Hatunen <[email protected]> wrote:
    >> If the Saudis, Japanese and others who hold much of our debt decide not to re-up,
    >> they could crash the system. W
    >
    > If ...
    >
    > When are their bonds due?

All the time.

miguel
--
Hit The Road! Photos and tales from around the world: http://travel.u.nu

In article <[email protected]>, [email protected]
(Hatunen) wrote:

    > On Thu, 21 Mar 2002 11:46:22 -0600, [email protected] (hamilton) wrote:
    >
    > >In article <[email protected]>, [email protected]
    > >(Hatunen) wrote:
    > >
    > >> On 21 Mar 2002 12:49:22 GMT, Jani Patokallio <[email protected]> wrote:
    > >>
    > >>
    > >> >Along these lines, an interesting catastrophe scenario was floated during the
    > >> >days of Y2K hysteria. One of, if not the, largest holder of US Federal Reserve
    > >> >bonds are Japanese banks. Now, a bond is essentially a loan, in which the buyer
    > >> >gives money to the government and the
government
    > >> >promises to pay it back with interest. *If* the Japanese banks were caught in a
    > >> >liquidity crunch -- say, bank runs during Y2K, although obviously this never
    > >> >happened -- they would be forced to call in their bonds. According to the
    > >> >calculations of the doomsters, the US government could not repay all the bonds
    > >> >held by the Japanese, and things would soon become Interesting(tm) indeed...
    > >>
    > >> Bond holders do not call in bonds; the holder is stuck until maturity or until
    > >> he can sell it to someone else. It's the bond-issuer that calls in the bond.
    > >
    > >yes -- but the US debt management depends on people buying up n ew bonds when they
    > >come due.
    >
    > That may be, but it's meaningless without some knowledge of the maturity dates of
    > bonds held by the Japanese. In US treasury parlance bonds are long-term, notes are
    > short term.
    >
    > >If the Saudis, Japanese and others who hold much of our debt decide not to re-up,
    > >they could crash the system. W
    >
    > If ...
    >
    > When are their bonds due?

There are millions due almost continuously

In article <[email protected]>, martleeds
<[email protected]> wrote:

    > I have just returned from Rome, and while it is true that the brashest Americans
    > probably go to the most obvious locations when they "do" Europe, there are still
    > some people who just defy belief, such as the woman I saw in a bar off the Campo di
    > Fiori, wearing her "Proud to be American" t-shirt. Drop the patriotism and just
    > enjoy what a foreign country has to offer - surely that is why you have travelled
    > over in the first place?
    >
    > For the record, Brits abroad wearing Union Jack t-shirts etc are looked on with
    > scorn by their less navel-gazing countrymen.
    >

LOL and some people have such pinched and twisted souls that their primary pleasure
in life is criticizing the bad taste of others.

"martleeds" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
    > I have just returned from Rome, and while it is true that the brashest Americans
    > probably go to the most obvious locations when they "do" Europe, there are still
    > some people who just defy belief, such as the woman I saw in a bar off the Campo di
    > Fiori, wearing her "Proud to be American" t-shirt. Drop the patriotism and just
    > enjoy what a foreign country has to offer - surely that is why you have travelled
    > over in the first place?
    >
    > For the record, Brits abroad wearing Union Jack t-shirts etc are looked on with
    > scorn by their less navel-gazing countrymen.
    >
    >
and even then, large numbers of them are football hooligans, wearing 'uniform', but
not necessarily 'British'. You can always tell when the Germans are about to smash up
the bar - they swap to speaking English....

Go Fig <[email protected]> wrote:
    : Finland, like the U.S., is very dependant on foreign energy. Many of these payments
    : are done in U.S. dollars... but that would depend on which country you buy from....

Natural gas from Russia, uranium from Sweden (I think?), oil and coal from whoever is
selling it cheaply. No particular reason to use the USD for these, especially now in
the euro era.

Cheers,
--
Jani Patokallio >O._, This day will not come again. [email protected] `..' Each minute
is worth a priceless gem. -Takuan

In article <[email protected]>, "The Oik"
<[email protected]> wrote:

    > "martleeds" <[email protected]> wrote in message
    > news:[email protected]...
    > > I have just returned from Rome, and while it is true that the brashest Americans
    > > probably go to the most obvious locations when they "do" Europe, there are still
    > > some people who just defy belief, such as the woman I saw in a bar off the Campo
    > > di Fiori, wearing her "Proud to be American" t-shirt. Drop the patriotism and
    > > just enjoy what a foreign country has to offer - surely that is why you have
    > > travelled over in the first place?
    > >
    > > For the record, Brits abroad wearing Union Jack t-shirts etc are looked on with
    > > scorn by their less navel-gazing countrymen.
    > >
    > >
    > and even then, large numbers of them are football hooligans, wearing 'uniform', but
    > not necessarily 'British'. You can always tell when the Germans are about to smash
    > up the bar - they swap to speaking English....

In Italy I was told, when I saw soccer fans waving the Union Jack, that this was how
they communicated that they were there to brawl.

On Thu, 21 Mar 2002 11:37:25 GMT, Harvey V <whhvs@*removethis*operamail.com> wrote:

    >I espied that on 21 Mar 2002, [email protected] wrote:
    >
    >> On Thu, 21 Mar 2002 10:02:30 +0100, "Gianandrea Gobbo"
    >> <[email protected]> wrote:
    >>
    >>> I've never heard any British claming to be "from the continent"!
    >>>
    >>
    >> Soon put that right. "I'm British, and I'm from the Continent". Sorry, couldn't
    >> resist that. It's true though.
    >
    >To get back to the Brit's expectations of a "Continental Breakfast" in Hawaii,
    >though: it's a bit ironic, as the version provided in many British hotels is little
    >more than a couple of slices of toast with jam.
    >
    >That's not what I'd call a continental breakfast.
    >
    >And I should know: I'm British, and I've VISITED the continent.....
    >
    >--
    >Cheers, Harvey
    >

As someone else pointed out many Continentals, certainly of the Dutch variety, can
have a perfect English accent.

I can understand the surprise over the breakfst though. On our first visit to the US
we were staying in a nondescript chain hotel and the room price included breakfast.
The check-in staff pointed to a corner of the lounge area and said you help yourself
to breakfast which would be laid out there in the morning. When we came down we saw
some coffee and sticky chocolate doughnuts and thought great that's morning coffee
sorted, but where is breakfast? That's when we learned what strange things Americans
eat for breakfast. --==++AJC++==--

In article <[email protected]>, [email protected] wrote:

    > On Thu, 21 Mar 2002 11:37:25 GMT, Harvey V <whhvs@*removethis*operamail.com> wrote:
    >
    > >I espied that on 21 Mar 2002, [email protected] wrote:
    > >
    > >> On Thu, 21 Mar 2002 10:02:30 +0100, "Gianandrea Gobbo" <[email protected]>
    > >> wrote:
    > >>
    > >>> I've never heard any British claming to be "from the continent"!
    > >>>
    > >>
    > >> Soon put that right. "I'm British, and I'm from the Continent". Sorry, couldn't
    > >> resist that. It's true though.
    > >
    > >To get back to the Brit's expectations of a "Continental Breakfast" in Hawaii,
    > >though: it's a bit ironic, as the version provided in many British hotels is
    > >little more than a couple of slices of toast with jam.
    > >
    > >That's not what I'd call a continental breakfast.
    > >
    > >And I should know: I'm British, and I've VISITED the continent.....
    > >
    > >--
    > >Cheers, Harvey
    > >
    >
    > As someone else pointed out many Continentals, certainly of the Dutch variety, can
    > have a perfect English accent.
    >
    > I can understand the surprise over the breakfst though. On our first visit to the
    > US we were staying in a nondescript chain hotel and the room price included
    > breakfast. The check-in staff pointed to a corner of the lounge area and said you
    > help yourself to breakfast which would be laid out there in the morning. When we
    > came down we saw some coffee and sticky chocolate doughnuts and thought great
    > that's morning coffee sorted, but where is breakfast? That's when we learned what
    > strange things Americans eat for breakfast. --==++AJC++==--

well actually this is a crappy continental breakfast -- not terribly different from
the sweet roll and coffee served at most Italian bars [in our experience the French
in cheap hotels just dump a pile of french bread on the table, a slight improvement]

American breakfast, like English breakfasts are traditionally served with eggs, meat
etc. Those would be advertised as a 'full breakfast' and quite a few fairly cheap US
motel chains serve them.

    > >>> I've never heard any British claming to be "from the continent"!
    > >>>
<snip>> >>
    > >To get back to the Brit's expectations of a "Continental Breakfast" in Hawaii,
    > >though: it's a bit ironic, as the version provided in many British hotels is
    > >little more than a couple of slices of toast with jam.
    > >
    > >That's not what I'd call a continental breakfast.
    > >
    > >And I should know: I'm British, and I've VISITED the continent.....
    > >
<snip> >--
    > As someone else pointed out many Continentals, certainly of the Dutch variety, can
    > have a perfect English accent.
    >
    > I can understand the surprise over the breakfst though. On our first visit to the
    > US we were staying in a nondescript chain hotel and the room price included
    > breakfast. The check-in staff pointed to a corner of the lounge area and said you
    > help yourself to breakfast which would be laid out there in the morning. When we
    > came down we saw some coffee and sticky chocolate doughnuts and thought great
    > that's morning coffee sorted, but where is breakfast? That's when we learned what
    > strange things Americans eat for breakfast.

He could have been 'from' the UK, but living on the continent, in which case everyone
(including him knowing about breakfast) would have been right??

    > At any rate, arrogant loudmouths come in all nationalities.
    >

Yeah, that they do.

On a slightly different note, last time I flew out of Heathrow, there was an American
couple that insisted that they should be able "jump the queue" because they were late
(that was ugly). Less than 24 hours later, I saw a Brit in Thailand complaining
loudly that "these people don't know how to queue" (even uglier!). I once stepped
right up to a cash register without realising the was a long, long queue behind me.
No-one said a thing, but much tongue-clicking took place!!!

The queueing thing in Britain seems to be taken very seriously!

--
DFM

"Deep Fried Mars" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
    > >
    > > At any rate, arrogant loudmouths come in all nationalities.
    > >
    >
    > Yeah, that they do.
    >
    > On a slightly different note, last time I flew out of Heathrow, there was
an
    > American couple that insisted that they should be able "jump the queue" because
    > they were late (that was ugly). Less than 24 hours later, I saw a Brit in Thailand
    > complaining loudly that "these people don't know how to queue" (even uglier!). I
    > once stepped right up to a cash register without realising the was a long, long
    > queue behind me. No-one said a thing, but much tongue-clicking took place!!!
    >
    > The queueing thing in Britain seems to be taken very seriously!
    >
totally totally don't believe you - 'Sceptics' don't ever ever queue, its a known
fact. However, they do stand in line... (hence many jokes about the length of the
queue / line)

hamilton <[email protected]> wrote:
    ><[email protected]> wrote:
    >> "K.Kosuge" <[email protected]> wrote in message
    >> > argument of with, "That is NOT a continental breakfast! I should know, after
    >> > all--I'm FROM the continent!"
    >> It was a fake! I've never heard any British claming to be "from the continent"!
    >However, they do have their fair share of a**holes and snotty tourists who

Yep, as do we all.

    >offended or embarrassed by my fellow yanks as tourists, the British give us a run
    >for the money in snottyness when things are not to their exacting

There's a stereotype in Oz of a whinging pom complaining about how hot it is. Though
I haven't met anyone who fit the stereotype.

    >people from most countries are well intentioned and considerate and let's face
    >it, the jerk tourists are probably not everyone's favorite guest in their home
    >towns either.

Heh, alas some of my best friends are jerks when they travel
--
snail @ careless net ~ snail | Character is what you are in the dark! - Whorfin

In article <[email protected]>, "Deep Fried Mars"
<[email protected]> wrote:

    > >
    > > At any rate, arrogant loudmouths come in all nationalities.
    > >
    >
    > Yeah, that they do.
    >
    > On a slightly different note, last time I flew out of Heathrow, there was an
    > American couple that insisted that they should be able "jump the queue" because
    > they were late (that was ugly). Less than 24 hours later, I saw a Brit in Thailand
    > complaining loudly that "these people don't know how to queue" (even uglier!). I
    > once stepped right up to a cash register without realising the was a long, long
    > queue behind me. No-one said a thing, but much tongue-clicking took place!!!
    >
    > The queueing thing in Britain seems to be taken very seriously!

There are parts of the world where if you line up and take turns you will never be
served. I would still be in Kuwait -- where men just bull past women to the head of
the line if I hadn't gotten what I consider rude and aggressive. And in Italy is is
pretty common for patient tourists to watch locals walk past them to the head of the
line in bathrooms or for entry to various places.

I do think that people in airports should cut people some slack when they are late --
after all anyone can have disaster befall them.

On Thu, 21 Mar 2002 22:51:33 GMT, [email protected] (snail) wrote:

    >hamilton <[email protected]> wrote:
    >><[email protected]> wrote:
    >>> "K.Kosuge" <[email protected]> wrote in message
    >>> > argument of with, "That is NOT a continental breakfast! I should know, after
    >>> > all--I'm FROM the continent!"
    >>> It was a fake! I've never heard any British claming to be "from the continent"!
    >>However, they do have their fair share of a**holes and snotty tourists who
    >
    >Yep, as do we all.
    >
    >>offended or embarrassed by my fellow yanks as tourists, the British give us a run
    >>for the money in snottyness when things are not to their exacting
    >
    >There's a stereotype in Oz of a whinging pom complaining about how hot it is. Though
    >I haven't met anyone who fit the stereotype.
    >
There's a good Aussie joke about us whinging poms

Q What's the difference between a British Airways jet and a Quantas jet landing at
Alice Springs?

A The British Airways jet keeps whining even after they've turned the engines off.

Keith Bristol UK

Keith Anderson <[email protected]> wrote:
    >On Thu, 21 Mar 2002 22:51:33 GMT, [email protected] (snail)
    >>There's a stereotype in Oz of a whinging pom complaining about how hot it is.
    >>Though I haven't met anyone who fit the stereotype.

    >Q What's the difference between a British Airways jet and a Quantas jet landing at
    >Alice Springs?
    >
    >A The British Airways jet keeps whining even after they've turned the engines off.

Yes, I've heard that one
--
snail @ careless net ~ snail | Character is what you are in the dark! - Whorfin