The sourcing capital or stock of a company, single country, or conglomerate of countries/companies … has reserves that are not able to be easily valued or accounted, not to mention derivative cross-selling. Hence, it is anyone's guess as to true volume, true value, and true creditability of economic entities, which is everything that is bartered, traded, or bought/sold.

So once the United States and France in the 1930's changed to a fiat standard, off gold-silver, what “guess” set the value of gold? Silver? The Dollar?

The question isn't the current direction or the current value, it is who is next to pull the “excalibur sword” from the stone set by Luther Pendragon!

I would give 5 Euro.

@Chris: I’ve got some thoughts waiting for another post on what ZP is trying to do and where he is spending ‘his’ money. Let’s follow the money a bit, and that will tell us what he’s really trying to do politically, recession or not. Where do you see him spending it?

@Paul: the question of deeper changes required in Spanish attitudes to work and business, generalisations notwithstanding, has also come up more than once and with more than one commentator. What do you think needs to change?

@Mark: spot-on! What exactly is supposed to replace construction/housing and what exactly is everyone supposed to retrain as? There is clearly no coherent plan here.

@Angel, Joe: Joe is quite right, of course – if you are so technically inclined – but I’ve added a link to the top of the post as well so you can download the interview and listen as much as you like on your mp3 player in the car or on iTunes.

Yes, that just about sums it up but can Spain in fact leave Euro currency? Something to do with German bonds and pensions I think.  Zapatero has a ‘new plan’ to invest €5bil in new sustainable economies but even if this is effectively implemented, the benefits for the national economy will not be seen for 3-5 years, well outside the time frame available. Of course, in 2006 when the coffers were full, something along these lines but much bigger could have been conceived to offset the inevitable crash in the building sector.

But sadly, no such thing. Instead we’ve seen billions of Euros squandered on the baby-cheque, the long-running €400 farce, subsidies for car companies which are not even Spanish and the truly amazing Plan-E. Roundabouts are now a major hazard in my town (Castellón) because mini-parks, fountains and trees have been erected in the middle of them obstructing drivers’ vision. How long will it be before Spaniards incorporate the English word ‘bailout’ into their own vocabulary because all roads seem to be leading in that direction?
 

Matthew’s last question has also had me perplexed for ages. Why is the government not  doing anything and pretending that everything is on the mend when virtually all economic advisors and institutions are saying the opposite?  I think the answer is basically political not economic. Measures required now, which I think will finally be taken once the ECB/IMF impose conditions for bailing out Spain, would make the Socialist government more unpopular among its own massive captive vote. Reforms will include such things as reducing public expenditure, i.e. taking on the funcionarios at national, regional and local levels and implementing labour reforms which would mean falling out with their Trade Union friends and so on. I believe they think the best chance of staying in power is by not losing the traditional vote. Any idea of winning an election based on economic performance has long gone.