NedKelly

There was a guy I knew who drank Courage Beer and I said to him once, "Did you know we only use one third of our brain?" He said, "I wonder what we do with the other third then".

renth

Are you sure you're not creepycrawley in disguise? Because. like him you just make stuff up and attribute it to people.

renth

That's funny, "Redneck" - never been called that before. They would have been less than impressed with you too - that is unless you are a "local" highlander.

slapphead_otool

Will Britain suffer from the situation?

Maybe. Probably but could temporarily strengthen the £ as a safe haven.

Good point, i hadn’t thought of that. As the Euro slips in theory the pound could strengthen as an alternative.

It depends upon how separated Britain is perceived from the Euro, and how much Britain has to pay to sort the mess out.

renth

I think the US Dollar will, not the pound...

"--As the main rival (amongst paper currencies) to the dollar as a global reserve currency, the euro's coming collapse has to, almost by definition, equal dollar strength. There just aren't that many more liquid alternatives for large institutions and central banks. They can diversify amongst higher yielding currencies and tangible assets. But the massive liquidity offered by short-term U.S. government debt markets is too easy to resist.

--So everyone is piling into the dollar as a paper money lifeboat. The dollar's inherited status as reserve currency has trumped (for now) the fiscal and monetary mismanagement of the U.S. political establishment. We think this makes now a very good time to buy gold."

http://www.dailyreckoning.com.au/

slapphead_otool

Bit off topic, but did anyone see the speech by Marc Faber in Tokyo?

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/mar...ist=beforebell

MartinLuther

I don't think the IMF normally concentrates on currency. I think it normally concentrates on debt and spending. As Greece controls its debt and spending then it is possible for the IMF to step into Greece. Just like the Central Bank used to be able to step in if one of the Euro states weren't keeping to the Stability Pact. Not sure if the bank is still able to do that since they let France get away with operating outside the Stability Pact a few years ago.

slapphead_otool

I guess countries with bankable assets will always strengthen during a crisis. The reasoned the AUD is high right now isn’t a vote of confidence in Kev Rudd, but in the fact that under his feet lies a lot of coal, iron ore, bauxite etc, and growing around his toes is a lot of grain and cattle.

renth

Interesting stuff. Money Morning's "Trade of the decade" is - sell US Treasury bonds and buy Japanese stocks.

"The only reason why this has not yet blown up is because investors (mostly Japanese) have not yet had the leap in imagination required to understand their predicament, and act on it. That roughly is the argument of Dylan Grice from Societe Generale in his latest Popular Delusions note released today. 'A global fiasco is brewing in Japan.'"

... A global fiasco is brewing. But it will not necessarily be bad for Japanese companies. Investors will leave Japanese debt and buy Japanese equities. Inflation will reduce the real cost of operation for Japanese companies. Frugal, solvent, efficient Japanese companies will prove to be a refuge, not a trap."

slapphead_otool

I would agree, and Japanese society is changing.

My wife is old school Japanese. Frugal, hard working, value conscious. Our younger Japanese friends are very different. They are happy to demand pay rises, and to borrow heavily. They are also moving away from the “must buy Japanese” attitude.

Even my wife, who was born long after the war, has a “work or die, struggle to survive” mentality. I think the newer generations have lost this.

Now the older generations are dying, and their wealth is passing to offspring, who are spending it like there is no tomorrow.

paulry

Asian society everywhere is changing and becoming more and more like the Western world. My wife (Chinese Malaysian) is rather similar in outlook to yours. I must be one of the few hubbys around here who doesn't grimace when the wife says she's going shopping . She too is observing with sadness similar changes in the values of the newer generations in her country of birth. And our kids' Western ways horrify her sometimes.

slapphead_otool

Yes, Asia is changing a lot, and the speed of change is accelerating, despite a few speed humps.

I know secretaries in BKK who drive reasonably new Toyotas. 20 years ago it would be unheard of.

Hows your Bahasa?

paulry

It's useless. I only know a smattering of Hainanese. The only times that my wife uses Malay is when she and her family and friends are having a laugh - a language which they all feel comfortable with, I guess. The rest of the time it's either English or Hainanese. All the relatives are doing well and enjoy a great lifestyle. Very hard workers.

Ozwanderer

Looks like we have truly gone international now but any answers to the downward spiral back before 298? or are we still just on course for 2012?

slapphead_otool

I think that is the crucial thing. Asians work hard, and expect nothing for free. We Westerners have become soft. We think everything should be handed to us – mainly just because we are Westerners.

I have been employed in many places in the world primarily because of my accent and skin colour. Locals could do the job just as well, and usually they did anyway, but I gave an air of “confidence” because I have brown hair, blue eyes and an English accent.

I think the next generation of Westerners are in for shock.