HI there, hasn't everyone got a 'nationwide' card yet?!? we use ours as a holiday only account and get a much better rate wherever we are in the world.

When last July I started this topic, I have to say 50% was tongue in cheek, little did I relaise that before our 4 weeks starting JAn 10th 2009, they would all come true and the pound - the government says - will be allowed to fall as low as the speculators desire. Hey ho, we'll sit outside at Eddies sipping a cup of €? coffee soon enough.

Regards all

David

Isn't it a pity that we didn't join the Euro? It's about time all the little englanders realised that the pound is a small currency that benefits only the City of London at the expense of the people.
Never mind we'll all carry on paying exchange rates to the banks that are doing great job! and all this will be forgotten in a year or two.......until next time!

there is a real risk that the UK property market bubble would have been even bigger if we had been in the Euro for the last few years, given the lower interest rate in Eurozone. I have no truck with those who are against joining the Euro for "little Englander" reasons, but there are good economic reasons for the UK not to be in the Euro zone at the moment. If the UK had joined the Euro at 1.50, the UK would be an even worse state now, with a fixed overvalued exchange rate and no control over interest rates. The devaluation of £ will be one of the factors that gets the UK economy going again.

There will be a right time to join the Euro, but it isn't now, and it wasn't in the last few years. In the meantime, this is a massive test of the Euro, and its one interest rate fits all. European economies have clearly not converged, and places like Ireland and Spain require a somewhat different interest rate than Germany right now. Ireland and Spain (and several others) need an economic stimulus - they can't do it through interest rates, they can't do much fiscally due to budget deficits, and they can't devalue their currency - they are running out of economic tools to manage the economy

Yes I keep hearing all of this but I also note that the Irish and Spanish economies appear to be fairing a little better than the UK economy?
How is the Malta economy fairing since they joined the Euro?

I also note that the Irish and Spanish economies appear to be fairing a little better than the UK economy? - that may be true or not (and I'd say more likely not), but the fact is they have only minor influence in setting their interest rates - the property bubble is certainly worse in Spain than in the UK. The problem at the moment is that Spain needs much lower interest rates than Germany (whereas for the last few years it needed much higher rates to reduce the property bubble) - Spain has a large budget deficit, and so lower rates are the main way to get the economy going. Germany has a budget surplus, so its better for Germany to increase govt spending rather than have lower rates - thats the dilemma facing the ECB in setting one interest rate across the the whole of Eurozone.

Malta ? since joining the Euro the economy has been poor, but better than many European countries. However, thats got little to do with joining the Euro. The benefits of joining the Euro are spread thinly over many years (I've seen suggestions of 0.2-0.3% per annum for the first 10 years), but in total are meaningful. Even the impact of inflation has been very muted - joining the Euro added at most 0.2% to inflation, and will actually have a marginal deflationary impact over the next few years, mainly due to the elimination of currency exchange costs with the rest of Eurozone

Well done on your prediction David, even if only a few tourists were duped, it happened and all the money talk excuses in the world won,t change that, 1.40 was,nt acheived 1=1 actually happened. No cheques please.

well on that basis when the bet started at 1.25, I'm sure there were some people buying £ from Euros who got charged 1.40, so I claim I won months ago

the fat lady may not be singing, but shes finished her warm-up and approaching the stage

1.023

At the post office today the Euro is .98 Thomas Cook are being generous by offering £1.01

the fat lady is edging backwards off the stage - after hitting a low of 1.0195 yesterday, currently trading at 1.045

will the £ do the same as it did in 1984 against the $, when it approached parity, never quite got there, and in a month was back in the 1.20's ??

http://fx.sauder.ubc.ca/cgi/fxplot?b=GBP&c=USD&rd=800&fd=1&fm=1&fy=1984&ld=31&lm=12&ly=1985&y=daily&q=volume&f=png&a=lin&m=0&x=

Just returned from another lovely time spent in Mellieha. On a sidenote from tourist receiving only 1 Euro for a Pound, I noticed that petrol prices are now 99 pence for a litre of unleaded. Is this the first time ever that petrol in Malta is more expensive than the U.K ? I won't even mention the price of electricity and water!

I do think though that restaurant businesses are in for a shock come the summer season as it is now more expensive to dine out in Malta than the UK. I know that there are european tourist from Ireland, Germany and Italy e.t.c but I think uk tourist are still the majority. Lets hope the pound makes a speedy recovery!

In the first 11 months of 2008, UK tourists were 35% of all tourists

I do think though that restaurant businesses are in for a shock come the summer season as it is now more expensive to dine out in Malta than the UK. - many won't have to wait that long for the shock, esp in Gozo - they are already suffering from reduced spending by UK immigrants living in Gozo.

1.095

the fat lady has returned to her dressing room

1.12

and is putting on her coat

That's looking better Mark, hope it continues to rise.

B.O.E. have just reduced interest rates. = £ going down down down. whoo thinks £0.95 = 1.00 E coming soon

ECB will be cutting rates just as fast if not faster

1.20 before 1

I hope it continues to rise and that the fat lady gargles in time to be singing for when I come over to Gozo in August!