Why is it called a prize in "economic sciences", rather than just "economics"? The other prizes are not awarded in the "chemical sciences" or the "physical sciences."

Fields of endeavour that use "science" in their titles tend to be those that get masses of people emotionally involved and in which crackpots seem to have some purchase on public opinion. These fields have "science" in their names to distinguish them from their disreputable cousins.

The term political science first became popular in the late eighteenth century to distinguish it from all the partisan tracts whose purpose was to gain votes and influence rather than pursue the truth. Astronomical science was a common term in the late nineteenth century, to distinguish it from astrology and the study of ancient myths about the constellations. Hypnotic science was also used in the nineteenth century to distinguish the scientific study of hypnotism from witchcraft or religious transcendentalism.

There was a need for such terms back then, because their crackpot counterparts held much greater sway in general discourse. Scientists had to announce themselves as scientists.

In fact, even the term chemical science enjoyed some popularity in the nineteenth century – a time when the field sought to distinguish itself from alchemy and the promotion of quack nostrums. But the need to use that term to distinguish true science from the practice of imposters was already fading by the time the Nobel prizes were launched in 1901.

Similarly, the terms astronomical science and hypnotic science mostly died out as the twentieth century progressed, perhaps because belief in the occult waned in respectable society. Yes, horoscopes still persist in popular newspapers, but they are there only for the severely scientifically challenged, or for entertainment; the idea that the stars determine our fate has lost all intellectual currency. Hence there is no longer any need for the term "astronomical science."

Lagarde was a Minister in the French UMP party. A  coincidence that she is in favor of maintaining financial UMP - in other words funny money. Tapering or whatever euphemism one uses for reducing the amount of money printing is going to be painful as markets are forced to realize the price of debt. Exit strategies are mathematically impossible as we all  know the Central Banks could only withdraw a fraction of the funny money they created.
The UK needs a new bonanza on the scale of North Sea oil to allow any unwinding of QE. Without it there would be a severe depression.
Our fiat currencies have been hijacked by a financial community that operates in  a parallel world to the real economy. There is no way out of this mess unless the masses are driven into poverty and unrest or the global financial system collapses. 

Laggard and Blancmange should both be long gone, having perhaps irreparably damaged a global institution called the IMF by trying to turn it into a French version of a € lifeboat

"The day will come when this period of exceptionally loose monetary policy... must end," she said in a speech to a global gathering of central bankers hosted by the US Federal Reserve in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, on Friday.

"We need to plan for that day, especially since we do not know exactly when it comes," said Ms Lagarde, the managing director of the International Monetary Fund.

"Just as with entry, exit will take us into uncharted territory."

Speaking as the Fed's plans for slowing its $85bn-a-month bond-buying program have shaken emerging economy markets, Ms Lagarde said such "unconventional monetary policy" (UMP) approaches remained important.

"Let me say it up front: I do not suggest a rush to exit. UMP is still needed in all places it is being used, albeit longer for some than for others."

She said specifically that both Europe and Japan still have much to gain from such programmes, which mostly aim to enhance growth by pressing interest rates lower.

But she said the IMF and policy makers should be thinking about the ramifications of reeling in easy-money programmes.

"That includes the implications for global economic and financial stability: the whole system, not just one part of it."

"The euro bloc did not shoot themselves in the foot .. they shot themselves in the head"

For any thinking citizen the writing is now on the wall, not hidden somewhere in Brussels-am-Main. Don't trust the banks with your money, don't trust the government with your private pension (they are being nationalized in several European countries), and don't trust them with your property (a wealth tax cometh this way) and look for them to come after your gold (France now registers all gold purchases and the UK any greater than £5k). I genuinely didn't think we'd hit this point until the end of 2015, but the deck of cards is crumbling faster than anticipated....

Now it has all turned into such a complete farce, due to eurozone and troika arrogance, assuming they could bully the little guy the 64Bn euro question is what confidence can anyone have any longer that the eurozone finance ministers and the IMF know what they are doing? It's their credibility that is on the line now ... and arguably is already shot.

The lessons of Lehman Brothers, Northern Rock, HBOS, and Royal Bank of Scotland were all the same. Once confidence evaporates, a bank is dead. No wonder Cyprus’s deposit tax sent a shiver through the markets.

The message it sent out could not have been clearer. Deposits across the eurozone are now at risk. No one’s money is safe. Italy, which could be first in the firing line, even has precedent. It introduced a deposit levy under a socialist government two decades ago – albeit at just 0.6pc compared with the 6.75pc on “insured” deposits under €100,000 (£85,700) in Cyprus and 9.9pc on “uninsured” ones above the threshold.
Here are my  suggestions for Cyprus... call it Plan C:
1. Default
2. Leave Eurozone
3. For new Currency backed by Gold - Cyprus has 14 tonnes of Gold, 58% of forex reserves.
4. As World's ONLY Gold Backed Currency against a World of fiat paper currency, watch Cyprus' economy BOOOOM overnight.
5. Sit back and enjoy how Greek, Spanish, Portugese, Irish and other Savings Deposit holders flock to Gold backed currency
(as opposed to their fiat paper currency based on their stupid trust in the Euro).
6. Gold rockets in price as World investors/savers flock to Gold/Silver
7. As a result Cyprus BOOOOMS! Its depositors >10x richer than at present.
Unfortunately, though  there is no provision in any treaty for leaving the euro. Rationale being it would be too easy then for a country to leave and make a competitive devaluation. The only clause existing is the one in the Lisbon treaty for leaving the EU. This article 50 doesn't talk of the euro.

Athens negotiates over Greek property taxWith recession worsening, higher taxes are another key issue The highly controversial property tax, introduced in 2011 and slapped on households through electricity bills, has elicited particular opprobrium, so much so that the conservative-dominated coalition promised to slash the EU-IMF mandated measure after assuming power in June 2012.  Hit by successive rounds of pay and pension cuts and a barrage of other duties, more and more Greeks, who have seen their disposable income drop by as much as 50% in the last two years, say even if they wanted to, they can no longer afford to pay the tax.  Growing numbers, who have inherited properties, say they are caught between a rock and a hard place: unable to sell properties in a depressed market but also unable to pay the duties now slapped on them.  The emergency measure raises approximately €3bn a year - vital to revenues. Under immense popular pressure, prime minister Antonis Samaras' fragile coalition has attempted to persuade troika technocrats that it can raise the money if the tax is merged with other property duties.  Mission chiefs and the German Governor of Greece - Horst Reichenbach from the EC, ECB and IMF, however, have not been convinced, citing the innate weaknesses of Greece's infamously leaky tax collection system.  Insiders worry that if the government is seen to lose yet another battle in the tug and pull of negotiations, it could suffer a potentially fatal PR communications defeat. The fiercely anti-bailout political opposition has stepped up criticism of the government saying it is already reneging on its promises.

Almost 200,000 people lost jobs between October and December to send the jobless figure to nearly 6m, Spain's National Statistics Institute reported on Thursday.

Spain's youth unemployment - the number aged 16 to 24 without a job - hit a new quarterly high of 55pc, but showed tentative signs of retreating after falling from a peak of 56.5pc in November. Similarly, overall unemployment hit a high in November of 26.6pc and slid in December.

Meanwhile, the number of households in which every member is out of work climbed to 1.8m, more than one tenth of all Spanish families.

The report also suggests the long-term unemployed face a tougher struggle in returning to work, with the number of people remaining unemployed more than a year after losing their jobs rising by 213,800 during 2012.

The bleak figures - which make Spain home to a third of the eurozone's total unemployed - will cast a dark shadow over the one-year-old premiership of Mariano Rajoy, who has faced mounting criticism and a wave of general strikes over his administration's handling of the economy.

Well there is one comment that comes to mind.....

They think its all over..... It is now..

Now we know why last week we had all the talking heads out telling us how great everything is.

hahahahaha....

BUCHAREST, Romania — Romania’s center-left government won a clear victory in Sunday’s parliamentary elections, according to exit polls. The result could inflame the personal rivalry between the nation’s top two officials and bring yet more political upheaval. The prime minister’s governing alliance had about 57 percent of seats in the 452-seat legislature, according to a poll published after elections on national television TVR. Coming in second was a center-right group, allied to President Traian Basescu, which polled over 18 percent. A populist party headed by a media tycoon won about 13 percent, according to the poll. First results are expected Monday. Basescu and Ponta are bitter rivals after the government tried to remove Basescu from office in an impeachment vote in July, a bid that failed as too few people voted to make the election valid. Basescu has indicated he won’t appoint the 40-year-old Ponta again, calling him a “compulsive liar” and saying he plagiarized his doctoral thesis. Ponta says Basescu is a divisive figure who overstepped his role as president by meddling in government business. As he voted, Basescu again accused the government of the former communist country of failing to devote itself to democratic reforms. He said Romania must continue its “path toward the West” and show the world it is “headed toward Brussels, not Moscow, and Washington, not Beijing.” For his part, Ponta said he remains committed to leading Romania to a better future. Many Romanians are fed up with the power struggle between the top two leaders, especially as the country remains one of the poorest and most corrupt members of the European Union. Romania is enduring deep austerity cuts in return for a €20 million ($26 million) bailout to help its foundering economy. Sunday’s vote was hampered by heavy snow and authorities asked the army and the defense ministry to help clear roads closed by blizzards. About 250 polling stations were prevented from opening on time, officials said. Turnout was more than 30 percent three hours before the polls closed.

ITALY -Never a man to let defeat – or scandal – keep him down, the disgraced former prime minister of Italy Silvio Berlusconi has anounced he will run once again for the country's top job.
With three colourful terms behind him, Berlusconi confirmed he would try for a fourth time to become premier, saying he was doing it out of "a sense of responsibility" days after his party withdrew its support for the technocrat government of the current prime minister, Mario Monti.

The media mogul told reporters he was running to win and that "the campaign is already on".

Monti took the loss of Berlusconi's support calmly, calling the situation "manageable", despite it increasing the likelihood of fresh elections. Although Italy's economy is still struggling, Monti is credited with calming the country's financial markets and rescuing it from financial disaster.

Monti, who is a life-appointed senator, has said he will not stand in next year's vote, but is willing to step in afterwards if the result is not clear.

The British betting firm Ladbrokes gave 3/1 odds on Berlusconi becoming the prime minister in 2013.

Berlusconi stepped down last year amid a severe debt crisis. Allegations of his involvement with an underage prostitute and reports that he hosted sex-filled "bunga-bunga" parties also clouded his premiership. He has since been convicted of tax fraud and faces low favourability ratings in the polls.

The three-time prime minister got his start selling vacuum cleaners and singing on cruise ships. In 1971, Berlusconi founded a local cable firm, Telemilano, which grew into the country's largest media company, Mediaset. He has since expanded his media empire to include Italy's largest publishing house, Mondadori, and the newspaper Il Giornale. Other business interests include owning the globally popular football club, AC Milan.

Berlusconi entered politics in 1993, forming his own party and naming it after an AC Milan chant used by fans, Forza Italia, which means "go Italy". He rose to power the next year, winning the elections, and went on over the next 14 years to win twice more and lose twice, both times to Romano Prodi.

Comments on EURO-JOBLESS rise: I believe that the politicians have let us down, are continuing to do so and will carry on doing it. Where I digress is that I believe they do not tell us the whole truth. And here i am thinking about Balls and Milliband junior who try to seduce us with easy solutions when there are none. This is a long haul and we have to cut Govt spending. to say otherwise is either cloud cuckoo land or lies.Although the unemployment figures are still dreadful I am assuming that the slight reduction in Portugal’s rates would have to do with seasonal work related to tourism which always influences partial figures for Q2 and Q3. Probably not really a trend, unfortunately.

And I wonder, as with Greece, if reality isn’t a bit worse in Portugal as I read a lot of reports of companies that don’t pay their employees. So, they are neither unemployed nor in meaningful employment. A bookshop chain where I regularly buy most of my literature apparently only pays their employees one wage every 3 months. Portuguese law only allows for a contract to be cancelled by an employee with a justifiable reason for non-payments if these are not paid for 3 months.  In this case this means that the employees cannot have access to the Portuguese equivalent of JSA or ESA but can’t also cancel their contract with justifiable reason, which would allow them to eventually claim those benefits. If they were to cancel their contracts at this stage they would actually need to pay probably pay some money back to the company as severance but would also lose all rights to claim for their missed wages for previous months....There is an alternative. A very good one. Watch. A bank charges interest to a firm which means it earns interest and can pay its staff. The staff then spend their money at the firm and get stuff the firm produces for them. The firm now has the income which it can use to pay the bank interest. Monetary result is zero (the bank interest charged paid for itself), but real goods and services were produced and transferred to bank staff. Money and goods are not the same thing. They operate in different circuits and respond in different ways. Why have a bank issuing money out of thin air?, that is still a Monetary based system. Why not have a Resource based system?. An economy based upon meeting peoples needs (and desires) while accepting there are finite resources in the world to be shared amongst the population. Any system based upon interest is fundamentally flawed and damages us and the environment in the long run.

The U.K. coalition government has suffered its first significant Commons defeat as MPs voted by 307 to 294, majority 13, to back a Tory rebel call to cut the EU budget.This vote is not binding on ministers. But it is nonetheless a major embarrassment for ministers. So, the EU and the evil corrupt politicos who run it. Razor's principle: All things being equal, the simplest explanation tends to be the truth.The EU is a massively complex and expensive mistake. It is a fundamental falsehood and the lies are wearing thin. So now the greatest democracy in the world has dealt a serious blow to this behemoth and like biblical prophets of old have drawn a line in the sand from which the nations of Britain can reclaim sovereignty. I hope that the UK gets its referendum and finds a way out of this EU.You could build up an example, that life outside this mess is better and bring it this way to a collapse. At least the EU-skeptical Scandinavians would follow soon.The wealth and cultural richness of this continent was the result of (peaceful) competition and search for better solutions in smaller units and not of an gigantic federal state, that will destroy all differences. The EU can not be Europes answer to the globalization, it will just accelerate its decline.

Germany's finance minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said there has been considerable progress with Greece but no deal has yet been done. He added that Greece must meet conditions before the next trance of its bailout can be paid. He said it was unlikely that the Eurogroup would receive the Troika report on Greece before 11 November. He added that there were also no concrete deals wit Cyprus yet and he did not expect them to start before next year.

Jean-Claude Juncker, leader of the eurozone finance ministers' group, called on Greece to solve the remaining issues it has with its international lenders and said the Eurogroup would look to conclude talks on the Greek loan program on 12 November. He added that the conclusion of talks with Greece hinged on Athens implementing agreed reforms before the deal was made. That statement from Jean-Claude Juncker, Eurogroup president, has now been published. Here's what he had to say: The Eurogroup took note of the progress made towards a full staff level agreement between Greece and the Troika on updated program conditionality, including ambitious and wide-ranging measures in the areas of fiscal consolidation, structural reforms, privatization and financial sector stabilization. We called on the Greek authorities to solve remaining issues so as to swiftly finalize the negotiations with the Troika institutions. The Eurogroup expects to further discuss the Greek adjustment program at its next regular meeting on 12 November on the basis of the relevant program documentation and seek to conclude on the program, subject to the completion of prior actions by the Greek authorities and of national procedures in Member States, in line with the established practice.

Debt crisis...

Debt crisis: Germany caves in over bond buying, bank aid after Italy and Spain threaten to block 'everything'. The agreements at a European Union summit in Brussels suggested Germany had yielded on its insistence on forcing tough reforms in exchange for rescue money. That was a victory for Italy and Spain, who have argued they have done a lot to clean up their economies yet are facing rising borrowing costs. European Council chairman Herman Van Rompuy said the aim was to create a supervisory mechanism involving the European Central Bank by the end of this year, and to break the "vicious circle" between banks and sovereign governments. Jose Manuel Barrose, the European Commission president, said the deal was "ambitious".My excuses but I forgot to take my 'suspension of disbelief' pill this morning. So this 'deal' comes into effect at the end of the year and after the Bundestag presumably vetoes Germany allowing any more money? And because the money is not available from a non-existent-fund that hasn't been set up yet and won't happen anyway the markets have reacted favorably? Until when will this non-solution solve the problem of Spanish and Italian debt yields, to say nothng of Greece, Portugal, Ireland, Cyprus and possibly France? I shall go and celebrate immediately !!!

I like how the pictures of riots and fires...

 EUROPE - SPANISH BONDS.... The yield on Spanish benchmark 10-year bonds rose to 5.8pc. The last time the yield was as high was the week before the ECB unleashed its long-term refinancing operation (LTRO) in November, which was designed to ease market pressure on the eurozone's "sinner states". .... Getting near the dreaded Satan six number already? That didn't take long. Spain is in the cross-hairs now. Didn't more than a few experts predict that would happen, unless they did like the US did, and say that the government would do whatever it takes? I watched several experts say the firewall needed to exceed 2.5 trillion, or the attacks would continue. Those European politicians must think all those multi-millionaire investors got rich by accident. What could they know about bond markets and traders?
I like how the pictures of riots and fires just happen to be next to the articles.... The high youth unemployment and austerity measures in Southern Europe are creating a very dangerous environment and it can only be a matter of time before civil unrest gets out of control. There seems to be an accepted view that the juggernaut of globalization cannot be stopped or reversed. Globalization was an accepted view in the 1920’s, until the bust. Globalization was stopped in its tracks and the opposite took its place, Nationalism. The imposition of austerity measures in the West is demonstrating to the vast majority that globalization has done them no favors at all. Nationalism will probably first raise its head in the club med countries and this will be the beginning of the end for the latest globalization phase

Merkel and her “far-reaching plan”...

A six-page German foreign ministry paper sets out plans for the creation of a European Monetary Fund with a transfer of sovereignty away from member states. The fund will have the power to take ailing countries into receivership and run their economies. Even more controversially, the document, entitled "The future of the EU: required integration policy improvements for the creation of a Stability Union", declares that the treaty changes are a first stage “in which the EU will develop into a political union”. “The debate on the way towards a political union must begin as soon as the course toward stability union is charted,” it concludes. The negotiating document also explicitly examines ways to limit treaty changes to speed up the reforms. It indicates that Mrs Merkel will tell Mr Cameron to rule out a popular EU vote in Britain. “Limiting the effect of the treaty changes to the euro zone states would make ratification easier, which would nevertheless be required by all EU member states (thereby less referenda could be necessary, which could also affect the UK),” read the paper. Senior government officials confirmed that they had dropped a previous demand that EU powers should be “repatriated” to Britain in return for the treaty changes requested by Germany. “I don’t think that anyone is seriously proposing going down that route,” a senior government source said. Open Europe, a think tank, last night called for Mr Cameron to demand something in return from Mrs Merkel for her “far-reaching plan”, which requires the unanimous consent of all 27 EU countries, giving Britain a veto.

Antonio Borges, who led the IMF unit only since November 2010, submitted his resignation "for personal reasons" and "will relinquish his responsibilities immediately," the IMF said in a statement. British-Iranian Reza Moghadam, a nearly 20-year veteran of the IMF now directing its Strategy, Policy, and Review Department, will replace Borges in the crucial job running the Fund's largest emergency lending programs, effective from tomorrow morning. "Antonio Borges has led the European Department during an extremely difficult period for the region's eurozone members. His vast public and private sector, and academic experience, combined with his ability to build strong relationships with member country authorities, have been of great value in responding to the crisis," IMF managing director Christine Lagarde said in a statement. "I look forward to Reza Moghadam applying to our work in Europe the same strategic vision, drive, and thoughtfulness that he has demonstrated in his previous position." Moghadam will be replaced, also effective tomorrow morning, by Siddharth Tiwari, currently IMF secretary.

Angela Merkel will not "allow" UK "to get away" with refusal to back financial transactions tax

The German government believes Britain should be part of a Europe-wide tax on financial transactions, the proceeds of which could help prop up the single currency. However, David Cameron and George Osborne have blocked the tax, with the Chancellor claiming it is a “bullet aimed at the heart of London”. Ministers have instead called on the Germans to allow the European Central Bank (ECB) effectively to print money to rescue beleaguered economies. The Prime Minister will travel to Berlin on Friday for what are expected to be tense negotiations with Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, over the crisis. A senior figure in the party headed by Mrs Merkel attacked Britain as relations between the two countries deteriorated in the wake of the single currency crisis. Tensions between Germany and Britain over how to handle the crisis in the eurozone deepened after allies of the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, claimed she would not allow the UK to "get away" with its refusal to back a European financial transactions tax. Speaking before a meeting between Merkel and David Cameron on Friday, the parliamentary leader of her Christian Democratic Union said: "Britain had a responsibility to make Europe a success." Volker Kauder, at the CDU conference in Leipzig, said: "I can understand that the British don't want that [a transactions tax] when they generate almost 30% of their gross domestic product from financial-market business in the City of London. Only going after their own benefit and refusing to contribute is not the message we're letting the British get away with."

The European parliament has voted to ban "naked" credit default swaps, a controversial financial instrument used by traders to bet on the risk of a country defaulting on debt. With no solution to Italy’s problems in sight, the country can continue to raise money from the markets at high interest rates whilst the ECB can continue to buy Italian debt and try to cap yields. However, neither is sustainable. This would mean we are headed for an almighty crunch. Either we continue along the current path [where Italy is likely to run out of funding options], or Germany has to give way on QE. Thinking through these scenarios should make euro policymakers redouble their efforts to find a solution: make the EFSF fly or get external help. QE is probably the lesser of two evils when compared to euro break up, but recognizing that the ship is currently headed for the rocks should spur a change of course. Italian bonds now up to 7.039 pc.

Growth - statistics ...

German gross domestic product (GDP) expanded by 0.5pc between July and September compared with the preceding three months, driven by strong domestic demand. Growth in Europe's biggest economy in the second quarter had stood at 0.3pc, revised upwards from an original estimate of 0.1pc. "Positive impulses came primarily from domestic demand, with rising consumer spending in particular contributing to growth," the federal statistics office Destatis said in a statement. "In addition, investment in equipment also increased, while construction investment declined somewhat after a strong start to the year." Foreign trade was also robust, with both exports and imports growing by around the same amount. Economists also expect fourth-quarter growth in France to be flat at best as the euro zone debt crisis discourages investment and employment. The French government has slashed its growth forecasts twice in the past four months and pledged budget cuts to prevent the deficit from ballooning. Xavier Bertrand, the French Labour minister, said: "Positive growth means tax revenue, but there isn't enough growth so we have to manage our budget like you do at home, or like a company chief. If there's not enough money coming in then there must be less money coming out." Romania 3Q GDP + 1.9% On Quarter, +4.5% On Year. Romanian economy expanded by 1.9% in the third quarter, after a modest recovery of 0.2% three months earlier, a flash estimate of the country’s statistics institute showed Tuesday.

BERLIN—German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Monday responded to growing criticism of euro-zone bailouts from within her Christian Democratic Union party with a passionate call for Germany to shoulder the burden of saving Europe's most ambitious project and to step up to the challenges of these uncertain times. During a party convention in the eastern German city of Leipzig, where in 2003 Ms. Merkel made a pledge to return Germany to its role as Europe's undisputed economic leader within a decade, the chancellor rebuffed accusations she had abandoned the conservative party's long-standing positions on core issues—from social policies to nuclear energy and now minimum wages and euro-zone bailouts. German Chancellor Angela Merkel at the CDU party congress Monday in Leipzig, Germany. "We live in times of epic change," Ms. Merkel said. "Our political compass has not changed. But the context is constantly changing." Some party members called for Ms. Merkel to make it possible to boot profligate euro-zone nations out of the 17-member club. Ms. Merkel told her party that 30-year-old policies couldn't supply the appropriate answer to Europe's "most difficult hours since World War Two." She insisted that the party must go with the times. In a one-hour speech at the two-day convention that is being held under the motto "For Europe, For Germany," Ms. Merkel pounded the themes that have become a steady drumbeat in her daily messages back in Berlin about resolving the euro-zone debt crisis: that the euro crisis will take years of hard work to fix and that the crisis offers the opportunity to recreate the European project. "We need to send a clear signal," Ms. Merkel told the delegates. "We don't whine; we don't complain. We know instead that we have a job to do." ...I ask : What job ? : THE JOB IS TO FULFILL THE RIBBENTROP - MOLOTOV PACT PROVISIONS and TAKE OVER EUROPE !!!!!!! The Russians already met their task of taking over the European Energy resources !!!

The $593 million shortfall in client money at MF Global Holdings Ltd., the broker that filed for bankruptcy on Oct. 31, appears to result from a “massive hide-and-seek ploy,” Bart Chilton, a commissioner at the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, said today. The agency took the rare step of publicly announcing its investigation, which began on Oct. 31, saying it was in the public interest to confirm the enforcement action. Jill E. Sommers was named as the senior commissioner during the probe, after Gary Gensler, the agency’s chairman, recused himself. “This isn’t just a lost and found inquiry; it’s a full-on effort to get to the bottom of what appears to be a massive hide-and-seek ploy,” Chilton said in an e-mail statement. “It’s a distinct possibility, some would say probability, that somebody has done something with the money, and that it’s not going to be ‘all of a sudden discovered’ with an innocent explanation,” Chilton said. “If that’s the case, it’s patently illegal. I don’t know yet. Our investigation will uncover that, and we’re aggressively pursuing this.” Gensler recused himself from the investigation because of his history with Jon S. Corzine, the former head of MF Global. Gensler worked with Corzine at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and during his time as a Senate aide, while Corzine represented New Jersey as a U.S. senator. “I have complete confidence in the dedicated men and women in enforcement to carry out the necessary investigation to get to the bottom of what happened,” Sommers, a Republican, said in a statement. The CFTC also began a review of futures brokers to determine if client funds are properly segregated. The initial review will include between 10 and 12 futures brokers and the CFTC hasn’t set a deadline for the review, a person familiar with the review said.

Standard & Poor's, erroneously dispatched a message on Thursday that France's credit rating had been downgraded. S&P can't take all the blame (though the "technical error" was appalling). The deeper reasons include: a) French banks are carrying more Italian debt than anybody else – about €300bn worth. That's on top of the writedowns they are currently taking on their large Greek exposures. b) Within the worsening outlook for eurozone growth published by the European commission on Thursday, France came off badly. Don't expect growth of 2% next year: the new figure is just 0.6%. c) A credit rating change now seems more likely, even if S&P has fixed its computer. In the tail-wags-dog world of ratings agencies, higher yields tend to make downgrades more likely. d ) There is the worry that any attempt at bailing out Italy would put intense pressure on France. The European financial stability facility is backed by guarantees from member states. Italy obviously couldn't give guarantees on loans to itself, so a greater burden would fall on others. Alternatively, any officially sanctioned "haircut" for holders of Italian debt would rebound on French banks.

Right now the death howls for the EU are underway; what matters is how the people will handle the challenges to come, and prepare for the resetting of their nations economies...deal with some pain now and make the needed changes, or face catastrophic care later with the implementation of draconian measures ...these are the choices. Yesterday, Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, said the market turmoil could last for a decade and there was still “a chunk of work” to do. “The Germans want more fiscal unity and much tougher central observation – with the idea of a finance ministry.” Titles , titles, lot's of hot air :

1) The euro is the EU.
2) France is Club Med and will not desert PIIGS.
3) This is why Greece cannot be allowed to exit. It will pull all Club Med with it.
4) The EU/euro is a Project which cannot be tinkered with. It will either survive or collapse whole. There will be no derivative.
5) If the Project collapses, Europe is in free fall. There are no contingency plans.
6) The Project is not even stressed yet. When matters get real desperate, Brussels will go nuclear with the ECB. As a major reserve currency, the euro will join the dollar in a race for the bottom, but buy enough time for the EU to emerge intact. Schroeder bragged about making an honest currency out of the EU, Schauble will do better by making a dishonest bank out of the ECB.

The Greek government is expected to be unable to pay wages for state workers and pensions next month without a planned injection of £8 billion of EU cash. George Papandreou, the Greek prime minister, met his French and German counterparts ahead of today’s G20 summit of world leaders. Mr Papandreou has called a referendum on whether the Greek public supports the bail-out. The decision has plunged the rescue into turmoil. David Cameron said yesterday that the world was facing a “financial storm” as Greece may now be forced out of the single currency. Simon Johnson, former chief economist at the International Monetary Fund, said that “we are now looking straight into the face of a great depression”. A showdown between the most powerful leaders in the eurozone and George Papandreou is under way amid increasing concern about the Greek prime minister's plan to hold a referendum and the impact it is having on financial markets. Ahead of a crunch two-day summit of the leaders of the G20 in Cannes, the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, and French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, were holding make-or-break talks with Papandreou. Greece was warned it will not be handed €8bn (£6.9bn) of bailout money due this month unless there is a swift yes vote in the referendum. Officials at the Greek interior ministry have identified two potential dates in December for the vote – which cannot take place until ratified by parliament. That, in turn, requires Papandreou to survive night's crucial vote of confidence in his fragile government in Athens. The European leaders met their international counterparts amid signs that a new recession is now stalking the eurozone – blamed in part on the sovereign debt crisis. A report showed factories in the 17-nation euro area suffered their sharpest decline in output in two years. I hope the Euro will dissapear and the European Union as it is will realize that it will be impossible to fulfill germany's dreams of ruling our sovereign nations !