Be it the United States or the European Union, most Western countries are so highly indebted today that the markets have a greater say in their policies than the people. Why are democratic countries so pathetic when it comes to managing their money sustainably? In the midst of this confusing crisis, which has already lasted more than five years, former German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt addressed the question of who had "gotten almost the entire world into so much trouble." The longer the search for answers lasted, the more disconcerting the questions arising from the answers became. Is it possible that we are not experiencing a crisis, but rather a transformation of our economic system that feels like an unending crisis, and that waiting for it to end is hopeless? Is it possible that we are waiting for the world to conform to our worldview once again, but that it would be smarter to adjust our worldview to conform to the world? Is it possible that financial markets will never become servants of the markets for goods again? Is it possible that Western countries can no longer get rid of their debt, because democracies can't manage money? And is it possible that even Helmut Schmidt ought to be saying to himself: I too am responsible for getting the world into a fix ?

What's worse than an unelected hack steamrolling the lives of ordinary people?

Ireland's former attorney general, former minister for Justice and now practicing senior council one Michael McDowell was on national radio earlier today, wondering out loud why the country was not debating a Federal Europe that is being foisted on small countries by dint of an economic crisis exported from the core to the periphery. He wondered why Ireland was not paying enough attention to the UK's efforts to de-couple itself from core competencies and obligations being foisted on it by EU "Euro fascists" (my words). He wondered, if crossing the border from the Irish republic was going to be akin to crossing the border from East Germany into West Berlin during the dark days of the USSR. Entering the land of the free?I agree with his sentiments, federalism is a complete misnomer, buried deep inside the velvet glove of federalism is the Iron fist that will be used more and more boldly to smash the sovereign nation state. It is nothing less than a takeover of most states within Europe by Wolfgang, Von Rompuy and other egotistical men such as Barroso and Rehn. Dangerous people who know not what they are unleashing across the Eruopean continent. These are people who would barely get people to cross the road with them under their banner of a federalist Europe but who are marveling at the power an economic crisis has bestowed upon them. Small wonder they want to make crisis permanent? It is the UK once again who are standing up for what is left of democracy in Europe and god knows that in itself tells us a lot about how far the rot has gone because we know that democracy in Britain itself has been significantly eroded over the last 40 years.

The Single Market is like a customs union. Tax and duty paid in one member country is deemed as tax and duty paid in another member country and so goods are free to move across borders between members. Many readers eher will not remember the bad old days when trucks crossing borders had to queue and wait for a customs official to measure the amount of diesel in the fuel tank and then the driver had to pay tax on the import of that fuel into that particular country. Only passenger vehicles were exempt.

Hannah is simply playing word games. He admits the EU is internally a free trade area but, the fact that it is not free and open to the world is not unusual. Most of the world is not free and open to the EU or to many other parts of the world.

Hannah provides examples of free trade areas, Nafta (Canada, the United States and Mexico) and ASEAN (ten South East Asian states). The EU is setting up similar Free Trade Agreements, EU-Japan Free Trade Agreement, EU- Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, EU-US Transatlantic Economic Council, EU-India Free Trade Agreement, EU-Mercosur Free Trade Agreement.

Hannah says nothing but he does demonstrate his naivety; "The optimum deal for the United Kingdom is surely to be in a European free trade area but not in a customs union." That's like saying that the optimum deal for the United Kingdom is one where the UK is the sole winner.

We'd all like unlimted freedoms but with no attached responsibilities but you will never ever eliminate 'if you sell to him, I won't sell to you' and very quickly, 'and I'll ask my mate not to supply you at all'. Deals are struck, bargains are made. No one allows a single trader to take all the profit.

MADRID—Spain's central bank said Tuesday the Spanish economy contracted at a faster pace in the third quarter and the country may miss its budget-deficit target because of tax-revenue shortfalls.

The euro zone's fourth-largest economy contracted by 1.7% from the same period last year, compared with a 1.3% contraction in the second quarter, the central bank said.

In the first estimate of Spain's economic performance during the July-to-September quarter, the Bank of Spain said that on a quarterly basis gross domestic product likely contracted 0.4%, the same as in the second quarter. The central bank's estimates are often very close to or in line with final government estimates issued later. The government's first third-quarter GDP estimate is due Oct. 30.

The central bank also said that "it can't be ruled out" that Spain's government would miss its budget deficit target for this year, currently at 6.3% of GDP after a series of revisions, largely because of tax-revenue shortfalls. Last year, Spain's deficit stood at 9.4% of GDP, more than three percentage points above the target.

"The efforts to lower spending at the public sector have had a net contracting effect (on the economy) in the central months of the year," the Bank of Spain said. "We see drops in consumption and investment by all levels of government above those seen in previous quarters."

The fourth REICH in full action according to the Ribbentrop - Molotov Treaty ... Europe is under the German boot !!!!..

Mario Draghi has defended his Outright Monetary Transactions plan to the Bundestag in the last few minutes.

Draghi promised German MPs that the pledge to buy unlimited quantities of bonds will dispel fears over the euro's future.

The ECB president also began his two-hour appearance in Berlin by repeating his line that politicians, not central bankers, must take the decisive steps to ensure Europe's future

Here's how Draghi defended the OMT, which he insisted did not put taxpayers at risk.

We designed the OMTs exactly to...restore monetary policy transmission in two key ways.

First, it provides for ex ante unlimited interventions in government bond markets, focusing on bonds with a remaining maturity of up to three years. A lot of comments have been made about this commitment. But we have to understand how markets work. Interventions are designed to send a clear signal to investors that their fears about the euro area are baseless.

Second, as a pre-requisite for OMTs, countries must have negotiated with the other euro area governments a European Stability Mechanism (ESM) programme with strict and effective conditionality. This ensures that governments continue to correct economic weaknesses while the ECB is active. The involvement of the IMF, with its unparalleled track record in monitoring adjustment programmes would be an additional safeguard.

The full statement has been uploaded to the ECB website.

Draghi also warned that deflation is a bigger risk than inflation today, which may not convince German lawmakers who fear a return to the 1920s.

European Commission president José Manuel Barroso has rebuked EU leaders for not doing more to develop growth across the EU, following this morning's Tripartite Social Summit.

Barroso told reporters that he was unhappy with progress so far, and demanded a new sense of urgency. He also signalled to Berlin to allow austerity to be relaxed. Easier said than done.

The full statement is online, but, here's the key section: 

Very frankly I am not happy with the progress made so far.That's why I call on the European Council to accelerate the adoption and implementation of many important growth-enhancing measures included in the Growth and Jobs Compact. It is true that we have been making more efforts in terms of fiscal consolidation than on the measures for growth that were already agreed at the European Council level. We need to balance the important efforts made in terms of sound public finances with the right measures to have growth enhancing policies. We also need to move ahead with our structural reform agenda – the country-specific recommendations have to be implemented at national level....Regarding the deadlines of bank supervision in relation to recapitalizing Spanish banks, people forget that there already exists a 100 billion euros credit line that can be used for those. The problem with this line of credit is that it goes through the Spanish state, so it increases the Spanish public debt (but Olli Rehn, in the previous link says this won't increase Spain's structural deficit.)
So, if I understand well, the use of banking supervision in regard to Spanish banks would be if 1) the opened credit line were not enough or 2) Spain's budget situation became very bad and it needed to avoid recapitilizing banks through state budget. I believe the compromise obtained is quite good: if there is no new crisis regarding Spain, there is time to put in place a deep/thorough banking supervision, with closing bank powers etc; if a new crisis emerges in Spain in Q1 2013, overcoming conditions 1 and 2 up there, then it will be possible to say (maybe), "we have put in place the legal framework, let's make something in a hurry for those".
It's a question of having some instrument ready, just in case, even if the goal is not to use the instrument.

The chances of Britain leaving the EU rose dramatically last night after it emerged that one of David Cameron’s closest Cabinet allies believes it is time to tell Brussels bluntly: ‘We are ready to quit.’

Education Secretary Michael Gove has told friends that, if there was a referendum today on whether the UK should cut its ties with Brussels, he would vote to leave.

He wants Britain to give other EU nations an ultimatum: ‘Give us back our sovereignty or we will walk out.’ Mr Gove insists the UK could thrive as a free trading nation on its own, like other non-EU nations in Europe such as Norway and Switzerland. He has changed his view partly as a result of his fury at Brussels meddling which has held up his school reforms.  Mr Gove, one of the Prime Minister’s closest confidants, has discussed his views in detail with Mr Cameron. In an anti-EU pincer movement by the two Tory allies, Mr Cameron will formally announce later this month the first major step towards grabbing back powers from Brussels.   He will set out in detail how he plans to withdraw Britain from EU justice ties, but he will then ‘cherry pick’ which aspects of Anglo-EU legal co-operation he believes are in British interests. These could include the European Arrest Warrant (EAW), access to police databases, prisoner transfers and co-operation over drugs trafficking and money laundering.  The disclosures are the latest evidence of a turning point in Britain’s relationship with the EU, which is currently gripped by the euro crisis.

Mr Cameron has struck an increasingly tough stance. He won plaudits for vetoing changes in the EU Treaty, has edged closer to pledging an ‘In or Out’ referendum, and suggested Brussels should have two budgets, one for eurozone nations and another for non-eurozone nations such as the UK....UPDATE - European leaders early Friday agreed to have a new supervisor for euro-zone banks up and running next year, a step that will pave the way for the bloc's bailout fund to pump capital directly into banks throughout the single-currency area......
Friday's announcement is a disappointment for some officials at the European Commission, the EU's executive arm, who had hoped to have the supervisor operational at the start of 2013.
The leaders also discussed plans for a common budget for the 17 euro-zone nations that could be used to absorb economic shocks impacting one part of the euro zone but not others. But José Manuel Barroso, the commission president, said: "This is something for the medium and longer term."

....“impossible for Germany to pay everybody’s bills,”

While Germany and the other euro members will “stick to the monetary union,” every euro state has to fight the problems it faces as it’s “impossible for Germany to pay everybody’s bills,” Schaeuble said. Germany “would be destroyed” if it overstretched its resources, he said. ....Turning to Spain, the German minister said financial markets have yet to appreciate efforts made by the country’s government, led by Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, to return to sustainable public finances. Standard & Poor’s cut Spain’s sovereign-debt rating by two levels to BBB- on Oct. 10, citing the backtracking of euro-region peers on a pledge to sever the link between the sovereign and its banks. “Since Spain is under the pressure of markets, Spain had to take decisions on reducing its deficit, to increase its competitiveness, but Spain is delivering since the Rajoy government is in place,” Schaeuble said. “They’re doing very well but it takes time until markets believe them.”

Swedish Finance Minister Anders Borg said yesterday it’s“most probable” that Greece will quit the common currency and such an outcome shouldn't be ruled out over the next six months. Schaeuble told the Singapore-German Chamber of Industry and Commerce that a Greek exit would create “huge” problems and wouldn't happen. .... “If you look at how much interlinked we are in the European Union and in the currency union, to leave it would create huge, incredible difficulties for everyone,” Schaeuble said. “Therefore the better way is to solve it, but of course it has to be solved.” Euro-area finance ministers on Oct. 8 backed Greece’s plan to trim its budget and reshape the economy, while demanding that the government in Athens commit to a list of 89 policy steps before the summit. They didn't commit on whether the next 31 billion-euro aid installment will be paid out in one go or released in smaller chunks. “Everyone is trusting that Samaras and his government is really decided to do what is needed,” Schaeuble said.

BS_BS_BS_ and that's all...

The European Stability Mechanism (ESM) will have a full lending capacity of 500bn euros (£400bn; $650bn) by 2014. It will initially run alongside, and then eventually replace, the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF).  Europe's largest economy, Germany, will make the biggest contribution to the fund, about 27% of its total. The ESM, which is a new European Union agency, will be chaired by Jean-Claude Juncker, the Prime Minister of Luxembourg and chair of the Eurogroup.  The launch of the ESM "marks an historic milestone in shaping the future of monetary union", Mr Juncker said after the inaugural meeting of the Eurogroup of finance ministers that makes up the fund's board.

Countries will make their first payments towards the fund this week.   Earlier, the EU economic and monetary affairs commissioner, Olli Rehn, said: "It provides the eurozone with a robust and permanent firewall and it provides us with a strong toolbox of effective and flexible instruments.  "Thinking of where we were two-and-a-half years ago when we had no instruments of crisis management, we had to create the Greek loan facility and the temporary European facility, we are moving forward and we are supplementing the economic and monetary union with one important building block," he said as he arrived at the meeting.

"Nobody is in party mood, but I am less pessimistic for the moment for the eurozone than in the spring."

Athens-based journalist Damian Mac Con Uladh reports that the Greek government has even banned some TV crews from covering parts of Angela Merkel's trip today:

Ms Merkel is due to land in Greece this morning for talks with her counterpart Antonis Samaras and president Carolos Papoulias. But she is likely to face angry protests in a country where many feel their already-struggling economy has been dealt further harm by austerity measures demanded in return for a bail-out. Greece is in its fifth year of recession and unemployment has soared to 25pc. The country is currently in negotiations with the troika (representatives from the IMF, European Commission and ECB) over whether it has made enough progress implementing cuts and tax hikes to release its next €11.5bn tranche of bail-out cash, without which it faces bankruptcy by November. Alexis Tsipras, who leads the opposition Syriza party in Greece, said: "She does not come to support Greece, which her policies have brought to the brink. She comes to save the corrupt, disgraced and servile political system. We will give her the welcome she deserves." Around 7,000 police will be on patrol on the streets of Athens, backed up by rooftop snipers, water cannon and a helicopter, while 300 members of the coastguard have also been drafted-in to bolster the security operation. As well as the large police presence, all large gatherings and rallies have been banned in large parts of Athens (shown in the map below) from 9am to 10pm to "preserve the peace".I see austerity does not apply to the German Chancellors security - evidently. Germany have squeezed every little last ounce of competitiveness from Greece, and are now spitting in their faces. Mercedes should be 20% more expensive than they are, minimum. The reason the Germans sell so many is because they are using Greece and the other southern sovereign nations to keep their exchange rate artificially low. It is a huge scam on the Greeks. Meanwhile, Greece have to buy all in Euros. They should revolt and hang their leaders.

Germany's Weimar Republic ....

SAMARAS WARNS THAT GREECE FACES DISASTER...Greece's prime minister has warned that the economic crisis in Greece is now so severe that society risks collapse, and urged its international lenders to agree its desperately-needed aid trance soon. In an interview with German business newspaper Handelsblatt, Samaras said: Greek democracy is facing perhaps its greatest challenge. He cited the rise of the fascist Golden Dawn party (which won parliamentary seats in the last election) as proof that Greece is staring into the abyss.

There is a real risk of the social order collapsing, he said, thanks to "the rise of a right-wing extremist, one might say fascist, neo-Nazi party."

Samras argued that Greece faced the same fate as Germany's Weimar Republic (whose collapse amid economic chaos heralded the rise of the Nazia in the 1930s). And Samaras pointedly insisted that Greece could not make further cuts, saying the existing plans "already to to the bone". Poverty is growing, and unemployment at record highs [youth unemployment has reached 55.4%] he added: More and more people have to go to soup kitchens of church and charities to get a hot meal. Highlights from the interview are here on Handelsblatt's website (in German). Google translation into English here.

Reuters also has separate details of the interview. It reports that Samaras warned that Greece cannot manage beyond November without its injection of international aid (worth around €31bn) . "The key is liquidity. That is why the next credit tranche is so important for us," Samaras told the business daily Handelsblatt. Asked how long Greece could manage without it, he said: "Until the end of November. Then the cash box is empty." Samaras also suggested that the ECB could lend a hand by accepting lower interest rates on the Greek debt is already owns, or allowing those bonds to 'rollover' rather than be repaid. He also suggested that a Spanish-style banking rescue could help: I could also imagine the recapitalisation of Greek banks as is being considered for Spain, which would be not accounted for on its state debts but carried out directly via the ESM. That would be a significant relief.....On the Samaras interview. Yes, the echoes with Weimar (rise of the NSDAP through austerity, rise of Golden Dawn through austerity) are valid. But, what isn't valid is the economic background. Weimar saw american lax credit suddenly withdrawn, Greece has the biggest economic assistance program in history.

It looks very likely there will be mass demonstrations in Athens to mark Angela Merkel's visit next Tuesday. Our correspondent Helena Smith has spoken with the radical left-wing main opposition Syriza party, and they are confident that the German chancellor will be met with vocal protests.“She should expect demonstrations. Greek society will welcome her with mass protests,” Panos Skourletis, the party’s spokesman told me, emphasizing that Syriza’s leader Alexis Tsipras would not be meeting the German chancellor. “Firstly, we have no intention of meeting her,” said Skourletis. “Secondly, we will propose that trade unionists aligned to Syriza meet with other trade unions in emergency session to decide on holding a general strike on the day of the visit. Demonstrations will obviously coincide with the strike.” Protestors would be united by an over-riding demand: to abolish the brutal austerity that was pushing societies across Europe, and especially Greece, to the brink, he said.The Independent Greeks party, also vehemently anti-bailout, has said it will make war reparations a major part of its own protest when it stages a “symbolic blockage” outside the German embassy in Athens on Tuesday.

Bad news...

BRUSSELS -- Unemployment across the 17 countries that use the euro remained at its record high rate of 11.4 percent in August renewing concerns that efforts to slash debts have sacrificed jobs.

While European leaders have calmed financial markets in recent months with promises to cut spending and build a tighter union, they haven't solved the eurozone's deep-rooted economic problems and the rising tide of joblessness. In August, 34,000 more people lost their jobs in the eurozone, according to data released Monday by the European statistics agency, Eurostat. The unemployment rate – the highest since the euro was created in 1999 – is the same as July's, which was revised up from 11.3. Europe's problems are dragging down the global economy. The region is the U.S.'s largest export customer and any fall-off in demand will hit American companies – as well as President Barack Obama's election prospects. The U.S.'s 8.1 percent unemployment rate is already making re-election an uphill battle for the president. The eurozone is in danger of slipping into recession this year after its economic output dropped 0.2 percent in the second quarter. Six countries in the eurozone – Greece, Spain, Italy, Cyprus, Malta and Portugal – are already in recession. Howard Archer, the chief economist for IHS Global Insight, said it will take some time before Europe's labor market rebounds. "There looks to be a very real danger that the eurozone unemployment rate could reach 12 percent in 2013," he said. He thinks that will be the high-water mark, hit somewhere around the end of next year. While austerity measures were introduced to ease the financial crisis by lowering public debt, they are also slowing down economies as government spending drops off. This is also pushing unemployment higher and threatening the continent with recession. Some experts urge leaders to instead loosen spending to encourage growth.

MEANWHILE - a dengerous development :
Turkey's military have struck targets inside Syria in response to a mortar bomb fired from Syrian territory which killed five Turkish civilians, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's office said in a statement.
The mortar fired from the Syrian side into the region of Akçakale sparked an urgent round of meetings with military chiefs and led the Turkish foreign minister, Ahmed Davagotlu, to formally complain to UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon.
"Our armed forces in the border region responded immediately to this abominable attack in line with their rules of engagement; targets were struck through artillery fire against places in Syria identified by radar," the statement from Erdogan said. "Turkey will never leave unanswered such kinds of provocation by the Syrian regime against our national security."
Nato said it was following developments and senior officials would meet urgently to discuss the issue. Turkey is a member state of the powerful body and earlier this year invoked a clause in the Nato treaty which called on it to respond to an earlier clash in which a Turkish jet was shot down from inside Syria.
The escalating border tensions came amid a day of grave violence inside Syria, with central Aleppo ravaged by three large explosions that killed at least 41 people and the capital Damascus again the scene of fierce clashes between loyalists and rebels and security sweeps by regime forces.
The Aleppo bombings were among the biggest seen in Syria in 18 months of uprising. Attackers, believed to have been dressed in military fatigues, are thought to have convinced regime soldiers stationed in Saadallah al-Jabiri Square to let them enter the secure zone. They are then thought to have detonated the bombs believed to have been packed into cars

Libor rate-setting is “no longer viable”.

Martin Wheatley, the incoming head of Britain's new market regulator, is expected to recommend this week that the lobby body lose its supervisory role in the setting of the rate. "If Mr Wheatley's recommendations include a change of responsibility for Libor, the BBA will support that," the BBA said on Tuesday: The review was announced following revelations three months ago that big banks were had been attempting to rig Libor for years. The scandal led to a £290m fine for Barclays, ongoing investigations into manipulation at other banks, criticism of the rate and calls for a new benchmark that is more transparent and relevant to the credit worthiness of banks. Sir Mervyn King, Governor of the Bank of England, believes Libor has stopped working and should be replaced, while Mr Wheatley, who is the chief executive-designate of the Financial Conduct Authority, has said Libor rate-setting is “no longer viable”.

The BBA, a lobby group for banks, has been heavily criticised for its oversight of Libor, which is used to price loans and transaction for businesses and individuals worth more than $350 trillion globally. Libor is based on what a panel of banks expect to be charged rather than measuring actual lending rates. It is not directly supervised by regulators in Britain but has been overseen by the BBA since 1986. The Wheatley's review, due out on Friday, is expected to propose anchoring Libor interest rates to real transactions, rather than rates which panel banks believe they could borrow from their peers. (source telegraph.uk)

On the german news-front:

- Just breaking: the SPD has apparently decided its Chancellor Candidate for 2013. Peer Steinbrück, ex-finance minister in Merkel's first coalition, will be Merkel's challenger. The best choice. He recently called for the splitting up of german universal banks (deutsche- and commerzbank), picking up the suggestion from the Vickers report.

But my favourite Steinbrück piece in english remains: Germany's outspoken finance minister on the hopeless search for 'the Great Rescue Plan.' (from 2008, english, newsweek) featuring the "crass keynesianism" quote, aimed at Gordon Browne.

- On Banking Union: Weidmann of the Bundesbank is also against taking on historic liabilities, as were the three "northern" finance ministers early in the weekreports SZ (not going to happen)

- also on banking reform, a sharp attack on german "backsliding" by the euro-friendly economist blogger charlemagne The other moral hazard: If the euro zone is to survive, Germany too must keep its promises to reform

- the daily dose of CSU-politicians-throwing-their-weight-around comes from Bavaria's Finance Minister Söder. who wants a german veto at the ECB. "The one who is liable and pays, decides" (SZ, german)

back on the continent ....

Why is it that when people decide to drill into their gold they find tungsten in the middle, would be nice to have people find only gold, but most that have drilled have only found tungsten, bars from the switzerland, london and NY seems to be faked on a huge scale, have any of these countries got any gold, i think it has all been shipped of the planet, lol, it is the only answer, bet we find most of the gold has vanished and we have 1000's of tons of tungsten, lol, could the tales of enki be true, lol, we must have a world wide gold audit....Back to the Continent, where German MPs reportedly want the ECB to limit its bank supervision to the eurozone's major lenders. Proposals seen by Reuters also showed that MPs from Chancellor Angela Merkel's party and their Free Democrat (FDP) allies reject proposals for cross-border bank deposit insurance, which they want to remain the responsibility of individual states.

Greece has pledged to raise €50bn from state assets by 2020 as part of bail-out conditions imposed by international lenders.

Germany has also got a debt auction away this morning, where it has paid next to nothing to sell two-year bonds. ...The country sold €4.084bn of two-year debt at average yields of 0.06pc, slightly up from the zero (yes, ZERO) percent it paid in August.  Demand was higher, with 2.1 bidders for every bond on offer, compared with 1.5 in August.

Portugal has got a debt auction away this morning, where it has sold short term bonds at markedly lower rates. The country sold €1.3bn of 18-month Treasury bills at average yields of 2.967pc, compared with 4.537pc at a previous auction in April. It also sold €700m of six month debt at average yields of 1.7pc (vs 2.292pc

Prices rose faster in August across the 27 nations of the European Union (EU) compared with July, according to official figures. The EU statistics agency Eurostat said inflation hit 2.7% last month, compared with 2.5% the previous month. In the 17-nation eurozone, inflation also rose to 2.6% from 2.4% in July. Figures also showed that the number of people in work across the EU in the three months to the end of June rose to 223.4 million. Employment across the euro area remained stable at 146.4 million in the second quarter. The number of people out of work in July hit a record high of 18 million, prompting calls for the European Central Bank to cut the cost of borrowing, pump more money into the eurozone economy or both.

Major US banks are being investigated for insufficiently safeguarding against being used by drug dealers or terrorist groups to launder dirty money, it was reported Saturday.

An article in the New York Times suggested that federal and state authorities were ready to launch an aggressive crackdown on the failure to monitor transactions, in a move aimed at flagging to financial institutions that weak compliance is unacceptable. Officials told the Times that regulators are close to taking action against JP Morgan, while other firms including Bank of America are also being investigated over perceived shortcomings when it comes to putting a check on money-laundering activities. It comes just months after a Senate committee roundly criticized HSBC for ignoring warning signs that it was being used by money launderers and drug cartels in Mexico. US politicians also accused HSBC of circumventing US sanctions on countries including Cuba and Iran – a charge that has also been levied against JP Morgan. The Senate report was also highly critical of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), stating that the regulator needed to take "stronger action" on banks that exercise poor anti-money laundering controls. The OCC is now leading the crackdown on non-compliant banks, according to the New York Times report.

Draghi's expanding battery of weapons for combating the euro crisis is to be strengthened immensely on Wednesday when the European Commission unveils new draft legislation putting the ECB in charge of supervising the eurozone's 6,000 banks, with the power to grant and withdraw licences. Within a month of taking office last November, Draghi delivered a coup, launching a trillion-euro programme of cheap loans for Europe's banks. Last Thursday he went much further, announcing a new policy of limitless purchasing of eurozone government bonds known as OMT — outright monetary transactions. The markets went quiet, Spain, Italy, and Ireland rejoiced, as Draghi emphasised for the third time in six weeks that the euro is irreversible. He framed his bold intervention as solidly within his remit to defend the embattled currency. But German monetary purists erupted in howls of protest, although it was the German on the ECB's six-strong executive, Jörg Asmussen, who played a key role in drafting the new policy. "Only a currency whose existence is out of the question can be stable," Asmussen told the Guardian in an interview. "What for us is clearly within our mandate is to guarantee the stability of the euro." Extreme times generate extreme moves. There is no doubt that the eurozone's exhausted political leaders are quietly relieved that Draghi is taking some of the heat out of the crisis. While Merkel, the central actor in the euro drama, could never say so publicly, her aides have been known to concede that Draghi is the only person who can rescue the euro – so let him get on with it. And since the stakes could hardly be higher, for Asmussen the end would appear to justify the means.

Well....as far as Spain goes :

Option 1 :
a country like Spain asks for a bailout and has its budget (and therefore its entire legislative programme) subject to the oversight of the ECB. Death of democracy.
Option 2 :
a country like Spain asks for a bailout but refuses the oversight of the ECB on its legislature ; spurned by the ECB and the markets it crashes out of the Eurozone. Death of the Euro.

..."troika" ???? Greece has a German Governor - Horst Rechenbach ...what "troika" ??

The so-called "troika" of inspectors from the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund returned to Athens on Friday to conclude a report on Greece's progress in meeting the terms of its latest bailout, Reuters reported.

The inspectors, who held talks with Greece's finance minister on Sunday, must approve the plan to trim roughly €12bn from the state budget over the next two years if Athens is to get a green light for the bailout money it needs to avoid bankruptcy.

"The troika has not accepted all the measures, but we have alternative proposals," said Socialist leader Evangelos Venizelos, a junior partner in the ruling coalition who was briefed by the finance minister at a party leaders' meeting.

Greek Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras played down the inspectors' objections, saying they had rejected only a "few" measures. A senior Greek government official had said earlier that the troika had sought more details on the proposals to understand them better.

Officials declined to specify what the objections related to but a source familiar with the matter said they were over measures to save roughly €2bn by cutting expenses in the public sector.
FRANKFURT - Deutsche Bank AG's new co-chief executives are expected this week to explain how they aim to turn around the underperforming company, amid considerable investor skepticism.
The strategy presentation to investors comes just over 100 days after Anshu Jain and Jürgen Fitschen took over one of Europe's largest bank by assets. The two chiefs vowed to thoroughly review the bank's vast operations, with an eye to boosting profits amid tougher regulation and Europe's debt crisis.  With a balance sheet of €2.2 trillion ($2.8 trillion), Deutsche Bank is one of the world's largest banks, yet one of the least well-capitalized.
LONDON -- A panel of European officials would be given sweeping new powers to police the financial sector across the continent but also in the City of London.  They would be given "full decision making powers" to impose EU law and to arbitrate disputes between Britain and the eurozone over the risks posed by British banks, according to the proposals being tabled on Wednesday at the European Commission. Decisions taken by the powerful body would be automatically binding unless Britain was able to win the unlikely backing of a majority and overturn them.  Rulings by the panel could create huge costs for the British government and banks if they were ordered to bail out a struggling institution, contribute to cross-border bail-out funds, or allow the EU to rule over breaches of European law. The moves stem from proposals for a eurozone "banking union". The radical new EC blueprint for banking regulation at the EU level is focused on giving the European Central Bank new powers to supervise the eurozone's banks, in order to shore up struggling financial institutions in southern European countries such as Spain. But the ECB's new role would see the existing European Banking Authority (EBA) - the current pan-European bank regulator that has its headquarters in London - being radically overhauled and strengthened. Its panel of European officials would be given new powers to stamp its authority on potential disputes between both eurozone and non-eurozone countries, including Britain.

QUATRO REICH = THE EUROPEAN UNION

EUROPEAN UNION —The European Central Bank should police the more than 6,000 banks in the euro zone, the European Union's executive said Friday, setting itself up for a clash with Germany, which wants to retain oversight over smaller lenders.  A proposal from the European Commission, to be finalized in coming days, will call for the central bank to set up an agency to take responsibility for supervision of all banks in the 17-nation currency area. The proposal follows a June decision from euro-zone leaders who wanted the supervisor created as a step to break the "vicious circle" between weak banks and governments with strained finances that have eroded confidence in the euro zone. The proposal, however, falls far short of creating the true "banking union" that the ECB and the commission have called for. It doesn't set up a regional fund for guaranteeing bank deposits or give powers to euro-zone agencies to wind down or restructure shaky banks and distribute losses among investors. The ECB would, however, be able to take operating licenses away from unstable lenders. The supervisory agency would be run by a separate decision-making panel at arm's length from the ECB, in an effort to prevent conflicts of interests with the central bank's main role of fighting inflation and to allow EU states that don't use the euro to join.   As the supervisor, the ECB would have to make sure banks build up sufficient capital levels to absorb economic and financial shocks—such as the real-estate crashes that triggered the Irish and Spanish problems or over-investments in shoddy products like the U.S. subprime mortgages that sank banks across Europe in 2008.The threat to withdraw a license would be the ECB's most potent enforcement tool. "That's the first crucial element: to empower the European supervisor with the right to withdraw the license," said Guntram Wolff, deputy director of Brussels-based think tank Bruegel. But other powers and responsibilities that are central to creating a unified banking framework for the euro zone would remain in national hands. Proposals that would force private investors to share the burden—for instance by converting debt into equity once a bank's capital falls below are certain level—aren't set to come into force until 2018. In a sign of possible movement, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble, in an opinion piece in the Financial Times Friday, said the so-called bail-in mechanism should already come into force in 2015. (WSJ)