Global economic situation for liveaboard cruising yachties

[masalai]

You folk are too far inside the forest, and just see trees... It may look kinda friendly there, but out here on the other side of the world, all trader countries, - (The carry trade must buy US$ for the transaction, and on delivery, reconvert to the retailing currency - 2 chances at making a loss in a wildly fluctuating exchange rate regime...), are really pissed by the wild exchange rate fluctuations and are ready to consider alternatives and any trigger can start the ball rolling - then ALL must follow regardless of intent.... Several chartists also point to this potential for other reasons, and I am telling you the why, but the exact how and when will become apparent sooner rather than later....

[Landlubber]

China has invested trillions of Yuan into US$, it certainly is not prepared to "dump" that amount of money over a short time frame Mas.

Certainly they are talking about an Asian common currency, but they too say they will be slow in getting this.

In the mean time, the yanks, like aussies, are very inventive and can utilise whatever is around them for their own betterment.

Sure the cars have crashed, but they have everywhere (except China of course, it is still a novelty here), but the writing is on the wall, petrol cars are not going to be so common next year even as the are now, new power sources are being invented every day, both for personal and commercial reasons, the Chinese can only copy, they do not invent much at all, they are not the perfectionists that the Japanese are, nor do they have the inventiveness of the western world, anyone here for the last 50 years that was half smart was "removed", they unfortunately have been dumbing down the population to the lowest common denominator for way too long to just start doing anything on their own. American technology, Japanese technology, German and Aussie techs are way , way far superior to them collectively.

A few Chinese have developed against all the difficulties and they will shine, the world will be ruled eventually by them, but it will certainly not happen fast....they simply do not have enough intellegent people left to do that, the current lot of common workers are basically useless, even though they feel they are very good, good is only as you know it to be, they have a long way to go.

The USA will make a giant comeback, the states may separate to a certain degree, but they will still remain loyal Americans, even if that loyalty is lost to the USA.

Don't hold ya breath mate thinking the USA is over, China would love that too, but they cannot afford to loose all they have put into place.

[Boston]

that was worth a few points Land man
kinda exactly what Im thinking
B

[masalai]

I cannot disagree, and Landlubber, I corrected my rant of earlier, at least I know 2 people read it

[BLACKIE]

Son and I did a 1 yr Atlantic Circle, including 2 months at Horta, 2 in Canaries, 4 in W. Africa, 1 in St Martin. Total cost (not counting the pre-stocked charts, food, paint, and 30gals diesel) $5000 US. That was '99-2000.

Began another circle in 2001, spending at similar rate for the first half but stopped over in Gambia for 5 years. Returned June '06. Now that I quit drinking, I could do it for half that--haha, but seriously.

[masalai]

Several cruisers - without independent income - (not wealthy), budget on about AU$500/wk for a couple and do not stay in marinas.. I do not drink now (doctor has forbade me this pleasure consequent to last visit to hospital for pancreatitis, so reducing by AU100/wk

[masrapido]

Originally Posted by Boston

Im a red man kicking the white mans ass at his own game
whats so stressful about that brother

B

Well, if you put it that way, there's nothing else left to say...Just make sure you fleece them good.



By the way, and rather unrelated, I think Masalai is now reeling in the afterglow of the usa $ slide (long expected demise/ajustment?) which he and his financial sense website were calling for/predicting for a while now.

Hopefully it lasts for a long while. Been long overdue.

[masalai]

Thanks for the well wishes but the Au$ is still attached to something so I have no good news about yields from investments yet - I am still hoping for gold at better than AU$2500/oz - but it seems there are movements in the honest and necessary direction to correct the bubbles being blown by Wall St.... The denial Luddites seem to be making a lot of noise and baffling the peons and other sheep like followers who are being led to the slaughter by the Judas Goats of the Fed and their bosses, the money controllers...

[masalai]

Some more interesting reads from inside America http://www.financialsense.com/fsu/ed...2009/0508.html Just for Gamage and masrapido

[Landlubber]

Mas, Have you ever considered that gold is only worth about twice what it costs to dig it up.......why do you continue with the 2500 bit, there is plenty of gold to be dug up still, but certainly not enough to judge currencies on it anymore, that was "in the good old days".....today , nup, gold is simply another mineral, dig it up and sell it, mostly used in jewellery and electronics, it has no more value as a dollar basis....that is history mate.

[masalai]

I would be so bold as to declare 99% is held for its rarity, monetary value in the long term and potential to hold value in its transportability - always has and always will be.... Most Jewellery stuff in Australia is trash trinkets at 9carat and above 450% inflated on actual gold content - Indians still buy gold jewellery by weight for pure (24carat) gold as a hedge and transportable asset - as with many of the boat-people who arrived from Vietnam etc - paid their way in gold (I know several)...

It is acknowledged that the Fed is behind massive market manipulation of things that influence the value of the US$ - by - - not mainstream - - "comentators" who get paid by subscription for their research and advice... The "trend line" has been broken and can be seen in the 10 year gold price. http://www.kitco.com/charts/popup/au3650nyb.html

Evidenced also by "the waggling tongues" on the release of information that China had added 454 tonnes of gold bullion to its central bank reserves... Most of my pontification relates to the difficulty to conduct international trade when the US$ fluctuates so wildly against various currencies making business ordering and purchases very difficult and potentially expensive if caught the wrong way in variations of exchange rates....

Why is it that when NY opens for daily trade that "spot-gold" goes on a wild ride and at all other times dribbles about in a +/- US$2 range? http://www.kitco.com/charts/livegoldw.html (top chart)

[Landlubber]

Evidenced also by "the waggling tongues" on the release of information that China had added 454 tonnes of gold bullion to its central bank reserves...

No secret here mate...common knowledge in China, they dig up more that the rest of the world all put together.

You are right about the Aussie "gold". most people ther have no idea what they are doing, suits Michael from NZ well.

China gold (retail) is all 24 carat. Why people in Australia buy 9 carat (37% gold) is beyond me, it is worth about 10% of what they pay. Some say 9 is harder than 18, that is crap, it is simply cheaper to produce.

India gold is 22 carat by the way, not pure (99.9%) gold.

[Boston]

Ild personally like to see a return to the gold standard
this whole thing started with the advent of income taxes and went on with the invention of the fed one dark night when most fools were not even in congress over a surprise Christmas session. seems only fitting that the next step was to take the dollar off the gold standard and then sell the reserve
now we get this spend your way out of debt thing going on
perfect
that'll work
give it time kids give it time and there will be another mother of all crashes
and this time it will require some real change to fix
not this more of the same stuff
does anyone else realize that the USA has tripled its debt in about the last four months
why
because there was so much bad debt out there
ya

good luck with that
I dont owe anyone a dime

lets see who's sipping martinis out in the harbor with Mas in a few years time

[masrapido]

Masalai, that was one great article. If I didn't know better, I'd praise them for being communists...But the fact that many prominent and highly placed economists and politicians are now talking straight out of Marx's works, is telling us that the shift in thinking has taken place. Even the hardest "capitalists" are now admitting that as an economic system, capitalism is a failure of megalomanic proportions.

Only a handful of die-hard losers are still voicing their beliefs that the old ways are good. It will be one painful awakening event to turn around and see that their only company is Forrest Gump and a few old dementia-ravaged nazists.

I also liked one of earlier links where they were comparing Bernanke's crap to the current movements on the markets. It should worry the people in the usa to have such an ignorant as a person appointed to fix the financial abyss usa is facing...

[masalai]

Landlubber, Most I know - the more 'sophisticated & affluent' (Indians - My lovely lady is from Tamil Nadu), demand 24 carat when they buy - or else buy the bullion and get it made into a decorative bracelet or something...

masrapido, I do not go for labels - as then it requires hours and hours to define the terms and definitions - lets just say both labels have problems because of an individual and general human disease called greed, and the current fiscal issues are bloody huge and exceed intergalactic telephone numbers and beyond the comprehencion of many including myself - A trillion is just 12 zeros but a stack of $1000 notes is bloody mindboggling.... Lets say 500 sheets stack about 6cm high, 1,000,000,000,000 (a trillion), would stack 120km or 74.5 odd miles - - - Have I made an error??? - - the depth of the present disease is just as mind boggling....

In future, to survive a sustainable lifestyle must be the norm, mankind must learn to live with little to no adverse impact on the earth, or suffer a horrible death before the baby-boomers can expire naturally of old age... It ain't funny, nor am I crying "chicken Little" - - I suggest you sit quietly and do some very simple calculations before we realise we are doing what the Easter Islanders did.... leaving nothing behind except for some enigmatic statues pleading for the Gods to save them from their plight of death by starvation to leave NOTHING...