$14,144,355,000,000 USD

[Mike52]

Speaking of Zimbabwian dollars does anyone know where I can get a wheelbarrow full of Z$100000000000000000 notes ?
Want to wallpaper the games room and thought something different might be nice.

[GMC]

How is it that it seems like every country is in debt to every other country?
Why can’t everybody just wipe the debt from each other?
And if Aust. & the US are in debt to the likes of China & Asia then why do we give them aid ?

[Marc.com]

How is it that it seems like every country is in debt to every other country?
Why can’t everybody just wipe the debt from each other?

Countries and business trade or wipe debt everyday, thats the bond market, then they trade that debt to third parties, what they are buying is the debtors ability to pay.

What is happening in the EU is they have no exchange rate adjustment between countries so the rich countries like Germany are buying the debt of the poor knowing they will lose their investment ... effectively giving the money away. General debt cancelation would require Australia to have the political will to purchase the surplus debt of its impoverished trading partners like NZ knowing they can not expect repayment. 

[GMC]

I know its a bit simplistic but if you owed me $20.00 and I owed Tim $20.00 and he owed you $20.00 then it would all cancel each other out.
It sometimes seems like some countries are in a similar position

[vmx42]

I know its a bit simplistic but if you owed me $20.00 and I owed Tim $20.00 and he owed you $20.00 then it would all cancel each other out.
It sometimes seems like some countries are in a similar position

I have know that GMC and Tim were at the centre of the problem. 

[GMC]

I know its a bit simplistic but if you owed me $20.00 and I owed Tim $20.00 and he owed you $20.00 then it would all cancel each other out.
It sometimes seems like some countries are in a similar position

I have know that GMC and Tim were at the centre of the problem. 

Yes, we are the centre of the Victorian economy and wer'e bring the rest of the world down with us

[vmx42]

Yes, we are the centre of the Victorian economy and wer'e bring the rest of the world down with us

Gotta love a 'man with a plan'!

[shortshifter]

capitalism in its purest form enables wealth to be redistributed from the majority to the already wealthy minority.The best example of this is that the debt is owned by the US government ie the US taxpayer who is continuing to prop up the big end of town with more borrowing.Left to market forces the US economy would have collapsed with massive social and economic upheaval and a hugely devalued currency.Those players still in the market would be able to compete globally against the Chinese because their products would again be price competative.The Chinese economy is so strong because it is based on production and manipulation of its own currency.Other western economies are now based on consumption and have to continue to borrow to sustain growth.Its all gotta end somewhere and in tears.Get this,Wal Mart one of the big US companies gets most of its products from China using the reverse auction,price per unit method.These products were formally made in the USA by workers who are primarily Wal Mart customers,who are now out of work and can no longer afford to buy at Wal Mart.Talk about capitalism eating itself.

[Tim754]

"Yes, we are the centre of the Victorian economy and wer'e bring the rest of the world down with us !!"

Shite we are all surely f#cked  now............................

[pancho]

I believe that most of USA debt is to China.
 Guess who is buying up big in real estate in OZ? and any other assets they can get their hands on? CHINA, and big  business in OZ in their usual short time gain thinking is making a quick dollar selling the place out from under us.
 China knows the best way to grow their empire is to keep their currency value so low by artificial means that they drive all competition out of contention.
  It's time for our pollies to wake up and start playing the same sort of games that other countries [think France China USA etc] have been doing to us for years with trickery in trade deals [while pretending to remove trade barriers] and restrict foreign ownership of critical assets [which includes land and housing].
 Add to that, the $US in my opinion has been based on bullshit for years and no longer should be the standard currency for international trade.
cheers pancho.

[Marc.com]

I know its a bit simplistic but if you owed me $20.00 and I owed Tim $20.00 and he owed you $20.00 then it would all cancel each other out.

Not quite, due to Tim being a worse risk of payment than Geoff, then we would need to make the exchange at a risk factor, so at 5% you would need $21 to cancel out Tims debt in proportion to GMC treasury bonds, however the promise of $21 that Tims debt is worth to you can then become an assett that you can borrow against, or better yet loan to Tim. But this places Tim in a worse postion financially, so now he has to come up $22 with the risk factor, but hey you can loan him that as well against Tims future payment. However this discounts the interest and fees that Tim also owes to you which exceeds what you owe him so Tim has to raise further capital to pay you by selling his Rio Tinto shares to Chang Li construction but this reduces his assetts as proportion of debt and makes him a worse risk plus his house price is dropping.... and on it goes

GMC bonds now have a problem Tims risk factor is so high that GMC bonds are trading lower based on Tims risk, so GMC can only raise capital by borrowing at a higher interest rate which also plunges GMC into its own debt cycle to its creditor Chang Li .... hmmm, well then Chang Li offers to GMC to swap some risky debt like Tims so the over all risk to both parties is reduced ..... and on it goes

[VMX247]

I know its a bit simplistic but if you owed me $20.00 and I owed Tim $20.00 and he owed you $20.00 then it would all cancel each other out.

Not quite, due to Tim being a worse risk of payment than Geoff, then we would need to make the exchange at a risk factor, so at 5% you would need $21 to cancel out Tims debt in proportion to GMC treasury bonds, however the promise of $21 that Tims debt is worth to you can then become an assett that you can borrow against, or better yet loan to Tim. But this places Tim in a worse postion financially, so now he has to come up $22 with the risk factor, but hey you can loan him that as well against Tims future payment. However this discounts the interest and fees that Tim also owes to you which exceeds what you owe him so Tim has to raise further capital to pay you by selling his Rio Tinto shares to Chang Li construction but this reduces his assetts as proportion of debt and makes him a worse risk plus his house price is dropping.... and on it goes
GMC bonds now have a problem Tims risk factor is so high that GMC bonds are trading lower based on Tims risk, so GMC can only raise capital by borrowing at a higher interest rate which also plunges GMC into its own debt cycle to its creditor Chang Li .... hmmm, well then Chang Li offers to GMC to swap some risky debt like Tims so the over all risk to both parties is reduced ..... and on it goes

   clever dick 

[Mick D]

I am lovin it .

I am stripping Maico treasure out of the good old US of A liquidation sale,
      as quick as my "Buy Now", "Pay Latter" card can carry it .

[Mike52]

I know its a bit simplistic but if you owed me $20.00 and I owed Tim $20.00 and he owed you $20.00 then it would all cancel each other out.

Not quite, due to Tim being a worse risk of payment than Geoff, then we would need to make the exchange at a risk factor, so at 5% you would need $21 to cancel out Tims debt in proportion to GMC treasury bonds, however the promise of $21 that Tims debt is worth to you can then become an assett that you can borrow against, or better yet loan to Tim. But this places Tim in a worse postion financially, so now he has to come up $22 with the risk factor, but hey you can loan him that as well against Tims future payment. However this discounts the interest and fees that Tim also owes to you which exceeds what you owe him so Tim has to raise further capital to pay you by selling his Rio Tinto shares to Chang Li construction but this reduces his assetts as proportion of debt and makes him a worse risk plus his house price is dropping.... and on it goes
GMC bonds now have a problem Tims risk factor is so high that GMC bonds are trading lower based on Tims risk, so GMC can only raise capital by borrowing at a higher interest rate which also plunges GMC into its own debt cycle to its creditor Chang Li .... hmmm, well then Chang Li offers to GMC to swap some risky debt like Tims so the over all risk to both parties is reduced ..... and on it goes

Shit Tim will you just give Geoff or GMC or whoever the $20 .

[matcho mick]

 



Financial Crisis explained in simple language

Linda is the proprietor of a bar in Cork. In order to increase sales, she decides to allow her loyal customers - most of whom are unemployed alcoholics - to drink now but pay later. She keeps track of the drinks consumed on a ledger (thereby granting the customers  loans). Word gets around and as a result increasing numbers of customers flood into Linda's bar. Taking advantage of her customers' freedom from immediate payment constraints, Linda increases her prices for wine and beer, the most-consumed beverages. Her sales volume increases massively. A young and dynamic customer service consultant at the local bank recognizes these customer debts as valuable future assets and increases Linda's borrowing limit. He sees no reason for undue concern since he has the debts of the alcoholics as collateral. At the bank's corporate headquarters, expert bankers transform these customer assets into DRINKBONDS, ALKBONDS and PUKEBONDS. These securities are then traded on markets worldwide.

No one really understands what these abbreviations mean and how the securities are guaranteed. Nevertheless, as their prices continuously climb, the securities become top-selling items.

One day, although the prices are still climbing, a risk manager (subsequently of course fired due to his negativity) of the bank decides that slowly the time has come to demand payment of the debts incurred by the drinkers at Linda's bar. However they cannot pay back the debts. Linda can not fulfil her loan obligations and claims bankruptcy. DRINKBOND and ALKBOND drop in price by 95 %. PUKEBOND performs better, stabilizing in price after dropping by 80 %. The suppliers of Linda's bar, having granted her generous payment due dates and having invested in the securities are faced with a new situation. Her wine supplier claims bankruptcy, her beer supplier is taken over by a competitor.

The bank is saved by the Government following dramatic round-the-clock consultations by leaders from the governing political parties (and vested interests). The funds required for this purpose are obtained by a tax levied on the non-drinkers.

Finally an explanation I understand...

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