Brexploitation
A great new word, shame its needed though
Brexflation: Lenovo, HPE and Walkers crisps all set for double-digit hike
A second wave of double-digit price hikes are coming to a reseller or retailer near you from the start of next month, both Hewlett Packard Enterprise and Lenovo have confirmed. Since the referendum, the UK's currency has fallen from $1.49 to £1 to $1.21, a drop of 18.7 per cent and many IT makers have reacted, from the cloud …
-
-
Tuesday 8th November 2016 12:49 GMT Mark 110
Re: Brexploitation
It is a great word. Not sure its correct though. If I was accounting in dollars I'd need to raise my £ / day to my clients too to maintain the same income. Not exactly exploitation (apart from maybe Walkers) - just making sure they recoup the same dollars as they did before.
Howabout:
- Brexaclysm
- Brexident
As for Farage, not sure he cares. He is quite happy for the whole economy to go into meltdown as long as we keep Johnny foreigner out.
-
Tuesday 8th November 2016 14:43 GMT Anonymous Coward
Re: Brexploitation
Farage is waiting for the economy to tank so that the country will cry out for a strong leader.
So lets check:
+ Gives speeches in drinking Establishments
+ whips up racial intolerance
+ Dresses like a twat
+ Destabilises country
+ Resigns only to come back as nobody can fill his shoes
Yep. Country waiting for a strong leader.
It's depressing just how much he is following the play book.
-
Tuesday 8th November 2016 19:55 GMT YARR
Re: Brexploitation
The change in currency value was caused by currency speculators, not Brexit (political independence) which hasn't happened yet. The productivity of workers in Britain v the EU has not changed one jot, so in real value terms nothing has changed. The currency change is because we have a non-asset backed currency whose value we allow to be determined by gamblers.
Why single out Farage, when the other major political parties have all had leadership elections post-Brexit? A significant event like Brexit requires a major change in policy for each party which is usually a prime opportunity for new leadership. In the case of UKIP, Farage has achieved exactly what he set out to achieve so it's now appropriate for someone else to chart a new future for the party.
It's obvious to anyone with perception that the EU's goal is to create a superstate, centralising power for an elite and disempowering the populace. Free trade was used to convince us to join, along with false promises that we would always remain an independent country. The truth is we don't need to surrender our sovereignty to free trade. All those baseless comments claiming that Brexit is "wrong" or "silly" are meaningless without justification. If you really think that short term price rises caused by speculators are a bigger issue than who makes our laws, then I wonder is there anything you wouldn't sell off for a price?
-
Tuesday 8th November 2016 20:33 GMT Doctor Syntax
Re: Brexploitation
"If you really think that short term price rises caused by speculators are a bigger issue than who makes our laws, then I wonder is there anything you wouldn't sell off for a price?"
First I need to disabuse you of something. Ultimately neither the UK nor the EU, either separately or in combination are in complete control of what happens here or in the rest of Europe. Nobody is. We live in a world in which all sorts of complex interactions take place. Various people can drive bits of the system but we all have to live with the overall result. Sorry. Your simple view of how things are isn't real.
Secondly the value of any currency relative to any other is determined by the market - what rates people are prepared to exchange currency at and what amounts of any currency they're prepared to pay for particular goods and services. It's not speculation, it's trade. Overall people place less value on sterling than they did. It's going to be a fact of life for a long time and it will have a significant effect on any British govt's to determine how life is lived in Britain irrespective of any legislation Parliament passes. You got your Brexit vote through. Stop trying to blame others for its direct consequences.
-
Tuesday 8th November 2016 21:05 GMT YARR
Re: Brexploitation
"the value of any currency relative to any other is determined by the market" ... " It's going to be a fact of life for a long time"
The yuan is pegged to the dollar, The Chinese government can choose to intentionally overvalue or undervalue their currency to their benefit. When you allow the value of your currency to be determined by market forces, that means the wealthy have greater influence and can manipulate the currency to their benefit rather than to the benefit of your country.
-
-
Wednesday 9th November 2016 01:17 GMT YARR
Re: Brexploitation
"The fault is 100% the Brexit vote because everyone else on the planet, apart from extreme Leavers, now appreciates that the UK's economics prospects are now diminished as a result of that vote"
I can't speak for the rest of the planet, but if I want to buy something from abroad, my concern is what it costs to buy which is a function of real productivity and tariffs, not where laws are made. I don't refuse to buy something from abroad because their government isn't part of a supranational political block.
"Pegging one currency to another has a history of ending in tears"
Locking or pegging? The Yuan is periodically revalued, but clearly it's change in value does not reflect the very different growth rates of the two economies. Isn't it remarkable how they pull that off when we couldn't keep the Pound tied to the Deutshmark even when our growth rates were similar.
-
Wednesday 9th November 2016 11:15 GMT Anonymous Coward
Re: Brexploitation
Locking or pegging? The Yuan is periodically revalued, but clearly it's change in value does not reflect the very different growth rates of the two economies. Isn't it remarkable how they pull that off when we couldn't keep the Pound tied to the Deutshmark even when our growth rates were similar.
But the Chinese economy is a highly-managed, centralised beast. The currency's value is determined almost solely by the Party machinery. That brings certain benefits, and certain dis-benefits. In my view, and the view of the vast majority of "westerners" the dis-benefits of such a system outweigh its benefits. It's also connected with a very different culture and worldview from "ours". I really don't see it working in the UK.
-
-
-
-
-
-
Tuesday 8th November 2016 23:17 GMT TVU
Re: Brexploitation
"The change in currency value was caused by currency speculators, not Brexit (political independence) which hasn't happened yet. The productivity of workers in Britain v the EU has not changed one jot, so in real value terms nothing has changed. The currency change is because we have a non-asset backed currency whose value we allow to be determined by gamblers."
That is complete falsification and economic denial. The fault is 100% the Brexit vote because everyone else on the planet, apart from extreme Leavers, now appreciates that the UK's economics prospects are now diminished as a result of that vote and so the currency has accordingly crashed. It's simple cause and effect and every single Leave voter contributed to the pound's crash.
-
-
-
-
-
This post has been deleted by its author
-
-
-
Tuesday 8th November 2016 12:32 GMT Pen-y-gors
Cause and effect?
"Since the referendum, the UK's currency has fallen from $1.49 to £1 to $1.21, a drop of 18.7 per cent "
Ah, yes, but that's pure co-incidence. Correlation is not causation. There are many factors behind the drop in the value of the pound, none of them remotely to do with Brexit which, after all, is the glorious salvation of us all, and will lead to us all being so wealthy we can have a staff of Lithuanian and Polish servants to cater to our every whim (erm...maybe...there may be a slight flaw in that plan)
Anyway, the drop in the pound is obviously caused by the cycle of Jupiter's moons, as any fule kno.
-
Tuesday 8th November 2016 15:19 GMT Sir Runcible Spoon
Re: Cause and effect?
Doesn't this mean that UK goods are now more attractive to overseas buyers? That should be good news for the few things that are still manufactured here, but it should mean that more manufacturing gets done here (for things where the materials can be sourced locally anyway).
-
-
Tuesday 8th November 2016 17:03 GMT David Pollard
Re: Cause and effect?
... UK goods are now more attractive to overseas buyers [o]nly to the extent that they don't depend on imports.
When the pound devalues with respect to all other currencies, the cost of the imported component of goods which are re-exported remains constant in terms of external currencies. With a 'weaker' pound the sterling cost of the added value in such re-exports becomes less expensive in terms of external currencies. So trade dependent on imports does become more competitive, albeit by a smaller amount than goods or services which are wholly sourced within the UK.
-
Tuesday 8th November 2016 20:20 GMT Doctor Syntax
Re: Cause and effect?
"So trade dependent on imports does become more competitive, albeit by a smaller amount than goods or services which are wholly sourced within the UK."
Which was my point. Although once wages start chasing the inflation caused by the £ devaluation and all the other stuff even that advantage goes.
-
-
-
-
Tuesday 8th November 2016 16:57 GMT Pen-y-gors
Re: Cause and effect?
"I hear Poldark's mine has found a new lode of tin"
But seriously though...we do still have supplies of ore under our green and pleasant hills - tin, lead, copper, silver, even a bit of gold. But unfortunately we don't have them on a scale to make mining them even vaguely competetive with other countries. The Welsh copper industry died in the late 1800s when it became cheaper to ship ore from Chile for smelting in Swansea than to mine ore from 100 miles away.
<sarky Remoaner point>But in the future we can get back to our traditional cottage industries of taking in each other's washing and living on turnip soup while singing happy potato planting songs, and not have to worry about the cost of importing raw materials or even manufactured goods. I'll knit my new telly out of brassica tops I think.</remoan>
-
-
This post has been deleted by its author
-
Tuesday 8th November 2016 22:29 GMT P. Lee
Re: Cause and effect?
>"Since the referendum, the UK's currency has fallen from $1.49 to £1 to $1.21, a drop of 18.7 per cent "
Still it appears that there's an opportunity for someone to start selling crisps who doesn't incur these costs by keeping everything local.
Hands up - who thinks leaving the EU will actually add 18.7% onto the cost of sales (to the EU)? Does this extra cost apply to all non-EU countries? Can someone explain why all this is priced in USD rather than Euros? Ah yes, that's why, if we look at the Euro-to-GBP data we find (from xe.com) that GBP is almost 10% up against the Euro's value in 2008 - a relatively recent low-point with no "We're all doomed" Brexit story. As the villain said, "there's no news like bad news!"
Excuse me while I fail to weep for Big Business and selective news editors.
-
Wednesday 9th November 2016 13:37 GMT Steve Todd
Re: Cause and effect?
Unfortunately most international trade is priced in USD. Oil for example, even if it never goes anywhere near the US, is priced in USD per barrel. Most electronics manufacturing happens in China, who wants to be paid in USD. Result: computers and other IT equipment goes up in price.
Walkers may have a hard time justifying their price increase (energy costs will rise, as will the cost of imported potatoes, but that adds up to a cost price that has changed by small fraction of the exchange rate delta), but HPE and Lenovo have a fair point.
-
-
Tuesday 8th November 2016 12:50 GMT 45RPM
Brexit is an annoyance to me, as a good European, but I’m in the fortunate position of being able to weather the financial storm. I may well get caught in the Brexit inspired rounds of redundancies, but I reckon I can weather that too - although it will be rather annoying.
The people I feel genuinely sorry for are those people who are less well off than me who can’t afford to weather the turbulence around Brexit (which will most likely be long-lasting), and who voted to remain. This isn’t their fault, and they’re genuinely suffering for it. It’s not enough, but I will continue to support the food-banks so that (at least, and I hope) these people won’t suffer.
Anyone who voted for Brexit and who is now suffering? I’m sorry (and I’m aware of how heartless and cruel I am), but screw 'em. They voted to shoot their feet off, and I’m not going to give them a lift to the hospital. It’s unfortunate that I can’t mark my food bank donations ‘Remainers Only’ and expect my wishes to be honoured, so I end up accidentally supporting the dullards too, but that’s just the way it has to be if I want to keep supporting the deserving poor.
I implore you all, make a donation to your local food bank every week if you can afford to. It’s more important now than ever - and don’t forget the toiletries and sanitary products too. And if you are in desperate need of help (particularly if you didn’t vote for this mess), please don’t be too proud to visit a food bank.
-
Tuesday 8th November 2016 15:41 GMT Anonymous Coward
"I implore you all, make a donation to your local food bank every week if you can afford to. It’s more important now than ever [...]"
As I go into the supermarket every day - each time I donate the equivalent of the cost of a cup of coffee from one of the branded chains. To make the donation go further I choose suitable discounted items - or bargains on selected branded lines from B&M or Aldi.
The cost of a cup of coffee isn't much of a deprivation - but it mounts up over a year.
I also stockpile seasonal things for when the local food bank volunteers do their special Xmas collection day. A trolley load early in the morning raises their spirits.
The only problem is that the local food bank uses their web/twitter pages only intermittently - usually to say how many families have been fed. Rarely do they indicate what their remaining stocks are like. That makes it difficult to double guess what items to donate across the various categories.
-
Tuesday 8th November 2016 16:12 GMT Pen-y-gors
Food banks
Obviously, providing food banks is a good way to help those who have ended up left behind by the system, and at least makes sure that no-one starves. They may be cold and homeless, but at least they have some food.
But, as usual, I'm in two minds about the approach of having collection bins at supermarkets. Obviously they work, and they let donors feel they have done something specific and 'good', but they are horribly inefficient. @AC gives discounted and branded items, but if people gave money to the same value, then the food bank could buy cases of goods wholesale from the cash and carry, and get even better value.
The same goes for people giving food and clothes etc to be driven across Europe in a battered van to help refugees. Cash to an organisation who can source things in bulk, locally, is much more cost-effective and also helps support a local economy rather than Tesco's shareholders.
And how about people how spend hundreds of quid on a plane fare so they can spend a few weeks in Rwanda (or wherever) helping to build a school. I think the locals are probably quite good at building - but the cost of the plane fare would buy a lot of materials to help them get started. I'm not saying that someone with specialist skills shouldn't fly so that they can transfer those skills, but rich kids doing a bit of cement mixing and painting makes me a bit ambivalent. Yes, the experience hopefully does them good and makes them more conscious of other people and their lives, but is it cost effective?
-
Tuesday 8th November 2016 16:35 GMT Anonymous Coward
Re: Food banks
"[...] but if people gave money to the same value, then the food bank could buy cases of goods wholesale from the cash and carry, and get even better value."
Agreed. Unfortunately the local food bank doesn't appear to be a registered charity to claim Gift Aid - and there is no indication of how they would handle the governance associated with financial donations. My impression is that it is a loose group of volunteers - and a local business provides a small amount of storage space. After last Xmas they had to close their collection points for a few weeks because they had no more room to store the influx of donations.
Our Waitrose supermarket is apparently the most productive of the local food bank's collecting sites - even though it is much smaller than the nearby Tesco, Asda, or Sainsbury's stores.
Rather cynically I shun the local churches' collection points - as too often it is used for PR about how "good" their religion is. It appears to confuse my religious neighbours that an atheist can do charitable things for the sake of simple humanity. If they gave to charity the money that they are obliged to give to run their religious organisations - then they would be able to do much more.
-
-
-
-
Tuesday 8th November 2016 13:04 GMT Dan 55
Re: Whilst I don't disagree with the thrust of the article...
You have to shift all that money abroad. That's getting more expensive now.
-
Tuesday 8th November 2016 13:16 GMT Voland's right hand
Re: Whilst I don't disagree with the thrust of the article...
simply growing potatoes
Potatoes are going to get significantly more expensive (same as any "British" fruit and veg).
They are collected predominantly using seasonal labor which comes mostly from Eastern Europe and is paid in Euros or Euro equivalents. If their salary is reduced by 20% they will simply not bother to get over here and pick the stuff. So if any of them were not paid in Eu to start with they have already asked for a 20% rise.
Ditto for a large percentage of other stuff relying on cheap labor like car washing, etc. There were 5-10 Bulgarians and Romanians in the beginning of the year in my Sainsbury parking lot. There are now 1-2 left because the money they were sending back home simply no longer adds up. And so on.
So anything dependent on imports goes 20%. Anything dependent on imported manual labor goes up 20% too. What will be the inflation in the new year now is in totally "god only knows" territory, but it will not be what the Bank of England is forecasting. No way.
-
Tuesday 8th November 2016 13:51 GMT kyndair
Re: Whilst I don't disagree with the thrust of the article...
re: Voland's right hand
Also profits need to be kept up and when those profits are declared in a currency other GBP to keep them up prices need to be raised, after the city was given promises and ceo bonuses are at stake.
re: Dan 55
Law and Ethics have very little to do with each other especially tax law, people spend a lot on money on clever people who then help the tax authorities write the law to make sure it looks solid at first glance by everyone else and that they can legally move
-
Tuesday 8th November 2016 15:05 GMT Anonymous Coward
Re: Whilst I don't disagree with the thrust of the article...
> Ditto for a large percentage of other stuff relying on cheap labor like car washing, etc. There were 5-10 Bulgarians and Romanians in the beginning of the year in my Sainsbury parking lot. There are now 1-2 left because the money they were sending back home simply no longer adds up. And so on.
Shush, otherwise the UKIPers will believe the that the Brexit vote has had the desired effect.
-
Tuesday 8th November 2016 15:53 GMT Voland's right hand
Re: Whilst I don't disagree with the thrust of the article...
Shush, otherwise the UKIPers will believe the that the Brexit vote has had the desired effect.
The vote has not. The pound drop has.
It is however as in an old Bulgarian/Serbian/Macedonian/etc joke:
Q: "Ivan why are you laughing with glee after your house burned down? Why are you happy?"
A: "The neighbor's shed burned down too".
-
Tuesday 8th November 2016 15:54 GMT Anonymous Coward
Re: Whilst I don't disagree with the thrust of the article...
"If it were fresh air the crisps would go off sooner. They're actually packed in nitrogen, which does come with a cost."
[more pedantry]
Fresh air is 80% nitrogen. It is presumably the waste product from the industry that extracts the oxygen and and other gases.
-
-
Tuesday 8th November 2016 15:50 GMT Anonymous Coward
Re: Whilst I don't disagree with the thrust of the article...
"So anything dependent on imports goes 20%. Anything dependent on imported manual labor goes up 20% too."
In the 1960s an old timer had an apocryphal anecdote to explain an inflation chain. It started with the wood seller's wife wanting an extra 5/- for her bingo. That cost was passed on at each stage of the wood being sold, processed, and turned into products - together with the maintenance of profit margins. The end result was a general increase of a lot more than 5/-..
-
Wednesday 9th November 2016 17:01 GMT David Beck
Re: Whilst I don't disagree with the thrust of the article...
Potatoes are harvested by machine. There is almost no manual labour involved, at least this is true in countries which do not have access to a supply of cheap labour. If the cost of labour moves the UK into the 20th century in farming methods it can't be all bad.
-
-
-
Tuesday 8th November 2016 14:40 GMT Rich 11
Re: Whilst I don't disagree with the thrust of the article...
However, most of the volume of the packs is fresh air.
[Pedantry alert]
If it were fresh air the crisps would go off sooner. They're actually packed in nitrogen, which does come with a cost.
I know this due to a cousin who worked briefly in the Walkers factory in Grimsby. She left for a job in the job centre, because haranguing unfortunates was less soul-destroying than being a robot on a production line.
-
-
Biting the hand that feeds IT
