Fuzzlepop

Interesting from here: http://www.typicallyspanish.com/news...le_18586.shtml

Spanish Industry Minister blames George W. Bush for the financial crisis

Miguel Sebastian said that there are only 13 days left of Bush, and they will go quickly.
While Spanish Prime Minister, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, is reported to have rung the White House and got in contact with both Presidential candidates in the United States in continuing attempts to get an invitation to the summit on the world economic crisis which President Bush has organised in Washington, his Minister for Industry, Miguel Sebastián, has blamed Bush for the crisis.

‘It’s evident that the crisis started in the United States’, he said, adding that ‘There are only 13 days of Bush left, and they will to quickly’. He went on to defend the action of European governments and called for a reduction in interest rates and an improvement in the terms for credits for families and businesses.
Sebastián made his comments in China where he and the Prime Minister have been taking part in the Euro-Asian Summit.

Spanish Foreign Minister, Miguel Angel Moratinos, has said that Spain is doing everything possible to be in the Washington summit.
‘We consider that we have all the legitimate right to be present in this meeting’, he said, adding that diplomacy had its stages, its moments, and in a quiet way Spain would do all that was possible to attend.

Meanwhile the French President, Nicolas Sarkozy, has called another summit for EU leaders to be held in Brussels. This meeting is being planned as preparation for Europe ahead of the summit in Washington next month. Sarkozy called on Europe to defend its citizens in the face of the financial crash.

lic

It mtters not who goes to the summit. Bankers and politicians are all in it to line their own pockets!
Ane we will be the ones to pay for it!

Lenox

Miguel Sebastian (the one who wants to give every household in Spain two - count 'em two - lightbulbs for Christmas) is, of course, wrong.
Prezinit Bush remains vigilantly at his post until the changeover (hopefully to Barack Obama) on, I think, January 10th.
Meanwhile, our minister for trabajo, Celestino Corbacho, forecast yesterday that 'the current financial crisis will be over in two months', following which, 'we can expect a future with confidence'.

pete_l

Well, I hope his financial insights are better than his knowledge of american politics. Although the american elections are in a couple of weeks, Bush doesn't leave office until Jan. 20 2009. Plenty of time to start another war, or two.

bigglesworth

The frightening bit is that Europe is far more at risk than America, but has absolutely no willingness to admit it, nor the ability to do anything about it. Spain alone has over 300 billion of Latin American debt, and Christ knows how much to Eastern Europe. (Both of which are in meltdown). The rest of Europe is in similar straits.
Iceland has gone, Hungary is going, Austria, Spain and Italy are in VERY deep do do.
The Schadenfreude from these complacent Eurocrats is absolutely terrifying. The real horror story is just beginning, and it is Europe. This could make the carnage of the last twelve months look like the teddy bears picnic if the Euronits don't wake up and smell the coffee. Sadly there is no sign that they will.
It really is "Goodnight Vienna" for the Euro, and these idiots keep pointing fingers at the US. It is enough to make you weep.

Beachcomber

The Spanish socialists will blame anyone but themselves for the mess the country is in.

I don't know about Bush, I am counting down the days to the demise of Rodríguez and his elected dictatorship of criminals and bully boys and am hoping that it will happen long before the next three and a half years have passed.

rachelk

You can always count on Beachcomber.

rachelk

So, get your money back into Sterling then?

bigglesworth

No, in fact it will be very bad news for the UK and for Sterling. The individual European economies will be able to adjust monetary and fiscal policy to suit themselves again, and Sterling will continue down the toilet soon thereafter.

The numerical value assigned to a currency is in fact no measure at all of its viability as an instrument of exchange. The most significant indicator is in fact the last few weeks. As fears over bank safety have become the norm, there has been a flight from risky assets into safety.

The dollar has regained its status as a safe haven, (not an unalloyed blessing) and the Euro dumped world wide as the lack of unity, co-ordination and political will has become evident.

(On a side issue, if you WERE wise enough to stay long of gold over the last 10 years, you may have just repaid your opportunity cost, but for the rest of us - too late. The train left the station a long time ago).

There never has been such a thing as a free lunch, and the UK has been gorging itself on them for 10 years. Now the bill has appeared on the table and someone has to pay it. As always, it will be Joe Public, and we can look forward to being lectured for years by Lord Darling Brown on the BBC on the virtues of the most incompetent load of buffoons in a very long list.

poshnbucks

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/c...-meltdown.html