Capitalism covers a very wide range of systems, and is not the direct culprit for our problems. However, the way capitalism is implemented today is a big problem, it is undermining democracy and radicalizing large portions of the population. It will not end well, if this trend is allowed to persist.

Probably the single most harmful detail is the stock exchange. There are many other issues also, but shareholders in particular have been given the rights of owners, which is illogical, as they are in fact speculators. The owners should be the long term caretakers of corporations, with managers more interested in short term benefits. All shareholders care about is the short to mid term value of the stock, not the long term viability of the enterprise. To get the managers to play this game, they have given managers salaries that approach investor profits in scale. As a result, capitalism has gone bananas, not caring for long term viability, the communities they function in, the environment, the law, not even the customers .... share value is all that counts these days and no cost is too great to achieve it.

Democratic Capitalism need not be like this, it is just the default mode of operation it will slip into if left unattended. And this mode is bent on self-destruction, with a tendency to degenerate into Fascism or Communism ... if left to play out its natural course. If this is not to happen, the democratic part of Democratic Capitalism needs to be more pronounced...point / counterpoint...Capitalism works because entrepreneurs and managers figure out how customers, employees, suppliers, communities, and people with the money all can cooperate to benefit....No it doesn't.

• Capitalism works by creating profit. Where there is profit there is deficit.
• Capitalism works by making profit out of the exploitation of those who create that profit in the first place. This is why workers are not paid the actual value of what they produce, because the capitalist or entrepreneur cant make any profit out of that.
• Capitalism may not be perfect, yet it is the greatest system of social co-operation ever created thus far.

No it isn't, the greatest system of social co-operation is where everyone is equal and treated equally, that is true co-operation. Capitalism is exploitation of the masses for the benefit of the minority.

I am with the faux Angela Merkel (Queen of Europe ) on this - using a fund that doesn't exist - and if not the ESM then who is picking up Spain's share of the ESFS?

Brussels, 29 June 2012 - EURO AREA SUMMIT STATEMENT - 29 June 2012  • We affirm that it is imperative to break the vicious circle between banks and sovereigns. The Commission will present Proposals on the basis of Article 127(6) for a single supervisory mechanism shortly. We ask the Council to consider these Proposals as a matter of urgency by the end of 2012. When an effective single supervisory mechanism is established, involving the ECB, for banks in the euro area the ESM could, following a regular decision, have the possibility to re capitalize banks directly. This would rely on appropriate conditionality, including compliance with state aid rules, which should be institution specific, sector-specific or economy-wide and would be formalized in a Memorandum of Understanding. The Eurogroup will examine the situation of the Irish financial sector wit the view of further improving the sustainability of the well-performing adjustment programme. Similar cases will be treated equally.

• We urge the rapid conclusion of the Memorandum of Understanding attached to the financial support to Spain for overcapitalization of its banking sector. We reaffirm that the financial assistance will be provided by the EFSF until the ESM becomes available, and that it will then be transferred to the ESM, without gaining seniority status.

• We affirm our strong commitment to do what is necessary to ensure the financial stability of the euro area, in particular by using the existing EFSF/ESM instruments in a flexible and efficient manner in order to stabilize markets for Member States respecting their Country Specific Recommendations and their other commitments including their respective timelines, under the European Semester, the Stability and Growth Pact and the Macroeconomic Imbalances Procedure. These conditions should be reflected in a Memorandum of Understanding. We welcome that the ECB has agreed to serve as an agent to EFSF/ESM in conducting market operations in an effective and efficient manner.

• We task the Eurogroup to implement these decisions by 9 July 2012.

I am with the faux Angela Merkel (Queen of Europe ) on this - using a fund that doesn't exist - and if not the ESM then who is picking up Spain's share of the ESFS?

Italy borrowing at 6% to lend to Spain via the ESFS at 3% sounds like a great plan. Or maybe it isn't.

30 November 2011 - Coordinated central bank action to address pressures in global money markets

The Governing Council of the European Central Bank (ECB) decided in co-operation with other central banks the establishment of a temporary network of reciprocal swap lines. This action will enable the Eurosystem to provide euro to those central banks when required, as well as enabling the Eurosystem to provide liquidity operations, should they be needed, in Japanese yen, sterling, Swiss francs and Canadian dollars (in addition to the existing operations in US dollars). The ECB will regularly conduct US dollar liquidity-providing operations with a maturity of approximately one week and three months at the new pricing. The schedule for these operations, which will take the form of repurchase operations against eligible collateral and will be carried out as fixed-rate tender procedures with full allotment, will be published today on the ECB’s website. In addition, the initial margin for three-month US dollar operations will be reduced from currently 20% to 12% and weekly updates of the EUR/USD exchange rate will be introduced in order to carry out margin calls. Those changes will be effective as of the operations to be conducted on 7 December 2011. Further details about the operations will be made available in the respective modified tender procedure via the ECB’s Website. Information on the actions to be taken by other central banks is available on the following websites: ; Bank of Canada (http://www.bankofcanada.ca) ; Bank of England (http://www.bankofengland.co.uk) ; Bank of Japan (http://www.boj.or.jp/en) ; Federal Reserve (http://www.federalreserve.gov) ; Swiss National Bank (http://www.snb.ch)

ECB policymakers continue to reject international calls to intervene decisively as Europe's lender of last resort, stressing it is up to governments to resolve the debt crisis through austerity measures and reforms. The bond market contagion continues to spread across Europe. Italian 10-year bond yields have risen above 7pc, unaffordable in the long term, while yields on bonds issued by France, the Netherlands and Austria - which along with Germany form the core of the euro zone - have also climbed. With its prized 'AAA' credit rating under threat from soaring borrowing costs, France appeared to plead for stronger ECB action. German Chancellor Angela Merkel made clear Berlin would resist pressure for the central bank to take a bigger role in resolving the debt crisis, saying European Union rules prohibited such action. I believe that the euro zone having so many diverse economies and no fiscal transfers that the ECB needs to act as a lender of last resort and start printing money like any other normal central bank would do - if it does not, then the euro zone could well collapse... and it will ! On the reverse : France is truly pathetic. No balanced budget for decades; Chirac did nothing to restructure France, which has the highest costs for govt. employees in the EU. They surely need a reality check; this pathetic begging for the ECB to print money is ridiculous. They have only now, started a programe of "austerity", but we're not allowed to call it that. I fear far worse is to come when the socialists win the Presidency; than, we may well see a real collapse.

European leaders will redraft key treaties to ensure that beleaguered economies cannot borrow or spend too much in future as a condition of receiving billions of euros in rescue packages. However, the treaty changes will involve a transfer of sovereignty, triggering an Irish referendum. The Irish vote, to be proposed at a European Union summit next month, will increase demands in Britain for a popular vote on Europe, setting off calls for referendums across Europe in countries such as Holland, Finland and France. The Government fears the pace of developments in Europe, including the imposition of "technocrat governments" in Greece and Italy, combined with a German demand for treaty change, will make a campaign for an EU referendum unstoppable. Ministers have stopped saying that they plan to use treaty change to take powers back from the EU. This follows private warnings from Germany that it is not willing to trade eurozone "fiscal union" for British opt-outs. Bill Cash, chairman of the Commons scrutiny committee, said last night he was concerned that the emergence of French plans for a twin-track Europe, regular eurozone summits and German domination of EU decision-making amounted to a serious change in Britain's place in Europe. "Despite all the talk about it being a limited treaty change this is real fundamental change," he said. "Germany is pushing with determination to have a Europe made in its own image. The changes are a fundamental change in the relationship between Britain and Europe. A referendum is absolutely demanded."

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.

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.

Greece has a "governor" - Horst Reichenbach

BRUSSELS (Dow Jones)--Some Greek banks may have to be nationalized after the application of the agreed 50% write down in nominal value of Greek bonds held by the private sector, as part of new euro-zone package for the country, Greek prime minister George Papandreou said Thursday. Speaking to reporters after the conclusion of a marathon euro area leaders΄ summit, Papandreou said Greek banks would be re capitalized with official funds that would come out of the country΄s fresh EUR130B bailout package. "If the private sector can overcapitalize the banks they can do that but if they can΄t it means the official sector will need to. That will mean a temporary passage of ownership to the state. After restructuring they will be sold back to the private sector," Papandreou said. He also said the details of the new package would be worked out over the next few weeks. "We want to be done with this," he added. Asked if he was contemplating calling an early election or seeking the formation of a government of national unity, Papandreou said that Greeks want changes, not elections. "We will continue to seek the maximum level of consensus possible," he added.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer and stock markets have welcomed the decisions made by European leaders last night, but banking analyst Ian Gordon of Evolution Securities begs to differ. Calling the bank recap plan "weasel words from Brussels", he says: European bank overcapitalization remains an aspiration rather than a reality, and it is crystal clear that the Europeans have no intention of ever signing up to the sheer excess that the UK regulatory metters foist upon our own banks. The commitment to “a significantly higher capital ratio of 9pc” to create a “temporary buffer” is pretty lame, and has deferred implementation. We may not see the full “targeted” €106bn raised in the next 8 months.

Here's a summary of what was agreed:
• The firepower of the EFSF bailout fund will be increased to $1.4tn (€1tn).
• Banks agree 50% writedown in the face value of Greek government bonds.
• Athens will be handed a new €100bn bailout early in the new year.
• Bank recapitalisation - banks required to hold up to 9% of tier 1 capital by June next year, with a figure of €100bn mooted.

Michael Hewson, market analyst at CMC Markets, said: The question is whether it will be enough in the long term, or whether it has merely put off the day of reckoning, for a little while longer. While we now have some numbers to go on it will be all rather pointless of leaders don't find a way to stimulate growth and we still have the question of Italy's finances. Given that the extent of private sector involvement for Greek haircuts has finally been agreed at 50% it is difficult to estimate how EU leaders arrived at the figure of €100bn, which seems rather low, given the 50% amount agreed.

The news from Brussels is that the European Financial Stability Facility is likely to be increased through means of a guarantee system. Eurozone officials are briefing that the EFSF will promise investors who buy Spanish, Italian or other debt that it will cover a portion of losses, potentially allowing it to guarantee a lot more debt than the fund is worth - €440bn. The guarantee idea is not new, but suggestions that it is the most likely solution is interesting. "This idea is the main contender," an unspecified eurozone official told Reuters. Some more poor statistics, this time from Germany. The ZEW Institute's monthly survey of German analyst and investor sentiment shows confidence falling to its lowest level in nearly three years. ZEW economist Michael Schroeder said he thought the country may already be in recession. he September figure should represent a peak in the rate of inflation, with petrol price rises and January's VAT hike falling out of the year-on-year comparisons in the fourth quarter and the new year respectively. Commodity prices, which tend to lead consumer prices, have fallen just over 10% from the peak seen in February, which also suggests we should see some further downward pressure on inflation.

Can somebody tell me what's great about this plan, and why the market and euro rallied?

RECAP-Bloomberg: "Merkel's office: “dreams that are taking hold again now that with this package everything will be solved and everything will be over on Monday won’t be able to be fulfilled,” The search for an end to the crisis “surely extends well into next year.”" UK Telegraph: "Diplomats say Mr Geithner’s plan to use the ECB as a guarantor of eurozone sovereign bonds was dismissed out of hand, while the EU failed to offer clear assurances that bank recapitalisation would be carried out with sufficient speed and scale to halt an incipent run on the system." "German foreign minister Westerwelle politely told the US to mind its own business. “I cannot understand some of the comments of our American friends. You can’t solve a debt crisis with more debt,”" "RBS said any attempt to solve the eurozone crisis without the ECB playing a key role in shoring up the system is doomed to failure." "Trichet, ...said late last week that the bank has done “all it could” ... has now exhausted its role of “lender of last resort”." "Ackermann, head of Deutsche Bank, said plans to leverage the EFSF may be illegal. “We cannot allow a rescue fund of this magnitude. The (constitutional) court would’t permit, and nor would the people,” he said." Germany wants private investors to increase haircut to 50%. Financial Times: Investors say no. 21% was agreed, and they're sticking with that. (Search for: "Investor threat to second Greek bail-out") If banks take bigger haircut, they will incur bigger losses and will be downgraded again. If EU forces this, then it's involuntary and triggers CDS payouts on default. If EFSF is leveraged, then it will be downgraded from AAA, which means it can't borrow anymore.EU wants to re capitalize banks. DB said no. Germany and France have higher Debt to GDP ratios than Spain, and Spain is one of the PIIGS. Is this the poor helping the poor? When do their AAA ratings get downgraded? Spain was downgraded last Friday. If Germany or France get downgraded, how will the EFSF be able to sell bonds to raise the 440b euros?There are obstacles to almost every part of the plan. Can somebody tell me what's great about this plan, and why the market and euro rallied?

Moody's, the ratings agency, issued a warning to France last night that it could face the loss of its coveted status as one of the world's most creditworthy nations after saying the euro debt crisis and slowing world economy left the country's AAA rating under pressure. It said that while the French economy remained able to absorb normal shocks, "the government's financial strength has weakened, as it has for other euro area sovereigns, because the global financial and economic crisis." The warning will come as a shock to many in France and is likely to unnerve markets already anxious at the prospect of the euro debt crisis spreading to the US and Asia. Germany's finance minister, Wolfgang Schäuble, added to the uncertainty earlier in the day when he said detailed talks to solve the crisis were likely to go beyond a self-imposed deadline set for this weekend. He also hinted that a rescue deal will fall short of the "big bazooka" that markets believe is needed to prevent the currency club breaking up. Schäuble said a final package would not be in place until the G20 world leaders' summit in Cannes next month. His comments dismayed investors concerned that Berlin and Paris have failed to grasp the magnitude of the eurozone's debt crisis. Stock markets in London, Paris and Frankfurt fell, while in New York the Dow Jones industrial average plummeted 247 points by the close of trading. A two-month flight of cash from European banks accelerated, according to analysts, while fears grew earlier that ratings agencies were poised to downgrade French sovereign bonds, increasing the difference between France's borrowing costs and those of Germany to the highest level since 1995. Oil prices, which had steadied after recent falls, turned downwards again and the euro fell against the dollar as investors sought safe havens. David Jones, chief market strategist at IG Index, said: "German officials clearly decided that a degree of expectation management was needed, and a statement was made warning that if anyone expected a package to be in place by next Monday then they were setting themselves up for disappointment." Markets were at fever pitch after the French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, and German chancellor, Angela Merkel, said at the weekend that they would reveal a rescue plan this Sunday at a crucial European council meeting. The US treasury secretary, Tim Geithner, warned at the weekend it was crucial to agree a package of measures that would reassure markets and end 18 months of wrangling over how to deal with Greek debts. EU policymakers are due to meet this weekend in Brussels ahead of the G20 conference in Cannes on 4 November hosted by Sarkozy. The chancellor, George Osborne, said the Cannes meeting would be crucial in determining whether the global economy could maintain growth. "The biggest boost to growth across the world – and for Britain – would be a resolution to the crisis in the eurozone. Maintaining the momentum towards that will be the focus of my discussion with my international counterparts." Britain has ruled out participating directly in funding any scheme, though it is likely to become involved in a broader backstop plan put forward by the International Monetary Fund.

"Nothing is really working at the moment". None of the markets are functioning. Until Greece defaults it's hard to see any resolution," said one senior London-based credit analyst. Credit default swaps on lenders as far afield as China and Australia, countries that until recently seemed immune to the chaos, have doubled in the last two months to levels not seen since the financial crisis. In Europe, French and Belgian government officials are due to meet on Monday to discuss the crisis enveloping Dexia as speculation mounts about a possible break-up of the Franco-Belgian lender. Last week, the cost of insuring Dexia bonds hit an all-time high of 900 basis points, nearly double the level just two months ago, meaning the annual cost to insure €10m (£8.59m) of the bonds is £900,000. "The money ran out in June and what you are seeing now is the beginning of a new credit crunch, except this time it will be truly global, not Western," said one senior London-based credit analyst. Dexia, along with other European lenders, has been hard hit by the closure of the interbank lending markets and the continuing unwillingness of investors to buy the bonds of eurozone banks. arbitraj@aol.com

The ECB's U-turn on buying Spanish and Italian bonds may suggest that the eurozone's financial establishment is edging towards fiscal union. But don't confuse a shuffle, performed over a weekend in the midst of a crisis, with the real thing. German public opinion will continue to dictate chancellor Angela Merkel's freedom to act. Will the ECB “sterilize” its purchases?... So far, the ECB has said it isn’t printing euros to run its secondary-market bond buying program (which has been going for more than a year for Greece, Ireland and Portugal). That’s because for every euro it spends on government bonds, it vacuums up a euro–thus there’s no net increase in liquidity. Up to now, the ECB has done this every week by taking in deposits; the volume is now at €74 billion. Can the ECB continue to do this if the volume is several times bigger? We are somewhere in Act IV or V of the euro-zone debt drama, but, lo!, the European Central Bank has descended, deus ex machine, to buy Italian and Spanish bonds. This is a major, major development. Here are three things to consider. How long will it last?.... The ECB very much did not want this role of crisis-fighter of last resort. For months, it had agitated for euro-zone governments to seize the mantle. The governments’ attempt, at the July 21 summit, was judged too little by markets, and the rout of Italy commenced. The governments then made clear they weren’t interrupting their August holidays to do anything else before the fall, and so the crisis was left to the folks in Frankfurt. Look for them to try hard come September to hand it off to Paris, Berlin and Brussels. This is the crux of the euro-zone tug-of-war: Do the governments of the strong countries tax their citizens to pay for the rescue? Or does the ECB create euros to pay for it?

Staple foods became 20 to 40% more expensive between July 2010 and February 2011, shows the Z.F. index calculated based on prices in Bucharest hypermarkets. ZF selected 15 products whose price it has been following since 2008, once every six months, at the same Bucharest hypermarkets, Carrefour Orhideea and Real Afi Cotroceni. These products were chosen because they are most often to be found in Romanians' purchase basket. (Z.F.)

In the calculation of this index, ZF chose one brand from each category of products, a brand that is well positioned in terms of market share, produced by one of the top-five players in the category. Therefore, one kilo of Băneasa flour costs 2.8 lei in February, 41.4% more than in July 2010. 1 Kilo of Lemarco sugar now costs 4.295 lei, compared with 3.28 lei, an increase of 30.9%. Similarly, the price of Floriol vegetable oil (1 litre) rose over 35%, from 5.11 lei to 6.91 lei. Data from the National Statistics Institute (INS) point to a 10.2% price increase for flour in the July 2010 - January 2011 period. Similarly, the increase amounted to 8.1% for sugar. The only products whose prices fell, of those analysed by ZF, were beer, mineral water, apples, with the decline amounting to 6.1%, 0.1% and 12.4% respectively.

The ZEW index of analyst expectations rose for Romania's economic evolution by 3.6 points, to 33.4 points. For the entire EEC, the index rose 8.3 points, to 24.5 points. Romania was outranked by Croatia - 41 points, the Czech Republic - 37.3 points and Poland - 37.5 points. While experts are optimistic regarding Romania's economic outlook over the next six months, the perception of the current situation remains negative at 37.8 points, although it has improved by 12.2 points. Romania's current situation ranks it second to last among CEE states, as Hungary ranked last with -38 points. The Bucharest bourse's six-month outlook has worsened, according to the study, as the 10-share blue-chip index BET is awarded 21.9 points, compared to the previous 36.2 points. The leu-to-euro ratio's evolution was also revised, gaining 2.7 points, to 15.2 points. http://www.romanialibera.ro/actualitate/eveniment-117.html

Real estate developers scheduled for delivery in 2011 at least eight retail projects in Romania totaling a surface of over 230,000 square meters, 17% more than the total area of projects completed in 2009, according to property analysts.

In 2009, developers completed retail projects totaling 195,000 sqm, according to CB Richard Ellis (CBRE) data.

Oradea Shopping City, Uvertura City Mall Botosani, Vitan Outlet Bucharest, Policolor Shopping Center Bucharest and Electroputere Shopping City Craiova are other projects scheduled for completion in 2011. Read more on http://www.mediafax.biz/. (Z.F.)euro, criza datoriilor de stat, euroscepticismul, monede nationale, renuntarea la euro, salvare euro, zona euro

Austria's Erste Bank has sold financial gold

BCR, the biggest domestic bank in terms of assets, is gearing up to enter the niche of gold sales to individuals, where only Greece's Piraeus is operating for the time being. Gold has this year brought a return of around 40% to investors, thus being one of the most profitable investments, just like in 2009, when it had climbed by 32%. Over the past two years, BCR, controlled by Austria's Erste Bank, has sold financial gold only to private banking clients, who have a greater financial power and are seeking ways to diversify their investments. Usually, the minimum quantity that had to be purchased stood at 5 kilos per deal, but smaller deliveries were also negotiated. As part of its new retail strategy, BCR is getting ready to sell gold bullion and coins issued by the Austrian Mint, starting from very small sizes, of just two grams, to one kilo. BCR will sell gold through certain selected branches, but Răzvan Furtună, head of the sales department of BCR Treasury, has not provided any further details for the time being.(Z.F.)euro, criza datoriilor de stat, euroscepticismul, monede nationale, renuntarea la euro, salvare euro, zona euro