Tunisia

I feel sorry for this nation which is bound to be adversely affected by the killings yesterday. Tunisia is a peaceful country that just wanted to get on with life as usual. Sadly, this will not be so for some time to come: tourists are likely to choose alternative destinations and desert Muslim nations. Surely in the end this is counter-productive?

Hot days

At last we seem to be in English high summer with high temperatures and high humidity. Although we have passed the  longest day, evenings are still light for weeks to come. The real change tends to come in September. It must be my age but it seems only 5 minutes since last Christmas! We'll blink and it will be Christmas 2015 and the nights will start to draw out again!

When we have long summer evenings it is all too easy to take them for granted. There is something nice about all the seasons: each has its own beauty. Of all the seasons, spring is my favorite with the cold winter gone and done with and new life in the earth.

Greece and falling stock markets

With the continuing uncertainty over the Greek debt crisis it is not surprising that the FTSE 100 is still falling. Until the uncertainty goes, I think we'll see further falls. At the very least expect markets to be erratic.

Swifts

One of the joys of an English summer is the sound of screaming swifts in the air. This is most common in May and June. The swifts are one of the first summer migrants to leave. It always seems a long time until they return again next spring. Usually the first ones arrive here by the end of April. Once, long ago, I found one on the ground. We kept it in a box overnight. The next morning it flew off as if nothing had happened. Swifts spend most of their time on the wing and if they do land on the ground it is not easy to take off again. I found this out much later. It was lovely to handle this scythe like bird.

See http://www.rspb.org.uk/discoverandenjoynature/discoverandlearn/birdguide/name/s/swift/ .

Greece - still in trouble?

International creditors are still not happy with proposals from Greece over their debt. Talks are continuing  but I think Greece will have to make further concessions or leave the Euro. Although deep in the mire now, they would be in dire trouble out of the Euro with no support from the ECB for their banks.

See http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-33258624 .

Greece - market relief?

This may be just a blip but the FTSE 100 share index bounced back today on the news that Greece has been "saved" in the short-term, although they still have a massive debt to repay and Greece is in a real mess. As I see it, this is a temporary situation and Greece is still in deep trouble. The simple fact is that the Euro could simply fall apart if Greece defaults and Germany would be left with huge losses and they are desperate to avoid this.

No, the Euro is still in deep trouble. This crisis has a way to go yet. There is trouble ahead for sure.

Castle Trust - avoid?

The top of my Gmail seems to have regular ads for Castle Trust offering bonds with very good interest rates. I read somewhere that these funds are "dodgy" and you could end up losing capital. I have no idea whether true or not, but I shall be avoiding them.