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.

Haystack.

The original debt has almost doubled since the 2008 blow-up.

Greece is not coming out of anything, it is going down the toilet.


What do you not understand about about rising debt?

To repay the country's debt at usury standards.

I can see why it appeals to Haze and his party central office.

56161 - why the left? ..... the right also have these tendencies as shown by the rise of the nazi party

Greece is paying very low interest rates on its loans. When the bailout agreement was arranged, creditors had to agree to major cuts in their debts. Greece has already been treated pretty well bearing in mind how profligate they were. France's finance minister has ruled out further financial relief for Greece, as he insisted that the country's debt burden would not be shouldered by the rest of the eurozone. This is interesting, bearing in mind that Hollande came to power on an anti austerity ticket. He has now changed his stance now and austerity is now the policy in France

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/banksandfinance/11371694/Greek-banks-lose-quarter-of-value-following-Syriza-victory.html

Greek banks lose €8bn in three days since Syriza victory as liquidity crisis feared

Third consecutive double-digit share price slump on Wednesday as depositors pull billions out of accounts and support from ECB is questioned

Greece’s banks have lost almost 40pc of their value in the three days since Syriza ascended to power in Sunday's election as the dual threats of a bank run and the loss of support from the European Central Bank threaten a liquidity squeeze.
The FTSE/Athex Bank Index, a weighted index of Greek bank shares, fell to a new all-time low on Wednesday. They have now lost more than half their value since early December, when a general election was triggered.
Wednesday saw a third consecutive day of double digit gains, with the index falling as much as 20pc. National Bank of Greece, Piraeus, Alpha Bank and Eurobank all slumped, with up to €7.7bn wiped off their combined market values since the election.
Billion has been pulled out of Greek banks since November, according to Moody’s, with more withdrawals likely amid fears that the life support from the European Central Bank will be extinguished.
Syriza’s Alexis Tsipras, who was sworn in as prime minister on Monday, on Tuesday appointed the economist Yanis Varoufakis, a fellow fierce opponent of European-imposed austerity, as Greece’s finance minister.

The move was seen as a further sign that Greece is on a collision course with the EU over repaying debt and maintaining its bail-out programme, which currently expires on February 28. Mr Varoufakis, who studied at the University of Essex, has described Greece’s austerity agreements as “fiscal waterboarding”.
The bank sell-off pulled the Athens Stock Exchange down 6.4pc on Wednesday amid further warnings that Syriza and its coalition partners, the right-wing Independent Greek party, will struggle to come to an agreement with the Troika of the ECB, International Monetary Fund and European Union.
“Syriza’s position is in direct opposition to the Troika and will make negotiations for renewing the programme very challenging when the current agreement with the European Commission expires on February 28,” said Alpona Banerji at Moody’s.
“The party’s election campaign was based on ending the Troika programme, negotiating a debt write-off and reversing some of the key spending reforms previously undertaken. Moreover, Greece’s European partners are likely to resist any such reversals, as they could also increase pressure for a similar unwinding of austerity measures, and reduce prospects for structural reforms elsewhere in Europe.”
Bank shares fell 13pc on Monday, another 12pc on Tuesday, and up to 20pc on Wednesday, meaning they have lost almost 40pc since Sunday’s election.

The risk of a full-blown crisis should a political showdown mean Greece defaulting has seen depositors withdraw billions from Greek banks, echoing the summer of 2012 when the Greek central bank was forced to provide up to €124bn of emergency liquidity assistance (ELA) – loans to keep the banks running.
Banks also risk a repeat of the deposit flight seen in 2012. Up to €8bn of private sector deposits has been pulled out of Greek banks since November, according to Moody's.
Greece’s bail-out agreements with the Troika have given its banks access to the ECB’s funding scheme, unlocking billions in cheap liquidity.
However, banks are running out of collateral to use against these loans, and will be ineligible for such support if Greece fails to extend its bail-out programme next month.

The ECB pulling the plug would come at the worst possible time for Greece’s banks, whose use of the funding scheme is expected to have risen to a two-year high.
Moody’s predicts that ECB funding will rise from €56bn to €65bn this month, with bank deposits down 5pc in the last two months to around €156bn.
With banks potentially losing support from the ECB, they are likely to turn to Greece’s central bank for emergency assistance; several have already applied to do so. The banks have not been forced to use ELA - which is more expensive than ECB loans - since May last year.

Nondas Nicolaides, vice president and senior credit officer at Moody’s, added that many borrowers close to default will simply refuse to restructure debts in the coming months to see if the new government will force banks to write them off.
“We believe borrowers will be inclined to halt negotiations with banks, in the hope that the new government will promote borrower-friendly measures, including debt forgiveness, a topic that has been widely debated among political parties in recent months,” he said.

56161 - stimulate the more left of centre leaning UK voters, who seem in some ways amazingly apathetic at the moment to vote.

a curious comment from you fred, who refuses to vote (as is your democratic right of course)

as you imply, people of any leaning can rattle and rant to their heart's content, but if they can't then be arsed to go and vote, then they (almost) needn't waste their breath, for they are but as sounding brass

Manuel,

56161 - why the left? ..... the right also have these tendencies as shown by the rise of the nazi party

It would be suspected some of the centre would lurch to the right and join the neo-cons/fascist wing of the present tory party. (Before it fragments.)

But, I think (believe), that the "majority" of the UK population is more tolerant, liberal and not made up of "little Englanders" in their mentality or morality and wish for a more caring and responsible form of government.

They have no trust in Cameron, or George Boy and see them as money grabbing for themselves and those of their own ilk, with less regard those on poorer incomes and that extends into the middle classes.

They wish for a fairer and a more egalitarian society, but that does not mean a "give away society".

But the Cuts in Welfare and Education are coming home to many, especially those who kids are changing schools and facilities of the schools their children are already attending.


The pay packets of the majority of "workers" in purchasing power has decreased and the can see little improvement in their future expectations under another right winged tory government. It doesn't look rosy for them.

They see it as :

MORE OF WHAT THEY HAVE HAD.
=======

56169 - no relevance at all to what i wrote, but then you rarely need any prompting to have a predictable little rant

Manuel.

You must have stopped you medication again.

Before the reality hits you in the face examine the effects of the enforced "austerity program" on Greece is having.

Then open your eyes and look around you the UK., not just the Thames Embankment and you may realised the same problems, to a lesser degree, are effecting communities throughout the UK who are not benefitting from the “gains” of “austerity” due to the manner and severity the policies were implemented.

People within the S.E and London may be self satisfied, but majority of those outside that are pissed off.

The Greeks, may be icons for many.

Its cold here in the SE and still paying £1.219 a ltr of diesel . I reckon we are subsidising the Northerners. :-))

I am only playing 1.05p in London

Looking again its Shell v-power diesel

Normal unleaded petrol is £1.079

Sian Boyle 31 Jan 2015

Ed Miliband is an even worse leader of the Labour Party than Neil Kinnock, according to the playwright who shadowed the former leader during his disastrous 1992 election campaign.

Sir David Hare had unparalleled access to Labour and witnessed its campaigning strategy before Lord Kinnock lost heavily on polling day.

He said last night: 'Underlying the decline of Labour is a comprehensive failure, far deeper than in 1992, to provide a competing narrative which speaks to the public.

'The question you most often hear asked of Miliband, in tones of increasing frustration, is: Why, at a time when the public needs it, can Ed not speak in a way that reaches the public? Why can he not shoot at Cameron's open goal?'

The playwright is reviving his seminal 1993 play, The Absence of War, about a Labour leader struggling to take advantage of the open goals provided by a Tory prime minister.

Hare told the Guardian: 'Why can he not, in the words of one veteran Labour MP in the play, 'get up and take the whole rotten thing on?'

'But to ask that question is to misunderstand what rhetoric is. Rhetoric is not an add-on, an extra. It's not a trick, a facility or a gift. The sober truth is that you can only make a great speech if you have a great analysis.'

Hare wrote the play after being provided with behind-the-scenes access to Lord Kinnock and his entourage in the run-up to the election – much to the displeasure of Labour leaders and loyalists.

Approximately 100 days to the GE.

Miliband will let Cameron and Motley Crew inflate themselves and huff and puff, while the effects of some more of their policies backfire on them.

Interesting to see the lib/dems turning more viciously on the coalition and how untrustworthy their found their tory colleagues.

It is going to be a very interesting last 30days leading up to the GE.

Cameron has mistimed the policies and election and the knives are being sharpened to stick in his back.

You can look forward to Berlusconi as you next leader.

The Japanese hostage has been killed. It seemed to me that he was doomed as soon as a swap was suggested between the woman terrorist and the Japanese man and the Jordanian pilot. There was no need to keep the Japanese hostage alive when they could just swap the pilot.

Its a pity we can't swap Haze.

He might make a fitting exchange.

Or you Fred, who would miss you?

Boots Boss: Miliband Would Be A 'Catastrophe'

The Labour leader is hit with more criticism, as Stefano Pessina says the party's plans for the country are "not helpful".

The boss of Boots has said Labour leader Ed Miliband would be a "catastrophe" for Britain if he became prime minister.

Stefano Pessina said Mr Miliband's plans were "not helpful for business, not helpful for the country and in the end it probably won't be helpful for them".

Mr Miliband has also come in for criticism from within the Labour fold, with donor John Mills launching a fresh attack on the party's direction.

Mr Pessina, who is acting chief executive of Boots, told The Sunday Telegraph: "If they acted as they speak, it would be a catastrophe.

"The problem is would they act that way or not?

"One thing is to threaten and to shout but it is completely different to be in charge and to manage the country day to day."

Mr Pessina also warned Britain leaving the European Union would be a "big mistake".

David Cameron has promised an in/out referendum by the end of 2017 if he is returned to power after polling day on 7 May.

Former health secretary Alan Milburn said earlier this week that the party's focus on extra funding for the NHS without plans for reforms could prove to be a "fatal mistake".

Mr Mills, the founder of JML and Labour's biggest individual donor, endorsed the warning and underlined his criticism of Labour's mansion tax plan.

Mr Mills told the Mail on Sunday: "I agree with Milburn - if you look at the Continental model, they have a much greater mix of public and private provision."

He added: "I am not convinced of the case for a tax on expensive properties. And it certainly should not be hypothecated for the NHS.

"It would be much better to introduce extra council tax bands and spend the money on local needs, such as affordable housing."

The editor of the New Statesman, Jason Cowley, also renewed his criticism of Mr Miliband.

He told the Mail that the mood of Labour MPs is "not so much one of despair, it's worse than that resignation".

The party appeared to be "willing itself to defeat", Mr Cowley added.

Chancellor George Osborne seized on Mr Pessina's remarks.

He said: "This is a clear warning from the head of one of Britain's biggest employers about the economic catastrophe the UK would suffer if Ed Miliband's policies were put into effect.

"The price of this catastrophe would be paid by families across the country who would see their jobs and incomes put at risk."

Amid the criticism, the party has said its campaign for the general election will focus on issues, not personalities.

David Cameron would not feature on any of its billboard posters, election strategist Douglas Alexander said.

Mr Alexander, who is also shadow foreign secretary, claimed the Conservatives would "plumb new depths" in the coming weeks and were preparing to spread "falsehood, fear and smear".

Instead, Labour will avoid old fashioned campaigning and take its message directly to voters, Mr Alexander insisted.

Aye, If Fred was beheaded we'd give them a round of applause :0)