Sunday, Dec 21, 2008
French ex-pats not doing any better than the Spanish
Guardian: Britons who fled in search of French idyll feel the pain of the pound's fall
The expatriate community has become the latest casualty of recession, with a ruinous exchange rate biting into the rural idylls of the French countryside just as it has in the "Little England" retirement enclaves of Spain and Portugal. "Cheaper" France is vanishing as the pound slips closer to the rising euro, raising food, wine and energy costs, while devaluing the incomes of those getting wages or pensions from the UK.
"We're all doomed," said Linda Norton, who lives near Cherbourg in Normandy. "If we can't grow it, we won't be eating it next year."
Posted by little professor @ 11:08 AM (1598 views) Add Comment
30 Comments
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1. crunchy said...
http://timesonline.typepad.com/technology/2008/12/is-the-internet.html
Someone may be interested in this. Does our financial system hang by a thread?
2. This comment has been removed as it was found to be in breach of our Blog Policies.
3. crunchy said...
Ok, fair enough Professor. Ignore it!
4. crunchy said...
148 views and counting!
5. crunchy said...
Over 200 views
Some news matters!
6. Adrian said...
If they didn't have the money to move in the first place, i.e. enough money to change into the local currency (Euros), then they probably shouldn't have moved.
7. crunchy said...
I was trying to illustrate just how fragile our whole financial system is.
The writen word has nothing to do with this!
8. drewster said...
crunchy,
The laws of supply and demand would quickly solve any internet problems. Supposing the internet connectivity between the America and Europe dropped by 99%. The financial companies which depend on it would quickly negotiate with the telecoms companies and would pay top dollar for a high-cost free-flowing "toll lane". Other users wouldn't be willing to pay as much for their YouTube videos so they'd be consigned to the slow lanes.
9. crunchy said...
drewster,
Who would know what has happened and to what extent between the time of A to B, if by a remote chance that this could happen?
10. crunchy said...
Absract question I know.
Would everything just freeze and then resume as normal?
11. p. doff said...
Crunchy/Malct
7 of the 9 comments are yours.
12. drewster said...
Crunchy,
Most financial transactions already travel over dedicated pipes (leased from telecoms companies), not over the general internet. Security is obviously the main concern.
The systems aren't infallible. Just a few days ago, the Toronto Stock Exchange was closed for a day because of a computer fault. The system was shut down 45 minutes after opening and all trades that had taken place in those first 45 minutes were cancelled.
For a greater example of failure, think back to when the twin towers collapsed. A large amount of financial data was lost and had to be painstakingly recreated from either off-site backups, paper records, or counterparty records (i.e. if company B was wiped out, but you know that A sold B $6bn, then B now has $6bn). Financial institutions learned a lot of lessons from that event and have improved backup systems and fallback options.
13. icarus said...
p. doff @10 - and you could have added that these comments had f--- all to do with article posted.
14. inbreda said...
I hate to digress.... but I found the article very interesting as I had planned to emigrate to France. A plan that is now well and truly shafted. Thanks Gordon.
15. crunchy said...
11. Drewster
Thanks for that information.
16. crunchy said...
professor, sorry to hijack your rather boring artical but I do not know how to set one up.
JU does not write perfectly but what he has to say often hits me and I am sure others like a freight train. Now that is what "you" need to learn.
17. mytimeisnigh said...
Crunchy, I find it hard to believe you don't know how to set up and spell articLE.
18. crunchy said...
Conspiracy, mytimeisnigh?
19. mytimeisnigh said...
lol, hardly. Cadburys or Rowntree?
20. crunchy said...
Shakespeare or Plato? (1203 views)...Interesting!
21. mytimeisnigh said...
Nostradamus, the good news.
22. crunchy said...
Thread concluded. lol
23. mytimeisnigh said...
Merci beaucoup, Il faut les laisser manger du gateau. Soyons sages et bonne nuit. Let them eat cake.
24. crunchy said...
Synopsis
By rigorously adhering to Nostradamus’s own index dates, and carefully deciphering the codes, hidden meanings, and wordplay concealed within the medieval texts, Mario Reading forever altered our understanding of the seer’s writings. He now follows up his first astute analysis of Nostradamus’s complete prophecies with another truly original take on the prophet’s predictions. And this time, Reading sweeps away the forecasts of doom to shine a fresh and optimistic light on the future: his insights suggest the possibility of positive change in the world, not its destruction. These “Good News” quatrains cover most European countries, as well as America, Latin America, Africa, and Asia. Among the predictions: that a leader will arise in Africa who will act as an agent of renewal and restoration; that after the passing of a terrible epidemic, peace will be restored for years to come; and that a beneficial new world order will emerge thanks to a fundamental change in the perception of democracy.
25. crunchy said...
a leader will arise in Africa who will act as an agent of renewal and restoration; that after the passing of a terrible epidemic, peace will be restored for years to come; and that a beneficial new world order will emerge thanks to a fundamental change in the perception of democracy.
Good night, I can sleep easy now mytimeisnigh. LOL
26. mytimeisnigh said...
Long live Nelson Mandela.
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