Euro mortgage

Bf109

GDB2222 wrote: »

We do still have a few export industries. We will eventually benefit from import-substitution.

Just as importantly, this is going to be great news for our tourist industry. People may take their holidays in the UK, rather than abroad.

In the LONG run, lower Sterling is great news!

Import substitution? Sure, like we're going to buy all those British-made iPhones instead of the foreign ones. There will be almost no import substitution whatsoever because we dont actually make anything to stand in as substitutes.

I dont think you appreciate the fact that the trade deficit is absolutely massive. Its £8billion a month. Its even worse when you consider that we import most from the Eurozone. Drops in Sterling are therefore amplified. Its even worser when you consider that we import most of the raw materials needed for what left of out manufacturing. Its even worster when you consider that there is a collapse in demand for our exports globally. Its even worstest when you consider that collectively, this country owes 400% of our annual income.

Put simply, we are hopelessly broke and are getting broker by the day. We are only able to service these debt by selling off the family silver. The Post Office and our independent nuclear strike capability being the latest victims.

And who is that £8billion deficit going to be paid by every month? Who is going to lend us all the money we need to continue with out credit binge when we have such a large trade deficit and such a vast millstone of debt around out necks? What is going to happen when Gordon Brown has sold off all the family jewels?

Its ludicrous to say that "In the LONG run, lower Sterling is great news". Has the lower dollar benefitted Zimbabwe any? How did a debased currency benefit the Weimar Republic?

Its preposterous to say that a debased currency is good for a country. Anyone can ruin their currency. It doesnt take any skill. All you have to do is f*ck things up a bit and down goes the currency.

Just like Zimbabwe.

Thats why every reasonable government goes around doing its damndest to defend their currency.

A weak currency is indicative of a weak economy, of a weak country, and of a weak government.

_bankrupted

Bf109

We are a service based economy not a manufacturing based one.

The UK Goverment in collusion with the BOE are engineering the fall of sterling. If you need any proof look at the last minutes of the BOE rate setting meeting released this week. It's about protecting UK jobs, the trade deficit is irrelevant, it's also not [EMAIL="f^@@*ig"]f^@@*ig[/EMAIL] up, the aim is being achieved.

It's a simple fact that work moves around the world to where it it cheapest.

It's just too simplistic and argument about buying raw materials, making them into something and exporting them, then claiming that the cost of raw materials has rapidily inflated which negates any benefit in the fall of sterling. We fundamentally are not an economy that does that. And even if we were a manufacturing based economy the significant cost is labour not raw materials, so a weak pound would still make the UK cheaper for the manufacture of those goods.

Manufacturing accounts for 16% of our economy, and that manufacturing is in generally highly skilled specialist industries such as aeronautical engineering, pharmaceutical, electronics, software development etc. These industries employ skilled graduates.

Zimbabwe is not a highly industralised nation, it's dosen't matter that £1 could buy you 1 man years of effort in the country. Development of new drugs, new aero engines, high tech computer infrastructre is not gong to move to Zimbabwe.

The fall of sterling during a global crisis such as the one we face today does benefit the UK. It's a simple as that.

Prestige of the Nation is what suffers when the currency is weak, we don't want to be seen as the low paid workshop of the world. I think Globalisation is causing a re-think of the real effect of a weak currency and it looks like we are giving a go at seeing if it protects UK jobs and creates a shift of work from expensive Euroland to the UK

GDB2222

What was keeping Sterling high previously was the inflow of funds to finance lending. Sterling was hopelessly overvalued for years, and it will take years of undervaluation for our industries to build back up again.