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Foreign money pouring in!
Comments
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p1an0player wrote: »My understanding is that their labour laws are very good for the employee, once you manage to get a job. I think their system favours low earners as well (tax credit equivalents are available)
It does, tax is low for lower earners and labour laws are good. Over there I hear its work to live, not live to work. The bosses actually say hello and good morning to you. The French stand up for what they believe in, god if Brown was in charge of France he wouldn't have been able to get away with half the crap he has here, in fact I think there would have been mass rioting to force a vote of no confidence and an election by now.0 -
MiserlyMartin wrote: »the currents governments free for all policy on immigration and lack of control regarding the benefits and most other things relating to it.
It's not a free for all. Trust me, I know. A free for all would mean I was out of a job (-:...much enquiry having been made concerning a gentleman, who had quitted a company where Johnson was, and no information being obtained; at last Johnson observed, that 'he did not care to speak ill of any man behind his back, but he believed the gentleman was an attorney'.0 -
If you want serious...
Makes you wonder why stores don't flog stuff at 50-70% off all year round
Answer - they go bust
It's survival of the fittest (them with most cash) at the moment in a desperate scramble to get the punter's quid before everyone else. Same happened in the early 90s - name of the game is to hang on longer than the competitors, then ease prices up as choice is reduced.
The really "good" news - I remember the 70s when Scandinavians were raiding M&S in Newcastle while the rest of us were putting up with 20% inflation and power cuts...
I remember that too, I'm originally from Tynemouth. They used to come over by the ferry load from Norway to shop in Newcastle.
Mind you compared to Norway virtually anywhere would be cheap.0 -
Well the trade deficit in October was GP3,900,000,000 and it'll take a lot of French women buying Paul Smith socks in the sales to reduce that:
http://www.statistics.gov.uk/CCI/nugget.asp?ID=199
UK balance of trade:
If you want to know what will probably happen next, the difference between what is imported and exported will widen over the next couple of months as the value of exports drops on goods ordered months ago and the value of imports will rise. This is due to the fall in the value of the pound.
After that we should start to see imports falling quickly as people lose their jobs or just tighten their belts in fear of losing their jobs. The value of exports will start to rise as British goods and services become more competitive.
I also expect to see holiday companies starting to squeal in pain as they have to increase prices substantially in the new brochures.0 -
Swings and roundabouts - current imported stock that was bought when the pound was stronger will now be very cheap in Euros since the pound has depreciated a huge amount since then.
The next lot of imported stock that is being bought at today's exchange rates where the pound is worth less Euros/ Dollars/ whatever won't be a whole lot cheaper.
Lower VAT might help a bit to attract foreign shoppers where their local sales taxes are higher but I can't see this bonanza continuing, it's cashing in on a one-time collapse of the pound. Never mind the fact that Europe is going into recession too so people are hardly likely to be jetting abroad to do shopping.--
Every pound less borrowed (to buy a house) is more than two pounds less to repay and more than three pounds less to earn, over the course of a typical mortgage.0 -
If you want to know what will probably happen next, the difference between what is imported and exported will widen over the next couple of months as the value of exports drops on goods ordered months ago and the value of imports will rise. This is due to the fall in the value of the pound.
After that we should start to see imports falling quickly as people lose their jobs or just tighten their belts in fear of losing their jobs. The value of exports will start to rise as British goods and services become more competitive.
I also expect to see holiday companies starting to squeal in pain as they have to increase prices substantially in the new brochures.
The correction of the trade imbalance is certainly welcome - however, with such a massive dependence on imported goods including food and a huge retail industry based on selling those goods to people (who often depend on credit to buy them) it's going to cause massive economic pain.
Devaluation is a traditional 'easy way out' of your economic problems but when you have allowed your economy to become so skewed towards imports as our government has done, it has many pitfalls. Expect all sorts of problems as people suddenly find that a lot of stuff they took for granted gets very expensive at exactly the same time as credit gets harder to find/more expensive and their employment outlook begins to look very unsure......--
Every pound less borrowed (to buy a house) is more than two pounds less to repay and more than three pounds less to earn, over the course of a typical mortgage.0 -
The correction of the trade imbalance is certainly welcome - however, with such a massive dependence on imported goods including food and a huge retail industry based on selling those goods to people (who often depend on credit to buy them) it's going to cause massive economic pain.
Devaluation is a traditional 'easy way out' of your economic problems but when you have allowed your economy to become so skewed towards imports as our government has done, it has many pitfalls. Expect all sorts of problems as people suddenly find that a lot of stuff they took for granted gets very expensive at exactly the same time as credit gets harder to find/more expensive and their employment outlook begins to look very unsure......
Things will be tough as households will have to reduce their expenditure on imported goods. As much as posters like to sneer at the MEW for a plasma TV accolytes, it is tough to scale back your lifestyle. I had to do it a year or so ago when I took a much better job with a 50-60% cut in income but with a big slug of equity in the company and it ain't fun!
Keeping food and fuel coming in to the country shouldn't be a problem unless the economy really drops off a cliff - contrary to popular opinion, the UK now exports more than she has ever done in her history (for example I read today that 15 of the top 75 selling drugs are made by UK firms). It's just that as UK-ish people get richer they tend to buy imported stuff.0 -
If you want serious...
Makes you wonder why stores don't flog stuff at 50-70% off all year round
Answer - they go bust
Yeah, that's it. All these retailers flogging off their existing stock at dumping prices will need to restock if they intend continuing in business. That is when the big problems start as they'll have to buy in at Euro and or $ rates.
Ouch! :rolleyes:
If you chase two rabbits, you will not catch either one
BSC No.1200 -
People agree with me, my post was not racist just FACT. I do not read the Dail Mail either. Sorry but I/ we know the score here.PolishBigSpender wrote: »Please, quit with the racist nonsense.
My fellow Eastern Europeans might very well been living 10 to a house and sending considerable amounts of cash back home - but equally so, we've been paying tax and national insurance to your country too. It's highly unlikely that most of us will claim back the tax and NI despite being in a position to do so - so the money is staying in the UK government's pockets.
As for the money flowing East - you do realise that as our countries rise in prosperity, more and more of our money will be flowing through London, Europe's financial capital? This is no bad thing for the UK's service based economy.
But of course, pig headed racists like yourself know absolutely nothing about how the world works, apart from what you read in the Daily Mail. Do you also believe that Scots are taking all England's cash?
To the OP : It's certainly a great thing for the troubled retailers in the UK. I wouldn't be surprised if tourism now starts to pick up dramatically - for instance, for a Frenchman, the UK has now become ridiculously cheap compared to before.
I came in to this world with nothing and I've still got most of it left. :rolleyes:0 -
p1an0player wrote: »If you could you would and should!
but you can't (except emergency tax)
Clearly you know nothing about the ability to transfer NI contributions to another country, then - nor do you know anything about the ability to reclaim tax dependent on your residency situation.bo_drinker wrote:People agree with me, my post was not racist just FACT. I do not read the Dail Mail either. Sorry but I/ we know the score here.
What's the problem? People on this site are always investigating ways to put less into the economy too, usually to pay off debts with hideous interest rates. Certainly, spending 50% of your income on paying off a mortgage and credit card bills is doing absolutely nothing for the UK economy.
As for it being FACT - tell me why it's a bad thing for more money to be flowing through London?From Poland...with love.
They are (they're) sitting on the floor.
Their books are lying on the floor.
The books are sitting just there on the floor.0
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