Britain's Economic Problems Worse than in America

Coronation Day in America (yesterday) was not very encouraging to the markets. The Dow lost well over 300 points to close below 8,000 again. The Plunge Protection Team will have to spend billions if not trillions buying stocks to prop up the markets once again so they don't fall below 7800, which is the point where the insurance companies would begin to panic.

But with all of our problems in America, the problem appears to be even worse in Britain, whose currency plunged 5 cents in one day against the US dollar. Just a year ago it took $2.06 to buy a British pound. Now it only takes $1.39. That is a huge plunge, and the following article from the economics editor of the Telegraph is warning that the problems in Britain could take the world down into depression.

http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/ambrose_evans-pritchard/blog/2009/01/20/seriously_alarmed

The Telegraph also ran a main article showing the seriousness of the situation. It reads in part:

"Yesterday marked a new low for all involved, even by the standards of this crisis. Britons woke to news of the enormity of the fresh horrors in store. Despite all the sophistry and outdated boom-era terminology from experts, I think a far greater number of people than is imagined grasp at root what is happening here.

"The country stands on the precipice. We are at risk of utter humiliation, of London becoming a Reykjavik on Thames and Britain going under. Thanks to the arrogance, hubristic strutting and serial incompetence of the Government and a group of bankers, the possibility of national bankruptcy is not unrealistic."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/columnists/iainmartin/4295219/Gordon-Brown-brings-Britain-to-the-edge-of-bankruptcy.html