Is the £ living on borrowed time?

[Ribol]

Simple question, is possible for our great leaders to get rid of the £ once and for all?

Forget about whether it is a good idea or not as that does not seem to have stopped them doing countless other things that have turned out to be a bad move.

With the rate being what it is and now almost settled at this level this would seem like an ideal opportunity to complete the master plan of becoming just another post code in Europe.

For the record I would have preferred the Swiss approach to Europe but for whatever reason that was obviously never going to be.

Can/will it happen?

[Eric Mc]

The plan is to run the pound down. This is not for any nasty or Euro reasons. However, if the national debt is £70 billion, then devaluing the pound makes the real value of the debt less and easier to pay off.

[ringram]

Run it into the ground, then fix it to the Euro and adopt the Euro at a competitive level. Job done!

Theft by fraud by any other name.

[Eric Mc]

ringram said:

Run it into the ground, then fix it to the Euro and adopt the Euro at a competitive level. Job done!

Theft by fraud by any other name.

Why?

[limpsfield]

Eric Mc said:

The plan is to run the pound down.

Who's plan is this and how do they plan to achieve it?

[Eric Mc]

The Bank of England and government. That is why they have adopted the policy of Quantitative Easing.

I explained why in my previous comments - it helps devalue the level of national debt.

[limpsfield]

Then I would disagree. QE's objective is not to devalue the pound - although that could be a side effect. But with everyone else at it it has not had an impact.

While the BoE have said they are not averse to a weaker currency, they are not coordinating any plan along those lines.

[Eric Mc]

How do you know this?

[limpsfield]

QE was to provide a fiscal stimulus - and the bank are on record over recent months saying they are not bothered about currency devaluation. e.g.

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/boes-king-pound-w...


this doesn't point to a grand plan in my view.

[Eric Mc]

And you think they are speaking the truth?

[limpsfield]

I think they ain't clever enough to co ordinate the destruction of a currency even if they wanted to.

When did QE start - around March April this year?

http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/monetarypolicy/asse...

The pound is currently around 10% higher against the USD than it was then and roughly at the same level against the Euro.

I think tales of the pound's demise are grossly premature. Tin foil wearers will have to come up with something else.

[Ribol]

Eric Mc said:

And you think they are speaking the truth?

And you think they have a plan?

It seems to me the government are running around like headless chickens putting out whichever fire looks like the hottest at the time.

The result being one big mess it will take (someone else) years to sort out.

[Eric Mc]

They do have a plan - it's called PANIC

[limpsfield]

well the market is not buying it

[Eric Mc]

Yes - the market knows best.

[limpsfield]

correct

[Eric Mc]

I was being ironic (if rather unsuccessfully).

[limpsfield]

me too - obviously equally unsuccessfully

[Tallbut Buxomly]

Beyond doubt.I was hoping to put a bet on with the bookies for mid 2010 to late 2010 adoption of the euro but they wont take it.

[markcoznottz]

The market always knows best, didnt some of the last gilt sales not sell?. QE appears to be the government paying its housekeeping with borrowed money.