# exchange rate!



## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

Well the exchange rate is not looking very good for those of us who receive our income via sterling, only 1.14e = £1!!! Is parity looming???

Jo


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## Stravinsky (Aug 12, 2007)

jojo said:


> Well the exchange rate is not looking very good for those of us who receive our income via sterling, only 1.14e = £1!!! Is parity looming???
> 
> Jo


We're all doomed
Linked with the [email protected] interest rate and the disintegration of any investments, things aint looking to good for the near future


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## chris(madrid) (Mar 23, 2008)

Stravinsky said:


> We're all doomed


Not ALL  - <evil Dr Forbes type laugh>


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

Stravinsky said:


> We're all doomed
> Linked with the [email protected] interest rate and the disintegration of any investments, things aint looking to good for the near future


We'll be paying the banks to look after our savings before long!! The only good thing is that we have a tracker mortgage on our property in the UK which IS one of the few that hasnt been "collared", but yes, my savings and the exchange rate are not looking good! 

Where is it all going to end I wonder??

Jo


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## SunnySpain (Jul 30, 2008)

jojo said:


> We'll be paying the banks to look after our savings before long!! Where is it all going to end I wonder??
> 
> Jo


Maybe we should apply for a bailout or at the very least a rescue plan - lol


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## owdoggy (Jul 23, 2008)

For the first time in our lives me & Sue have managed to build up some serious savings ...... then watch the interest rate go down like a lead balloon. We also plan to sell our house to have the buying power in Spain then look on as the housing market goes down the pan. Do you think someone is trying to tell us summat?

We're not bad people ........ our timing is cack but we're not bad people


Doggy


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## SunnySpain (Jul 30, 2008)

The pound has actually dropped 15% in value against the Euro in 2008
and 25% agains the Dollar in the same period, so I guess you could say
that sterling has taken a bit of a pounding (pun intended) - lol


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

good for british exports tho (not british expats lol!!!)

Jo


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## SunnySpain (Jul 30, 2008)

jojo said:


> good for british exports tho (not british expats lol!!!)
> 
> Jo



Absolutely, especially to the US and the Eurozone


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## crookesey (May 22, 2008)

jojo said:


> Well the exchange rate is not looking very good for those of us who receive our income via sterling, only 1.14e = £1!!! Is parity looming???
> 
> Jo


Jo,

Don't even try to make any sense out of it, because there isn't any. The German, French and Spanish automotive industries are in melt down because of the supposed strength of what is essensially a Mickey Mouse currency. The Euro was doomed to fail as soon as its acceptance expanded within the European Community, how in gods name can Spain's needs be the same as Germany's?

For you expats who rely on UK money it is indeed a worry. For those who severed their ties with the UK a few years ago by selling at the top of the market and buying a cheaper Spanish property whilst exchanging their pounds for 60 pence euros, its a different matter. That is of course if their main income is not derived from UK pensions.

The pound is worth what its worth because of the miss management of the UK ecomony by the government and the banks. House prices reached false heights and the banks kept on lending whilst people kept on spending borrowed money. Does this perhaps remind you of Spain? Spain's errors are hidden within an all embracing single currency, chickens coming home to roost, comes to mind.

You asked 'is parity looming?', well by the look of it the answer is yes, but IMHO it will not be a permanent thing. We have had our collective backsides kicked and our wings clipped, the days of jam today, will return to those of jam when we can afford it.


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## SunnySpain (Jul 30, 2008)

crookesey said:


> Jo,
> 
> 
> The pound is worth what its worth because of the miss management of the UK ecomony by the government and the banks. House prices reached false heights and the banks kept on lending whilst people kept on spending borrowed money. Does this perhaps remind you of Spain? Spain's errors are hidden within an all embracing single currency, chickens coming home to roost, comes to mind.
> ...


Hi Crookesey,

Not sure about that. The pound is at its current value due to printing more and more pound notes = devaluation of the pound against the Euro and US Dollar.

Spain is however in a terrible situation and you are correct in saying that its only down to being in the Eurozone that has kept this "fact" hidden.

The Spanish government is in the unenviable situation of not being able to print more and more money to get themselves out of the gutter, whereas the UK government can avoid an economic catastrophe due to holding onto their own currency - the pound !

Cheers, Dave


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## XTreme (May 17, 2008)

Good if you earn in Euros and buy in pounds though! 95 quid purchase this morning was 109 Euros!
When we came here three years ago that would have been 142 Euros!


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## SunnySpain (Jul 30, 2008)

XTreme said:


> Good if you earn in Euros and buy in pounds though! 95 quid purchase this morning was 109 Euros!
> When we came here three years ago that would have been 142 Euros!


Absolutely and even better if you an expat selling up to move back to old blighty, as you would be able to buy more real estate in the UK, as 100,000 Euros now equates to 85,000 pounds (mas o menos)


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

SunnySpain said:


> Absolutely and even better if you an expat selling up to move back to old blighty, as you would be able to buy more real estate in the UK, as 100,000 Euros now equates to 85,000 pounds (mas o menos)



Thats if you can sell in Spain!? Tempting to reduce the price, but then it could all change back in "mid sale"??!

Jo


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## crookesey (May 22, 2008)

SunnySpain said:


> Hi Crookesey,
> 
> Not sure about that. The pound is at its current value due to printing more and more pound notes = devaluation of the pound against the Euro and US Dollar.
> 
> ...


Hi Dave,

When you could get over 2 dollars to the pound it was a bit like Hull City being at the top of the Premiership, it looked good at the time but you knew that it wouldn't last. Anything around 1.50 dollars to the pound is about par for the course. I wouldn't be at all surprised if the pound strengthened to something like 1.30 euros to the pound by Spring 2009. 

Contrary to UK media reports, our shops are packed, expensive restaurants are full and people are not constantly talking about the credit crunch. The difference between Spain and the UK is that you hardly see any 'For Sale' signs in front gardens over here. Property programmes have lost their glitter but holiday programmes appear to be increasing by the day. Some friends are looking at a Thomson Gold holiday to Spain and its within a few quid of what they paid last year.  

The stockmarket can't make its mind up what's happening, the reduction to a 2.0% BOEBR has done nothing to strengthen confidence because it doesn't actually mean anything, it was just a symbolic gesture. Car fuel is down circa 25%, food prices are coming down, new car prices are being slashed and if you are a cash buyer you could do well in the property market. Unfortunately for me my pension funds and equity investments are down circa £50,000, with little chance of recovery in the short term. 

Oh ****** it, its Friday, where's that corkscrew? 

Cheers Dave (yes another one)


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

crookesey said:


> Hi Dave,
> 
> When you could get over 2 dollars to the pound it was a bit like Hull City being at the top of the Premiership, it looked good at the time but you knew that it wouldn't last. Anything around 1.50 dollars to the pound is about par for the course. I wouldn't be at all surprised if the pound strengthened to something like 1.30 euros to the pound by Spring 2009.
> 
> ...


The main reason that the UK economy is struggling in my opinion is the media scaring everyone into not spending!

Jo


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## chris(madrid) (Mar 23, 2008)

crookesey said:


> The difference between Spain and the UK is that you hardly see any 'For Sale' signs in front gardens over here.


 True - What I am starting to see here, however, is an increase in renovation of 2nd homes (for sale or people retiring into them early) and an increase in "for sale" signs on unbuilt plots. 

One particular estate that I drive through on the way back home (due to a stupid one way road system) seems particularly "in movement" currently.


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