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.

IMF says Greece needs extra €50bn in funds and debt relief

International lender issues strong message to Europe by warning that Athens’ debts are unsustainable and it needs 20-year grace period on debt repayments


Larry Elliott Economics editor

Thursday 2 July 2015 16.20 BST





The International Monetary Fund has electrified the referendum debate in Greece after it conceded that the crisis-ridden country needs €50bn (£35bn or $55bn) of extra funds over the next three years and large-scale debt relief to create “a breathing space” and stabilise the economy.

With three days to go before a knife-edge referendum, the IMF revealed a deep split with Europe as it warned that Greece’s debts were “unsustainable”.

Fund officials said they would not be prepared to put a proposal for a third Greek bailout package to the Washington-based organisation’s board unless it included both a commitment to economic reform and debt relief.


According to the IMF, Greece should have a 20-year grace period before making any debt repayments and that final payments should not take place until 2055.

The IMF’s analysis will be seized upon by Alexis Tsipras, the Greek prime minister, who has been insisting that he will only agree to tough new austerity measures if Greece is granted debt relief.



More: http://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/jul/02/imf-greece-needs-extra-50bn-euros

I was in a large country house today that the Gilby Family owned from the early 1900's.
Found myself in the wine cellar. Firstly I never knew that they produced wine . I knew they produced spirits. Pulled out about 15 bottles that I presume had been their since the early 1900's.

You learn something every day -


Sir Walter Gilbey, 1st Baronet DL (2 May 1831 – 12 November 1914) was an English wine-merchant and philanthropist.

He was born at Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire to parents Henry and Elizabeth Gilbey. His father, the owner (and frequently the driver) of the daily coach between Bishop's Stortford and London, died when he was eleven years old, and young Gilbey was shortly afterwards placed in the office of an estate agent at Tring, subsequently obtaining a clerkship in a firm of parliamentary agents in London.

On the outbreak of the Crimean War, Walter Gilbey and his younger brother, Alfred, volunteered for civilian service at the front, and were employed at a convalescent hospital on the Dardanelles. Returning to London on the declaration of peace, Walter and Alfred Gilbey, on the advice of their eldest brother Henry Gilbey who was a wholesale wine-merchant, they started in the retail wine and spirits trade, such as the local London style gin.

We are all safe now. Cameron found a war to run to.

We are all equal, unless you come from Eton or come from the shires!




What more can I do to provoke devolution!

Fred ,, war criminal !!!!!!!!

jimmy and a liar a crook a war criminal and thinks he is a god he should be hung

Christine Lagarde attack on Greece backfires as she pays no tax

Christine Lagarde, the International Monetary Fund managing director who provoked an angry reaction from the Greek people after telling them to pay their taxes, does not pay tax on her own salary, it has emerged.






By Philip Aldrick, Economics Editor

7:04PM BST 29 May 2012





Ms Lagarde was forced to publish an embarrassing climbdown on her Facebook page over the weekend after being bombarded by hundreds of Greek people who felt insulted by her suggestion that the country’s crisis was partly due to “all these people in Greece who are trying to escape tax”.


However, on Tuesday she had to admit that her $467,940 (£300,000) annual salary and $83,760 of additional allowances are entirely tax-free as the IMF is an international organisation.


An IMF spokesman said: “Salaries, like those in most international organizations, are paid on a lower, net of tax basis to ensure equal pay for equal work regardless of nationality.”


He added that Ms Lagarde, 56, does pay all other “taxes levied on her, including local and property taxes in the US and France”.


Ms Lagarde earns more than President Barack Obama and David Cameron, both of whom pay taxes.



http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/economics/9298501/Christine-Lagarde-attack-on-Greece-backfires-as-she-pays-no-tax.html

No problem.

Yes!

So was Maggie and the murder of the Belgrano!

i'm certainly a strong supporter of fred's

at least when he calls for the return of GF
at least GF's interesting and even occasionally moderately entertaining, in absolute contrast to fred who is neither

I see Baler Boy has a sideline---------------he is running in the 2 o'clock at Doncaster today.
2517

In Greece, particularly in the vicinity of the ATMs, there's a lot of this about:



So much so, that apparently a few people, and the number of them is growing, are turning to using Bitcoin as a currency. Bitcoin is 'international'.

"Hey! This will be a bloody good time to re-do the review," say the Bank of England.

Cash in bank accounts will only be guaranteed up to a limit of £75,000 from January 1, 2016, the Bank of England has said, down from the current limit of £85,000.

The guarantee is used by savers when a bank or building society collapses. The level of deposits covered by the scheme was increased in several stages through the financial crisis to reassure savers their money was safe, in a bid to avoid bank runs. This is the first time the level of protection has been cut since the credit crunch.

The Treasury-backed but industry-funded Financial Services Compensation Scheme refunds those who lose money, and the cash is later recouped from the rest of the banking industry. Savers called on the protection when Bradford & Bingley failed, and when the Icelandic banks crashed.

Britain's deposit guarantee is set in line with the €100,000 guarantee for depositors across the European Union, a limit set in 2010. But the Government reviews this level every five years, and the present strength of the pound against the euro means €100,000 translates more closely to £75,000.

There is a report that 50,000 tourists a day are cancelling holidays in Greece. That is 65% of their tourism.

An interesting side effect of their banking crisis is that transferring money abroad is banned under capital controls. This means that Greek travellers in other countries are stranded. The use of their debit/credit cards is classed as transferring abroad. A honeymoon couple in NY cannot buy food. Greeks in US hospitals cannot pay their bills. Greek business people have no access to funds outside Greece.

It's a sad state of affairs ,as well as all the immigrants landing on Kos ,the Greeks who own cafe's and small hotels etc must be wondering where to go from here.

2517,

P 61213

You shouldn't put images of Cynic on the thread.

Especially, when he doesn't have his begging bowl on display!

He looks younger than I expected!

Is that guy above, sitting on the pavement, a Greek mime artist?

JB.

They could try London.

Thames valley is said to be very welcoming!

For F###s sake Fred we don't need any more immigrants !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!