http://www.everythingulster.com/blog/index.php?disp=comments en-UK http://backend.userland.com/rss 60 Thu, 24 Jul 2008 20:12:39 +0000 Mike [Visitor] c5637@http://www.everythingulster.com/blog/ The notion that having your own currency gives you complete freedom to set interest rates is a bit of a myth to be honest. It may give us a SMALL amount of wiggle room but thats about the extent of it.<br /> <br /> The UK is constantly having to change its interest rates in response to interest rate and currency movements in Europe The USA and Asia. If we dont and we set the rates substantially lower than the rest of the world then money flows out of the country. If we set the rates too high then the pound rises so high that our exports become uncompetitive. It is for this reason that the UK media pay such close attention to interest rate announcments from the ECB, Federal Reserve and Japanese Central bank.<br /> <br /> And if /when the UK joins the Eurozone dont you think as country of 60 odd million people we are going to have slightly more influence on ECB policy than a country of 4 odd million ?
The UK is constantly having to change its interest rates in response to interest rate and currency movements in Europe The USA and Asia. If we dont and we set the rates substantially lower than the rest of the world then money flows out of the country. If we set the rates too high then the pound rises so high that our exports become uncompetitive. It is for this reason that the UK media pay such close attention to interest rate announcments from the ECB, Federal Reserve and Japanese Central bank.

And if /when the UK joins the Eurozone dont you think as country of 60 odd million people we are going to have slightly more influence on ECB policy than a country of 4 odd million ?]]> http://www.everythingulster.com/blog/index.php/2008/07/21/republic-doesn-t-register-on-ecb-radar#c5637