tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1803613707305752483.post1521840720692026418..comments2024-01-08T01:50:42.568+00:00Comments on BrugesGroupBlog: Can they really predict the future?Helenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13799545178433498944noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1803613707305752483.post-8349812868292377152008-10-23T07:51:00.000+01:002008-10-23T07:51:00.000+01:00"it is worth turning our attention to other situat..."it is worth turning our attention to other situations they have messed up with their certainty that they have knowledge that is denied to ordinary mortals."<BR/>I would like to broaden this out so that Argentina is remembered. Like Britain, Argentina is a naturally rich country with an educated middle class and a cultured capital.<BR/>For years, this rich country paid its bureaucracy too much and did not nurture its economy properly.<BR/>Then it went bust.<BR/>We can too, you know. At the moment, I can see the UK pound becoming worthless. We shall be back in 1945-6.prziloczekhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08733472371265228728noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1803613707305752483.post-8528360401501016742008-10-14T23:36:00.000+01:002008-10-14T23:36:00.000+01:00Actually, Jeremy, I should have welcomed you to th...Actually, Jeremy, I should have welcomed you to the blog. I hope you will continue to read it and comment on it. Mind you, I might reply. :)Helenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13799545178433498944noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1803613707305752483.post-55744676556334871722008-10-14T22:54:00.000+01:002008-10-14T22:54:00.000+01:00You're right, that sentence doesn't add much. I wa...You're right, that sentence doesn't add much. I was thinking about credit-swap derivatives etc which are not required on balance sheet, so debt obligations are unknown. I believe Basle 2 has responsibility there. Basle 2 does have responsibility for marking prices to market which has frozen credit flows. Light touch might better be right touch. But as you say, I've gone off topic.Jeremyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16971178866146219045noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1803613707305752483.post-45409098360391178352008-10-14T19:09:00.000+01:002008-10-14T19:09:00.000+01:00I am not sure the comment is entirely relevant to ...I am not sure the comment is entirely relevant to the posting but, in any case, you might like to have a look at the EU's role in the matter of financial markets. Your last sentence makes little sense. Markets, left to themselves with light regulation, do deliver prosperity. Who do you think does that, the government either in Brussels or on the local level, in London?Helenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13799545178433498944noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1803613707305752483.post-3782138839490858262008-10-13T12:24:00.000+01:002008-10-13T12:24:00.000+01:00'The uncertainty may be vast and the permutations ...'The uncertainty may be vast and the permutations of all the unknown variables impossibly complex, but we can provide the necessary figures by applying statistical techniques to sets of tenuous assumptions.'<BR/><BR/>Sounds like a perfect description of how our bankers, hedge fund managers and credit rating agencies went about constructing vehicles to offset credit risk.<BR/><BR/>'The job of business is to deliver as cheaply as possible<BR/>what governments have specified.'<BR/><BR/>Gordon's boom with no bust seems to fit into this category. It seems Labour has been manipulating the market in its own way for years already. Message to markets: just deliver the people prosperity while we the government look the other way.Jeremyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16971178866146219045noreply@blogger.com