks get their money from hmm?

[mintogrubb.livejournal.com]

anyone daft enough to cough up for buying a few million Nigerian dollars in the hope of selling the lot at a profit would, and should , get stung . the fact is that no smart cookie would bother any mre , and that would be a good thing.

banks get money from investment and from domestic savers. next question , plz ?

And how does this ague against having a Tobin Tax to cut out casino banking ?

[lai-choi-san.livejournal.com]

I understand your point of view however :

(http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/444/debt.png/)

Source (http://www.businessinsider.com/g10-countries-by-total-debt-to-gdp-2011-12#ixzz1ffxbxTK9)

Do you still think that the British financial services are that good ?

[vaegue.livejournal.com]

I don't understand this graph. The government and household debt is straightforward enough, but what is financial and non-financial debt? I've seen lots of graphs about the debt crisis, but this is the first one I've with these keys.

[lai-choi-san.livejournal.com]

Non financial debt corresponds to a need to borrow (to build hospitals for instance).

Financial debt is the amount owed by under-capitalized banks or other financial institutions.

[vaegue.livejournal.com]

It's still not making sense for me. Since when is a corporate entity's debt the state's debt, even if it is undercapitalised? I see another commentator has already expressed their concerns too.

[lai-choi-san.livejournal.com]

Since when is a corporate entity's debt the state's debt, even if it is undercapitalised ?

Since 2008, in the US, in Europe and notably in UK.

[mintogrubb.livejournal.com]

The Germans seem to think so, whatever the graph may say.

And however bad the country is, as a country, don't forget that a financial institution is not the State. Nor would its holdings be expressed as a %age of GDP unless the graph was being skewed for political / propaganda reasons.

[lai-choi-san.livejournal.com]

No, they chose the City because it's the nearest fiscal haven.

don't forget that a financial institution is not the State.
Sadly the American and European governements didn't think so in 2008. Remember : "too big to fail".

Besides I didn't even tackle the subject of the Bank of England and its quantitative easing (25% ! Compare with the FED : 12% or the ECB : 6%).

[luzribeiro.livejournal.com]

Is "Britian" that land next to Whales and below Schitland?

[htpcl.livejournal.com]

No, that's Angel-land.

[mintogrubb.livejournal.com]

Actually , we are mostly Anglicans , and not angelic :)

[onefatmusicnerd.livejournal.com]

Wait, I thought it was Engels-Land?

[htpcl.livejournal.com]

That's Dousche-land.

[peamasii.livejournal.com]

It would be stupid to dismantle the euro and go to multiple currencies in Europe, the continent is dense with many countries and just the interchange fees would put so much drag on weakening economies that it would kill any possibilities of growth.

[mintogrubb.livejournal.com]

But a small nation , that can set its own interest rates, is in a better position than a country having its interest rate set by the place next door. that is why so many countries have voted against the Euro in the past .

[peamasii.livejournal.com]

That's vaguely true but mostly inaccurate. A country's internal interest rates are not controlled by the ECB, only the interest rates at which it can borrow from the central bank. The credit rates and inflation targets are therefore within the ECB's scope. That's not why "countries voted against the Euro", they voted against it because they wanted to retain monetary policy internally. However, devaluing one's currency does not place a country in a "better position" necessarily, as hyperinflation will not be a pretty economical picture in any country. I'm afraid the only solution for euromembers is to step in line with the German measures, regardless of how smart the Brits are to step aside.

[ddstory.livejournal.com]

It's almost fascinating how easily some people are ready to celebrate teh end of teh Euroz har har har. (Said by someone who has always lived in countries who stubbornly refused to have teh Euroz. Har.)