This crazy game has to come to an end and now.

Olli Rehn -- "the most incompetent of all" commissioners -- the European Union Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner, on Thursday praised the ECB's radical action to pump liquidity into the banking system through billions of euros cheap loans. "The risk of a credit crunch in the European economy has been prevented," he said. But with deposits at the ECB nearly three times the level reached when Lehman Brothers collapsed, the latest figures pointed to the spectre of a freeze that could be even worse than 2008. ...The eurozone's economy shrank 0.3pc in the last three months of 2011, according to the second reading by Eurostat. The Brussels agency said over the whole year, the combined GDP for all 17 members grew 1.4pc compared with 1.9pc in 2010. But the impact of the debt crisis was plain. For instance eurozone exports fell in the fourth quarter - for the first time in two and half years. The Stoxx Europe 600 index closed down 2.7pc on Thursday; France's CAC slumped 3.6pc; Germany's DAX, Spain's Ibex and Italy's FTSE MIB fell 3.4pc. In London the FTSE 100 shed 1.9pc. Gold was pushed up through $1,690 an ounce.

It really is time to call it quits! To continue to bail out banks that do not deserve bailing out with tax payers money is a huge misallocation of resources and an outright crime againsts the ordinary citizen. Bailing out coutries like Greece, is just taking the game to its extreme. --- This crazy game has to come to an end and now. The debts are quite simply going to have to be written off and the banks can fail. My commentary is this: SO WHAT? A legion of banks have failed in the past so why are they all too big to fail now? The bankers should not be allowed to loan money with the surety that they can gamble and never lose like weighted dice. --- Furthermore, this entire credit driven debt charade has to come to an end for the good of all the world's people. We cannot continue this mass transference of wealth from the poor to the super rich to create yet another group of financial Kings, Czars, Emperors and Pharoahs. Loading every human being to the hilt with debt is quite simply downright evil. "Lobster potting" people with mountainous debts from the age they turn into adults until, quite literally, you bury them is as morally decrepit as it is totally wrong. What kind of world do these greedy plutocrats want? Obviously, not one where they have any concience orconcerns over the less fortunate of the planet! --- Perhaps as a man or woman gets richer, wealth is not enough and then power drives them all crazy as they all vie to play with the planet. Well so far every despot and dictator has acheived little other than ruin and disaster for the human race. What we need is a dilution of power not further concentration as a one world Government and currency.

34 Italian financial firms downgraded by Standard & Poor’s -- UniCredit SpA (UCG), Intesa Sanpaolo SpA and Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena SpA (BMPS) were among 34 Italian financial firms downgraded by Standard & Poor’s, after the credit-ratings company reduced the nation’s grade last month. UniCredit, Italy’s biggest bank, and No. 2 Intesa had their long-term ratings lowered to BBB+ from A, S&P said yesterday in a statement. Monte dei Paschi, the No. 3 bank, was reduced to BBB from BBB+. All three have a negative outlook, S&P said. .....Italy’s credit rating was cut two levels to BBB+ from A on Jan. 13 as S&P said European leaders’ struggle to contain the region’s debt crisis would complicate the country’s efforts to finance borrowings. S&P yesterday revised its banking industry country risk assessment, known as Bicra, for Italy to group 4 from group 3, citing mounting risks. ...“Italy’s vulnerability to external financing risks has increased, given its high external public debt, resulting in Italian banks’ significantly diminished ability to roll over their wholesale debt,” S&P said in a separate statement on the country’s financial industry. “We anticipate persistently weak profitability for Italian banks in the next few years.” European nations are grappling with a debt crisis now in its third year as they seek to restore budget order and shore up the region’s financial industry. Spreads on some Italian banks are trading as if they were rated at the cusp of investment grade....go figure!?!?!?!...that means that either investors lost their marbels, or all the financial intitutions lost their credibility entireley !!!

On Sunday in a measured but pointed open letter to the government, the Association of Support and Cooperation of the State Armed Forces, the professional association of full-time staff, warned that the Greek Armed Forces are monitoring the government’s moves “with increased concern” and that their confidence in the “intentions of the state” have been “shaken”.

Europhiles remind me of religious...freaks

BUCHAREST - ROMANIA - Do we want a new place in Europe? There's a whole world of independant countries out there, some of them even have functioning economies. The EU have completely lost their way, we should have nothing more to do with it until sanity returns. Europhiles remind me of religious people. In fact I think being a Europhile is a kind of religion. If you give some of the overwhelming scientific evidence of how old the world really is to a religious person who believes the world is only 4000 years old, they will still believe the world is 4000 years old no matter what you tell them. Tell a Europhile who is frightened that we could not survive out of the EU, that the Swiss or Norwegians are better off for being out of the EU, they will still be as worried & convinced we couldn't survive out of the EU as before you spoke to them.
Yet they wouldn't be able to provide any evidence why they believe this. Without even understanding their own reasons why. Yet we don't even have enough money to fund our own police, hospitals & schools properly & pensioners who've paid taxes & national insurance for 45 years barely exist on their pension.

Germany goes to the G20 summit in Cannes with financial regulation at the top of its official agenda. But behind that widely publicised aim, Chancellor Angela Merkel desperately needs to come away with a watertight solution to the Greek debt crisis.With the US and Britain showing no sign of budging in their opposition to an FTT, however, Merkel could well come away without a deal, but she will not be happy – and will not drop her own plan. She has said: "I don't think this is acceptable. We must ensure that financial-market actors share in the costs of fighting the crisis. I will push for this until it happens, at least in Europe, even better worldwide." Germany also wants the IMF to have greater resources to support the latest eurozone rescue deal, although there are doubts that the summit will produce definitive numbers. But getting some movement on Greece's rescue is vital to Merkel. She came away from a eurozone summit last week assuming she had a deal on a Greek bailout and she will want answers from Papandreou in Cannes. Before the talks the German chancellor stressed that Germany wanted to get the ball rolling on last week's agreed rescue package. "We want to put this plan into practice, but for this we need clarity." On the domestic political front, the latest opinion polls raise the pressure on Merkel over Greece. A poll in news magazine Stern asked Germans for their view of her handling of the eurozone crisis, with 46% saying she had not reacted well, while 42% approved of her actions. Given that tensions and undercurrents of prejudice between Germany and Greece go back decades, those perceptions will be hard to shift whatever Merkel comes away with this week. Even before Papandreou's shock referendum call, on overwhelming majority of Germans surveyed - 87% - said the eurozone crisis was not solved with last week's Brussels deal.

US Federal Regulators (FTC) - are stepping up their scrutiny of the US arms of Europe's largest banks, amid mounting concerns that the eurozone debt crisis could spill into the American banking system. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York, which oversees the US operations of many large European banks, has been asking for more information about their ability to fund themselves, the Wall Street Journal reported. It wants to know whether they have reliable access to the funds needed to operate on a day-to-day basis in the US, and is pushing them to turn their US businesses into self-financed organisations that are better insulated from potential problems with their parent companies. Officials at the New York Fed are "very concerned" about European banks facing funding difficulties in the US, a senior executive at a major European bank who has attended talks with officials told the Journal. The New York Fed has also been co-ordinating with New York's superintendent of financial services, Benjamin M Lawsky, to monitor European banks' funding positions, amid fears that those in trouble could siphon money out of their US arms. According to Federal Reserve data, foreign banks, many of which have big trading operations in the US, have seen their funding positions there fluctuate wildly in recent months.

Germany staged an impressive recovery from the 2008/2009 global economic crisis, but there are increasing signs that the boom is now coming to an end. After almost two years of strong growth, its economic outlook is starting to deteriorate, due to a slowdown in major emerging markets including China and fears of a possible United States recession caused by $2.4 trillion in spending cuts linked to the debt ceiling deal. Various indicators released in recent weeks point to a deceleration of Europe's largest economy. The Ifo business climate index for July fell sharply to its lowest level in nine months, and analysts say it is likely to keep dropping. The ZEW investor sentiment index showed the weakest level since January 2009. And the Markit/BME purchasing managers' index for the German manufacturing sector fell 2.6 points in July to 52 points, its lowest level since October 2009. "New order levels went into reverse in July, as fewer export sales helped end a two-year period of sustained growth," Tim Moore, senior economist at Markit, said. German engineering orders in June rose by just 1 percent year-on-year, after having jumped 21 percent in May, the VDMA engineering industry association said. "There are initial indications that demand for investment goods has become less dynamic in Germany and in the other euro member states," said VDMA economist Olaf Wortmann. In addition, top German firms have given more cautious outlooks for the remainder of 2011. Analysts have been paying particularly close attention to what is being said by the chemicals industry, which is regarded as a bellwether for the general industrial outlook because it supplies many different sectors.

Ratings agency Moody's has cut Greece's debt rating by three notches to Ca on Monday, leaving it just one notch above what is considered default, and said the chance of a default is now "virtually 100%". The ratings agency warned that last week's bailout package agreed by eurozone leaders will make it easier for Greece to reduce its debt, but the country still faced medium-term solvency challenges and there were significant risks in implementing the required reforms. "The announced EU programme implies that the probability of a distressed exchange, and hence a default, on Greek government bonds is virtually 100%," the agency said. "[Greece's] stock of debt will still be well in excess of 100% of GDP for many years and it will still face very significant implementation risks to fiscal and economic reform," it added. The ratings agency is wary that the eurozone bailout package sets a negative precedent for investors. "The support package sets a precedent for future restructurings should the finances of another euro area sovereign become as problematic as those of Greece," Moody's said. According to the ratings agency, obligations rated Ca are highly speculative and are likely in, or very near, default, with some prospect of recovery of principal and interest.

The outlook is developing.

Standard & Poor's and Fitch have already downgraded Greece to CCC, one notch above Moody's.

Japanese companies lost around 626 billion dollars of their value.
In Europe, the most affected was the German stock exchange, with the DAX index down by around 3.5%, followed by the French one, down more than 2.1% and the British stock exchange, which fell 1.5%. The Bank of Japan flooded the market with 245 billion dollars in cash to make sure there was enough money on the market in case massive amounts left the market.

In Tokyo panic struck when rumours appeared that the level of radiation had risen to 23 times the normal value. The situation stabilised subsequently. However, the level of radiation is still a big concern for the authorities, with Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs Takeaki Matsumoto saying its level after the fire at reactor 4 of the Fukushima nuclear plant "could have negative effects on the health" of the population. "At reactor no. 4 there was a fire, there is radiation that could have negative effects on people's health," Matsumoto said. In addition, a strong, magnitude six earthquake struck on Tuesday evening around 120 kilometres South-West of Tokyo

The EU environment ministers, gathered yesterday (14 March) in Brussels for a regular meeting, expressed support for a proposal from Austria to check the security of all the operating nuclear plants in Europe.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel announced the three-month suspension of a law aimed at prolonging the activity of old nuclear plants. Two of the 17 operating reactors in Germany are expected to be temporary shut down. During the moratorium "the security of the situation will be assessed in view of what happened in Japan," Merkel said during a press conference in Berlin. The two main parties in the European Parliament, the European People's Party (EPP) and the Social Democrats (S&D), called for security checks to be carried out at all nuclear plants in Europe. Spanish and Portuguese environment representatives (both from socialist governments) went further and called for the gradual phase-out of nuclear energy, echoing the position of the Greens. Britain, France and Italy asked for "calm". France and the UK are the EU countries with the highest number of nuclear reactors, 58 and 19 respectively. Italy has no nuclear plants but has embarked on an ambitious nuclear programme to reduce its dependency on external energy sources. EU Climate Action Commissioner Connie Hedegaard gave assurances that "all necessary measures will be taken," but added that with 143 operating reactors, "nuclear power will be there for quite some time, whatever happens".

Romania should focus on measures improving the celerity of high-level corruption trials and strengthening general anti-corruption policy until the European Commission's next assessment, according to the EC's interim report on Romania's progress under the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism.

"Until the Commission's next assessment in summer 2011, Romania should focus in particular on the launch of an independent review of the judicial system, the reform of the disciplinary system for magistrates and on measures improving the celerity of high-level corruption trials and strengthening general anti-corruption policy," reads the report released Friday.

The EC said that, since its last assessment, the country responded in a constructive way to the recommendations made by the Commission.

The massive earthquake that shook Japan on Friday is expected to at least temporarily set back an economy that has faltered lately and is struggling to recover from years of stagnationUltimately, economists say efforts to rebuild homes, businesses and highways in Japan will at least offset any dampening effects and possibly even spark economic growth. The most tangible effect of the disaster on the U.S. was a drop in oil prices. In New York, crude oil fell $1.54 a barrel to settle at $101.16, reversing a recent run-up fueled by turmoil in the Middle East. Japan is the world's third-largest oil importer. Reuters reported that six refineries that account for 31% of Japan's output shut down after the quake and a fire broke out at one of the facilities. Several shutdowns were precautionary measures, but it was unclear when they would reopen. Oil prices fell largely because the shutdowns could limit the country's ability to purchase oil. In addition, economic growth could be crimped in the short-term, says oil analyst Phil Flynn of PFGBest Research.

Brokers say that, although Romanian entrepreneurs would like to attract money through the Stock Exchange, when they hear about transparency requirements, many change their minds. "There are so many listed companies in the world that are doing very well. I think we are over-secretive and people exaggerate a bit. I don't know of any concrete cases where information published on the Stock Exchange affects a company's activity. The only difference is there are more reports to draw up," says Emanoil Viciu, chairman of Teraplast Bistri]a (TRP), the last company to get listed on the Stock Exchange in 2008 through an initial public offering which helped it raise around 50 million lei (15.6 million euros).
The managers also say the requirements of the capital market as far as transparency and Stock Exchange investors' needs are concerned, only have to do with general information about the company, not detailed information that can, indeed, be more sensitive.

The over 130 officials and heads of the biggest companies in the six richest Arab countries, Bahrain, Kuweit, Qatar, Oman, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, present in Bucharest in the last few days, are willing to bring hundreds of millions of euros to Romania, estimates a journalist from the English language newspaper Bahrain Tribune. "Gulf businessmen could invest 200 million dollars this year and a further 500 million dollars over the next two years," estimated Ahmed AlSaati, director of English language publication Bahrain Tribune, present at the Forum of the Gulf Cooperation Council, Romania, Bucharest: Business opportunities in South-Eastern Europe, organised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Business Environment, the Gulf Cooperation Council and Forum Invest in Bucharest over the past few days. AlSaati said investors in the Gulf are interested in businesses that can bring them an at least 10% yield. "Before the crisis (a yield of) 20% was right, now we accept as little as a 10% yield, but not less. Imagine that businesspeople in the Gulf have big amounts of cash available and cannot let them be devalued by inflation. They have to be permanently on the lookout for investment opportunities," AlSaati said

The Romanian Government has assumed responsibility in front of Parliament on the modifications brought to the Labor Code, a draft that could make the labor market more flexible and lead to the creation of nearly 90,000 jobs, according to estimates of the Foreign Investors Council, the association that put together the draft most of whose provisions are to be found in the document that reached Parliament. The Government only accepted 8 amendments of the 144 submitted by the MPs, and the opposition, which saw most of its amendments rejected, has submitted a censure motion which, if passed (a rather unlikely event under the current circumstances), would bring the Government down. The motion is voted on next week. On the other hand, the trade unions, the parliamentary opposition (with members of PSD - Social Democratic Party - being the most vehement) and, unexpectedly, part of the employers' associations, are challenging these modifications. Romania urgently needs to have its labor legislation modified in order to combat the increase in the number of the unemployed by creating more fixed term contract jobs.

European interest rate setters piled pressure on the continent's most indebted nations after the European Central Bank warned of a rate increase next month that could send Portugal and Ireland closer to bankruptcy. Jean-Claude Trichet, the ECB president, said it was possible base rates on the continent could be raised in April to calm inflation, which he said was causing concern and could move further above the central bank's target. Trichet said the ECB was prepared to act "in a firm and timely manner" to prevent inflation from racing out of control. "Strong vigilance is warranted with a view to containing upside risks to price stability," he said. His remarks stunned currency traders, who said his previously careful remarks had been ditched in favour of a harder line. The euro strengthened on Trichet's comments to just below $1.40. However, the prospect of a rise in rates and a stronger currency put the spotlight on countries already paying high interest rates on their debts and would face a jump in costs should base rates go up. Irish political leaders are trying to persuade the EU that the costs of its bailout are punishing and will prevent it from recovering.

The Leu (Romanian currency - RON) has gained 1.3% against the euro this year, reaching a nine-month high. "1-2% exchange rate fluctuations should not be immediately apparent in prices. I think prices in Romania will become much more independent from foreign trends," said Isărescu on Friday night at the ceremony where he received the Legion of Honour from the President of France, presented to him by the French ambassador, in a ceremony organised at the French Embassy in Bucharest. Asked if the appreciation of the leu is justified by economic fundamentals, Isărescu answered that up to 3-4% fluctuations of the exchange rate should not be paid attention to. However, the fluctuation band specified by the governor is quite wide. Starting from the 4.26 lei/euro exchange rate recorded at the end of last year, a plus/minus 4% band would correspond to a 4-4.4 lei per euro interval. This in fact has been the band of fluctuation for the exchange rate from the beginning of 2009 until now.

March 4 (Bloomberg) -- European stocks fell after U.S. wages failed to keep pace with a surge in energy costs and oil climbed as investors speculated that pro-democracy protests in North Africa will spread to the Arabian peninsula. Carrefour SA, the world’s second-largest retailer, slid 4.4 percent after Citigroup Inc. advised investors to sell the shares. WPP Plc declined 2.6 percent after posting sales growth that failed to match its competitors. SBM Offshore NV, the world’s biggest producer of floating oil rigs, jumped 6.3 percent after earnings beat analysts’ projections. The benchmark Stoxx Europe 600 Index declined 0.6 percent to 281.87 at the 4:30 p.m. close in London. The measure lost 0.8 percent this week as concern that popular protests will spread to Saudi Arabia offset better-than-estimated corporate earnings and signs that the global economy is strengthening. Stocks erased earlier gains today after a U.S. Labor Department report said average hourly earnings failed to grow in February. Economists in a Bloomberg survey had forecast 0.2 percent growth.

In just two months, the price of gas went up 2.6%, while that of diesel oil has risen 5%. Economic analysts believe that major fuel price increases could drag Romania back into recession, saying that the national advantage of having its own reserves is next to zero. The price of gasoline and diesel oil sold in Romania has reached historical hights, with certain fuel products rapidly approaching the 6 lei per liter mark, after five price hikes took place since the beginning of the year. In addition, violence in the Arab Countries brought price 116 dollars/ barrel , with some fearing it could exceed the 147-dollar historic high reached in 2008. Romania, which produces almost half its oil needs through Petrom, seems to have no advantage, at least as far as the price paid by consumers , when compared with countries with little or no resources, which have to import massively, as is the case of Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland and other EU member states. "We do not see the benefits from the fact that we have oil reserves here. We are not talking about the jobs or about whether or not Romania would manage if deliveries were suspended, but about the price advantage of the end consumer. If we were completely dependent on imports, perhaps we would not have controlled prices any more, as is the case for natural gas," said Daniel Dăianu, a former high ranking Communist, today a professor of economics and former finance minister. Representatives of Petrom, the biggest company in Romania, explain, however, that the price of fuel has nothing to do with the oil reserves, but with market conditions. By making fuel more expensive and by cutting costs, Petrom managed to post a net profit of over 520 million euros at the end of 2010, a record-high level reached in the second consecutive year of recession for the Romanian economy.

Hedge funds have roared back from the financial crisis, delivering profits of $129bn to their clients in just six months. While many industries are still suffering from the aftermath of the global economic downturn, hedge funds appear to be in rude health. LCH Investments has calculated that the 10 leading hedge funds alone made $28bn for their customers in the second half of 2010. That is more than the combined net profits of Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Citigroup, Morgan Stanley, Barclays and HSBC over the same period, according to the Financial Times. LCH's figures show how much profit was generated for hedge fund clients. The firms themselves will typically earn a 20% cut of profits, plus a fee of perhaps 2% of funds under management. So if prices go up and then back down again but a hedge fund or investment bank makes a profit then who has made the balancing loss? And is this opportunity available equally to everyone? or do they hold a privileged position. They may be taking greater risks (but to what benefit for the greater economy?) and do they fit well on the risk-reward line or are they skewed towards the latter due to some privileged position e.g. access to better/earlier information or ability to move markets?...perhaps NOT.

Penny Market, the biggest discount chain in Romania, held by German group Rewe, posted a 4.3% sales rise last year, to over 380 million euros, according to ZF calculations based on data in the annual report of the German group. Penny Market's results round up the list of trade market leaders (Metro Cash&Carry, Carrefour - hypermarkets and Mega Image - supermarkets), which mentioned the performance of the Romanian market in their reports. France's Carrefour, the biggest player in modern retail, saw its Romanian business slip 0.44% last year, while the sales performance of Metro Cash&Carry, the biggest player in modern trade, "was markedly weaker," according to data in the group's report. On the other hand, Penny Market and Mega Image (the most extensive supermarket chain) reported sales increases, though with the help of new stores.
Romanian sales of Penny Market fared the best in the region, considering that the German discount division fell 1.2% last year and the Czech division went up 3.8%. (Z.F.)