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Paul Gambles

Recognized as a regional financial expert, Paul is a regular speaker at industry events on market forecasting, financial planning, investing and legal issues for foreigners living or doing business in Asia.  Besides Paul’s blog, Paul previously distributed his ‘almost-daily’ email – “Daily Updates”, where he gave his views on timely issues affecting financial markets, macro economics, micro economics and everything in-between.

Born in South Yorkshire, England, Paul graduated from the University of Warwick with an Honours degree in English and European Studies.  He began his financial career in the early 1980s as a technical inspector at HMIT with Inland Revenue.  Following a successful career change to the Bank of Scotland in 1987, Paul moved to Bangkok in 1994 to help set-up an investment counseling practice, which today is known as MBMG International.

www.mbmg-international.com

  

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2 November 2011

Halloween special, 2 for the price of one

A man approaching his 70s was attacked in the street, stripped of his possessions and, before his assailants killed him, he asked them"What did I ever do to you?". No, not an everyday scene in 2011 Britain but the end of a 42 year regime in Libya. There are victims throughout the world who can testify to the pain that gets inflicted when a regime, even one that started with high hopes, popular support and some good ideas, ceases to have any accountability or responsibility. Few dictators in history when handed absolute power have managed not to become absolutely corrupted. This is the flaw that undermines autocratic regimes time and time again.

Democratic systems face the opposite problem - politicians always looking over their shoulders at how to please and/or hoodwink the voters and what happens when the facade finally crumbles. This happened in Greece yesterday when the policies of Eurocracy came face to face with the people's power to reject them in the cradle of Democracy. The people's wishes must have seemed terribly inconvenient to the Eurocrats, especially Jean-Claude Trichet, who yesterday stood down at the end of his term at The ECB. The absence of baying crowds in the street for M. Trichet was a disappointment to us but we do look forward to baying crowds at Greek ballot boxes rejecting the madness of bankers whose only answer is more can-kicking and finger pointing at everyone else

Speaking of finger pointing, commentators were yesterday blaming the Eurozone for the collapse of MF Global which was forced to declare bankruptcy when its 40 x leverage imploded as its wild bets on Europe backfired rather than the system that allows the crazy casino to continue.
All this on Halloween? Read our latest research report, Nightmare on Wall Street II for the playbook on this current unfolding bad dream.