In the news

Putting aside the fact that he died,
The fact that a 56 year-old conservative constituency chairman is at glastonbury is surely the ultimate signal that the festival has massively jumped the shark, if any further proof were needed.

Still, the rock and roll death might give the tories some street cred.

Well, he was in the VIP area. I'm sure that there have been less 'credible' people in there before.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jun/24/america-pregnant-women-murder-charges

Madness and cruelty

Given that life is way hard enough already I generally try to ignore things that cannot possibly affect me, but fucking hell! This is fucking ghoulish, insane and inhumane. It makes me so fucking angry.

Cameron wasn't going to let Shale attend Glastonbury. But he had a day off in loo

He could have been cameron's number 2

A few days old, but it's a buddy of mine

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2005079/Richard-ODwyer-facing-extradition-US-arrest-copyright-offences.html

Most people I know have used TV Shack at least once since it started.

Not too sure about the street cred. I seem too remember that a Tory MP called Steven Milligan died in 1994, he was found in his flat in Chiswick strangled in women's clothes with an orange segment in his mouth.

it was a whole satsuma.

Give the man some fucking credit, will you?

mandarin

You've had a mandarin in your mouth, Balki.

it was a whole satsuma.

Give the man some fucking credit, will you?

Yeah sorry about that. Much more of an achievement dieing with a whole satsuma in your mouth how silly of me.

it was laced with amyl nitrate, it wasn't just for effect

A few days old, but it's a buddy of mine

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2005079/Richard-ODwyer-facing-extradition-US-arrest-copyright-offences.html

Most people I know have used TV Shack at least once since it started.

The website, which he has since shut down, provided links to other sites where users could download pirated films and TV shows like The Hangover and Lost.

I was wondering what they meant, good job they gave examples.

fabulous new road opens in Glasgow,

Looks like the strike is goign to kick off in Greece today, those arn't flag poles those are bats with flags tied to the tops!

Anyone got any views on Greece?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-13935400

I'm currious to know what the demonstrators propose as an option. The closest thing I've seen is to cut taxes to increase spending.

I went to a FX talk and Allister Heath opened it with a talk of the macro economic situation and it's effect on exchange rates. Part of it obviously dealt with Greece/Eurozone problems. I'm not up on economics, but his comments about the degree to which the Greek crisis is being underestimated by the European politicians was interesting.

Here's his editors letter on it: http://www.cityam.com/news-and-analysis/allister-heath/greece-bad-news-whatever-happens

Looks like the strike is goign to kick off in Greece today, those arn't flag poles those are bats with flags tied to the tops!

Looks like the queue for a Biffy Clyro gig

Anyone got any views on Greece?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-13935400
**
I'm currious to know what the demonstrators propose as an option**. The closest thing I've seen is to cut taxes to increase spending.

I went to a FX talk and Allister Heath opened it with a talk of the macro economic situation and it's effect on exchange rates. Part of it obviously dealt with Greece/Eurozone problems. I'm not up on economics, but his comments about the degree to which the Greek crisis is being underestimated by the European politicians was interesting.

Here's his editors letter on it: http://www.cityam.com/news-and-analysis/allister-heath/greece-bad-news-whatever-happens

I think they propose not being forced to take out a multi-billion Euro loan to pay off big business at the expense of the workers, who have had rising food costs and frozen wages for years

Anyone got any views on Greece?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-13935400

I'm currious to know what the demonstrators propose as an option. The closest thing I've seen is to cut taxes to increase spending.

I went to a FX talk and Allister Heath opened it with a talk of the macro economic situation and it's effect on exchange rates. Part of it obviously dealt with Greece/Eurozone problems. I'm not up on economics, but his comments about the degree to which the Greek crisis is being underestimated by the European politicians was interesting.

Here's his editors letter on it: http://www.cityam.com/news-and-analysis/allister-heath/greece-bad-news-whatever-happens

As far as I can tell the demonstrators are effectively saying fuck our sovereign debt let's just not pay it and carry on living in denial. insert obligatory comment about Greece inventing democracy here

^tell me more, tell me more.

so they'll put up a fight?

I would imagine that the situation in Greece will rumble on for some time. If the austerity measures are passed by the parliament then this will be the beginning of a very long struggle by the strikers / rioters, the really interesting thing about that is that it is not just workers participating but large numbers of middle class professional too. If the austerity measures are not passed by parliament then it will be the beginning of what I understand to be, with my layperson's grasp of economics, a very interesting and unprecendented situation that will result in Greece becoming bankrupt, defaulting on her loans, probably withdrawing from the Euro, and possibly signalling the beginning of the end of that currency too.

Greece’s net government debt is 140 per cent of GDP. As Lombard Street Research points out, under any likely cost of borrowing its interest payments will be well over 10 per cent of GDP. To achieve the 3 per cent deficit limit laughably set down in the Maastricht Treaty – yes, there was a time when naïve City folk actually thought such constitutional limits on borrowing meant something – would involve extreme belt-tightening. Excluding interest payments, the Greek government would have to run a surplus of 7-10 per cent of GDP, against a deficit of 4-5 per cent last year, also excluding interest. To believe Greece – and its ever shrinking economy – will ever bring its deficit back under enough control to meet debt payments is to accept Alice in Wonderland economics. It is completely, utterly impossible.

This is similar to what he said in his talk. Effectively that there was no way in hell Greece was ever going to be able to pay the money back.

As I said, I have no background in economics, but from the bits I've read, I'm inclined to agree. I think the best option would be to exit the Euro. The only problem with that is that anyone with any money would move it straight out of Greece.

But tbh I'm not really sure what else they could do.

On the bright side, for people outside of Greece anyway........ Cheap holidays for the foreseeable future. It mayn't all be doom and gloom, if the economy becomes as bad as predicted, then wages will be LOW and Greece will still have a well educated population, this could make it attractive to multinationals who want to find a new manufacturing base for technically advanced, high end products similar to the large manufacturing plants that Mercedes operates in South Africa. If this were the case, the benefits would still be limited as profits generated by such endeavours would move out of country however there would at least be tax generation for the government from the associated wages.

Defaults aren't unprecedented though, are they? c.f. the Russia & LatAm defaults of the past 15 / 20 years.

As for leaving the Euro - they were never really in a good position to be in it in the first place - I spent the first few years of my career making arbitrage trades in ECU / Greek, on the basis of the volatility between the two, where there should not have been any - It's possible that the Euro might even bounce up if Greece leaves.

I meant the volatility that could be brought to the eurozone, which would by it's very nature effect a large number of sovereign nations, some of whom are already on very shaky ground financially.

Excuse my naivety but does PIGS stand for something?

Portugal
Ireland
Greece
Spain