The fucking Frogs would do your head in. Having harmonised corporate tax rates is neither the cause of nor the solution to the problem. I don’t care nearly as much about our corporate tax rate as other people seem to, but it shows that they are not serious about actually solving the problem, just getting their (comparatively) petty grievences addressed. There are two ends to this game - a breakup of the euro or a more federal structure (which in time would involve some harmonisation of taxes, but you have to agree the structures first). I’ve a bad feeling that the upshot of this weekend will be a meaningless fudge that ultimately pushes us towards the former.
I really fuckin dislike Sarkozy.
He is a smug cunt.
Looks like we’ve turned too many corners:
Official figures show that the Irish economy, as measured by gross domestic product contracted by 1.9% in the third quarter of this year.
Under the gross national product measure - which does not include profits made by multi-nationals operating here - the economy shrank by 2.2%.
The figures appear disappointing following growth earlier in the year, but CSO economists are warning against reading too much into quarterly changes.
The latest figures were affected by a drop of more than 20% in investment, but this can be heavily influenced by purchases of bigger items such as planes.
On an annual basis, GDP fell by 0.1% and GNP was down 4.2%.
The CSO said consumer spending and government spending both fell by 1.3% during the third quarter, while investment slumped by 20.9%. Exports increased by 0.8%, however.
The only sector to record an increase in output during the third quarter was agriculture, forestry and fishing, where output rose 4.5%. Industrial output fell 1.3%, including a 5.9% drop in building and construction.
Over the previous 12 months, consumer spending and government spending have both fallen by 3.9%, while investment has slumped by 22.2%.
Separate CSO figures show that the balance of payments current account surplus in the third quarter of this year was €850m, down more than €300m compared with the same period last year. The balance of payments measures flows of income into and out of the economy.
The merchandise surplus of more than €9.86 billion was boosted by strong exports. But the invisibles deficit widened, mainly because of a fall in the amount of investment income coming into the country from abroad.
For the first nine months of this year, there was a balance of payments deficit of €669m, compared with a deficit of €794m in the same period last year.
Talks of credit rating cuts for mulitple EU countries, including France, in the coming days.
That EU deal last week is a dead duck already.
The whole thing has been called “The Eurozone Debt Crisis” yet the agreement last week does nothing address the mountains of debt that countries have already accrued. All does it does is say we won’t let it happen again, while still sitting on trillions of euros of debt.
None of the media understand it anyway so they go for the easy soundbyte about “Britain pulling out of the deal”. What deal that was, I haven’t a clue, they aren’t even in the Eurozone.
Most of these political correspondents are still in their 20’s and haven’t a clue about economics. They haven’t a clue about anything.
The brits were dead right, not that they did anything really. Gas to hear the French pols bitching about Britains debt and saying they should be getting a downgrade from those rating agency cunts that didn’t spot the crisis coming. Proof indeed that the French are the most cuntish me feiner race in Europe.
[quote=“balbec, post: 520097”]
The brits were dead right, not that they did anything really. Gas to hear the French pols bitching about Britains debt and saying they should be getting a downgrade from those rating agency cunts that didn’t spot the crisis coming. Proof indeed that the French are the most cuntish me feiner race in Europe.
[/quote].
Too true Balbec. If it wasn’t for the Brits those cunts would be sitting down to sauerkraut for Christmas dinner.
The Brits just want to keep their casino game going. Even when they’re right they’re still wrong.
I see one of TASE’s buddies in ESRI has jumped ship and said:
“Ireland is facing 10 years of austerity. Leaving Ireland is the best thing you can do at the moment if you are responsible for a young family.”
.
yep, i knew about this weeks ago- hence my announcement to the forum of my upcoming deaprturem to oz
Huzzah
Germany are now being payed to borrow short term money :o
Fuck Germany and France. Fucking clowns.
Things have gotten good (bad) in the past few days.
You have the rather ridiculous scenario of Greece negotiating with bond holders on the size of the haircut of the Greek bonds, yet the Greeks have no power to accept of reject any deal and it all has to be referred back the Brussells anyways. The Greeks accepted a deal yesterday that would see them have to pay back any remaining bonds at 4%, but the EU then rejected this and have sent Greece back to negotiate a lower rate. The bond holders have said 4% is their final offer and the EU want less than 3.5%.
Any financial guru’s here care to explain how a cut to a 3.5% or 4% coupon rate translates to a ~70% haircut to the bondholders? I’m having trouble getting the head around how this shit works.
ie Is it a haircut on their expected profits or is the capital also at risk?
They cannot be forced into accepting the discount (as that triggers CDS). They have therefore been negotiating a “voluntary” haircut. This would come in the form of another bond worth say 30c in the euro, which would pay you 4% over 20 years or some such.
Why is the big sticking point the coupon rate though? If it’s as you say, then surely the level of write down of the par value of the bond is what they should be fighting over? Or is this already set?
If everything goes to plan the Greeks will only be down to a 120% debt to GDP ratio by 2020. They are currently at 160%.
They’d be as well pulling the plug now.
Well I suppose they feel they are already being rode as it is.
There is also the likelyhood that as soon as the replacement bond starts trading it’ll be at a discount to par straight away. Would you buy a 20 year Greek Bond (particularly when its paying 3.5%)? That 0.5% would make a 10% difference in price aswell due to the difference in yield.
Its only about a 3% difference in reality so I’d imagine most will accept it after some moaning. They need everyone to accept though and I’d say a few were on the fence at a 70% discount as it is
Ya that 120% by 2020 assumes a reasonable level of growth aswell. They haven’t a fucking prayer.
The Greeks have defaulted four times in the last 200 years. The first record of default in history goes back to 500 BC when ten Greek cities defauled on their debts to a temple.