1929crash Posted January 16, 2009 Share Posted January 16, 2009 Zimbabwe unveils 100 trillion dollar note4 hours 38 mins ago Zimbabwe will introduce a 100 trillion dollar note, in its latest attempt to keep pace with hyperinflation that has left its once-vibrant economy in tatters, state media said Friday. The new 100,000,000,000,000 Zim-dollar bill would have been worth about 300 US dollars (225 euros) at Thursday's exchange rate on the informal market, where most currency trading now takes place, but the value of the local currency erodes dramatically every day. The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe is introducing three other notes in trillion-dollar denominations of 10, 20 and 50, the government mouthpiece Herald newspaper said. "In a move meant to ensure that the public has access to their money from banks, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe has introduced a new family of banknotes which will gradually come into circulation, starting with the 10 trillion Zimbabwe-dollar," the bank said in a statement quoted by the Herald. Just last week, the bank had introduced billion-dollar bills in denominations of 10, 20 and 50 with the same goal, but those notes are no longer large enough to keep up with hyperinflation. The last official estimate put inflation at 231 million percent in July, but outside experts now believe it is many times higher. When Zimbabwe's leader Robert Mugabe first took power in 1980, following independence from Britain, the local unit was worth about the same as the British pound. With the local currency in freefall, everyone from streetside vegetable vendors to mobile phone service providers are pegging their prices in foreign currency to hedge against losses. Zimbabwe's central bank has licensed at least 1,000 shops to sell goods in foreign currency in a move aimed at helping businesses suffering from a chronic shortage of foreign currency to import spare parts and foreign goods. Other shops and service providers have followed suit although they have not been authorised by the government and have done so despite warnings that those arrested for flouting foreign exchange regulations would be prosecuted. Even basic commodities are scarce in Zimbabwe, driving up their prices in US dollar terms and making life here more expensive than in neighbouring countries, while an estimated 80 percent of the population has been driven into poverty. The crisis has left Zimbabwe's health services in tatters, with government doctors and nurses on an indefinite strike to demand higher wages after hyperinflation turned their salaries into pittances. Even if the doctors were on the job, public hospitals and clinics have no money to buy medicine or equipment, no clean water, and often scant supplies of electricity. Most teachers have left the classroom to eek out a living elsewhere, and end-of-year examinations taken in November have yet to be graded after the markers demanded their wages in foreign currency, the Herald said Friday. Schools were supposed to re-open this week for the new academic year, but government has already pushed back the start of classes by two weeks since students don't yet know if they passed. The breakdown in the national infrastructure has allowed a cholera epidemic to spread across Zimbabwe, claiming more than 2,100 lives, according to UN estimates. Meanwhile chronic shortages of food are starting to bite again this year, as rural households' supplies from last year's harvest are running out months before the new crops will be ready. The World Food Programme says five million people -- nearly half the population -- are dependent on food aid. The crisis shows little sign of abating with government deadlocked after disputed elections last year. Mugabe and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai signed a power-sharing deal four months, which has yet to be implemented. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1929crash Posted January 16, 2009 Author Share Posted January 16, 2009 Zimbabwe unveils 100 trillion dollar note4 hours 38 mins ago Zimbabwe will introduce a 100 trillion dollar note, in its latest attempt to keep pace with hyperinflation that has left its once-vibrant economy in tatters, state media said Friday. The new 100,000,000,000,000 Zim-dollar bill would have been worth about 300 US dollars (225 euros) at Thursday's exchange rate on the informal market, where most currency trading now takes place, but the value of the local currency erodes dramatically every day. The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe is introducing three other notes in trillion-dollar denominations of 10, 20 and 50, the government mouthpiece Herald newspaper said. "In a move meant to ensure that the public has access to their money from banks, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe has introduced a new family of banknotes which will gradually come into circulation, starting with the 10 trillion Zimbabwe-dollar," the bank said in a statement quoted by the Herald. Just last week, the bank had introduced billion-dollar bills in denominations of 10, 20 and 50 with the same goal, but those notes are no longer large enough to keep up with hyperinflation. The last official estimate put inflation at 231 million percent in July, but outside experts now believe it is many times higher. When Zimbabwe's leader Robert Mugabe first took power in 1980, following independence from Britain, the local unit was worth about the same as the British pound. With the local currency in freefall, everyone from streetside vegetable vendors to mobile phone service providers are pegging their prices in foreign currency to hedge against losses. Zimbabwe's central bank has licensed at least 1,000 shops to sell goods in foreign currency in a move aimed at helping businesses suffering from a chronic shortage of foreign currency to import spare parts and foreign goods. Other shops and service providers have followed suit although they have not been authorised by the government and have done so despite warnings that those arrested for flouting foreign exchange regulations would be prosecuted. Even basic commodities are scarce in Zimbabwe, driving up their prices in US dollar terms and making life here more expensive than in neighbouring countries, while an estimated 80 percent of the population has been driven into poverty. The crisis has left Zimbabwe's health services in tatters, with government doctors and nurses on an indefinite strike to demand higher wages after hyperinflation turned their salaries into pittances. Even if the doctors were on the job, public hospitals and clinics have no money to buy medicine or equipment, no clean water, and often scant supplies of electricity. Most teachers have left the classroom to eek out a living elsewhere, and end-of-year examinations taken in November have yet to be graded after the markers demanded their wages in foreign currency, the Herald said Friday. Schools were supposed to re-open this week for the new academic year, but government has already pushed back the start of classes by two weeks since students don't yet know if they passed. The breakdown in the national infrastructure has allowed a cholera epidemic to spread across Zimbabwe, claiming more than 2,100 lives, according to UN estimates. Meanwhile chronic shortages of food are starting to bite again this year, as rural households' supplies from last year's harvest are running out months before the new crops will be ready. The World Food Programme says five million people -- nearly half the population -- are dependent on food aid. The crisis shows little sign of abating with government deadlocked after disputed elections last year. Mugabe and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai signed a power-sharing deal four months, which has yet to be implemented. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1929crash Posted January 16, 2009 Author Share Posted January 16, 2009 (edited) Zimbabwe unveils 100 trillion dollar note4 hours 38 mins ago Zimbabwe will introduce a 100 trillion dollar note, in its latest attempt to keep pace with hyperinflation that has left its once-vibrant economy in tatters, state media said Friday. The new 100,000,000,000,000 Zim-dollar bill would have been worth about 300 US dollars (225 euros) at Thursday's exchange rate on the informal market, where most currency trading now takes place, but the value of the local currency erodes dramatically every day. The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe is introducing three other notes in trillion-dollar denominations of 10, 20 and 50, the government mouthpiece Herald newspaper said. "In a move meant to ensure that the public has access to their money from banks, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe has introduced a new family of banknotes which will gradually come into circulation, starting with the 10 trillion Zimbabwe-dollar," the bank said in a statement quoted by the Herald. Just last week, the bank had introduced billion-dollar bills in denominations of 10, 20 and 50 with the same goal, but those notes are no longer large enough to keep up with hyperinflation. The last official estimate put inflation at 231 million percent in July, but outside experts now believe it is many times higher. When Zimbabwe's leader Robert Mugabe first took power in 1980, following independence from Britain, the local unit was worth about the same as the British pound. With the local currency in freefall, everyone from streetside vegetable vendors to mobile phone service providers are pegging their prices in foreign currency to hedge against losses. Zimbabwe's central bank has licensed at least 1,000 shops to sell goods in foreign currency in a move aimed at helping businesses suffering from a chronic shortage of foreign currency to import spare parts and foreign goods. Other shops and service providers have followed suit although they have not been authorised by the government and have done so despite warnings that those arrested for flouting foreign exchange regulations would be prosecuted. Even basic commodities are scarce in Zimbabwe, driving up their prices in US dollar terms and making life here more expensive than in neighbouring countries, while an estimated 80 percent of the population has been driven into poverty. The crisis has left Zimbabwe's health services in tatters, with government doctors and nurses on an indefinite strike to demand higher wages after hyperinflation turned their salaries into pittances. Even if the doctors were on the job, public hospitals and clinics have no money to buy medicine or equipment, no clean water, and often scant supplies of electricity. Most teachers have left the classroom to eek out a living elsewhere, and end-of-year examinations taken in November have yet to be graded after the markers demanded their wages in foreign currency, the Herald said Friday. Schools were supposed to re-open this week for the new academic year, but government has already pushed back the start of classes by two weeks since students don't yet know if they passed. The breakdown in the national infrastructure has allowed a cholera epidemic to spread across Zimbabwe, claiming more than 2,100 lives, according to UN estimates. Meanwhile chronic shortages of food are starting to bite again this year, as rural households' supplies from last year's harvest are running out months before the new crops will be ready. The World Food Programme says five million people -- nearly half the population -- are dependent on food aid. The crisis shows little sign of abating with government deadlocked after disputed elections last year. Mugabe and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai signed a power-sharing deal four months, which has yet to be implemented. Edited January 16, 2009 by 1929crash Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yellerkat Posted January 16, 2009 Share Posted January 16, 2009 Seems like we have some thread hyperinflation on this one! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Y-QUERK Posted January 16, 2009 Share Posted January 16, 2009 3 cheers.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1929crash Posted January 16, 2009 Author Share Posted January 16, 2009 Seems like we have some thread hyperinflation on this one! OK, OK, not sure went wrong, but I accept full responsibility. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AteMoose Posted January 16, 2009 Share Posted January 16, 2009 whats the new Use by Date? (as printed on all zim dollars) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest theboltonfury Posted January 16, 2009 Share Posted January 16, 2009 whats the new Use by Date? (as printed on all zim dollars) what comes after trillions when they become too small? Soon the notes will be too small to fit the zeros on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
interestrateripoff Posted January 16, 2009 Share Posted January 16, 2009 OK, OK, not sure went wrong, but I accept full responsibility. It wasn't the American's then? Haven't you learnt anything from this govt yet? Never ever ever accept responsibility for anything it's always someone else's fault. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D.C. Posted January 16, 2009 Share Posted January 16, 2009 what comes after trillions when they become too small? Soon the notes will be too small to fit the zeros on. They do what they did last year. Announce a 'New Zimbabwean Dollar' and knock a few zero's off the end. Didn't seem to help inflation much though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Spart Posted January 16, 2009 Share Posted January 16, 2009 (edited) What's a hundred trillion look like when written in binary? To save on ink might it be better to express the number as 10^12? Just how many of these notes are going in circulation? Edited January 16, 2009 by Dave Spart Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AteMoose Posted January 16, 2009 Share Posted January 16, 2009 (edited) what comes after trillions when they become too small? Soon the notes will be too small to fit the zeros on. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zim_dollar Zim is on the 3rd edition of the dollar... On August 1, 2008, ten zeroes were removed from the currency, reducing 10 billion Zimbabwean dollars to one dollar, but within 3 months we are back upto 100 trillion again? Edited January 16, 2009 by moosetea Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yellerkat Posted January 16, 2009 Share Posted January 16, 2009 The Zim "economy" is now effectively dollarised; USD / ZAR legal tender just about everywhere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AteMoose Posted January 16, 2009 Share Posted January 16, 2009 The Zim "economy" is now effectively dollarised; USD / ZAR legal tender just about everywhere. Yeah I hear that to...... Interestinly the zim government is now charging 650 USD for a new zim passport. It must be one of the remaining ways of for the government to raise money if population has stopped swapping USDs for government printed paper.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Spart Posted January 16, 2009 Share Posted January 16, 2009 (edited) Readers may recall the Jeffrey Archer scandal involving alleged payment of £2000 being made to Monica Coghlan where she was apparently told to leave the country to avoid reporters. That bung became known as an 'Archer' Perhaps it is now fitting to consider honouring Credit Crunch heroes and other such parasites with large numbers of their own. I was thinking we could match such venerable names as Mugabe, Bush, Fuld and the like to the following large numbers. Linky Edited January 16, 2009 by Dave Spart Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KingBingo Posted January 16, 2009 Share Posted January 16, 2009 Turns out they didn't need to murder all those white farmers after all, a few years back. They could have just bought the farms of them at twice current market value and let inflation eat their debt up. £1m ZDollars would buy you a very decent farm back in 1999, and would now be worth about 5p. I think Gordon Brown is watching with interest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1929crash Posted January 16, 2009 Author Share Posted January 16, 2009 It wasn't the American's then? Haven't you learnt anything from this govt yet? Never ever ever accept responsibility for anything it's always someone else's fault. Well, as I said to Mrs Crash when I burnt the toast this morning: "Clearly, lessons will have to learned. We must listen to what is being said." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GregG Posted January 16, 2009 Share Posted January 16, 2009 what comes after trillions when they become too small? Soon the notes will be too small to fit the zeros on. Good point, why not just knock nine zeros off and say one new ZIM$ is worth 1 billion old. Did that in Russia in the 90s. Seemed to work. When Zimbabwe's leader Robert Mugabe first took power in 1980, following independence from Britain, the local unit was worth about the same as the British pound. Wonder what a 30 year FX swap deal would have cost then? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GregG Posted January 16, 2009 Share Posted January 16, 2009 I am at a loss as to why the stupid f'kers don't revolt and kill that lunatic and his cronies. How much shit can people take? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AteMoose Posted January 16, 2009 Share Posted January 16, 2009 (edited) I am at a loss as to why the stupid f'kers don't revolt and kill that lunatic and his cronies.How much shit can people take? Because the lunatic and cronies have too much power and too many police, people tend to get killed by the secret police if they rise up. Anyone with the inclination to rise up, has already risen and left the country, leaving the old, the ones being paid by the government, and people who need to look after dependants and relatives in zim... Moving to the USD dollar will stop mugabe getting richer and richer... He was planning on retiring in zim to the multi million USD chinese style palace he is currently building, but I expect he will retire to china. He has alot of investments in countries outside of US control http://www.zimbabwesituation.com/ Edited January 16, 2009 by moosetea Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ImA20SomethingGetMeOutOfHere Posted January 16, 2009 Share Posted January 16, 2009 (edited) The most impressive example of hyperinflation is still that of post-war Hungary. They ended up replacing the original currency with a new one, the florin. At the time of conversion one florin was deemed to be worth 4*10^29 pengos, or four hundred octillion pengos. The highest denomination banknote ever was the 100 quintillion pengo note: Here's a picture of somebody sweeping up Hungarian banknotes from the gutter because they're so worthless nobody can be bothered to pick them up: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/comm...3_utan_1946.jpg Edited January 16, 2009 by ImA20SomethingGetMeOutOfHere Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ImA20SomethingGetMeOutOfHere Posted January 16, 2009 Share Posted January 16, 2009 Incidentally, although the causes of hyperinflation often vary, in each case there seems to be a general theme of a government trying to cover up a badly failing economy by printing money. Sound familliar? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperinflation Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darkman Posted January 16, 2009 Share Posted January 16, 2009 So where do I buy some Zim dollars? Compared to everyone elses impending disaster, the zim looks quite tasty. heh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yellerkat Posted January 17, 2009 Share Posted January 17, 2009 From a Dutch newspaper: Can't be right, surely? My fingers are itching for a red pen and a £20 note... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BXLONDONMAN Posted January 17, 2009 Share Posted January 17, 2009 Seems like we have some thread hyperinflation on this one! looks like it !!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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