Thought Id start this one going because its rather dead on this board at the moment and I suppose all my usual muckers are either at the Stella tennis event watching Dim Tim (lose again) or at Henly Regatta eating cucumber sandwiches (they wish,...NOT).

Anyway please feel free to just talk to yourself blast away and let it go on any company or subject you wish. Just wish Id thought of this one before.

cheers GF.

Britain’s false recovery is a credit mirage, unlike real recovery in the US??????

US deficit is eye-watering and has been for years and years
also, as far as i can see, US recovery remains very heavily consumer driven
i don't deny that it would be even better to see uk manufacturing exports thriving, but i think that may well now be happening
i think "service industries" also have a strong element of "export" inbuilt, but that may be a misconception

It appears that the market doesn't think much of Osborne's budget, but the probable retracements are due to;

"G8 Suspended, EU Will Impose More Sanctions On Russia, Angela Merkel Says"

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/03/20/g8-suspended-eu-sanctions-russia_n_4998547.html



Check Russian response.

======

Side issue.

Lost plane.

? hijack which went wrong, or deliberate flight change and ditching because of hijack?

Ummm

PS.

Manuel,

Not all postings are for done for your benefit!

The limelight is switched off you sometimes!

8-)

hard to know what the market thinks of the budget, as there is so much heavy extraneous noise coming from russia/ukraine
i'ld guess not a lot as, as has become common in recent years, many of the budget issues were flagged several weeks ago

further, the market has been looking to pull back (retrench) for several weeks no, but is not doing so with any conviction
dow is similarly stuck in a strange limbo

Who appointed Ma Merkel as dinner monitor?

because the germans have a severe problem if russia shuts off gas through the ukraine
i seem to remember that germany gets 40% of its gas from russia/ukraine

They could import gas from US and other sources. It is a reason for us to start cracking.

If they want to be part of Russia and Russia wants them, then hey, whats the problem...

Short Gold during FOMC week

it's based on the fact that ukraine is an independent entity to which crimea was attached by kruschev in 1954

the perception - probably correct - is that russia wanted ukraine as a puppet, and hence the previous president (or whatever he was), so took a very dim view when he was booted out, supposedly by popular pressure

russia would then seem to have forced through a referendum in crimea, though in honesty, i think the result was indeed what the local population wanted

you now move to ukraine proper, where the eastern part of the country is populated largely by russian speakers - i won't go into the history of why this is so - and again would quite possibly like to rejoin russia ...... russia will no doubt try to "facilitate" this

on the western side, where most of the native ukrainians seem to reside, not surprisingly, take a very dim view of their country being raped yet again as has happened regularly, certainly since the time of Catherine the Great

along those sort of lines anyway

Max

Fauxpage and Wavey-Dave are waiting at table so somebody has to do it.
-----

Shortie.

And Poland and Georgia and Romania and Slovakian and a nibble at Hungary.

Ummmmmmmm

So in a nut shell if the Ukrainians hadn't allowed the Russians to occupy and live on their land then this would never have happened.

that was not how it came about ...... would you like a history lesson? ...... it's actually quite interesting, but if you just go back to 1930/32 or thereabouts, you'll be able to read how stalin committed genocide by enforced famine, and how he then gulled the rest of the world that that was not so

We're along way past those days Cynic. In todays world nations should be free to say who they wish allign with. Maybe it'll stop all the internal conflict and cival wars if this was the case.

get real old son!
life is never that simple and never will be

Maybe, it is "never trust your neighbour", or at least prepare for him turning your water off.

Also, a stronger unification of foreign, economic and defence policies of the EU as a effective negotiating block.

It never will be no, because conflict and arms is very profitable..

water, oil, gas all fall into the same category for heavy political blackmail

as an aside
the prob with EU as i see it, is that it has allowed itself to grow like Topsy
thus, whereas a group of economically strong nations, quite probably with similar aims, can have some unity of purpose, the disparate selection of 23 or thereaboutsthat we now have, has created a complete ragbag

Manuel,

For your attention.

I was attempting to use a simile!

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If you recollect back a few years to the rapid expansion of EU (or its equivalent) from a small group of countries to the present group of 28 was at the behest of the UK and at times the USA.

The greatest driver was the UK and under direction of Maggie (and right wing tories etc.) who wanted a free trade zone rather than a united “political” body and much of the negotiation was seen as a drive for the “demise” of the union as such. (Various reasons for those positions.)

The UK was in favour of the acceptance of some of the “poorer” countries which was seen by some, as Machiavellian attempts, to frustrate the “political” integration and adhesion which had happened and change it to their own conception of a Free Trade Group. That is causing it to break down or collapse under the various complexities of differences in economic development.

The integration of the poorer states was rushed and the pace of increasing membership could possibly have been slower. But much of it was against a background and aftermath of the breakdown of the USSR.

If the EU was more mature, it might have been a more effective “force” against Russian Imperialism. I guess ,that if the West plays their hand carefully, then Russia may be satisfied with the Crimean meal, but the EU and America, have to have a jointly accepted common policy and show preparation to block further expansionism of Russia.

It is guess work what the short term economic problems of Russian growling will be.

The above is an attempt to be concise, as I am considering your thought span.

DYOH