jackytoo

After a brief respite this week due to EU leaders saying they would do anything to save the euro the EU has kicked the can down the road and done....NADA.


D-oh – those rallying markets got it badly wrong it seems.


The ECB president – repeatedly – stressed that the EU’s central bank had NOT taken any decision to buy bonds to help bring down Spanish and Italian borrowing costs.


Instead, the ECB merely gave “determined guidance” for the central banks monetary policy committees to look at the “modalities”.

Just to rub in the absence of action, Draghi made it abundantly clear that Germany had voted against even this unradical idea of asking a bunch of officials to consider something the markets had expected now.

And, to really grind noses in it, Draghi passed the buck, saying that Spain would first have to ask for help from the EFSF bailout fund, something Madrid has refused do for months.


Piss up in brewery comes to mind

HBG

Whether it's true or not, mercifully the Spanish people won't know about it, they're on holiday.

My local Mercadona's car park was full of cars with an M in the registration number, a dangerous place to be and I managed to get another scratch on my car. I actually saw the culprit as she drove out of the car park, but she didn't hear me shout after her. She was on her mobile.

The car was a blue BMW, the number started with an M.

steviedeluxe

I think it's obvious that Germany wants Spain (and possibly Italy) out of the Euro, as they don't want to be liable for the banking injection/bail-out. They should perhaps take the hint? If there is no lender of last resort (as is currently the case with the Euro) then the situation is untenable.

bobd22

from what you read in the papers one big problem for Mrs Merkel is that the German public are becoming disenchanted with the Euro project. That is with the amount they have had to front up re the current bailouts let alone such huge countries as Spain and Italy. Seems a bit daft to me to make a very public promise last week then this week do very little, but that doesn't surprise me, but the Euro project is getting out of hand and affecting most of the world now, surely something has to be done or forced onto them?

EllisG

should we take from this that people with cars over 11 year old always shop in Mercadona ?

steviedeluxe

Err - I think he was referring to the practice (which stopped a couple of years back I believe) of Madrid registered cars having an 'M' on the plate. I could be wrong though...

EllisG

hmm...never noticed that.

No doubt I will now see an example of it every time I go out in my car, although I usually prefer to drive about with my eyes shut to level the playing field

steviedeluxe

Well, it's no longer used on new cars, but you used to have 'M' for Madrid, 'A' for Alicante, 'GR' for Granada..

hhhmmmm.. seems you were right anyway - the system changed in 2000 according to Wiki, so those cars would be over 12 years old!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vehicle...n#1971_to_2000

EllisG

aha..I thought you were referring to an additional M on the new number plates

good job....I can keep my eyes shut

EllisG

September 2000 therefore they could be 11 years and 11 months old,,,I'm on a roll with correctness, can I get some sort of brightly coloured star ?

Dick Dasterdly

I think one of the main reasons for the change was to prevent cars getting vandalised.
For instance it was a regular occurrence for Madrid registered cars to get done over by hooligans when visiting Barcelona.

Fredbargate

Madrid had also run to the end of the number sequence and would have had to add another letter or number.
Also Barcelona

HBG

As well as having my car scratched by a lady from Madrid driving a car that must be at least 12 years old, I witnessed something else on my trip to Mercadona.

Another lady parked her car quite near to mine when we arrived at the same time. It was a Swedish registered Volvo, and my attention was drawn first to two young boys left in the car after she locked it, and secondly to her dress.

She was wearing a see-through flimsy white top, like a short nightie, with cream coloured knickers and a green bra. At some stage my wife was putting eggs into our shopping trolly and the Swedish lady was right in front of us at the bread counter, bending down to pick up some fresh rolls.

It was a sexy sight, and my wife nudged me for looking, but I didn't think the lady's dress was appropriate for Mercadona. Several Spanish shoppers were shaking their heads as the lady hurried round the supermarket.

The shop was packed, and all the tills were manned, with staff filling the shelves as they were being emptied; Spain might be in trouble, but Mercadona isn't.

Dick Dasterdly

Hope you took her number.

Relampago

The natural market of Germany is in Europe, do you really believe that Germany (which among other things was forgiven a 3.5% deficit, which employed years to reduce, while it has demanded to Spain to make the same thing in one year among other things, besides being the cause of the entry of Greece into the EU) wants to lose market, with two countries of the height of Spain and Italy, outside the Euro?

It would be a incongruity of the size of Everest