What the hell is happening to the Pound?

[Safeway]

Over 95p. At this rate a Euro will cost you more than £1 by the end of the week.

 

[saafend_seagull]

This is f***ing QUALITY

 

[Safeway]

And to add INSULT to INJURY, our flights to Helsinki next month have now gone DOWN in price.

SAKE.

 

[Gritt23]

Perhaps it's also down to international investors thinking our country is f***ed.

If it was just down to interest rates, why has the pound fallen so far against the dollar? If the assumption is that the US economy is an a bad way, due to debt, credit-crunch etc, then Sterling should have got stronger here as their rates are now virtually 0%.

Simple fact is, Labour has done what it always does. It spends the lecacy of PRUDENCE from the previous Conservtive administrations, and once this goes, get's nto huge levels of debt before getting kicked inot the political wilderness.

Even when trying to adopt right-of-center policies, 'New' Labour still screw things up.

But, if you still say 'Well Done Gordon', I wonder what he would have to do to the country for you to say that he has to go??

It's standard economic theory that the interest rates drive the exchange rates. Because it's all driven by the return on money, and if the rate of interest drops here, then that means investors wil switch money to other places, where they get a higher rate of interest relative to the exchange rate. This selling of sterling and purchasing of Euros and Dollars means the sterling price drops.

My "Well done Gordon" is purely based on my own personal circumstances which are helped by a lower interest rate, whereas the resultant drop in the value of the pound doesn't have anadverse affect on me.

Is he doing a good job overall ...... there is a long debate behind that. No simple answer.

 

[Titanic]

...Is he doing a good job overall ...... there is a long debate behind that. No simple answer.

Simple answer... NO!

 

[Gritt23]

Simple answer... NO!

How would you solve the current economic crisis?


As the Tories are currently demonstrating, it's very easy to criticise, but much harder to offer a better solution.

 

[Pavilionaire]

No doubt as the point 1 for 1 parity is almost upon us Brown will pull out the stops and call in a few favours to prevent such a massive disaster from occurring, probably the 2008 equivalent of selling all our gold reserves.

 

[Gritt23]

Why would parity be a "massive disaster" ?

 

[Pavilionaire]

In political terms I mean. The day 1 Euro is worth equal or more than 1 £ is a red letter day like Black Wednesday or unemployment going over 2 million. Ironically, it is conceivable parity and 2 million unemployed could get announced ON THE SAME DAY!...

 

[Gritt23]

I don't see it that way. There wasn't a massive celebration when we were are $2 : £1, and likewise I don't see why there would be a massive issue about parity with the Euro.

We have never said that we would try to fix the exhange rate. The disaster of the ERM would have every politician running from such an idea, an even setting exchange rate collars. There are much bigger issues to address, than worrying about the exchange rate, as it's good for some and bad for some whichever way it goes.

A high pound is a nightmare for exporters, but they will be getting delighted now. Swings and roundabouts.

 

[pasty]

There wasn't a massive celebration when we were are $2 : £1,

There bloody well was in the Pasty household. This time last year we were just about to go to Florida for Christmas. Bloomin glad we didn't put it off until this year!

 

[Lord Bracknell]

I changed all my pounds to LEWES pounds because Lewes is the centre of the universe and its currency will reign supreme for time ever lasting

Be careful about the "time everlasting" assumption you are making. My Lewes pounds have an expiry date of 31 August 2009.

If Gordon Brown wants to encourage more consumer spending, he should try the same trick and print a "BEST BEFORE ... " date on banknotes.

 

[Pavilionaire]

Gritt23, this is the UK we're talking about here! Of course there's no celebration when £1 = $2 because historically it has always been like that. However, if the value of the Euro exceeds that of the £ the political commewntators and journalists will have a FIELD DAY.

One of the main reasons New Labour has not given up the £ and jumped in with the French and Germans is because the Euro was always viewed as risky and volatile. Now those arguments are looking complete bollocks as the £ continues to crash.

 

[Titanic]

How would you solve the current economic crisis?

The first thing I would do is get rid of the incompetent and mendacious individuals who have presided over the economy for the past 11 years.

In a period of strong economic growth, they have fuelled huge national and personal levels of debt for their own short-term political gain, they have failed to rein in the excesses of the banking and investment systems, and all the while claiming to have been 'prudent' and 'abolishing boom and bust'.

They have been a deep-seated disaster for this country - and should be hounded from office at the earliest opportunity.

It might not solve the economic crisis - but I for one don't want Gordon Brown to remain in charge to further drag the economy into the spiral of debt and despair that he is presiding over - as one thing is certain, he will continue to deny his responsibility for the depth of our parlous state and therefore fail to make the politically tough decisions that are needed.

 

[SI 4 BHA]

A high pound is a nightmare for exporters, but they will be getting delighted now. Swings and roundabouts.

Didn't think we had any exporters left! Is someone still out there making stuff in the UK?

 

[house your seagull]

in a weird way it maybe benefit the brighton economy with tourism money.

all those rich spaniards coming over!

 

[Pavilionaire]

The UK is like Blackburn Rovers. A shit novice manager, the team sinking fast. The problem is David Cameron is no Sam Allardyce...

 

[Smythe]

This has all been engineered by the powers that be to slow down our rediculously over inflated housing market and levels of borrowing and to get us into the Euro.......possibley, maybe.........

 

[Lord Bracknell]

The first thing I would do is get rid of the incompetent and mendacious individuals who have presided over the economy for the past 11 years.

Agreed.

Get rid of the bankers and let the government have a chance to run the economy on behalf of the people.

 

[Pavilionaire]

That would be so typical of Gordon Brown and New Labour - shilly-shally around the issue for 11 years, then beg them to let us in when the £ is on its knees...