AmEx now offers revolving cards, aka "credit cards", so they're not a
very good example anymore.

They offer both. I have one of each (billed in different currencies.)

AFAIK, Diners Club (now owned by Discover) is still non-revolving.

Diners Club has bounced around a lot and although the overall owner of
the brand is Discover, it has split into different things in different
countries. In North America, it's now owned by BMO, a Canadian bank,
and is a glorified Mastercard. You're supposed to pay in full each
month, but if you don't, they charge you interest, which makes it a
lot like a revolving card. In the UK and France, it's owned by
Citibank, and it's not a Mastercard, but it doesn't seem to be a
Discover card, either. Go figure.

R's,
John

On Wed, 25 Jan 2012 18:25:43 +0000, Charles Ellson
wrote:

On Wed, 25 Jan 2012 10:35:23 +0000, "
wrote:

On 24/01/2012 21:40, Neil Williams wrote:
On Tue, 24 Jan 2012 21:35:23 +0000 (UTC), "Adam H. Kerman"
wrote:
When berthing at a high-level platform, a trap door is lowered,
covering the steps in the vestibule.

Thanks.

What would you call it?

I don't think we'd have a name as we don't have any - the UK is all high
platformed, or for the rare low ones (not US low) there are usually
wooden steps left on the platform.

The only thing even vaguely like it is the retractable step on Metrolink
trams in Manchester, but I think the platforms are now all high so they
are unused now. All other tram systems in the UK are all low platform
with low floor trams.

Neil

Are there any low platforms in the UK now, besides heritage lines?

Down line platform at Kingussie.

Whoops, _Up_ line. (wrong capital g )

John Levine wrote:

A time versus demand deposit account has to do with the bank's cash
position and assets on its balance sheet. They wouldn't be terms
used in retail banking. Fewer assets back time deposits, as the assumption
is made that not everyone will withdraw from these accounts at once, and
if they do, the bank can prevent them from having immediate access to
their money. In retail banking, certificate of deposit (CD) would be
the term used for these types of accounts.

That's not really correct. (I wish I could say I was surprised.)

US banks have historically made a distinction between demand deposits,
which you could get back on demand, such as by writing checks on them,
and didn't pay any interest, and time deposits which did pay interest
but the bank could make you wait anywhere from a week to a month
before repaying you. Those distinctions have blurred a lot in recent
years, but if you have a passbook or statement savings account, that's
a time deposit and the bank could in theory make you wait when you ask
for a withdrawal, although in practice they never do. The time aspect
is why you can't write checks on them. That last bit was widely
flouted by things with names like Payment Orders or Negotiable Orders
of Withdrawal which were checks in all but name, until the regulators
relented and allowed interest on checking accounts.

So you said a lot of the same thing I said, but don't believe that
a bank's assets and nature of liabilities are related.

Gee, thanks for your expertise, dude.

On Tue, 24 Jan 2012 19:23:10 -0800, "Roger Traviss"
wrote:

The postal system, like any other "business", is a service. In a VAT
regime, services as well as goods are taxed.

The majority idiots here in British Columbia have voted to dismantle
the provincial portion of the combined fed/prov harmonized VAT, to
return to a "goods only" sales tax for provincial purposes that
cascades through the chain, being applied repetitively at each sales
step... but the unwashed masses don't unnerstand that, thanks to the
bleatings of a disgraced right-wing twit who once led the Provincial
Government a couple of decades ago.

Let's be fair to the idiots.

Our much hated ex Premier Gordon Campbell, who now has a cushy job as High
Commissioner to Britain was elected on a promise NOT to adopt the HST and
within months of being elected, the tax was announce and imposed upon BCers.
It was obvious that given the short implementation time, the Campbell
government already had the plans in the works before the election. This is
why the masses voted in a referendum to have the HST removed. Campbell then
resigned and was replaced by another bag woman, in this case who as said the
HST will take a couple of years to remove. A couple of years to remove and
just over a year to impose up BCers without any public consultations.

The tax may be a just and fair tax but what the majority of people in BC
were P/Oed about was the underhanded way it was imposed.


Ah, Gordo...

The leader who rose from the Socred dross that hijacked Gord Wilson's
Liberal Party. At least he did what he was elected to do: he had the
guts to govern.

(And this is from moi: an NDP'er who has never voted for the laughably
named "Liberals".)

The New Democrats took the bait like a marlin after a hunger strike:
and boxed themselves into a corner of the disgraced plant-purveyor's
Fantasy Garden.

Now we're all going to pay... as I said, the ee-juts won.

On Wed, 25 Jan 2012 03:37:35 +0000 (UTC), John Levine
wrote:

Incidentally, Ammurican (and other) visitors to Canada are able to
reclaim their GST/HST payments, though whether the effort to track a
few pennies on postage would make sense... (!)

Not any more. The GST rebates ended in April 2007. Now there's a limited
rebate for tours and an arcane set of special cases for things like works
of art produced for export.

R's,
John



My bad: the last time I toured through YVR with a furrener who was
claiming a refund was obviously years ago.

On 25/01/2012 21:11, Charles Ellson wrote:
On Wed, 25 Jan 2012 18:25:43 +0000, Charles Ellson
wrote:

On Wed, 25 Jan 2012 10:35:23 +0000, "
wrote:

On 24/01/2012 21:40, Neil Williams wrote:
On Tue, 24 Jan 2012 21:35:23 +0000 (UTC), "Adam H. Kerman"
wrote:
When berthing at a high-level platform, a trap door is lowered,
covering the steps in the vestibule.

Thanks.

What would you call it?

I don't think we'd have a name as we don't have any - the UK is all high
platformed, or for the rare low ones (not US low) there are usually
wooden steps left on the platform.

The only thing even vaguely like it is the retractable step on Metrolink
trams in Manchester, but I think the platforms are now all high so they
are unused now. All other tram systems in the UK are all low platform
with low floor trams.

Neil

Are there any low platforms in the UK now, besides heritage lines?

Down line platform at Kingussie.

Whoops, _Up_ line. (wrong capitalg )

Surely the up line on Scottish railways is the route to Aylesbury.

--
Graeme Wall
This account not read, substitute trains for rail.
Railway Miscellany at http://www.greywall.demon.co.uk/rail

In uk.railway Adam H. Kerman twisted the electrons to say:
How many British bank customers lost money in Iceland?

AFAIK, the only money that UK retail customers "lost" in the Icelandic
shenanigans was the interest they would've earnt between the banks
failing (or being failed) and when they regained access to their money.
The Chancellor of the time being very free with the taxpayers money and
promising to compensate everyone in full, even if their account balance
was above the #50k FSCS limit. (Said limit having only increased from
#35k to #50k on the day that IceSave was closed.)

OTOH, several UK local governments did lose money. They where required
by central government rules to put any surplus cash in the (UK available)
account with the best interest rate, but where regarded as entities
competent to take their own risks and hence where not covered by the FSCS.
--
These opinions might not even be mine ...
Let alone connected with my employer ...

In message , at 11:23:19 on Wed, 25 Jan
2012, Stephen Sprunk remarked:
That article badly needs some international aspect adding to it.

It's Wikipedia: if you don't like it, fix it.

I've given up, everything I edit someone else just puts back the way it
was. What a way to encourage informed participation!
--
Roland Perry

In message , at 11:47:59 on Wed, 25 Jan
2012, Stephen Sprunk remarked:
AmEx now offers revolving cards, aka "credit cards", so they're not a
very good example anymore.

They (Amex CC) have been available in the UK for ages (maybe ten years).
But the original Amex is still a good example of a charge card.

ps I've sometimes wondered if an Amex card could be used as proof of age
in a bar, as mine says I've been a member more than 30 years, so even if
I got it at birth [seems unlikely] I'm bound to be over 21.
--
Roland Perry

Stephen Sprunk wrote:
On 23-Jan-12 16:49, Adam H. Kerman wrote:
Stephen Sprunk wrote:
On 23-Jan-12 13:01, Adam H. Kerman wrote:
John Levine wrote:
On 23-Jan-12 12:34, Adam H. Kerman wrote:

That's a load of crap. You want the merchant to handle monies that have
to be refunded, eventually, claiming it's simpler.

Yeah, it's simpler. I have both a NY sales tax merchant account and a
Canadian GST account. The GST is much easier to deal with.

What's your experience with VAT?

So, you're a reseller, and you would find it simpler to pay the tax you're
not subject to and then get it rebated?

You apparently don't understand how a VAT works.

I understand just fine how VAT works.

Apparently not, based on your comments here.

Ad hominem attack noted

John Levine made an irrelevant comment about VAT, which I ignored.

By leaving it in the quote, you implied that's what you were responding
to. You've demonstrated numerous times your ability to snip material
you were ignoring and/or not responding to.

Well, by stating that I ignored it, that does not leave you free to
continue to argue the point. But go right ahead; no one can shut
you up, as you've proved numerous times.

How do you think the former system is simpler?

I made no such comment. ... All I said was that I disagreed with YOUR
suggestion that the merchant collect sales tax from everyone,
including transactions in which the law would not impose a sales tax.

I said . . .

Yes, I know what you said. Repeating it doesn't make you less wrong.