A recent report has highlighted that Brits are finding it harder to become wealthy due to a huge tax burden and under performing investments.
This does not surprise me. I wonder how much more of a pounding hard working families will take this year. If Greece defaults on its debt, then there will be more to come.
The whole Greece thing just shows how much of a shambles the idea of a single currency is. I remember being told that whenever countries have tried unifying currencies, it has always failed. Even the Germans won’t stump up any more cash until Greece authorises some extremely severe austerity measures. No wonder the Greek people are up in arms. Here is a good breakdown of the savagery of Greece’s austerity measures. They vote on it today.
A lot of spread bettors trade currencies and I would imagine that the economic problems in Europe are providing currency traders with a lot of volatility and opportunity. I have made the odd currency trade from time to time using only price action as a guide, although my main focus is on UK shares.
Nick Clegg wants us all to have a slice of the banks we already own as taxpayers. Don’t know about you but I think he looks desperate. Populist rhetoric is all he can fall back on. I feel sorry for the people who voted for the Lib Dems. This type of stunt is the only thing that can get him in the headlines. I wonder if he is smoking more or less cigarettes these days?
Looks like teachers will be striking this week. I don’t really blame them:
- Their pay is not as good as the private sector;
- Unlike the private sector teachers pensions are locked in, meaning they are unable to switch providers if they find a better rate elsewhere;
- They also have to pay more into their pensions and work longer to get them.
I know this will put peoples backs up but these are the people who educate our children. Would you want them to be demotivated? I can’t recall a teacher being blamed for starting a financial crises. The public seems broadly on the side of teachers; could the fact that 77% of teachers are women have anything to do with it?
More retailers are going bust on Britain’s high streets. Thorntons (THT) is the latest casualty. The biggest squeeze on family spending since the 1980’s and a cheaper shopping experience online are being blamed. Its share price duly tanked today when the FTSE rose. I’m wondering how many more names on the high street will disappear. With banks not lending to small businesses as they need to, its hard to see an orderly way out.
I miss playing rugby. I went last season without playing a single game which annoyed me no end. My plan is to train twice a week and play every weekend. The season before last I played pretty much every game I was available for and was rewarded with a ‘third team player of the year’ award. What, you didn’t think I would be playing for first team did you?
To keep fit, I’m playing soccer, but only once a week which is not enough. After writing this post I’ll be doing a 20 km bike ride to make up for it. If I’m to get back into the rugby later on this year, then I’ll need to keep fitness levels up.
Until next time.
The Simple Trader
Feel free to disagree with me by leaving a reply to this post in the comments box below.
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