tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29618513.post3501315863082371212..comments2023-09-13T09:59:36.013+01:00Comments on snowflake5: Eurozone struggled in Q4 2008snowflake5http://www.blogger.com/profile/14700425293614182769noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29618513.post-68537784913205292152009-02-20T22:32:00.000+00:002009-02-20T22:32:00.000+00:00The Increases in retail sales in the past two mont...The Increases in retail sales in the past two months make absolutely clear that the 2.5% reduction in VAT has had a good effect.<BR/><BR/>Had more Governments abroad shown the same decisive action the problem would be lesser than it is.<BR/><BR/>We must hope that the G20 show more sense than the opposition in the UK.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29618513.post-82421480999127288662009-02-15T21:43:00.000+00:002009-02-15T21:43:00.000+00:00Agile government!?!Reckless and panicked yes. The ...Agile government!?!<BR/><BR/>Reckless and panicked yes. The government's reaction to the banking crisis has been either spin or counterproductive substance.<BR/><BR/>I shall being at the collapse of Lehman Bros which if it had been better handled would have allowed a more orderly handling of the crisis, given that since it was a huge counterparty. Barclays wanted to buy Lehmans to prevent its Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29618513.post-3995141227070419652009-02-15T18:02:00.000+00:002009-02-15T18:02:00.000+00:00Crown - if you were going to spend on something, b...Crown - if you were going to spend on something, but found that it was cheaper due to being taxed less, you have more left over (it means your disposable income has risen). Add this across all your purchases, and it's a substantial amount of money that you can use to either buy more or pay off debt. That's the point.<BR/><BR/>DevonChap - the point of my post was that it was obvious in late snowflake5https://www.blogger.com/profile/14700425293614182769noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29618513.post-42059270035763895052009-02-14T08:11:00.000+00:002009-02-14T08:11:00.000+00:00I think the discussion has moved on. It is clear t...I think the discussion has moved on. It is clear that everyone, both consumer countries, like the UK and US, and producers, like Germany and Japan, will suffer equally at the moment, since we were the buyers for their goods. Both sets of countries had unbalanced economies. The question is what happens after the World economy starts to recover. It is easy to see how Germany and Japan recover, Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29618513.post-30360511479266835672009-02-14T07:57:00.000+00:002009-02-14T07:57:00.000+00:00The problem I have with the VAT rise is that I sav...The problem I have with the VAT rise is that I save 2.5% on everything I would have bought anyway and I am tempted to buy nothing extra just to save 2.5%. I would rather have a higher tax threshold and so give me more money in my pocket to decide if I spend it or save it, although I appreciate this does not help domestic spending in the short term, will benefit in the longer term.CROWNhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06560750634638531738noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29618513.post-58481363556718250082009-02-13T22:08:00.000+00:002009-02-13T22:08:00.000+00:00So you are confident that Darling's pre-budget rep...So you are confident that Darling's pre-budget report of 10 weeks ago is correct and that UK GDP will decline by only 1% in 2009?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com