Re: coronavirus and sport ? : Sat Apr 04, 2020 4:25 pm  

Credit rating is not really relevant for government bonds. Investors can easily assess the default risk for a government themselves, they don't need a credit agency to make the assessment for them in the way they may with a company they are considering investing in but about which they don't have much information.

Osborne used to bang on about the credit rating as a political tool with which to attack Labour. We had a AAA rating all through the Blair and Brown years, even when the deficit went up to record levels following the financial crisis and the bank bail outs. The irony was the credit rating agencies downgraded the UK in 2013 after 3 years of Osborne as Chancellor.

When there's a global recession and an increased risk across the board, there's usually a "flight to safety" ie investors dumping private sector assets and wanting to purchase government bonds instead, which drives up the price of the bond (and thus drives down the rate of interest on the bond). So UK government borrowing is likely to be at very low rates because the UK government is "relatively more safe" than most of the other risky assets out there.

Re: coronavirus and sport ? : Sat Apr 04, 2020 6:15 pm  

I never received the letter from Johnson.
With regards the numbers announced the deaths will be correctly stated once the full figures are released rather than just those who unfortunately die in hospital. The problem is that the figure for those who have contracted the virus will never be declared accurately because they do not test everybody only those admitted to hospital.
We will probably have to endure a longer period of isolation because of the government’s testing strategy or lack of it. I wonder what the mood of the country will be if this is extended until the end of May at which point they may consider lessening some but maybe strengthening others.
Why was Johnson’s fiancé allowed to move home when we were instructed to stay in our residences.

Re: coronavirus and sport ? : Sat Apr 04, 2020 6:19 pm  

wrencat1873 wrote:

Any reduction in the country's credit rating will increase the interest rates on the governments own borrowing - these were the words of the Troy government, when setting out the reasons for Austerity.
Are you now saying that maybe this wasn't the case ?

What I am saying is austerity was needed - Osborne used the credit rating as an externality of not doing something. Just as Brown used diversity of assets as an externality for selling all the gold at its lowest values for years when he did

Re: coronavirus and sport ? : Sun Apr 05, 2020 4:25 pm  

We are told to stay in to save lives and the NHS which is fine but the government must also play its part by providing enough PPE to enable the NHS to keep working. They are good at threatening us but no so good at doing their bit.
I note that in today’s briefing the end would only be possible when they know where and who have had the virus. The only way to do this is with testing and even at the optimistic 100,000 a day that will take nearly a year to undertake and only then if they do not have to do multiple retests.
It would also appear that when they finally get to lessening the restrictions it will be based on those areas with the maximum number of confirmed cases like London. This means the more successful you are at social distancing and following the rules the longer you will need to stay in the home.

Re: coronavirus and sport ? : Sun Apr 05, 2020 7:30 pm  

Scarlet Pimpernell wrote:

We are told to stay in to save lives and the NHS which is fine but the government must also play its part by providing enough PPE to enable the NHS to keep working. They are good at threatening us but no so good at doing their bit.
I note that in today’s briefing the end would only be possible when they know where and who have had the virus. The only way to do this is with testing and even at the optimistic 100,000 a day that will take nearly a year to undertake and only then if they do not have to do multiple retests.
It would also appear that when they finally get to lessening the restrictions it will be based on those areas with the maximum number of confirmed cases like London. This means the more successful you are at social distancing and following the rules the longer you will need to stay in the home.

Do you believe even a third of the nonsense you type?

Where is this PPE mountain the UK Government are sat on?

Re: coronavirus and sport ? : Sun Apr 05, 2020 7:43 pm  

What are you going on about, the government are responsible for PPE if they do not have enough then they are in error, if they have but are incapable of delivering them then they are failing in their duty to protect staff.
I will make it simple for you, we have to stay home to protect the NHS by not increasing the risk, if we fail then we are threatened with more draconian laws (this means more severe) however the government also have a responsibility to save the NHS staff which currently they appear not to be doing. The country is in the majority doing what we are asked the government is not, they should therefore sort their own house out before threatening the country.
Do you get it now or do you not care about the government’s growing failures which are being highlighted by many professionals.

Re: coronavirus and sport ? : Sun Apr 05, 2020 8:05 pm  

Scarlet Pimpernell wrote:

What are you going on about, the government are responsible for PPE if they do not have enough then they are in error, if they have but are incapable of delivering them then they are failing in their duty to protect staff.
I will make it simple for you, we have to stay home to protect the NHS by not increasing the risk, if we fail then we are threatened with more draconian laws (this means more severe) however the government also have a responsibility to save the NHS staff which currently they appear not to be doing. The country is in the majority doing what we are asked the government is not, they should therefore sort their own house out before threatening the country.
Do you get it now or do you not care about the government’s growing failures which are being highlighted by many professionals.

I ask again, WHERE DOES THE PPE COME FROM?

(and whilst you are thinking of your answer, can I remind you this is a GLOBAL pandemic, we can't just pop to the nearest ARCO and clear their stock of masks and breathing apparatus...)

and at the same time as you are pondering that, WHAT COULD THEY BE DOING THAT THEY AREN'T?

[Durham Giant]

Re: coronavirus and sport ? : Mon Apr 06, 2020 8:34 am  

IR80 wrote:

I ask again, WHERE DOES THE PPE COME FROM?

(and whilst you are thinking of your answer, can I remind you this is a GLOBAL pandemic, we can't just pop to the nearest ARCO and clear their stock of masks and breathing apparatus...)

and at the same time as you are pondering that, WHAT COULD THEY BE DOING THAT THEY AREN'T?

Well let’s see.
We know there were problems in the supply chain because 10 days ago they were showing a huge warehouse full of PPE.

Now not been a logistics expert but in the middle of a pandemic I would like to be thinking that the warehouse would have being about 10% full with the other 90% in the hospitals where it was needed.

Other ideas

What are they doing to get British manufacturers ( not many I know because city workers actually create Sweet FA). But the ones that do should be opened up to produce PPE. Cotton face masks for everyone should not be impossible.

We have school teachers in the NE using their school equipment to print and make their own face shields they are donating to hospitals.

In Italy two young men used their design skills to adapt scuba masks to work as PPE.

Did I miss the appeal for scuba masks, did I miss the government announcement that Berghaus , rydale, Barbour were now to make protective clothing ?

That’s what happens in a crisis. Leaders lead and plan

Re: coronavirus and sport ? : Mon Apr 06, 2020 9:29 am  

IR80 wrote:

and at the same time as you are pondering that, WHAT COULD THEY BE DOING THAT THEY AREN'T?

Well we were told large sporting events were fine. Delaying the closure of pubs/restaurants. Encouraging *regular* outside exercise. Non-essential workers still working if they can't work from home. Self-employed in limbo for weeks. Lying about testing capability. And that’s only the half of it.

Want me to go on?

Re: coronavirus and sport ? : Mon Apr 06, 2020 11:26 am  

Sal Paradise wrote:

It is interesting - at my firm I have adapted to the changes - home working for those who can - distancing for those who need to come to the depot. I have upped the cleaning regime - changed break start times etc. In two weeks since we instigated this not one person has gone off sick and I have drivers delivering all over the place. It shows working can be conducted safely with a bit of thought - simply no need to crash the economy in the way they have - bonkers IMO.

What do Sweden know that we don't - I see for all their testing the numbers of deaths in Germany are on a significant upward curve.

As a private business surely you will have bought all the PPE and tests you need - you obviously saw this coming and took the obvious precautions?

As have we - but my business is front line care for vulnerable adults however, so I have no option but to send staff into the services they work in; and they're doing an amazing job - so far - of keeping things afloat. I currently have large numbers of support staff - mostly young people - voluntarily living in at the services they work at, so their colleagues can self-isolate and they are there to pick up every shift. It's inspiring stuff, but it will only take us so far. Meanwhile, care homes for older people are being decimated, with LA's and hospitals unable to assist and the residents being left to die in the home, infecting staff and other residents along the way.

What we do have however, is a massive shortage of PPE - we used up our rolling stock early doors, and the Govt helpline is sporadic at best; on Saturday I managed to get a job lot of protective suits from a builders merchant, and I have been assured that we'll have masks at every location by Weds this week. Meanwhile, one of our nurses has done a video showing staff how to disinfect face masks so they can be re-used - which is ok in a pinch, but far from ideal.

And no - of course I didn't by Covid-19 tests in advance; they didn't exist until recently, and are unavailable now to anyone apart from the NHS. I'd give my right arm for a couple of thousand of even antibody tests - that would at least allow us to know who has had it and is now safe to work, so that rotas can be managed more effectively.

So whatever platitudes someone wrote for the Queen to read out, it's certainly no help to us; and neither is clapping, or warm words from Govt ministers - we are doing this out of our own ingenuity and creativity, with no help at all from Matt Hancock, who appears to have entirely forgotten that his brief includes Social Care.