Forex rebates on every trade - win or lose!

Tee hee ...

ttt :-)

Goldman says buy the pound as there's little to fear from a hung Parliament

I guess they're looking to short it then. They're not known as "The Root of All Evil" without some justification.

Agreed Hil, we're a sliver away from our credit rating being reduced, and then all hell will be let loose

ttt :-)

Why Greece Will Default

Never have and never will believe in a cross border fixed exchange rate MM.

History shows fixed exchange rate systems starting with in modern times the Bretton Woods deal have never worked and have eventually broken down but fairs fair the euro has lasted a lot longer than sceptics myself included ever thought it would.

All the Germans I know were so happy to join (NOT) and are now so overjoyed at the way things are panning out (NOT) , beginning of the end imo ... remember how they (Germany , France , etc) did their duty and helped us out in 92 ?

I don't agree that it's a given Greece will default. The bailout is intended to buy them enough time (it's suggested 2 years) for sentiment and confidence in the bond markets to improve sufficiently to enable Greece to return to the bond markets. Hopefully that will be the case.

That doesn't mean, of course, that Greece's problems have gone away and they do still need, imo, to implement some serious austerity measures in the face of a European (if not global) depression.

I think that the biggest problem facing the Eurozone currently comes from the likes of Spain and Portugal, who Germany simply cannot afford to bail out. Equally there's a chance of Germany waking up one morning and saying "We've had enough of this crap" and walking away.

A lot will now depend upon whether the ECB are willing and able to pull a rabbit out of the hat. There's been a suggesting that they could issue an ECB-backed Eurobond which would be attractive to the market. Who'd be a central banker, huh?

As for Dilbert's post on the fixed cross-border exchange rates, I agree with Nick.

:o)

However you interpret all this, I think it's also important to remember that markets often move in cycles of 10 years or so.

The Euro was at its weakest around 10 years ago when it was first formed. It can be no surprise, therefore, that approximately 10 years later on it's seen a high and could be on the verge of a 10 year decline.

Similarly, the dollar has been in decline for the last 10 years or so and the USDX in now trying to break through its longer term resistance line. The next few years could see a strengthening dollar.

As I've said repeatedly, all this is in the chart regardless of other events that are happening at any moment in time. The news, such as it is, is there to act merely as a catalyst to make things happen faster or slower. It's good to look back retrospectively and find a valid reason for these things, but the chances are that the Euro will weaken and the dollar will strengthen over the coming years anyway, regardless of whatever spin is attached to the currencies.

I still think the solution is for Germany to leave the Euro and re-adopt the D-mark. Same solution, really, as the UK dropping out of the ERM - and for the same reason.

ttt

Very interesting article in the Torydemograph.

Is Europe heading for a meltdown?

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Hilary, that kind of talk will get you banned :o)

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Oops - mistake

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