After Ireland, spotlight on Portugal, Spain
Lisbon vulnerable to vigilantes, but Madrid may put up a fight

By William L. Watts, MarketWatch

LONDON (MarketWatch) — The Irish rescue isn’t about Ireland.

Any deal between the Irish government and the European Union and International Monetary Fund to resolve Ireland’s financial crisis is ultimately aimed at cutting short the turmoil in sovereign bond markets that policy makers fear could one day price Portugal or even Spain out of global credit markets.

Portugal, which like Ireland is a small economy with a relatively illiquid debt market, is seen as the next country likely to find itself in the sights of bond traders.

“If you see an Ireland package, we would hope that contagion effects would be limited,” said Ian Harnett, managing director at Absolute Strategy Research, a financial consulting firm. “But investors appear to be picking off weak countries one by one,” leaving Portugal “very much at risk.”

con.

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/after- ... 2010-11-19

Hmm,

I was speaking with a friend yesterday who is in her mid 60's (age) and she said that she is about to put in a safe at her home.

She reckons the system is now becoming so rickety that people with savings are becoming seriously worried that they are risking losing some / much of that money.

I’ve seen it said that many Irish people are extremely angry about the bailout and some even want a revolution to stop it.


This HAS to be the webbot tipping point events being played out, and if I recall correctly Clif talked about a related date in early January - which could be when the system finally implodes.

Simon

-------------------------------------------------------------------

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financetopics/financialcrisis/8169225/Contagion-strikes-Italy-as-Ireland-bail-out-fails-to-calm-markets.html

Contagion strikes Italy as Ireland bail-out fails to calm markets

The EU-IMF rescue for Ireland has failed to restore to confidence in the eurozone debt markets, leading instead to a dramatic surge in bond yields across half the currency bloc.

<snip>

"The EU rescue fund cannot handle Spain, let alone Italy," said Charles Dumas, from Lombard Street Research. "We we may be nearing the point where Germany has to decide whether it is willing take on a burden six times the size of East Germany, or let some countries go."

<snip>

(rest of article at link)

Related Articles (follow link to DT article to make them clickable)
Roubini tells Portugal to seek rescue 29 Nov 2010
Germany faces awful choice as Spain wobbles 29 Nov 2010
Ireland gets £72bn bail-out in attempt to stem contagion 28 Nov 2010
Ireland bailout: statement by EU finance ministers 29 Nov 2010
O'Neill: euro faces 'black swan' point 27 Nov 2010
Spain could be forced to seek bail-out 'within months' 27 Nov 2010

Investor reaction comes as a bitter blow to eurozone leaders, who expected the €85bn (£72bn) package for Ireland agreed over the weekend to calm "irrational markets".

Bing! Click! Bing!

Several of us at work and in the family have remarked recently that there is NO recession in Texas. Folks are spending money like mad - even before the Christmas rush.

I think your friend hit the nail on the head. I think some folks (at least where I live) are:

1. Tired of getting 2-3% interest on their money.

2. Tired of doing without and living frugally (sorry Dave Ramsey).

Maybe this is the attitude that will help us get out of the economic hole we are in and, if not, well it was fun while it lasted.

Former Greek minister attacked by mob as riots break out in Greece

Kostis Hatzidakis, who is now an opposition MP, was left with blood pouring from his head after being chased and beaten by dozens of protesters.

He was set upon by up to 100 youths, who shouted "Thieves" and "Shame on you" when he emerged from the Greek parliament building on Constitution Square, in central Athens.

Protesters hurled lumps of concrete and paving stones at riot police, set fire to cars and smashed shop fronts.

The violence in Greece erupted during a general strike called by unions to protest against new labour laws which unions say will give employers too much power and take workers' rights "back to the Middle Ages."

Greece is struggling to reform its economy under conditions set by a 110 billion euro international bail-out package but many Greeks feel that they have ceded away their sovereignty to the European Union and International Monetary Fund.

Read more here: http://tinyurl.com/3akqs8s

European nations begin seizing private pensions

Hungary, Poland, and three other nations take over citizens' pension money to make up government budget shortfalls.

http://www.csmonitor.com/Business/The-A ... e-pensions

While we were distracted by Murdoch et al - has anyone else seen this?

New Rescue Plan for Greece May Include 'Selective Default'

By STEPHEN CASTLE

BRUSSELS — European leaders began a crucial meeting Thursday after talks between Germany and France produced agreement on a rescue plan for Greece that may push the country to default on some of its debt for a short period.

Details of the agreement, reached early Thursday in Berlin after seven hours of talks, were not disclosed. The talks had centered on the role private investors and banks would have to play in stabilizing Greece’s finances and reducing a debt burden that threatens to stifle any prospect of economic recovery.

A statement from the French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, and the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, said they had “listened” to the views of the president of the European Central Bank, Jean-Claude Trichet, who flew in from Frankfurt unexpectedly to join the meeting.

Though it did not say if they had settled the issue of whether Greece should be allowed to write down some of its debt — something Mr. Trichet has argued publicly and adamantly against — suggestions ahead of the summit meeting in Brussels were that the E.C.B had softened its stance.

“The demand to prevent a selective default has been removed,” the Dutch Finance Minister Jan Kees de Jager told the Dutch parliament in The Hague, Reuters reported.

Were Mr. Trichet to accept a temporary default, the euro-zone leaders may have to consider new ways to ensure that Greek banks could access funding that they currently receive from the E.C.B, possibly by guaranteeing Greek bonds themselves for a short period.

The French-German agreement was being presented to the other leaders of the 17 member euro zone in Brussels. The summit meeting was called after days market turbulence in which borrowing costs spiked in Italy and Spain, raising fears the euro debt crisis would spread to those, much bigger countries, potentially setting off another global financial crisis.

Representatives of big European banks were said to be in Brussels in parallel meetings, said one official not authorized to speak publicly.

Germany, Finland and the Netherlands have been at odds with the E.C.B. and some governments over their insistence that private bondholders share the pain. Besides concerns over contagion, the central bank has said that a selective default would make it impossible to accept Greek bonds as collateral.

Many saw the meeting as a moment of truth, particularly for Mrs. Merkel, whose caution has been blamed by some for the region’s failure to stem the crisis.

Read more here: http://tinyurl.com/3apkvww

Britain isn’t just in very deep trouble. It’s doomed
Posted by Joseph Cotterill on Jul 26 17:53.

This… will spark some debate. Anything on the future of the British economy entitled the ‘Armageddon Project’ and applying terms like ‘psychology of denial’ and ‘debt addiction’ will do that.

But since the UK’s growth outlook and status as a safe haven will be closely watched for the rest of 2011…

Therefore — Dr Tim Morgan, global head of research at Tullett Prebon, has been honing his argument that there is far too much private debt still weighing on the UK. Honing it into a view that further growth will be stifled under this weight, and that this will perforce undermine the government’s attempts to reduce public borrowing. Cue massive sovereign crisis.

con. http://ftalphaville.ft.com/blog/2011/07 ... ts-doomed/

First Greece, now the US is threatened to be down graded and now Britain....

Looks like some who forecasted an economic sunami in late 2011 were bang on

Headlines from Market Watch:

8:15p
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 down 1.2% at 4,481.60
8:15p
Japanese stocks fall on U.S. losses, strong yen
8:12p
In focus: Bulls fail the test
8:04p
U.S. dollar buys 77.91 yen vs. ¥78.00 late Wed.
8:01p
Japan's Topix down 1.1% at 849.81 in early moves
8:01p
Japan's Nikkei Average opens down 9,936.97 at 1.1%
8:00p
China 2011 trade surplus may fall 14%: economists
7:59p
Panasonic may sell Sanyo appliance unit to Haier
7:49p
Nikkei 225 futures down 110 points at 9,920.00

Things are now so bad that it seems that we really have reached the point whereby the "shi(f)t" is not just hitting the fan but doing so so powerfully that its about to knock it over.

I'm typing this on Friday morning, 5th August 2011. Events are moving so fast that if I quoted a specific headline event the news would be out of date by midday.

Therefore I'm only quoting this London Daily Telegraph newspaper link which leads to a constantly updating overview of the situation.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financialcrisis/8680820/Debt-crisis-live.html

Simon

Italy approves austerity measures
The controversial measures, which include $64.12bn in cuts, were approved during an emergency cabinet meeting.

Italy's government has approved austerity measures to balance the budget by 2013 and meet demands made by European Central Bank (ECB).

The measures were approved during an emergency cabinet meeting held late on Friday.

con. http://english.aljazeera.net/news/europ ... terAccount

Swiss Ponder Battle Over Runaway Franc

By Simone Meier - Aug 15, 2011 6:01 PM ET

The franc, considered a haven in times of turmoil, has appreciated 10 percent versus the euro this year, reaching a record 1.0075 on Aug. 9.

Switzerland, the nation that hasn’t gone to war with a foreign power since Napoleon, is reluctantly debating a generational taboo: ceding monetary independence to win a battle over its runaway currency.

Swiss National Bank Vice President Thomas Jordan said the central bank is assessing “a whole range of options” to prevent the franc, which reached a record against the euro this month, from making Swiss goods prohibitively expensive. Even a cup of coffee at Café St. Gotthard in Zurich costs $8.30, with one Swiss franc buying $1.2750 at today’s exchange rate.
con.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-08-1 ... -down.html

Eye 1
Germany, France propose collective 'government' for the eurozone led by EU president
Sarah DiLorenzo, David McHugh and Tali Arbel
Associated Press
Tue, 16 Aug 2011 03:11 CDT

The leaders of France and Germany called Tuesday for greater economic discipline and unity among European nations but declined to take immediate financial measures seen by many investors as the only way to halt the continent's spiraling debt crisis.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell, the euro slid against the dollar and key European markets edged down in off-hour trading after Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany and French President Nicolas Sarkozy announced the results of their emergency talks in Paris.

Sarkozy called for a "new economic government" for Europe that would meet at least twice a year with European Union President Herman Van Rompuy as its head, but he offered few other details or indications that the body would have real power.

con. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/23359 ... -president

Another step towards one world government? Makes you wonder if all the noise is calculated and created just for this purpose, doesn't it? (I don't wonder at all....)

Behind the Selloff: Stocks Are Pricing 'Worst Case Scenario'

On Thursday August 18, 2011, 1:12 pm EDT

Fears of a global banking crisis swept across markets, driving stocks sharply lower, Treasury yields to record lows, and gold to record highs.

The dramatic reflex to run for safety also propped up the U.S. dollar, which was stronger against a whole group of currencies.

......

Like an out-of-control cyclone, speculation that Europe's banks are beginning to suffer the contagion of Europe's sovereign debt crisis ripped across global markets, taking bank shares and equities markets lower. That speculation, collided in a perfect storm, with a string of weak U.S. economic reports, which helped fan worries about waning global growth.

But the drama started with fears about Europe, reignited just two days after theleaders of France and Germany tried to calm markets by pledged to create a more unified fiscal structure for the euro zone and other measures, including a bank transaction tax, left markets concerned about the lack of resolution for the debt crisis.

Thursday's disclosure from the European Central Bank that a single bank borrowed $500 million for a week spooked markets, recalling for some the memories of the 2008 financial crisis. The report also came at the same time the Wall Street Journal reported that the New York Fed has been engaging more with the European banks operating in the U.S. to see whether they have access to reliable funding.

con. http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Behind-th ... 9.html?x=0

"The fact that the New York Federal Reserve is actually talking to the U.S. operations of some of these European banks is in the course of business," said Art Hogan of Lazard Capital Markets.

And Gold keeps flying ...


It hit $1880 today!

They can stick there paper money up their F A They can Shove their GMO carrots up there too!

Hmm, this weekend (10th and 11th Sept 2011) there is a G7 meeting in Marseilles, France.

I've just received an email suggesting that at this meeting Greece might be poised to default, and that Bloomberg reports that German Chancellor Angela Merkel is making contingency plans for possible 50% wipeout losses that could sink German banks if Greece defaults — even as soon as the next 72 hours.

Simon

Yesterday (Sat 24th September) Sky News was reporting that Greece WILL default in (or within) 6 weeks. ie: by the first week of November.

Apparently George Osborne (British Chanceller Of The Exchequer) is saying something slightly different - that Europe has 6 weeks to get things sorted, and that a default is not inevitable - but it seems that he is simply emulating an ostrich and hoping that the danger will somehow magically 'vanish'.

But, I wonder, will it be just Greece?

Simon

Great question, Simon.

Greek default would destroy faith in Europe: Merkel
BERLIN | Sun Sep 25, 2011 3:46pm EDT

BERLIN (Reuters) - Allowing Greece to default on its debt now would destroy investor confidence in the euro zone and might spark contagion like that experienced after the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers in 2008, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Sunday.

"We need to take steps we can control," Merkel said, drawing a parallel between the Greek situation and that of Lehman, whose bankruptcy helped trigger the global financial crisis.

"What we can't do is destroy the confidence of all investors mid-course and get a situation where they say that if we've done it for Greece, we will also do it for Spain, for Belgium, or any other country. Then not a single person would put their money in Europe anymore."

Read more here: http://tinyurl.com/3rk3wzw

Interesting comparison, doncha think?

Just a heads up on the Gold and Silver prices today!! Dunno what's up with the rating of commodities, but there is obviously something in the pipeline...

Maybe the window the Elite make for their mass purchases?


26 September 2011 - Gold = $1616.60

and Silver = $ 28.13 !! [That's a 34 % move down from it's high last week!]

Rumors on the 'net, Sky, say it is a large hedge fund getting rid of gold. Hmmmm

(Below is a copy of a jaw-dropping email I sent to some people earlier today, at the time I was not able to share it here)

London trader predicts market will crash and bank savings will disappear - BBC video



He does not care that within a year most people will have lost their savings - all he cares is that he sees it as a chance to make money. He does not say this but it could be that people lose their money because (especially American) banks will use (confiscate) people's savings and valuables in safety deposit boxes to pay off their debts.

According to him the world is ruled by Goldman Sachs - not by governments.

Whilst he offers some investment advice I would not buy US $ as that too is expected to crash - after the Euro. Nor invest in insurance etc (already over the first 6 months of this year Lloyds of London has been trading at loss and the geophysical events have barely started). Am sending this to lots of people, some of whom already understand why I say this.

Simon

Blue, well we know about the PIIGS nations and it could be that others fall out of the Euro as well.

I heard some boffins (NWO stooges?) saying that the solution is for greater political union...

My view is that space needs creating for something better to come, its just that (alas) there will be an 'inbetween' period where life will be tough.

--------------------------------

Sky, earlier today I heard a radio news report about a ship with much silver bullion cargo that was sunk in WW2 having been located... and that its going to be recovered. Maybe this is part of the reason?

Simon

I wish I could buy some 'today' and sell it in a month or so (ie: before payment was due), the profits should be worthwhile. Since I'm still unemployed and living in someone else's home so even if I did not make a profit so what could they do to me?

sigh, I see a way to potentially earn a small fortune, but its out of my reach!

Simon

Simon - the reason we are people who develope our minds to the sharpest tools we have, is because we do not chase the image of wealth in order to take advantage of life! I too sometimes contemplate the downside of not having invested in commodities and simply playing the regular rise and falls of the market to eventually ending up a millionaire... But since I chose to invest in things spiritual for myself, I may suffer physical hardship, but my mind and my soul is in full flight to gather more and more Spirit in the Light of the knowledge of the Divine I have gained in the past 20 or so years of study.

That is something that can never depreciate, it is Totally Bankable and the only way the PTB can stop me is by sending me Home!

I love my simple life and I Love my Creator! The Trinity is my personal totem!

This has been on helluva life of lessons for me - and now I know why I had this gift of birth in life during one of the most auspicious times of Earth History!