Global financial distress

[Nick C]

(Tip for future visitors to SIN - People's Park Complex in Chinatown is regarded as one of the best, if not the best place, to get the most competitive rates for forex in SIN - not at the bank/airport)

The AMEX counters give very nice plastic ziplock bags

[Kyo]

The AMEX counters give very nice plastic ziplock bags

But... the Indians give very nice rubberbands!

(sorry to go OT)

[KeithMEL]

I was speaking to a friend in London who's affected by the Iceland meltdown. The UK has frozen all UK subsidiaries of Icelandic financial institutions, and he happens to be banking with one of these. So all his savings (a serious amount) are stuck atm. Ouch.

The A$ is getting a huge battering. For the first time in many years, the S$ is stronger again.

And I was wondering whether I ought to get out of the terminal for a 7hr connection at the end of the year or not. At the rate this is going I might cut my losses and stay in the Flounge - it's free there after all.

These overseas trips are about to get much more expensive.

[MAN Flyer]

The US Dollar is clobbering the Pound at the moment. It was all but 2 to 1 a while ago, it's down to 1.68 this morning. We buy a fair bit of equipment in USD.

[jhm]

I was speaking to a friend in London who's affected by the Iceland meltdown. The UK has frozen all UK subsidiaries of Icelandic financial institutions, and he happens to be banking with one of these. So all his savings (a serious amount) are stuck atm. Ouch.

I thnk it's the other way round, i.e. he can't get his savings out because the Icelandic financial institutions have gone bust and are not honouring withdrawawls anymore.

The Icelandic government have also said that their financial compensation scheme for bust banks will not be honouring its legal obligation to pay out to British depositors. In retaliation for this and other things, the British government has frozen all the assets of Icelandic financial institutions in the UK (and also incidentally guaranteed all amounts held by British retail depositors in Icelandic financial institutions, i.e. the British government have covered what the Icelandic scheme should have paid out).

[jjpb3]

The US Dollar is clobbering the Pound at the moment. It was all but 2 to 1 a while ago, it's down to 1.68 this morning.

Ouch for my trip next month to NYC, if this trend continues.

[Lobster]

The collapse in the value of the pound has really hurt me. Due to being paid in pounds I have had nearly as 20% cut in the purchasing power of my salary.

[MegatopLover]

This is a catastrophe, without question.

I am reminded of someone on TOF gloating about the falling dollar last year; can't remember who it was or which currency the poster was most pleased about. For a change, and perhaps only for a short while, the greenback I earn will go farther in certain other countries. But this strength is purely relative and no reason to gloat. It's only a reason to go bargain-hunting like all those Brits and Continentals who swarmed into New York and propped up the retail sector there in the last couple of years.

[KeithMEL]

I thnk it's the other way round, i.e. he can't get his savings out because the Icelandic financial institutions have gone bust and are not honouring withdrawawls anymore.

The Icelandic government have also said that their financial compensation scheme for bust banks will not be honouring its legal obligation to pay out to British depositors. In retaliation for this and other things, the British government has frozen all the assets of Icelandic financial institutions in the UK (and also incidentally guaranteed all amounts held by British retail depositors in Icelandic financial institutions, i.e. the British government have covered what the Icelandic scheme should have paid out).

Ahh, thanks for the clarification.
Either way, it's a horrid situation and one that I hope I'd never find myself in.

[YK@HKG]

(Tip for future visitors to SIN - People's Park Complex in Chinatown is regarded as one of the best, if not the best place, to get the most competitive rates for forex in SIN - not at the bank/airport)

Indeed, I have used the money changer services at the People's Park Complex quite often

[YK@HKG]

The dollar was in free-fall until recently. I remembered, I was about to invest in AUD as the return over the past 1 year was pretty good.

AUD:HKD reached 7.6 in early July. Now, its hovering between 5.15 to 5.20, losing about 33% in just 3 mths That's really scary

[Savage25]

The US Dollar is clobbering the Pound at the moment. It was all but 2 to 1 a while ago, it's down to 1.68 this morning. We buy a fair bit of equipment in USD.

I have student loans to pay back in USD. But I'm glad I left a little bit of money back in my US bank account...should tide over my payments for the next year or so.

[MAN Flyer]

From the Bush Peso to the Brown Peso...

The pound has tumbled almost 3% against the US dollar - falling to its lowest level in five years on recession fears.

Sterling's fall came after the Bank of England governor, Mervyn King, warned that Britain was probably entering its first recession in 16 years.

The pound dropped as low as $1.620 overnight , its lowest since September 2003. It later recovered to $1.639.

The euro fell 2% to hit a two-year low against the dollar - which has itself been rising against other currencies.

The euro slid as low as $1.2736 in morning trading in Europe before rising slightly to $1.2873, down from $1.3003 late on Tuesday in New York.

The dollar has jumped to a two-year high against a basket of currencies as investors have bet that interest rates outside the US will be cut sharply to try to bolster global growth.

Concerns there may be a deep slowdown in the world economy have prompted investors to cash in more of their bets against the US dollar which had built up in recent years.

"Investors continue to flock to the dollar as speculation mounts that central banks elsewhere will continue with aggressive rate cuts in an attempt to stimulate growth in the near term," said James Hughes, an analyst at CMC Markets in London.

"The pound has to be the stand-out, with losses here being compounded by unprecedented comments from Mervyn King last night, essentially confirming the fact that the British economy is now in a recession and any recovery will be far from swift," he added.

At one point this year, the euro reached a record high above $1.60.

Currency traders said a wide range of players from hedge funds to Japanese institutional investors were now rushing to cancel their positions and cut their losses.

[Savage25]

The next job I take, I'm asking for my salary to be paid in a basket of currencies

[up and away]

The next job I take, I'm asking for my salary to be paid in a basket of currencies

Good idea unless the content of the basket is made up by Zimbabwe-Dollars and North Korean Won