Tajines (Moroccan)

[LiveToCook]

(07-22-2012 07:45 PM)LiveToCook Wrote:  

(07-22-2012 02:05 PM)NWoBHM Wrote:  I think you have described the hub of fine wine and food - I would prefer to visit if they had their own currencies again - for me that was the beauty of these different, but related countries, their own money their own style.........Maybe after the EU and Euro has collapsed?

NWo, what would be the reason for wanting the old currencies back for travelling there? I have not seen anything different other than the fact when they had their different currencies. I had a wallet so full when travelling around. That I almost needed a suitcase to carry it around and the funny thing is I had so many small cuts from all these countries that a pocket full of coins in euros today is the equivalent to all. Your last statement remains an interesting one, does it!!!

NWo, did you get yourself a Tajine? If you get a chance give me an explanation on the currency thing in EU, I am curious.

[NWoBHM]

Quote:NWo, did you get yourself a Tajine? If you get a chance give me an explanation on the currency thing in EU, I am curious.

Not yet LTC, but it is on my wish list, (along with I don`t know how many other things LOL).

Currency and EU - Where to start. There are 27 member States of the EU, (UK Being one of them) of which 17 share the common currency the Euro (not though the UK). Unfortunately (and some say it was a deliberate oversight), there was no Central Bank or Lender of Last Resort (i.e. like the FED or Bank of England), there was no pilotical union, or fiscal union, and therefore these 17 disparate countries, in terms of productivity, competitiveness, culture, attitude to debt to work to corruption set about using a common value currency.

This worked very well for Germany (highly productive, excellent exports etc) as the Euro was undervalued for them making their products relatively cheap abroad - the opposite was true of the Latin Countires, (Italy, Portugal, Greece, Spain) the so called PIGS, who had a currency too strong.....

The PIGS were able to borrow at German and Northern European rates (as after all they were all Euro Zone countries) and went crazy and borrowed like there was no tomorrow. In Spain they built roads, Airports - a lot lining the pockets of corrupt officials along the way, (some of these airports to this day have never received a single plane) - Much of the lending was by German and French banks, (and in fact the "bailouts" are nothing more than saddling the Taxpayers of these countries with the debt, and transfering the credit back to pay off the German and French banks.

Now the Bond Yields and Spreads (difference between what Germany can borrow versus what the PIGS can borrow) has gone too high, and the PIGS can only borrow enough to pay the interest on the bonds they are rolling over - a bit like you or me maxing out our credit cards, and then finding our monthly pay cheque will only cover the interest and not affect the principal owed.

In a normal currency you would "print" like Bernanke has been doing and resisting at the moment, which "inflates away the debt", and provides liquidity and the ability to pay ones Bond Holders (albeit in a debased currency - the UK Pound has ben debased about 20% through Quantitative Easing QE, or "printing" to help our debt and world wide competitiveness).......Trouble is, there is no EU Central Bank or lender of last resort, (there is of course the ECB - but this does not have an EU Mandate to operate like this and Germany, terrified of inflation, wont allow it). Each of the PIGS, although having their own Central Banks, cannot "print" and debase their currency because it is shared currency. Ordinarily, there would be capital flows between the poor states from the rich, (like in the UK England subsidises Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and in the US richer states subsidise the poorer ones), but this has not been allowed in the EU, (because it is not a political or fiscal union). Thus you have uncompetitive countries trapped in a currency, they cannot "print", they do not receive capital transfers, their only real option is to leave the currency - but then the scaremongerers of the EU state that to do so, will be a move back to the stone age - and citizens are scared of this and thus vote for the continued Euro.

So the PIGS are about to literally run out of money and go bust (In Italy some schools will not re-open in Autumn, Spain have cancelled payments to Hospitals and Ederley Care, in Greece you cannot get medicines, and people queue for food parcels, soon their public services will collapse) - some say when this happens the EU will force, without referendum the United States of Europe (which was what they always wanted - see the likes of Barroso and Rumpy Pumpy at the G20 meeting, when in fact they are unelected Presidents of a being which does not exist, i.e. the U.S.E) and only then let the ECB print - but there will be an almighty fight from EU citizens as affectively they will have to give up their Soveriegnty, no more France, Germany just EU Citizens......Some say this was always the plan and the deliberate flaw in the plan (i.e. no Central Bank).

The PIGS are threatening to make the ECB "Print" and the Germans are saying "No Way" - it will be a mighty fight, and pretty soon there will be a cival war in Europe if they don`t pull their fingers out and sort the mess.

Greece has been balied out twice to the sum of a couple of hundred Billion, Spain needs 600 Billion, (maybe more) Italy 2 Trillion, and on it goes......

Hope this helps..

Tim

[LiveToCook]

Tim, G.D., what a great explanation, (''me'' think I just got myself a B.A. in European Economics...) Just a little comment; ''The Greeks are not ''latin'', you can add the French (me) into the ''latino'' group. And so, you have a wish list... hopefully you have been a good boy... otherwise Santa is not going to fulfill. Seems, that we all have wish lists. But to get back to the EU, it would seem that a major ''brew-ha-ha'' is in the books before all gets back to normal. I somewhat see where pricing has been re-adjusted to the lower trend for some countries (Scandinivian) and vice-versa on some other layers and countries. During my last vacation in Spain and France, I did see major pricing differences in between the countries both in the smaller and larger cities as a staright comparison (ex. Spain vs. France & Madrid vs. Paris). As a whole, all was cheaper in Spain and sometimes by a big margin. And from what you call the PIGS, these guys are in deep, we get the news and it does affect our markets. Talk about world economy and you think civil war??? Again thanks for this chapter, it now gives me a different perspective.

[NWoBHM]

Hi LTC - Sorry yes, the Greeks are not Latin, and yes France should be added in. I did not mention Ireland either, but they are in as well. The whole of Europe is a mess, UK included and some witty people now no longer call it the PIGS but add in France and UK and get F, UK, PIIGS. Some use the abreviation GIPSI (again to demonise the feckless, lazy borrowers, against the hard working Northerners) - These are not my words, nor abbreviations, but you can see the tension rising, and the move towards Nationalism / Socialism, (Nazi), and the potential for conflict.

The Golden Dawn (National Socialist Party) in Greece handed out food parcels yesterday, but only to those who had Greece ID cards......an elderly man out walking was beaten up the other day - when asked by the youths (because of his accent), "are you German?", and he said "No I am Dutch", they said, "That`s close enough and beat him up".

Now there are cracks appearing between the Bundesbank and ECB - the former will not sanction debt mutualisation, the latter (egged on by Spain, and Italy - Draghi the ECB President is of course Italian), are insisting on it.

So that is why I say there is the potential for a cival war - only recently did Greece and Spain come from under military rule, and the harmony, unity etc of the EU seems to be falling apart.

I don`t know what will happen, or when it will happen, but there needs to be a large adjustment, and it will probably mean a hard life for many years to come for all of us.

[LiveToCook]

Good Morning NWo, (sorry, afternoon for you),
Scarrry, is it, we are talking about Europe (Western), who would have predicted such a ''major crisis'' just a few years ago. It somewhat reminds me of a professor back in the 70's at Ottawa U. that ''predicted'' that the Berlin Wall will fall... (Funny looks and nervous laughs). The communist countries of Eastern Europe, as we know today (1975-76) will be more like our countries today (political system). (Again laughs) That N.A. and Western Europe will be going towards a system that somewhat has similarities to the existing USSR... (Burst of laughs) Police type states, with more and more laws that are shoved down the peoples throats... Today's (70's) financial ''empires'' taking a beating (if not disappearing) with major geographical shifts in richness... Believe me, there was a lot of questions and disbelieve within the group. Always the same statement came back...<<Impossible, the communist keep too much control onto the population(s) and how can powers like the US and Western Europe lose control of their finances...>> I should have got the winning loto numbers from this guy . He was an unbelievable visionary and believe me, we still talk about this lecture today. Who says that we learn from our past mistakes.

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Talk about wandering away from cooking and recipes and so on... Well, I guess that we still need to eat to survive «and all good or bad conversations start around a meal either very basic or complexe». I guess that as mentioned in another ''room'', The Old Planet keeps spinning and we have to keep spinning with it... I'll cook, pull the cork on that one for a starter and let's ''babble'' away!!!

[NWoBHM]

Hi LTC - Funny you should mention learning from past mistakes, as we seem to be doing all we can to repeat them over here.

Did you see Draghi totally fumble the ball over here today? Last week he promised "The ECB would do anything to support the Euro", Spanish and Italian bonds fell, the Euro climbed the markets rallied......then the Bundesbank said, "er no way Mario, you do as we tell you".......and basically he came out today and said he had some good ideas, maybe he would act independantly, maybe he would do this" and absolutely nothing of substance, and then bam........the markets lost all patience with them the bonds are back into unsustainable levels, the markets have lost all gains, and now Monti (Italy) is saying he doesn`t think he should step down early if Italy accesses the EFSF -

They follow the same worn out path and lies. "We absolutely do not need a bail out", "well we may need a few bob to tide over our banks", "actually could you make it a tenner as we are a bit short", to yikes we need Trillions and we need it now.

Total US Debt $17 Trillion?? Total EU debt $23 Trillion

What a total mess.

[LiveToCook]

(08-02-2012 10:28 AM)NWoBHM Wrote:  Total US Debt $17 Trillion?? Total EU debt $23 Trillion

Duuh, Well, Daa.. I think that I might have that in my pockets as change (coins), these are unbelievable amounts when you think of it

What a total mess.

Total mess you say... And one that is way out of our (you and I and all that watch from the stands) control and league... Let 'em play, me think I will skip me turn playing here!! I will stick to something else!

[NWoBHM]

Yeah too right - it`s not our payscale, so long as we can grow some ingredients, got something to cook it on we are sorted.........just got to get on with the home brew!!

[LiveToCook]

(08-03-2012 02:28 AM)NWoBHM Wrote:  Yeah too right - it`s not our payscale, so long as we can grow some ingredients, got something to cook it on we are sorted.........just got to get on with the home brew!!

Cannot deny this statement... and of course who says there is something wrong with home brew...

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Just back from 1rst leg of vacation, off again in the morning...