A bit sarcastic !...but realistic

Well : Do to the tremendous success of the summit : Moody's has downgraded the debt of BNP Paribas, Societe Generale, and Credit Agricole - warning their creditworthiness is being damaged by the fragile operating environment for European banks. "The probability that the will face further funding pressures has risen in line with the worsening European debt crisis." The agency cut its ratings on the long-term debt of BNP and Credit Agicole by one notch to Aa3, concluding reviews that began in June and were continued in September. Societe Generale's long-term debt was cut by one notch to A1. The downgrades were driven by the increasing difficulties the banks were having in raising funding and the worsening economic outlook, Moody's said. The news comes a day after the European Banking Authority (EBA), warned the region's banks must find €114.7bn of extra capital in order to withstand the euro zone debt crisis and restore investor confidence. Moody's said its ratings did take into account the fact that all three French banks were likely to benefit from state support if the crisis deepened. "Liquidity and funding conditions have deteriorated significantly ," said Moody's, adding that the banks have historically relied on wholesale funding markets.

Debts imposed by "fiat", by governments or foreign financial agencies in the face of strong popular opposition may be tenuous...

Addressing the German parliament on Friday morning, Merkel insisted treaty changes and tighter regulation of erring eurozone members were the only way out of what she described as "the most difficult chapter in the history of the euro, if not the most difficult in the history of the European Union". To a packed Bundestag, Merkel said it was "absurd" to claim Germany was trying to "dominate" Europe – an accusation which has become ever more widespread after one of her MPs made goading comments that "Europe was now speaking German". Despite criticism that her indecisiveness is accelerating the possibility of a collapse of the single currency, Merkel preferred to focus on what had been agreed in recent months. "It's no exaggeration to say that we have achieved an incredible amount," she said. "In Europe we are now arguing and wrestling over the fine print, not about the plan as a whole," she added. "Anyone who, a few months ago, had said that at the end of the year 2011 we would have taken very serious and concrete steps towards a European stability union, a European fiscal union with powers of enforcement, would have been considered crazy," she said. On the euro zone bailout fund, the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF), Merkel said: "I don't think we should talk ill of the EFSF, but think we should be realistic about what the EFSF can do." Germany was not trying to take over Europe, she said. "It's important for me to say to you this morning that you don't need to worry about the fears you hear or read about at the moment – that Germany wants to lead or dominate Europe or similar. It's absurd. It's true that we are pushing for a certain stability and growth culture, but we're doing this in the European spirit of Konrad Adenauer and Helmut Kohl. European and German unification were and are two sides of the same medal and we will never forget it."...And I say : It is becoming more and more obvious that the financial sector is using successive financial crises to convince governments that that the economy will collapse if they do not “save the banks.” In doing so, the financial sector is consolidating its control over policy by way of financial proxies called technocrats.

Ollie Rehn - incompetent, corrupt is part of the problem facing Europe today

Olli Rehn, EU economic and monetary affairs commissioner, warned Germany that it alone could not determine the eurozone's fate, Italy only managed to secure cover for a two-year bond worth €2bn by paying 7.8%. A six-month loan for €8bn cost it 6.5% compared with 3.54% only a month ago. Rehn admitted in Rome that contagion had now spread to the core of the zone. He was speaking after talks with Mario Monti, Italy's new technocratic prime minister, who has yet to convince markets he can deliver on his promises of structural reforms and savage cuts in national debt. Meeting in Berlin, the finance ministers of Germany, Finland and the Netherlands even hinted at the prospect of an enhanced role for the European Central Bank (ECB) if all other steps to save the euro collapsed. But they again ruled it out as an immediate solution. Meeting in Berlin, the finance ministers of Germany, Finland and the Netherlands even hinted at the prospect of an enhanced role for the European Central Bank (ECB) if all other steps to save the euro collapsed. But they again ruled it out as an immediate solution.

The fake "union and the enpty tresure chest - Mr Papandreou announced a confidence vote in parliament for tomorrow where he would test his very thin majority. In Brussels, the deal had been hailed a breakthrough for Greece: banks holding Greek bonds would take a “haircut” wiping out half the amount they are owed. The EU and the International Monetary Fund would pump more money into the Greek economy. And the Greeks would cut back their public spending still further, meaning real pain for public sector workers, pensioners and the rest. Last week, polls showed that around six in 10 Greeks thought the bail-out deal was a bad idea. On the other side of the ledger, around seven in 10 said they wanted to remain in the euro zone. The degree of linkage that exists between the bail-out package and euro membership would play a pivotal role in the drama that followed. To say that Mr Papandreou’s move was a surprise is an understatement. No one beyond his inner circle knew of his plan. Neither the Greek cabinet nor other EU leaders had been informed. David Cameron learnt of the move from a television news report. George Osborne got the news from the financial news wires. It sounds to me as a bad movie script...politics?...blahhhh...Euro has to go, that's clear, and the "fake" union" as well!!

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 !

This post for oct. 05. 2011

We seem to be entering dangerous new territory here, on the one hand we have the European commission following it's agenda to create a European superstate trying to introduce European wide taxes and regulations and now we have the Euro Zone headed by France and Germany trying to build a state within a state excluding the 10 members who are not in the Euro from decision making but requiring them to follow regulations made by them. Merkel and Sarkozy are taking Europe down a dangerous road rather than create a stronger more co operative Europe their actions could lead to the breakup of the Union and armed conflict. History will not thank or forgive them.Everyone, all of them, to a man (and increasingly, to a woman) are fighting their own national corners. Sarkozy and the French are determined that Greece will not go under. Not in the interests of the Great European Brotherhood of Nations, but to protect the French banking system which dies along with Greece. Merkel and the Germans will sell their grandmothers if it will ensure the survival of the Euro. Not for the Great European Dream, but because the Euro is grossly undervalued for the Germany economy, allowing them to export competetively. Something they would find it very difficult to do with their own currency. Barroso the Cork Salesman is an ardent European, not because he loves waving the Star Spangled Sphincter, (he would much rather be waving the Bright Red Worker's Flag) but because he knows that without it all that is left for him and his bankrupt country is destitution, ignominy and a return to third world status. The list goes on, but somehow seems to miss the United Kingdom, which is woefully short on British interest.

I suspect money is secretly being printed and moved around to prop up Greek banks and maybe other European banks too. The Fed's enforced audit published recently shows they already disbursed at least $16 trillion (some reports claim as much as $23 trillion) to various establishments around the globe. Merkel et all look much too smug to me and they know public anger is growing, particularly in America, is growing by the hour.

Renewed worries about the Eurozone's finances and the state of its banks - particularly the French ones - have sent shares sharply lower again, all but wiping out Tuesday's Bernanke bounce on Wall Street. The US market, which invoked a rule to help prevent turbulence at the open, is down more than 242 points, having started down 75 points and fallen by more than 300 points at its worst so far. Last night the US market mounted a more than 400 rise after US Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke vowed to keep interest rates low until 2013, but it seems investors are now nervous about what that means for the state of the US economy, and how bad it could get. But attention also moved back to Europe, with news that President Sarkozy was locked in emergency talks with his ministers seeking ways to cut the country's deficit. That prompted rumours that the country was likely to be next to lose its Triple A rating, and also talk that one of its banks could be in trouble in the current financial turmoil, leading to hefty double digit share price falls at the likes of Societe Generale and BNP Paribas. In a note on the rating this week Citigroup said: We expect that France, with its high public debt and deficit, and popular resistance to cutbacks in its even by euro area standards extremely large welfare state is now likely to be the G7 country at the highest risk of losing its AAA rating. The markets appear to share this sentiment with French 10-year spreads over German Bunds reaching 16-years highs on Friday.

"Tensions in the Middle East and North Africa are not solved yet. Secondly, there are new uncertainties in the eurozone. These all will benefit gold," Ronald Leung, of Lee Cheong Gold Dealers in Hong Kong, said.

The weaker dollar was partly responsible for the rise in gold. Since the price is deonominated in dollars, if the dollar falls the price becomes relatively cheaper to investors holding other currencies. Minutes from the Federal Reserve's interest rate deliberations last month pushed the dollar down further on Tuesday as it became clear that there was unlikely to be an interest rate hike any time soon.

Bidders for the precious metal were offering $1,458.80 per ounce on Wednesday morning. Silver also strengthened to a new 31-year high of $39.48. Gold prices have also been boosted by traders looking for a hedge against inflation.

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