Alan Steel
01506 842365
MENU
  • Home
  • About Us
    • Close
    • About Us
    • What We Do
      • Close
      • What We Do
      • Our Services
      • Our Philosophy
      • Our Awards
      • Our Reputation
    • Who We Are
      • Close
      • Who We Are
      • Meet the team
    • Our Approach
    • Financial Planning
  • Testimonials
  • Investments
    • Close
    • Investments
    • Investment Advice
    • Portfolio Building
  • Pensions
    • Close
    • Pensions
    • Retirement Planning
    • Early Retirement
    • Pensions as simple as...
  • Tax
    • Close
    • Tax
    • Tax Advice
    • Tax Planning
    • When I'm Dead and Gone
    • Inheritance Tax
    • HMRC Digital Accounts
  • Insights & Media
    • Close
    • Insights & Media
    • Letters from Linlithgow
    • Informing You
    • Letter from America
    • See us in the Press
    • Master Investor
    • Points of Few
  • Contact Us
Independent financial advisers founded in 1975
Over £1.4 billion client funds under management
17 industry awards for advice since 1989

Investment News

Blackadder & Baldrick Tackle the Euro

Monday, 16 April, 2012

Euro

Rumours are running riot about the Eurozone; will Germany exit, will one or more of the 'Five Little PIIGS' (Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece and Spain) be cast out?

If only it were that easy!

The Eurozone is a patchwork of political parties, geographies and histories all piled in under one roof - who then decided they would join a single currency and have one Central Bank.

An easy route to help avoid problems, right?

Fat chance.

Greece's (and others) violations of the Eurozone agreement have made a PIIGS ear of the whole thing.

Adding insult to injury is that expulsion or self-imposed exit is technically illegal.

So we decided to draft in our resident expert Blackadder, and his quizzical assistant Baldrick, to help explain the problem in a more coherent and understandable way:

Baldrick: "What I want to know Sir, is before there was a Euro there were lots of different types of money that different people used.

And now there's one type of money that the foreign people use. And what I want to know is, how did we get from one state of affairs to the other state of affairs"

Blackadder: "Baldrick. Do you mean, how did the Euro start?"

Baldrick: "Yes Sir"

Blackadder: "Well, you see Baldrick, back in the 1980's there were many different countries all running their own finances and using different types of money.

On one side you had the major economies of France, Belgium, Holland and Germany, and on the other, the weaker nations of Spain, Greece, Ireland, Italy and Portugal.

They got together and decided that it would be much easier for everyone if they could all use the same money, have one Central Bank, and belong to one large club where everyone would be happy.

This meant that there could never be a situation whereby financial meltdown would lead to social unrest, wars and crises".

Baldrick: "But, this is sort of a crisis, isn't it Sir?"

Blackadder: "That's right Baldrick. You see, there was only one slight flaw with The Plan".

Baldrick: "What was that then Sir?"

Blackadder: "It was bollocks!"

Ed Emerson is Editor and Managing Director of HNW Magazine

©2023 Alan Steel Asset Management Limited is authorised & regulated by The Financial Conduct Authority. Please note that the Financial Conduct Authority does not regulate some forms of tax advice. Company Registration: SC58014

You should remember that the value of an investment and the income from it could go down as well as up. The return at the end of the investment period is not guaranteed and you may get back less than you originally invested.

The investment services and/or investments referred to in this website may not be suitable for you. If you are unsure we suggest you contact us to discuss matters further. If we believe our services are not right for you we will tell you.

When investing money, whether for income or growth, you are placing your capital at risk as the value of investments may vary, so you could get back less than you started with.

The Financial Conduct Authority does not regulate Tax Advice, Trusts or wills. Alan Steel Asset Management Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. The guidance contained in this website is subject to the regulatory regime of the UK.

The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) is an agency for arbitrating on unresolved complaints between regulated firms and their clients.

FOS details can be found at www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk

Alan Steel Asset Management Limited are not responsible for the content of external sites.

  • Cookie Policy
  • Privacy Policy
  • Website terms and conditions
  • Tax Services Privacy Notice
  • Contact Us

This site uses cookies. By using this site you agree to the use of cookies. Read our Cookie Policy