MEMORIES OF ANOTHER TIME

I was in England for the election of 1979.  Never had seen a British election; had just read about them.  There was not much drama as everyone expected Mrs Thatcher to win but I stayed up all nigh watching the returns from places of which I had never heard fascinated by the spectacle so unlike anything at home.  I was about to turn in when the most remarkable image appeared on the screen.  It was of a moving van pilling away from # 10 and not half an hour later came another van (ok, lorry) turning left off Whitehall, up to the residence and the worldly goods of the Thatchers being carried in.  That was it.  The UK had a new government. Done.  Finished.  Functioning.  Out with the old in with the new, all in the space of a few hours.  Damnedest thing.  Some months later, I was sitting in Annabel's at 4:00 am watching the election of Ronald Reagan.  Live overseas tv was quite the thing then.  Damnedest thing.  With the two results, all present realized we were witnessing a stunning new order, pissed as newts tho we were (who the hell isn't at 4:00 am).  This moment may also be the start of a new order although it's a bit too early to be sure.

I feel sorry for the boys running the show for the next few years.  The Iron Lady blew into Whitehall with, it seemed, the the admonition of the three witches on the heath: "Be bloody, bold and resolute," and indeed, she was.   Mr. Cameron and his side-kick have neither the gumption, I suspect, nor the mandate supplied to Mrs. Thatcher.  They do have one hell of a job in front of them for as ol' John of Gaunt put it, the joint, "...is now leased out."  Unfortunately, there is really no where to look for help for the mob across the pond is well and truly leased out...they just don't know it yet.

The market seems to, however, as having a few days to digest the carnage of the Greek "solution," the Euro got the absolute crap kicked out of it today with open talk of a further retreat from this level to around 110 to the $ before the year is out.  The German exporters must be turning handsprings.  The Proud Pound is looking decidedly edgy and with it altogether certain that the Fed is going to keep giving money away for some time the dollar strength we see today is, I suspect, only in reference to weakness in Europe.   The EU, I fear, is about to be shaken to its very foundation with what has already happened.
As heads of state across the continent continue to call for new, tough fiscal measures, public sector unions are gearing up for a battle that may well make Mrs. Thatcher's confrontations look like child's play.   The outcome of these soon to arrive encounters cannot be known at this time but the gold guys have already voted. It appears to me that their call is that currencies aren't going to worth very much at all and hence the seemingly inexorable march to new highs.  This has the feeling of 1979 only the other way around.   I think the next four months will tell the tale.  I am very uncomfortable.

Baring important developments, back to regulation tomorrow and apologies for yesterday.