The pound..............

[Bugsy]

[quote user="brianagain"]http://www.investmentu.com/latest-research/euro.php?code=X300L6081

Tighten your seat belts folks; here come more (so called) experts, Personally, I take everything they say with a large pinch of salt.

Brian (again)

[/quote]

"So how can investors profit from the eurozone meltdown?"

Don't you just find that comment quite sickening.

.

[mint]

Yes, I do, Bugs.  It feels like someone rubbing their hands in glee and thinking I'm going to profit, profit, profit.

What's really brought whole banks, governments, individuals down is an excess of greed.

[Quillan]

[quote user="Bugsy"][quote user="brianagain"]http://www.investmentu.com/latest-research/euro.php?code=X300L6081

Tighten your seat belts folks; here come more (so called) experts, Personally, I take everything they say with a large pinch of salt.

Brian (again)
[/quote]

"So how can investors profit from the eurozone meltdown?"

Don't you just find that comment quite sickening.

[/quote]

Pay no attention, get the report and look at the date, May 2010. This is the same type of group that said the Euro would be gone in 6 weeks (7 months on and it's still here), Greece wouldn't pay back its debt (they are), Spain will go next (they didn't). So look at it this way, ha, ha, those that read this and acted must feel a bit gutted, the Euros has gone up by at least 20 cents since then. This lot (who wrote this report and run the website) are from the US so they have absolutely no interest in the Euros failing, plonkers, typical blinking yanks.

[brianagain]

While speculating on currency markets without any regard to the effect it may have on peoples lives is almost immoral; perhaps even worse are those who speculate on commodity markets such as grain or sugar purely for profit while not caring about how it may eventually affect farmers livelihoods and prices in the shops.  Surely there are other outlets for gambling (which is all it is at the end if the day, usually with other peoples money) - horse racing or football matches - but perhaps these are not arcane enough to attract sophisticated investors.  But then I'm not an economist so what do I know.

I'll get my coat,

Brian (again)

[mint]

1.1599 a few seconds ago.....LOL, it's like urging on the horse on which you have put your money!

Did you mention gambling, Brian?

[brianagain]

Did you mention gambling, Brian?

...[:)]

[Quillan]

Well the good news is America wants to go back to the gold standard because it will ensure stability amongst the worlds leading currencies, this would include the GPB, EUR, USD and CNY (China).

Now all the experts will be telling you this is a good idea but what it really tells you is that GPB and USD are up and down like a tarts bottom against the EUR and CNY and it is very much in the US (and UK) interest to stabilise exchange rates more than anyone else. Lucky for the UK that it's only paper gold as Brown flogged what was left on the QT at rock bottom price when he thought nobody was watching.

[Gluestick]

Nice idea.............

But no cigar.

In order to operate a partial gold standard as against a fiat currency, it becomes essential to enjoy a pretty large quantity of bullion gold, nestling in the participant's central bank vaults: or title to such sitting in Zurich, for example.

Trouble is there simply isn't sufficient bullion gold around to back up ALL participant's hugely expanded money issued, on deposit etc anymore.

And without a significant quantity of bullion gold to play with, then the speculators can play as before: it is only serious intervention in the bullion market by central banks which previously kept the benchmarks from varying, marginally, above and below the agree threshold of value.

The World (In a trading and capital sense) has come on a little since the early 1930s...........

[Quillan]

Well it is news from America after all. Funny how they say this and go on about stabilising the dollar but under the false pretence that all will benefit yet on the other hand they are just about to print $660 bn dollars worth of money to devalue the dollar. I thing the German finance minister (seconded by the Chinese) summed up America's finance policy quite nicely "clueless". Mind you the pound is doing better, 1.16 at the moment although moving the wrong way for those desperate to get back to 'good old blighty'.

Actually the US moving out of the gold standard was a lot more recent than the 1930.s for it was Nixon (1971) who took them out as the US economy collapsed because it allowed them to print as much money as they liked under (as you said) the fiat (nothing to do with cars) system. See's nothing has changed in 40 years.

[just john]

I thought that QE2 was a gin palace but no, it's the 2nd tranche of US printing money . . .

[mint]

I see that the pound broke through the psychologically significant barrier of 1.16.  No, don't ask me why I said "psychologically significant"...it's just one of the sort of remarks these money bods make.  Don't blame the messenger, please.

[Gluestick]

[quote user="Quillan"]

Well it is news from America after all. Funny how they say this and go on about stabilising the dollar but under the false pretence that all will benefit yet on the other hand they are just about to print $660 bn dollars worth of money to devalue the dollar. I thing the German finance minister (seconded by the Chinese) summed up America's finance policy quite nicely "clueless". Mind you the pound is doing better, 1.16 at the moment although moving the wrong way for those desperate to get back to 'good old blighty'.

Actually the US moving out of the gold standard was a lot more recent than the 1930.s for it was Nixon (1971) who took them out as the US economy collapsed because it allowed them to print as much money as they liked under (as you said) the fiat (nothing to do with cars) system. See's nothing has changed in 40 years.

[/quote]

Actually, Q, I would suggest that it was a core move by IMF who abandoned the original Managed Flexibility regime (Which tied central value to the US$ at a very tight rate with little permitted divergence) and Gold.

The "real" price of gold in India, Middle East et al, was rocketing wildly above the value used by the IMF and central Banks and the market rate stated at the London and Zurich Morning and Afternoon fixes.

The Post World War Two IMF founding prescriptives for re-building trade and ensuring currency exchange stability had become uncontrollable.

It is true that the USA ran down their bullion reserves in Fort Knox to fund the cost of the Vietnam War.

Allowing currencies to fully "Float", gave, as you say, operators of Fiat currencies free reign to print money like fun.

This added to the later slackening of bank regulation led to insane levels of Fractional Reserve Banking (Q.V.) and the rapidly uncontrolled reality of vast amounts of Credit Money. (Q.V.)

Which is where we are now: up whatsit creek sans a paddle!

[:-))]

[cooperlola]

[quote user="Gluestick"][Which is where we are now: up whatsit creek sans a paddle!

[:-))]
[/quote]Next stop...

[IMG]http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q103/cooperlola/index.jpg[/IMG]

[pachapapa]

[quote user="Quillan"]

Well it is news from America after all. Funny how they say this and go on about stabilising the dollar but under the false pretence that all will benefit yet on the other hand they are just about to print $660 bn dollars worth of money to devalue the dollar. I thing the German finance minister (seconded by the Chinese) summed up America's finance policy quite nicely "clueless". Mind you the pound is doing better, 1.16 at the moment although moving the wrong way for those desperate to get back to 'good old blighty'.

Actually the US moving out of the gold standard was a lot more recent than the 1930.s for it was Nixon (1971) who took them out as the US economy collapsed because it allowed them to print as much money as they liked under (as you said) the fiat (nothing to do with cars) system. See's nothing has changed in 40 years.

[/quote]

And for all these years I thought the french were responsible.[:)]

 France redeemed its dollar holdings in gold in early August 1971 by sending a French battleship to New York to take delivery of French gold from the vault of the New York Federal Reserve Bank and to bring it to the vault of the Banque de France in Paris. The French raised gold reserves and dumped dollars. Banque de France eventually increased its gold holding to 92% of its reserves.

And in august Au started at $ 35 and finished at $ 300......lots of delirious frogs!

[pachapapa]

Curiously since QE2 the greenback has actually risen against the euro; contrary to Quillan"s, German and Chinese opinion but there is a subtle difference between printing money and redeeming debt.[8-)]

[Gluestick]

Only marginally: and that is due to negative Eurozone metrics.

Forex markets and more particularly cross values go up and down each days and often, many times each trading day.

It is the overall trend against time which is the critical measure.

The real effect of Bernenke's sally into dangerous territory must be measured against a basket of global hard (i.e. tradeable) currencies: and other valid commodoties: particularly gold bullion prices.

[pachapapa]

Or carbon futures.[6]

[Gluestick]

[quote user="pachapapa"]Or carbon futures.[6][/quote]

Whited Sepulchre.

Already discredited. Wholly synthetic value which cannot be relied upon as a benchmark.

[brianagain]

This not really aimed at the economic experts commenting above, much of which goes above my head, but may help poor souls like me get a better idea of currency fluctuations, etc.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-11722578

Brian (again)

[pachapapa]

[quote user="pachapapa"]Curiously since QE2 the greenback has actually risen against the euro; contrary to Quillan"s, German and Chinese opinion but there is a subtle difference between printing money and redeeming debt.[8-)][/quote]

Still gently appreciating.[6]

Despite Dagong hittng them in the ghoulies.AA-

[mint]

Why's it shot up today to 1.1668?  Surely they are not thinking about my budget feeling a mite sorry for me?

[mint]

Oh, brilliant!  Do we really pay these people vast amounts to utter this kind of stuff?

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/economics/8122455/Inflation-Report-Bank-of-England-policymakers-divided.html

[mint]

1.171!  I hope it's not just a bit of leg pull to get me into a good mood!

[Quillan]

Its probably because of all the trade deals being signed in China at the moment, good for the UK economy.

[Bugsy]

1.18 and rising, whoppee !!

.