[1] Gabe Menezes wrote: Although I am finding it difficult to get a decent interest rate here in the U.K. If I had faith in Portugal I would go out and buy some 10 year Bonds yielding 8 percent....but ......
[2] Mervyn Lobo wrote: The financial problems have just one cause. Governments spent far more than they received in revenues. Everyone knows what happens to an individual or family when they spend more than their income. The exact same thing is going to happen to some governments and countries. Things are going to get much worse for the people in jurisdictions where the government does not have to balance its budget. COMMENT: I am not an economist but it is possible that I have minimal knowledge of money (:-). So here go my 2 escudos worth. I know I know...(not worth anything ... Euro etc etc) The following are causes for economies to collapse (in no particular order of importance): a: (as Mervyn correctly stated above) - Expenditure greater than Income. b: Corruption especially in procurement of goods and allocation of resources. c: Skimming and Scamming - et tu Indian Army Chiefs? Aye Aye Aye Adarsh! d: Negligence - In England, as an example, the NHS in 2009 had a reported potential liability of £12 billion and potential legal bills of circa £3 billion for outstanding medical negligence claims (The real winners in NHS claims in Medical Malpractice (2009) http://www.goinglegal.com/article_853363_101.html) e: Wastage: The UK Guardian (Feb 3) reports:"The leader of the house, Sir George Young, said Conservative and Liberal Democrat ministers had quaffed 30% less of the official government wine cellar than the previous administration". He was responding to this question from a Labour MP: "There's a Chateau Latour 1962 in there valued at £3,600. Can the leader of the house tell me which minister deserves to drink it?" f: Unnecessary foreign jaunts and local entertaining by politicians and senior civil servants. Please read Nisser Dias' column to ascertain (a bit of) How these chaps are swiping funds on a near-weekly basis. g: Public offering: It must be acknowledged that prospective candidates do 'give back to the people' at election time what they expect to reclaim a 100 fold if they are elected. A few questions need to be asked: h: How much money does Goa generate per year? i: How much of it benefits Goans? j: Can somebody please help me find articles on this matter and the matters above (not isolated ones, please) written by some of our Goa journos? k: Forget about Portugal, are our Goan journos in denial too? BTW: Gabe, if you are looking to make some money from 10 year Bonds, your are an Englishman alright! BTW2: What Portugal really needs at this moment is not a King but a Salazar. good wishes jc