Greece - what a pickle - what would YOU do?

veryintrigued

masonic wrote: »

At least they can look forward to a surprise bank holiday tomorrow

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-33305019

More than one it seems...until the 7th of July is being reported on your link now

collingbone614

I had a decent chunk in a Kaupthing Edge cash ISA. Queued for about fourty minutes on the phone - think they had stopped web-based withdrawals by that point. When the wheels began to come off back in 2008. CHAPS'd my money out and managed to escape unscathed.

Who knows where the next disaster might pop up. So - just keep up your normal, widely-diversified investing strategy, don't do anything daft, etc etc.

IronWolf

Honestly i would have moved my savings long ago into assets like shares, and not greek ones

Onawingandaprayer

Alter_ego wrote: »

I was heavily into Icesave, there was no queue to join. Luckily G Brown rescued my cash.
I've been a lot more careful since!

My wife and I had a fair chunk with Icesave and my elderly Dad (for whom i had POA) had a large sum with Northern Rock. Relied on Gordon for Icesave and stayed up all night trying to get online with NR. Managed at about 4.30am and transferred it all to his Natwest current ac. Phew.

Happy Days. No wonder I'm grey...

PS. Oh, and round about the same time I also had a short term pension plan with AIG. Who, thank the lord, the US Fed bailed out at the 11th hour.

le_loup

ffacoffipawb wrote: »

And we will get to see what an Ed Miliband Labour Government would have been like.

You really can't help yourself, can you?
Do you have any other more interesting obsessions?

Reaper

There has been lots of news of Greeks withdrawing money, but I was more surprised at how much was left in the banks. It was a slow motion crash over months, why anybody had their money left in the bank at the end is a mystery to me. I guess the people were as much in denial as their government.

enjoyyourshoes

Stop corruption
Stop tax evasion
Review unaffordable pensions and retirement age
Encourage inward investment and tourism
Change the Government

ChiefGrasscutter

enjoyyourshoes wrote: »

Encourage inward investment and tourism

That's their problem
They are locked into the Euro at a totally impossible "exchange rate"
People find it cheaper to go to Turkey on holiday - so off they go.

In a normal country the reduction in economic activity from an unfavourable exchange rate would have led to the currency depreciating and hence would improve the economic position of the country...ie bring back the tourists.
In the euro this is not available.
So either the country goes permanently down the sh*t heap into a failed state or the other countries of the euro have to accept that they will have to permanently support Greece and never be paid back.

The euro cements in uncompetitiveness.

IMO the overall solution to the Euro, Greece, the PIIGS as they are called is not that these countries should leave - but that Germany should leave. However Germany loves the Euro as it holds down the exchange rate making them highly competitive. Were it not in it the DM would have soared. So Germany is getting all the benefits but now does not want to pay the consequences- ie supporting Greece ad infinitum. Which is of course why political union is not on the cards while being necessary for a single currency zone to work.

Chickereeeee

ChiefGrasscutter wrote: »

That's their problem
They are locked into the Euro at a totally impossible "exchange rate"
People find it cheaper to go to Turkey on holiday - so off they go.

From my perception, Greece used to (pre-Euro) be the low cost destination for holidays in Europe. Post Euro, holidays in Greece became much more expensive: but Spain and Portugal still seem good value when I go there.

Even WITH the Euro, lower wages in Greece should drive an effective devaluation (ie a Euro would buy more in Greece than in Germany) driving inward investment at the cost or more expensive imports.

C

C_Mababejive

veryintrigued wrote: »

I guess its advantageous for those of us with multiple accounts and online access that we'd be able to transfer quite a lot more than the £300/£500/whatever the ATM limits are - assuming there was money available and these online limits werent tightened.

But where to move it to?!

I think every home should have one of these..