Comments for Whit's End

Comment on Should the Euro Survive? by Guy

Guy — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 09:06:03 +0000

I agree, Alex – can’t see the various countries in Europe relinquishing control. Really don’t see a long-term future for the Euro as a sovereign currency: think the only way for it to survive is as a trading currency, with the Eurozone countries reverting to national currencies…

Comment on Should the Euro Survive? by Alex D Man!

Alex D Man! — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 08:09:26 +0000

– for a central currency to work, it needs central control, and Europe doesn’t have this.- so many European countries have fought for independence to have one power reeling them in. Don’t really think this will work. I feel that it will only cause chaos in the end.

Comment on Small Customers – A Neglected Resource by Guy

Guy — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 16:07:32 +0000

Thanks for your comments, Ian. This was written, of course, when companies were undergoing extreme focus on efficiency and rapid cost reduction – generally with a short-term focus.

In less extreme times, I agree that cost management needs to be balanced with the desire for increased sales and, particularly in good times, companies neglect the cost-management side of the equation. It needs to be an area of focus at all times.

Comment on Small Customers – A Neglected Resource by Ian Brammer

Ian Brammer — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 14:51:26 +0000

Whilst I would agree with article in general terms, a balance always needs to be achieved. In the drive for increased profits a tool, many companies overlook is their cost base.
Whilst companies control the costs of raw materials and other critical items, many ancillary areas get overlooked. The majority of businesses in my experience do not review utilities or waste management costs, very companies review bank charges.
It is our view that hidden revenue is contained in every company’s cost base. A saving of 4% of turnover is not uncommon if costs are reviewed correctly. This means that if company’s net margin is 8%, they would need to increase sales by 1/2 million to achieve the same increase in profit.

So to achieve balance companies should not only have a customer mix, they should balance cost management and reduction with the desire for increased sales.

Comment on Should the Euro Survive? by Guy

Guy — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 09:05:41 +0000

Thanks for reading the post and your comments, Nick.

I believe such a transition could be managed fairly simply by retaining the Euro as legal tender in all countries, and allowing account holders to hold both Euro and local-currency accounts. Initially, most people – particularly those with potentially weaker currencies – would hold their money in Euros. However, they would start to earn in their local currency and we’d see a transition. They could, of course, move their money from local currency to Euros whenever they wished (as one can do today if you have bank accounts in more than one currency), but this would settle down over time as people got used to their own currencies.

As for fall-out: that’s pretty well inevitable in the Eurozone, whatever happens. I also think the US banking system is teetering and once the Euro problems are perceived to have been resolved, attention will turn to the Dollar and the inability of the US Government to address the deficit.

Comment on Should the Euro Survive? by Nick Clarke

Nick Clarke — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 22:39:30 +0000

“The dissolution of the current Euro would be simple – start with each country having its currency at par with the Euro, and let them float from that point. Market forces would soon determine the real value of each currency.”

The moment it was announced, in those countries likely to do less well, this would cause a catastrophic bank run as people seek to get their money out while it’s still worth something. Fractional reserve banking can’t deal with that, so the result will be a collapse and even bigger bank bailouts, and probably also a huge wipe-out of savings, investments and credit.

Simple?

Comment on Should the Euro Survive? by Guy

Guy — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 07:08:18 +0000

Thanks, George. It really is scary to see just how cavalier politicians are with our money! Your blog on the US is truly frightening, too…

When will people understand the no government has money, and that what they do is take money from one section and give it to others, having skimmed a huge percentage for themselves?

Comment on Should the Euro Survive? by Guy

Guy — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 07:01:24 +0000

Thanks Catarina, and getting rid of the wasteful European Parliament (its internal financial controls are a joke!) would save Billions a year.

Comment on Should the Euro Survive? by The Daily Climb « georgesblogforum

The Daily Climb « georgesblogforum — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 03:33:58 +0000

[...] http://guywhitcroft.com/2011/12/17/should-the-euro-survive/ [...]

Comment on Should the Euro Survive? by georgesblog360

georgesblog360 — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 02:51:20 +0000

The Euro is a fine textbook example of how to work the Bait-And-Switch. When the Euro was first introduced, it was rumored to be 15% backed by gold. That was enough to get people on board with it. So much for rumors. It turns out that it’s just another fiat currency. People play the debt game as hard as they can go, but in the end, it’s still just borrowed debt.

http://georgesblogforum.wordpress.com/2011/11/02/the-daily-climb-2/