Euro Area

[SoFarSoGood]

Classics and Philosophy. Phd in Philosophy (of Science).

[HopAlongBunny]

In other news LIBOR continues at a snail's pace

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-19303968

[SoFarSoGood]

So Jean Claude Juncker (the EU finance chairman) is in Athens at the moment discussing the Greek problems. The Greek Prime Minister, Samaras, is due to meet Merkel this week too. Any decisions likely? Not bloody likely.... Junker says "We’re waiting for the troika report. As soon as we have that we can make a decision. In any case there won’t be a decision on Greece before October." What the hell is the point of the meetings this week then? They might need a new can to kick down the road soon.

[SoFarSoGood]

Breaking News! Mars' financial sector headed for collapse!
Unnoticed by the human race, the men and women of Mars had developed a huge economy over the last decades. They were working, working and working; producing, producing and producing; and exporting, exporting and exporting. Exporting to Greece & Co.



As payment for their exports, they accepted sovereign bonds denominated in Euros. Since they had no use for those Euros on Mars, they lent them to Greece & Co. The men and women of Mars had become savers and they also thought that they had become rich.


One day, the Martian banking system started fearing that all those sovereign bonds might default. The Martian government sent an urgent message to the EU Commission telling them to urgently bail out Greece & Co. so that a collapse of the Martian banking system could be avoided. The EU Commission replied post haste:


“That seems to be your problem and not ours”.


The Martians threatened to drive Greece & Co. into default; expel them from all international financial transactions and, essentially, run their economies into the ground. The EU Commission replied, more slowly this time:


“Do what you think is right and what you can be responsible for. Don’t worry about the economies of Greece & Co. We will keep them alive by financing their ongoing needs as a preferred creditor”.


At this point, the Martians realized that they had to act like beggars. They politely requested the EU Commission to bail out the Martian banking sector. The EU Commission replied, again with some delay:


“Ok; we’ll do that. Here are the terms: 99% ownership of the banks and total control over management and business policies. The right to sell off the banks after they have been restructured to anyone of our choosing”.


The first thing the new owners of the Martian banking sector did was to forgive Greece & Co. all their sovereign debt. And the next thing was to work out economic restructuring plans for Greece & Co. as the condition to finance those countries’ ongoing financing needs.


All shareholders of all Martian banks were wiped out. Even all of their bondholders were wiped out. This on the grounds that they were considered as “professional market participants” and should have known what risks they were taking. Luckily for regular Martian savers, a solution was found where regular savers did not lose any money.

From http://klauskastner.blogspot.co.uk/2...al-sector.html Not me but he commented on the blog of a Greek pal of mine.

[Kadagar_AV]

Does anyone realise this was Hitlers plan?

Patethic.

[SoFarSoGood]

Spelling lesson *pathetic*

[Sarmatian]

Spelling lesson *pathetic*

Oh, that's different. Now that I know you can point out a typing mistake, I'm gonna take your arguments seriously.

[SoFarSoGood]

Point is that the EU is no more 'democratic' than it was when Hitler planned the same thing.

[Kadagar_AV]

Oh, that's different. Now that I know you can point out a typing mistake, I'm gonna take your arguments seriously.

Thanks... Was looking for something like that, but I just didn't have the ooompfh in me ;)

[Philippus Flavius Homovallumus]

Point is that the EU is no more 'democratic' than it was when Hitler planned the same thing.

Not actually true.

But never mind.

[SoFarSoGood]

Show me the democracy of the troika.

[Kadagar_AV]

Greece play's the Godwin...

Obviously, they are now trying to determine if Germany really doesn't owe them a pile of money for having been evil Nazis...

Questionable timing, one might think... And I'm not at all sure that is the right card to play to a Germany with a wallet already open... Stupid stupid stupid. Only have swedish sources, will investigate later for english ones.

[Greyblades]

Greece play's the Godwin...

Obviously, they are now trying to determine if Germany really doesn't owe them a pile of money for having been evil Nazis...

Questionable timing, one might think... And I'm not at all sure that is the right card to play to a Germany with a wallet already open... Stupid stupid stupid. Only have swedish sources, will investigate later for english ones.

Probably less stupidity and more desperation, to say greece is in the gutter is being optomistic at this point.

[drone]

ECB agrees to unlimited government bond purchases

The European Central Bank on Thursday moved forcefully to ensure the survival of the euro, agreeing to unlimited purchases of government bonds and a series of other steps meant to restore the world’s confidence in the struggling currency union.

With fresh evidence that a regional recession was undermining even Germany’s industrial might, ECB President Mario Draghi said government bond and other markets had become so dysfunctional that the central bank had to create “a fully effective backstop” for its 17 members.

The broad aims of the new bond-buying program were couched carefully in the language of the bank’s legal mandate to control inflation and not directly finance the region’s governments. But the aim was clear: After nearly three years of a crisis in which the threat of a euro breakup fueled a self-fulfilling slide, Draghi said the bank needed to break the region’s corrosive cycle.

“We want this to be perceived as a fully effective backstop,” Draghi said. “We are in a situation where a large part of the euro area is in a bad equilibrium, where you have self-fulfilling expectations that feed upon themselves and generate very adverse scenarios. There is a case for intervening to break these expectations.”

The new program answers what has been a long-standing call by many from within and outside the euro zone — including the Obama administration and the International Monetary Fund — for the ECB to be more aggressive in trying to resolve the euro zone’s crisis. The ability of the currency union’s governments to act has often been constrained by national politics, the difficulties of coaxing agreement from 17 sets of leaders and their parliaments, and the reluctance of wealthier countries to use their tax dollars to help support others.

Let the raiding of the taxpayers commence!

[gaelic cowboy]

ECB agrees to unlimited government bond purchases


Let the raiding of the taxpayers commence!

Actually it's the other way round this eases taxpayers in countries where bond yields have risen very high.

[SoFarSoGood]

Buy gold or Swiss fancs. Euro devaluation on it's way and probably Germany and Finland out.

I laughed when he said “Action in the primary market would be a violation, not secondary market”... Lisbon Treaty in flames.

[gaelic cowboy]

Buy gold or Swiss fancs. Euro devaluation on it's way and probably Germany and Finland out.

I laughed when he said “Action in the primary market would be a violation, not secondary market”... Lisbon Treaty in flames.

to be honest Gold is that last thing you want to buy now, the stuff is clearly in a bubble.

A currency devaluation pretty unlikely in a monetary system as big as the Euro, far more likely it floats up or down depending on who is buying or selling.

Also the Lisbon Treaty doesn't really have much to do with ECB governance.

[SoFarSoGood]

When paper decreases in value gold goes up - look at the prices relative US QE 1 and 2...of course US QE 3 is just around the corner too.

[gaelic cowboy]

When paper decreases in value gold goes up - look at the prices relative US QE 1 and 2...of course US QE 3 is just around the corner too.

Seeing as the S & P 500 is having is having it's best day in about 5yr I would say were ok.

US QE increased gold buying because a few idiots still think were all in the gold standard or something, if you ask me it's the worst play on the stockmarket.

[drone]

Actually it's the other way round this eases taxpayers in countries where bond yields have risen very high.

Those taxpayers don't have much left to give. The ones in Germany, Holland, etc. are now up for their fleecing.

[gaelic cowboy]

Those taxpayers don't have much left to give. The ones in Germany, Holland, etc. are now up for their fleecing.

This would be a central bank scheme as a result the can create the money they need.

people in wherever will merely see on some tv business channel that German and Italy rates are converging in about a week.

[SoFarSoGood]

"Markets Cheer Death of the Bundesbank" - Die Welt

[Vladimir]

"Markets Cheer Death of the Bundesbank" - Die Welt

So what Germany failed to achieve by force of arms they have achieved through banking?

[SoFarSoGood]

Such divisive language and thoughts should be banned!

[gaelic cowboy]

So what Germany failed to achieve by force of arms they have achieved through banking?

Not really they were outvoted on the bond scheme as I said they could be a good few pages back.

[HopAlongBunny]

Germany as the reluctant sacrifice?

"Oh, please don't devalue the euro and make our goods even cheaper to export!!!"

Makes me think of Snidely Whiplash and Nel.

[HopAlongBunny]

RBS looks to be next up to take hit in LIBOR:

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/...88708P20120908

and

[Fragony]

That plumb eastblock workhorse and ex-stasi Merkel wants to keep the Greeks in the euro no matter what. Great.

[HopAlongBunny]

More Soros: Interview with a Witch

[SoFarSoGood]

We'll restore democracy and freedom in the end... it's just a choice of ballot or bullet.