http://www.couriermail.com.au/business/euro-crisis-wipes-out-australian-share-gains-for-the-year/story-fn7kjcme-1226360987026

Euro crisis wipes out Australian share gains for the year

http://resources3.news.com.au/images/2011/04/04/1226033/556807-aptopix-spain-san-fermin-bulls-run.jpg

Investors are running for cover after a woeful May with $120b wiped off value of Australian shares.  Spain's financial woes are intensifying. Source: The Daily Telegraph

AUSTRALIAN investors have lost $120 billion on the sharemarket in May and have been warned to brace for more turbulence as Europe tries to sort out its debt crisis.

Australian shares dropped to their lowest level for six months on Friday in response to falls on Europe's stockmarkets and the euro hitting a four-month low against the US dollar.

About $35 billion was wiped off the value of Australian shares as the market tumbled by 2.6 per cent. The benchmark ASX200 shed 110.9 points to 4046.5 points.

More falls are expected after Wall St on Friday also fell, despite the much-hyped listing of Facebook.  The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 74.70 points, or 0.60 per cent, to 12,367.79

The creditworthiness of 16 Spanish banks was also downgraded overnight on Thursday, adding to worries that depositors en masse may start pulling their money out of the region's banks.

ANZ chief executive Mike Smith said credit markets were already closing as the eurozone debt crisis continues.

"This is what happens in this sort of situation," Mr Smith said in Sydney yesterday.

"Confidence goes, investor appetite gets stopped, people are all about capital preservation. They're just not willing to invest, and credit markets always get hit first."

Banks around the world rely on credit markets as sources of funding so they can provide loans to their customers.

If those markets tighten up, it becomes harder and more expensive for banks to find the money they need. Since hitting its peak for the year on May 2, the Australian market has shed about $121 billion enough to buy 300 or so A380 super jumbo jets.

Brokers predict the falls will continue at least until the next round of elections are held in Greece on June 17 and a clearer picture emerges about whether the debt-laden country will remain in the eurozone.

IG Markets analyst Stan Shamu said the market was already pricing in the worst-case scenario in Europe.

However, while brokers agree that a quick resolution about Greece's future will help reassure global markets, they disagree about whether the outcome will have much of an effect.

Australian Stock Report head of research Geoff Saffer said worries about China's economic slowdown will also continue to have an impact on the market.

http://www.news.com.au/business/markets/stock-market-will-keep-losing-money/story-e6frfm30-1226361147437

Stock market will keep losing money

http://resources0.news.com.au/images/2011/11/05/1226186/365072-greece-shares.jpg

A man uses his cell phone in front of chart with the stock prices at the Greek Stock Exchange in Athens. Picture: AP


AS Greece's growing cash crisis cripples global markets, local investors are bracing for a sluggish start when the Australian stock market opens tomorrow.
The S&P ASX 200 index is tipped to open down 8 points, or 0.2 per cent, as uncertainty surrounds whether Greece will remain in the eurozone.
More than $120 billion has been wiped off the Australian stock market so far this month, including $35 billion off local shares on Friday.
The falls are expected to continue until the next round of elections in Greece on June 17
AMP Capital's chief economist Shane Oliver said the ominous mood on financial markets was a result of fears of a messy exit by Greece from the euro.
"It's going to remain a fairly volatile ride in the share market for the next month, and further falls are quite possible," he said.
On Wall Street, all major averages ended firmly in the red, their worst closing levels in four months. The UK's FTSE Index slid 1.3 per cent while Japan's Nikkei 225 Index tumbled by 3 per cent. And the European single currency has hit a four-month low at $1.2642.
Ratings agency Fitch dropped Greece to the lowest grade for a country not in default. This came as Moody's cut the credit ratings of 16 Spanish banks, three days after it downgraded 26 Italian banks. Reasons for the downgrades included both economies slipping back into recession, a rise in bad loans and an expectation of more volatility ahead.
Meanwhile, G8 leaders met at Camp David near Washington DC over the weekend to seek assurances European leaders can contain the fallout if Greece returns to the drachma.

OOPS!!!! I forgot to mention........

going down down and down lol
.....................................................

CLUSTER-ZUCK: Facebook investigated as losses hit $40 billion

US REGULATORS will investigate claims that Morgan Stanley shared negative news about Facebook with major clients in the lead up to its initial public offering.

Allegations are flying that the IPO's lead underwriter Morgan Stanley only told its top clients it had reduced its revenue forecast for the tech giant, and did not spread the word to other investors.

The state of Massachusetts has subpoenaed the brokerage firm over its discussions with investors on Facebook.

"The Securities Division has put out a subpoena to Morgan Stanley in connection with the analyst's discussion with certain institutional investors about the revenue prospects for Facebook,'' a spokesman for Massachusetts Secretary of Commonwealth William Galvin said.

This comes amid reports that a senior Nasdaq official said that the index would have pulled the plug on Facebook's IPO if it had known the extent of technical problems.

The Wall Street Journal reported that Nasdaq’s head of transaction services said the index "by no means would have gone forward" with the IPO if it had known the problems would disrupt a "normal trading day."

In a separate case, another disgruntled investor is reportedly suing Nasdaq over the trading glitches that caused losses.

The mishandling of the Facebook IPO affected an estimated 30 million shares, according to Nasdaq executives, and losses across Wall Street stemming from the episode have been estimated at tens of millions of dollars.

Facebook shares sank further today amid the accusations – they lost another 8.6 per cent to close at $US31.12, leaving them 18.1 per cent below the IPO price.

Some $US17 billion in market capitalisation was wiped from the company, which launched on the market at a spectacular $US104 billion valuation last week.

The shares continued to fall in after-hours trade, falling to as low as $US30.72, as analysts and investors concluded that the $US16 billion, 421 million shares IPO was just too big for the real demand and that major early institutional investors had not intended to hold on to them.

Underwriters had tried to prop up the trade at the $38 issue price on Friday, but gave up on the second and third days of trading as selling became too heavy.

Analysts blamed Morgan Stanley for allowing Facebook last week to increase the price and the offering size to 421 million shares.

"They issued too many shares and the market wasn't ready to absorb them, that's all there is to it. The market isn't ready to absorb it," said Michael Pachter of Wedbush Securities.

"The underwriters placed the stocks with people who really were not that committed to owning it, and so a lot of them sold it."

Mr Pachter said they sent "false signals" by adding 84 million shares to the offering right before they went public.

"They were wrong, they completely blew it," he said.

Reports today that Morgan Stanley and two other key underwriters, JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs, had cut their revenue forecasts came after Facebook itself amended its IPO filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission with data that was less positive about its performance in the mobile market just days before the IPO.

In a statement Morgan Stanley said it followed all appropriate procedures in the IPO, including disseminating the update Facebook filing, the "S1", to all of the company's institutional and retail investors.

"In response to the information about business trends, a significant number of research analysts in the syndicate who were participating in investor education reduced their earnings views to reflect their estimate of the impact of the new information," the banks said in a statement.

http://www.news.com.au/business/facebook-shares-extend-slide-drop-up-to-9pc-after-open/story-e6frfm1i-1226363999970#ixzz1vizbUu5c

the illiminati was hoping for facebook to prop up the

market..look what happened,

only a few more moves to CHECK MATE..

so be it

enjoy the transition toward a free humanity

namaste

-:)

We're doomed.

DOOOOOOOOOOOOOMED I TELLS YA

CLUSTER-ZUCK: Facebook investigated as losses hit $40 billion

US REGULATORS will investigate claims that Morgan Stanley shared negative news about Facebook with major clients in the lead up to its initial public offering.

Allegations are flying that the IPO's lead underwriter Morgan Stanley only told its top clients it had reduced its revenue forecast for the tech giant, and did not spread the word to other investors.

_________

this article would also be relevant

on the thread, ' mass arrests happening '

collusion.

namaste

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07DB_xIcf2k&feature=g-u-u

http://paoweb.com/uf052212.htm

Update by Sheldan Nidle for the Spiritual Hierarchy and the Galactic Federation
1 Pax, 10 Lamat, 8 Manik
Selamat Balik! We return! Much is happening on your world. A great confrontation between the dark and the Light is coming to a head. This struggle has thoroughly exhausted the governments of the West. These cabal-controlled regimes are at their wit's end as an immense financial crisis continues to deepen. The multiple threats to their stability have increased as the rigors of keeping to a debt-oriented economy are compounded daily by the on-going rebellion of nations like Greece, Iceland, and Ireland, and this rattles them to the core. The arrogance of the large multinational banks is throwing further monkey wrenches into this tottering global predicament. Meanwhile, these same banks are suffering from their own meltdown as the number of liens placed on them accrues. The whole sorry mess teeters on the verge of collapse! As this house of cards wobbles, those nations focused on bringing down the current dollar fiat system are silently enjoying what they have already accomplished. The Light supports their efforts in this, as do those who have worked to create the new and fairer economic system.

    Our task in these proceedings is one of support, advice, and a helping hand that can be used to promote the proposals made by these thoroughly alarmed nations. In the past, the non-aligned nations were considered by the West to be mere 'afterthoughts.' This marginalizing is now changing as the West's once-mighty economies stare over the edge of a seemingly bottomless sinkhole. This present array of potential calamities was deliberately engineered by the dark cabal during the last two decades as part of their arrogant bid for world domination. Now, Heavenly circumstances beyond their control have thrown this goal off course, placing the cabal at the mercy of their own diabolical trickery. Meanwhile, the Ascended Masters' plans to manifest the new monetary system will tie in nicely with the objectives drawn up by the secret sacred societies of those nations that have broken away from the cabal. The die is cast, and your world is living out the final days of a reality that has endured for millennia.

    The programs to prepare you for first contact are progressing well. We revise these constantly, to keep up with the ever-shifting profiles in your medical dossiers. The first official broadcasts must be made in such a way as to quell your perplexities and worries. Each of you needs answers that will remove the sting from what we need to do, and we intend to interact personally with all who wish it. This part of the operation is firstly about multiple reunions: the peoples of Inner Earth will be reunited with surface humanity, followed shortly afterwards by the return of your spiritual and space families who, in Love, initially colonized your beautiful planet 900,000 years ago. The veil of amnesia that buffers you on the Earth plane makes you forget who you really are, which is why the first thing is to bring you up to speed on this pivotal issue, and on where first contact is taking you. Then we can more usefully describe how this transformation is to happen. The Ascended Masters will mentor you through this initial stage.

    Those who have spiritually mentored you down through the ages will be available to field your questions and qualms about how you are to return to full consciousness. Although the process is complex, you need, and will be given, simple, comprehensive answers to your numerous queries. It is vital that you be relieved of any stress in this regard so that you can complete this adventure in a joyous frame of mind. Our personnel will at first assist the Ascended Masters and, if required, show you where this transformation is to take place. Many of you wonder why these procedures are necessary, and we are fully ready to satisfy any and all concerns and questions you may have. All our interactions with you will be Loving and honoring, and done with your full approval. Heaven also intends you to be wholly comfortable with the reasons for the use of a living Light chamber. This special cocoon will heal you and remove the myriad, artificial blocks to your RNA/DNA which were responsible for your fateful fall into limited consciousness 13 millennia ago.

    Namaste! We are your Ascended Masters! We come on this day to explain some of the activities that will bring you your freedom and end your illegal debt slavery. At the end of the 18th and the start of the 19th century, a banking system came into vogue that was based on accumulating great wealth by means of designated debt instruments. Over time this produced a global increase in the trading and amassing of ever-larger debt instruments, the instability of which resulted in 'panics' from time to time. These cycles consisted of a general upturn in the world's trading markets followed by an abrupt downturn which created incredible wealth in the hands of a few. These cycles are now to end as we turn from this debt-driven economy to one based on true equity. The days of this fiat-money world are numbered and will be replaced by true-value money and an end to the whole concept of debt!

    There presently exists on your world a series of banking acts that are to make all banking transactions fully transparent and that will regulate the type of funds that a bank needs to maintain in its reserves. All bank accounting is to be open, and a new agency will oversee those banks that operate either domestically or internationally. The funds they either acquire or dispense will be based on equity: precious metals (gold, silver, or platinum), or items that are highly valued, such as diamonds. In order to put this new system in play, an across-the-board debt-forgiveness is an essential prerequisite and will be announced worldwide. This new system is ready to go, but we are sure you understand that what we have described to you is a very simplified general outline of what created the current financial meltdown and the means by which it is to be resolved globally.

    This new equity system and its new equity economy are to terminate the present abuses which have allowed the few (the dark cabal) to take over every nation and control it by clever use of its banking system. So therefore, one of our first moves is to take over the major banks of your world in order to secure the viability of the new financial system. But remember, even this fair and prosperity-oriented system is only a stopgap to the state of abundance that lies beyond money. Our over-arching concern here is your return to full consciousness. Heaven has mandated that you return to a state of consciousness that permits you to work with us in unfolding the divine plan for physicality. This supreme task is the basis for all our divine service and we are committed to your return to full consciousness in as short a time as divinely possible. We have acquired the assistance of the Galactic Federation and their capabilities will permit us to achieve our divine goals with great success!

    Today, we updated you on what is ready to happen worldwide. Your reality has reached a point where it is no longer viable, and so a very serious intervention is underway which is to transform your world and quickly pave the way for your blessed return to full consciousness. Know, dear Ones, that the countless Supply and never-ending Prosperity of Heaven are indeed Yours! So Be It! Selamat Gajun! Selamat Ja! (Sirian for Be One! and Be in Joy!)

http://www.centraladvocate.com.au/news/national/national/general/markets-live-shares-resume-may-drop/2566304.aspx

Markets Live: Shares resume May drop

http://forexstockmarkethours.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/stock_market_crash-300x262.jpg

PETER BRAIG
23 May, 2012 09:49 AM
Australian shares give up yesterday's solid gains and then some as investor worries about the state of Europe's economy drag all the major sectors lower.

4.40pm: Just a final tidbit or two: David Jones ended the day down 3 cents, or 1.4 per cent, to $2.17 - pacing the overall market's decline. Still, that's the lowest level for the stock since March 2009 (and it's down 8 per cent in 2012.)

Myer remains 3 per cent up for 2012 - even with today's big slide.

4.32pm: Other stocks to take a flogging today include OneSteel, which lost another 8 per cent, and Linc Energy, which dived 13 per cent.

We'll be wrapping up our live coverage shortly, and will point you to the evening market's wrap. The loss for the day for the overall market is in the order of $16 billion - bringing May's loss to about $100 billion.

But lest gloom cover all, here's today's bolter: Syrah Resources, which managed to eke out a 95 per cent jump to $1.82 - valuing the company at about $227 million.

4.25pm: And to round off where the blog began, Myer shares ended 17 cents, or 7.8 per cent lower for the day, at $2 even.That looks like its lowest close since January 10.

4.20pm: Among major movers, most were lowerBHP lost 1.2%ANZ shed 1.9%CBA lost 1% NAB fell 0.9%Westpac lost 1.3%Fortescue fell 5%

4.17pm: Of the top 200 stocks, only 19 advanced, while 15 were unchanged and 166 fell. (Among the top 50, three only posted gains.)

4.15pm: Among the major sub-indexes, materials lost 1.7 per cent, energy stocks gave up 1.4 per cent and financials shed 1.2 per cent.

4.13pm: The All Ords lost 54.7 points, or 1.3 per cent, to 4118.8

4.11pm: Some closing numbers: ASX200 closes the day off 54 points, or 1.3 per cent, to 4067.

4.08pm: And the flip side, of course, is that money is flowing in the greenback, sending it to a 20-month high against a basket of currencies, Reuters reports. (Might start to drag on US exports and therefore overall growth...assuming the Europeans are still importing.)

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_b8SU6xtcBC0/TPaM3mz5oKI/AAAAAAAACEs/r9BGCeGMHYU/s320/2008_stock_market_crash.jpg

http://www.infowars.com/facebook-ipo-cia-and-goldman-sachs-take-the-suckers-for-a-stroll/

Facebook IPO: CIA and Goldman Sachs Take the Suckers for a Stroll

http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/johncassidy/facebook-ipo-update.jpg

Kurt Nimmo
Infowars.com
May 22, 2012
The fact Morgan Stanley was the lead banker on the Facebook IPO should have set off alarm bells for investors in the NASDAQ casino. The deal had SUCKER’S BET spray-painted all over it. But like the infamous dot-com bubble and any other number of pump and dump schemes rolled out by the banksters, the Facebook IPO was designed to enrich a small number of insiders like Goldman Sachs and take the clueless horde on the outside to the cleaners.

http://money.cnn.com/2012/05/18/markets/jpmorgan-loss/index.htm?iid=Lead

JPMorgan Chase loss only going to get worse

http://i2.cdn.turner.com/money/2012/05/18/markets/jpmorgan-loss/jaime-dimon4.gi.top.jpg

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- One thing seems clear about JPMorgan Chase's $2 billion loss. It's no longer $2 billion. It's likely much higher.
The number being bandied about now is closer to a range of $6 billion to $7 billion, according to several people working on trading desks that specialize in the derivatives JPMorgan Chase (JPM, Fortune 500) used to make its trades and from two sources with knowledge of the bank's positions.

http://i2.cdn.turner.com/money/video/news/2012/05/15/n-geithner-jp-morgan.cnnmoney.476x268.jpg

Geithner: JPMorgan loss a call for reform

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/markets/australian-currency-slips-as-market-turns-to-chinese-monetary-policy/story-e6frg94o-1226367241243

Australian currency slips as market turns to Chinese monetary policy
BY: JAMES GLYNN From: Dow Jones Newswires May 25, 2012 5:15PM
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THE Australian dollar slipped slightly late today amid ongoing concerns about Greece and China's economic growth outlook.

Reports that China's loan growth was faltering eroded confidence, traders said.

China's largest banks are expected to fall short of lending goals for 2012 - the first failure to achieve the goal in at least seven years - as the economic slowdown hits lending, Bloomberg News reported.

Still, all eyes are on China, which could move to ease monetary policy over the weekend.

A newspaper backed by China's central bank said the possibility of cuts to lending rates in the near term can't be ruled out, amid accumulated evidence that growth was still slowing in the world's second-largest economy.

At 4.40pm (AEST), the Australian dollar was at US97.37 cents, down from US97.53c late yesterday. Against the Japanese yen, the Australian unit was at Y77.61, from Y77.48.

Heading into next week, markets will focus on a speech by Reserve Bank of Australia Governor Glenn Stevens on Monday. The RBA has not disclosed the topic of his speech.

Financial markets will also get a look at first-quarter business investment data; an Australian Bureau of Statistics report was likely to confirm that the global crises has yet to put a dent in spending plans.

Earlier today, JP Morgan announced slight downward revisions to its forecasts for Australian economic growth over the next two years, but said the mining boom would continue to support the economy overall.

Said Stephen Walters, chief economist at JP Morgan, Australia: "We have been unabashed true believers in the ability of Australia's mining investment boom to underpin growth in the economy, partly owing to the upbeat outlook for China and century-high commodity prices."

Citing research by Deloitte Access Economics, Mr Walters said the total pipeline for investment in Australia, which includes non-mining projects, will deliver $921 billion, or 65 per cent of GDP. Mr Walters added that 40 per cent of that total was for projects already under construction.

http://forexstockmarkethours.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/stock_market_crash-300x262.jpg

... wrote on May 23^rd, 2012 at 5:38pm:

We're doomed. DOOOOOOOOOOOOOMED I TELLS YA

Well thank ya for that, i might have missed it amongst all the good news.

http://www.infowars.com/spanish-bank-asks-for-biggest-bailout-in-countrys-history/

http://www.buzzle.com/img/articleImages/287147-33717-51.jpg

Spanish bank asks for biggest bailout in country’s history

Tiffany Hsu
L.A. Times
May 27, 2012
It’s not looking good for the Spanish banking system. Standard & Poor’s just slashed the credit ratings of five banks and said the country is headed into a double-dip recession. One of them, Bankia, just asked the government for 19 billion euros in aid – a roughly $23.8 billion boost.
That makes it the largest bank bailout in Spain’s history. Combined with escalating concerns that Greece is about to execute its so-called Grexit from the euro currency, the news is doing nothing to alleviate the heightened anxiety in the euro zone.
Standard & Poor’s, which caused market shockwaves last summer when it downgraded U.S. debt, said the Spanish banking sector was vulnerable to turbulence in capital markets because it relies heavily on foreign funding.
The ratings agency dropped Bankia, Bankinter and Banco Popular Espanol into junk status, all with a BB+ score. Banca Civica and Bankia’s parent company, Baco Financiero y de Ahorros, also were lowered.
Read full article

http://www.latimes.com/business/money/la-fi-mo-spain-bankia-20120525,0,267898.story

australia just gave 7 billion to the IMF

yes the politicians really know how to spend your $$$

http://www.ozpolitic.com/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1335088118

namaste

i will say at this point in the collapse

you watch unfold before you

this crash is a direct manifestation of criminal private

bankers whom print money from thin air

and the puppetmasters/illuminati/vatican/royal types

that control those entities,not humanity..

so the non human agenda is going

humanity will say good riddance then they will finally

see freedom from slavery and abundance

namaste

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financialcrisis/9292511/Lloyds-of-London-preparing-for-euro-collapse.html

Lloyd's of London preparing for euro collapse
The chief executive of the multi-billion pound Lloyd's of London has publicly admitted that the world's leading insurance market is prepared for a collapse in the single currency and has reduced its exposure "as much as possible" to the crisis-ridden continent.

http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/02214/greece_2214344c.jpg

Richard Ward said Lloyd's of London could have to take writedowns on its £58.9bn investment portfolio if the eurozone collapses

Richard Ward said the London market had put in place a contingency plan to switch euro underwriting to multi-currency settlement if Greece abandoned the euro.
In an interview with The Sunday Telegraph he also revealed that Lloyd's could have to take writedowns on its £58.9bn investment portfolio if the eurozone collapses.
Europe accounts for 18pc of Lloyd's £23.5bn of gross written premiums, mostly in France, Germany, Spain and Italy. The market also has a fledgling operation in Poland.
Lloyd's move comes as a major Franco-German provider of credit insurance for eurozone trade, Euler Hermes, said it was considering reducing cover for trade with Greece because of the risk the country might leave the eurozone.
When a company goes bust, it is often sparked by withdrawal of credit insurance for suppliers wanting to trade with it.

A spokesman for Euler Hermes, Bettina Sattler, told Bloomberg: "The outcome of the new elections in June remains highly uncertain. Consequently, the situation is further deteriorating. The risk of Greece exiting the eurozone has been revived.
"In light of the recent developments, Euler Hermes will most probably have to switch to a more prudent approach. [We have] maintained a high level of cover for [our] customers until today. But now we are confronted with a changing situation."
Lloyd's fears are likely to be shared by a number of European businesses, which are watching developments in Greece.
On Saturday, Juergen Fitschen, co-chief executive of Deutsche Bank, described Greece as a "failed state" run by corrupt politicians.
"I'm quite worried about Europe," Mr Ward said in one of the first admissions by a major UK business leader of the scale of the crisis that would be prompted by a eurozone collapse.
"With all the concerns around the eurozone at the moment, we've got to be careful doing business in Europe and there are a lot of question marks over writing business in the future in euros.
"I don't think that if Greece exited the euro it would lead to the collapse of the eurozone, but what we need to do is prepare for that eventuality."
Mr Ward says Lloyd's had been working hard on contingency planning and had the capability to switch settlement of European underwriting from euros to other currencies.
"We've got multi-currency functionality and we would switch to multi-currency settlement if the Greeks abandoned the euro and started using the drachma again," he said.
Lloyd's has de-risked its asset portfolio in recent years, with investments split equally into cash, corporate bonds and government bonds, mostly in the US, UK, Canada and Australia. "We have de-risked the asset portfolio as much as possible," he said.
The contingency planning comes as German politicians piled the pressure on Greece ahead of elections on June 17.
A conservative member of German chancellor Angela Merkel's cabinet said today Germany would not "pour money into a bottomless pit".
On Sunday, Swiss central bank chief Thomas Jordan admitted his country is drawing up an action plan in the event of the euro's collapse.

A conservative member of German chancellor Angela Merkel's cabinet said today Germany would not "pour money into a bottomless pit".

_________

nice

humanity asks the same

namaste

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/debt-crisis-live/9225570/UK-is-back-in-recession.html

UK is back in recession
The Office for National Statistics says the economy has slid into its second recession since the financial crisis after figures show GDP fell 0.2 per cent in the first quarter of 2012.

According to the ONS, despite forecasts for 0.1 per cent growth, GDP actually fell 0.2 per cent in the first quarter of 2012 following its contraction by 0.3 per cent at the end of 2011.
The contraction largely driven by a sharp fall in construction output. It is the first double dip recession since the 1970s.
Joe Grice, ONS chief economist said that the "aggregate figure is a result of differing experience in varying sectors" and some sectors, such as services, had grown by just 0.1pc over the period.

Mr Light.....it is the end of growth. New environmentally friendly industries will arise from the ashes of the Industrial Revolution. A sustainable economy will emerge where food security plays a major role.

Fiat money and greed was never going to survive for too long. Even with the painful transition, I will be glad to see the new economy take shape. The next generations will be busy working out how we got so close to total destruction.

all is in accordance with the divine plan

sister being as i send blessings unto your heart

namaste

-:)

http://jhaines6.wordpress.com/2012/05/28/ben-fulford-insiders-predict-a-5-day-bank-holiday-in-europe-before-euro-ends-renminbi-may-replace-us-dollar-in-september-may-28-2012/

Ben Fulford: Insiders predict a 5-day bank holiday in Europe before Euro ends, Renminbi may replace US dollar in September, May 2,8, 2012
Posted on May 28, 2012
The final showdown in the ongoing financial war is appearing imminent. The 140 nation BRICS alliance is preparing to offer to buy up all cash US dollars and replace them with a new currency backed by a basket of commodities, including precious metals, according to multiple sources. After that move, any money printed by the US Federal Reserve Board crime syndicate would not be accepted as currency by the 140 nation group. This would force an end game for the criminal cabal that illegally seized power in the United States.
Before that move, though, there will be a 5-day bank holiday in Europe followed by the end of the Euro and the re-introduction of old national currencies like the Deutschemark and the Drachma, Rothschild family sources say.

The situation, however, remains highly volatile and there are signs of dangerous end-game maneuvers by the cabal.

In Japan, the attempt by the cabal controlled media to create panic over the nuclear terrorism at Fukushima, is being accompanied by renewed threats of nuclear terror. The deep sea drilling ship Chikyu Maru has been spotted off the shore of the Rokkasho Mura nuclear complex in Aomori Prefecture Japan, according to Japanese military intelligence. The ship is crewed by Americans and brainwashed Japanese slaves.

Rokkasho Mura is the location of a giant plutonium processing complex that has already produced enough plutonium to manufacture 5000 nuclear weapons. Sending the Chikyu Maru to drill tactical nuclear warheads into the seabed off the shore of Rokkasho Mura is a cabal attempt to blackmail the planet with a nuclear holocaust.

Shoichiro Kobayashi, adviser to Kansai Electric Power, and Yoshiyasu Sato, adviser to Tokyo Electric Power and both members of the Rothschild crime syndicate’s Trilateral commission will be taken in for vigorous questioning about their knowledge of this renewed terror threat. They are expected to sing like canaries and point their fingers directly at the Rockefeller gangsters behind these latest terror threats.

Message to the Rockefeller family: Remove David, David Junior, Nicholas and J. from all responsibility and hand over control of the Rockefeller syndicate to the female members of that family. If you do not, every single descendant of John Rockefeller will be hunted down and eliminated from all levels of existence forever.

While we are at it, we would also like to kindly request that the Du Pont family remove all carcinogens and infertility causing chemicals from their product lines in Japan and elsewhere.

Sources in the Japanese underworld are also now reporting that the Inagawa Kai and Yamaguchi Gumi yakuza gangs are split between those who are still working for the committee of 300 and those who want to restore Japanese independence. The talk is that top committee of 300 traitor slaves Yasuhiro Nakasone and Junichiro Koizumi are headed for punishment from heaven.

Question for Nakasone: “What was in all those blue boxes your people loaded into a submarine and sent to your North Korean homeland?” Was it documentary evidence of your crimes or were you sending Japanese plutonium to North Korea?

The other people on the crime list in Japan are Hisashi Owada from the International Court of Justice and Eiji Katsu from the Ministry of Finance. Owada’s daughter, Princess Masako, recently tried to poison the Japanese Emperor, according to families inside the Royal Household Agency.

The Emperor recently returned from England where he discussed the White Dragon Society, among other subjects, with the Queen. A representative of the emperor asked for a meeting with a representative of the White Dragon Society on May 26th, but the between was abruptly postponed by the Emperor’s side. We do not know why.

We trust the Emperor and the Queen agreed to purge the Satanists from the committee of 300 and support a massive campaign to end poverty and stop environmental destruction. Hand written letters will be delivered to both parties requesting support for such a campaign and requesting their voluntary appearance before a truth and reconciliation committee.

Returning to the situation in Europe, we notice most of the reporting about the “financial crisis,” there leaves out the elephant in the living room, i.e. the 140 nation BRICS alliance.

The link to the following map explains the real reason for the crisis:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Cumulative_Current_Account_Balance.png
Basically, Europe has maxed out its credit card with the rest of the world. The region as a whole needs to negotiate a restructuring of its debt to the rest of the world. The rest of the world is asking for an end to ceaseless warmongering in return. The only European country other than Germany that has enough money to solve the crisis without reference of the rest of the world is Russia. Give Putin a call.

Canadian Finance Minister Jim Flaherty, the longest serving Finance Minister in the G8 and a direct participant in the financial negotiations of the past few years, explains the situation very clearly in this op-ed:

http://www.fin.gc.ca/n12/12-054-eng.asp
Basically, he is saying the Europeans need to take their medicine just like all other countries that went to the IMF for money in the past had to.

The firing of the head of the Vatican bank last week and the turmoil in the Vatican are more signs of the end of an era in Europe.

The situation in the US is also coming to a head. A very senior US agency source asked that the following information be spread far and wide:

President Obama’s social security number 042-68-4425 belonged to a John Paul Ludwig born in 1890. Obama’s grandmother, Madelyn Payne Dunham, worked in a probate office in Hawaii where she had access to social security numbers of deceased individuals. Because Ludwig never received Social Security Benefits, there were no benefits to stop, therefore no questions were ever raised.

Dunham, knowing her grandson was not a US citizen, because he was born in Kenya and became a citizen of Indonesia upon his adoption, she scoured the probate records until she found someone who died who was not getting benefits and selected Mr. Ludwig’s for Obama, the agency official explained.

Detailed, indictable criminal evidence against Henry Kissinger was also provided by sources in Indonesia. Basically, Kissinger was involved in the murder of 14,000 Indonesians in Papua New Guinea to facilitate gold mining by Freeport, a company Kissinger advises. Kissinger gets $500,000 a year from them as a board member and gets another $500,000 in consulting fees.

In any case once the corporate government of the US is put out of business, the Renminbi will become the currency of the world. The date given by two insiders for this event is September 16th. We again remind readers that many dates have come and gone without predictions turning true so please remain skeptical and only believe 100% when you actually see it happen.

However, it is true that China has been systematically buying up all natural products like trees, copper, farmland or anything tangible to back a reality based currency.

If I send my address will you share whatever drug you are on, because it is working a treat.

yes i do not take drugs or drink

you may be confused maybe footy is on,

i just post relevant articles contributing to

the stockmarket crash..

are you angry or happy?

namaste

-:)

The stock market is like roulette.
See my thread on that subject:

http://www.ozpolitic.com/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1337997298

http://www.infowars.com/japan-and-china-to-start-direct-currency-trading-on-friday/

http://www.japantoday.com/images/size/200x/2012/05/photo_1338006666493-1-0.jpg

Japan and China to start direct currency trading on Friday

japantoday.com
May 29, 2012
Japan and China will start direct currency trading this week, Tokyo said Tuesday, the first time Beijing has let a major unit other than the dollar swap with the yuan.
The move, which will scrap the greenback as an intermediary unit, comes as China introduces measures as part of a long-term goal of internationalizing its currency to rival the dollar.
The two-way trade will also be allowed to move in a wider range than the narrow band at which the dollar and yuan change hands, Dow Jones Newswires and the Nikkei business daily reported.

http://www.japantoday.com/category/business/view/japan-and-china-to-start-direct-currency-trading-on-friday

Japan and China to start direct currency trading on Friday

TOKYO —
Japan and China will start direct currency trading this week, Tokyo said Tuesday, the first time Beijing has let a major unit other than the dollar swap with the yuan.

The move, which will scrap the greenback as an intermediary unit, comes as China introduces measures as part of a long-term goal of internationalizing its currency to rival the dollar.

The two-way trade will also be allowed to move in a wider range than the narrow band at which the dollar and yuan change hands, Dow Jones Newswires and the Nikkei business daily reported.

China will set a daily rate based on dealer quotes with trade allowed to move within a 3% band above or below that rate, the reports said, compared with a 1% band fixed to yuan-dollar trading.

The Chinese central bank earlier Tuesday introduced a rate of 7.9480 yuan for every 100 yen, Dow Jones said.

However, there will be no fixed rates in Tokyo trade with the currencies trading freely, according to the same media reports which provided no further details.

The yen does trade freely against other major currencies on global foreign-exchange markets, including the greenback, with the dollar buying 79.50 yen in Asian afternoon trade on Tuesday.

“From June 1, the yen-yuan exchange rate will be constantly indicated in both markets, facilitating full-fledged direct exchange trading,” Finance Minister Jun Azumi told a regular press briefing.

By not using the dollar as an intermediate currency “we can lower transaction costs and reduce settlement risks at financial institutions as well as making both nations’ currencies more useful”, he added.

The announcement comes as China introduces measures as part of a long-term goal of internationalizing the yuan to rival the dollar as the world’s benchmark currency.

Beijing’s tightly managed currency policy has triggered huge trade deficits in the United States, which accuses China of artificially undervaluing the yuan to boost exports, and has been a long-running source of friction between the world’s two largest economies.

On Tuesday, Beijing described yuan-yen trade as an “important step” in “strengthening cooperation between China and Japan in developing financial markets and mutually promoting direct trading between the two currencies based on market principle.”

China overtook Japan to become the world’s second-largest economy in 2010, and the neighbors are forging closer business ties despite frequent diplomatic spats over territorial claims and lingering historical animosities.

China is Japan’s largest trading partner, but about 60% of their mutual trade is denominated in U.S. dollars.

In March, Japan said it had won approval from Beijing to buy Chinese government bonds for the first time—Beijing does not allow investors to freely purchase its debt, requiring official approval instead.

Tokyo said it got the green light to buy Chinese government bond issues worth about 65 billion yuan ($10.25 billion), a relatively small amount that was seen as largely symbolic.

The economic powerhouses have also agreed to promote the use of their currencies in bilateral transactions—such as yuan-denominated foreign direct investment by Japanese companies in China—to reduce foreign exchange risks.

The yen, meanwhile, hit historic highs against the dollar last year, denting exporters whose products become less competitive overseas when the currency strengthens.

Japanese finance officials have vowed to step into foreign-exchange markets again to tame the value of the unit, which is increasingly seen as a safe-haven currency as the euro takes a hit owing to worries about the debt-hit eurozone.

© 2012 AFP

Japan and China to start direct currency trading on Friday
................................

Bye bye US dorra.

http://www.infowars.com/another-20-percent-how-low-will-facebook-go/

Another 20 percent: How Low Will Facebook Go?



Inyoung Hwang and Brian Womack
Washington Post
June 1, 2012
The slide in Facebook Inc. stock that has cost investors $25 billion may not end until the shares drop another 20 percent, leaving the company’s valuation on par with competitors that also do business over the Internet.
Facebook, with a market capitalization of $79.1 billion, is trading at 29.5 times the company’s projected 2014 profit of $2.69 billion, data compiled by Bloomberg show. The stock would have to dive to $23.07 to match the average price-to-earnings ratio for the Nasdaq Internet Index based on estimated earnings in the next 12 months, according to the data.
Investors have pummeled shares of Facebook since its initial public offering, citing concern over growth prospects for the largest social-networking service. Shareholders filed lawsuits that said the company and its underwriters overpriced Facebook at $38 a share. The IPO gave Facebook a higher multiple than 99 percent of the Standard Poor’s 500 Index.
“It could fall quite significantly because it was priced at a significant premium,” Sameet Sinha, an analyst at B. Riley & Co., said in a telephone interview yesterday. “Such stocks — when they go out of favor — tend to fall before stabilizing.”
Read full report here

http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/could-facebook-stock-slide-another-20-percent/2012/05/30/gJQAxZWY1U_story.html

http://m.smh.com.au/business/markets/dollar-sinks-stocks-to-fall-after-us-data-disappoints-20120602-1zo06.html

Dollar sinks, stocks to fall after US data disappoints
June 02, 2012

http://images.smh.com.au/2011/08/08/2544419/th-asx-90x60.jpg

The Australian dollar sank to its lowest mark against the greenback in almost eight months overnight and local shares are poised to resume their slide after weak US jobs figures added to concerns about the strength of the global economy.
The Aussie dollar hit 96.34 US cents before clawing back to trade near 97 US cents, capping five weeks in a row of losses against the greenback.
Wall Street slides: Dow off 2.2%
European stocks extend slide
Gold jumps on Fed hopes
Oil drops most in eight months
Spanish, Italian bonds recover
How the ASX finished on Friday
Australian business calendar June 4-8
Local shares are set to sink when they open on Monday, with SPI200 futures down 58 points, or 1.4 per cent, to 4012. A loss of that amount would drag the ASX200 index near the key 4000-point mark, a level it's not breached since November 28 last year.
The renewed slump on global markets will add pressure on the Reserve Bank to cut its cash rate again when it meets to set interest rates on Tuesday. Investors view the likelihood of another 50 basis-point cut as a 50-50 chance, with a 25 basis-point reduction deemed a certainty. Economists, though, are divided on whether the central bank will lower the cash rate or leave it at 3.75 per cent.
Jobs disappoint
The latest round of market turmoil was triggered a rise in the US unemployment rate in May to 8.2 per cent, from 8.1 per cent, after the world's biggest economy added the fewest jobs in a year.
More below
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The poor US employment result capped a week of disappointing economic numbers from Europe and China, and raised doubts that the American economy will be able to drive a global revival.
“The picture is getting more worrisome,” said Bruce Kasman, chief economist for JPMorgan Chase, which lowered its 2012 growth forecast to 2.1 per cent from 2.3 per cent after the jobs report. “The US economy is going to be somewhat softer over the next couple of quarters.”
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 2.2 per cent, the broader S&P 500 shed 2.5 per cent and the Nasdaq sank 2.8 per cent on the jobs figures.
European markets also retreated, with London's FTSE100 falling 1.1 per cent, France's CAC40 dropping 2.2 per cent and Germany's Dax dived 3.4 per cent.
BHP, Rio
Australian resource producers may have a rough start to next week, particular those in the energy sector, after oil prices sank 3.8 per cent in New York to the lowest level in eight months.
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BHP Billiton shares fell 0.8 per cent in New York trading, while Rio Tinto's US-listed shares fell 1.2 per cent.
Gold miners, though, may buck the downward trend after prices for the precious metal surged by the most in 10 months on expectation that the faltering US economy will prompt the Federal Reserve to embark on another round of monetary easing to spur growth.
Gold futures leapt 3.7 per cent to $US1622 an ounce, reversing much of May's 6 per cent retreat.
Australian shares posted their worst month in May for two years, shedding about 7.3 per cent or some $100 billion, as concerns about Greece's potential exit from the eurozone flared.
Australia's biggest export market, China, is also showing signs of slowing, denting commodity prices and cutting demand for the Australian dollar.
BusinessDay with Bloomberg

http://www.news.com.au/business/markets/market-braces-for-wipeout-with-rate-cut-likely/story-e6frfm30-1226381872234

Market braces for wipeout with rate cut likely

http://resources2.news.com.au/images/2012/06/03/1226381/838926-wall-street-crash.jpg

Wall Street trader Peter Tuchman is stunned on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange at the close of trading, on Friday. Picture: Richard Drew

AFTER a horror May when it lost $100 billion in value, the Australian sharemarket's pain is expected to continue when it opens tomorrow.
The weakest US jobs figures in a year released on Friday (8.2 per cent unemployment) have triggered heavy falls on both north American and European markets.
Today on the ASX 24, the June share price index futures contract was pointing to a 58-point, or 1.4 per cent, fall to 4012 points. That would take the ASX to seven-month lows.
But not as damaging as the sell-off in the US on Friday, where the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 2.2 per cent, the broader S&P 500 index shed 2.5 per cent and the tech-laden Nasdaq gave up 2.8 per cent.
In Europe, the German and French markets plunged by more than two and three per cent respectively, while London's FTSE 100 retreated by more than one per cent.
The May falls on the ASX and the latest global carnage will increase pressure on the Reserve Bank of Australia to cut interest rates to stimulate spending when it meets on Tuesday.
Commsec economist Craig James said he favoured waiting until August for another cut following June inflation data, but he thought a 25 basis point cut at least was likely.
Rates were cut by half a per cent to 3.25 per cent last month, but consumer confidence data so far showed that had not worked, Mr James told AAP.
"We haven't had too much of a response to the interest rates cut, the bad news in Europe basically serving to offset any stimulus being applied here in Australia," he said.
AMP chief economist Shane Oliver was more pessimistic, saying a 50 basis point cut was needed with China's economy slowing more than expected and Australian home sales poor with the cash rate to hit 2.75 per cent by year's end.
However, economists and investors are divided on what will happen.
Mr James said he expected those doubts to lead to caution on the markets in the early part of the week, with important data to be released on Monday on business indicators, inflation and job advertisements.
"High dividend paying stocks will be most in favour on Monday, people will be on the search for yields if interest rates come down," he said, with the banks, Telstra and utilities set to benefit.
There was cause for some optimism for Australian miners at least, with the gold price in the US up by 3.7 per cent to $US1622.10 per fine ounce and falls in base metal prices not dire at 1.2 per cent, Mr James said.
Stocks in dual-listed Australian mining majors BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto were not punished in London, with Rio only down by about .0.3 per cent and the latter flat.
"We need to be much more focused on what's happening in China and Asia generally, the Chinese authorities are well placed to stimulate growth and we're going to be the key beneficiaries here in Australia," Mr James said.
The Australian dollar was trading at near eight-month lows of 96.87 US cents today.
That will benefit many businesses, including exporters and companies with high foreign revenue.

http://www.news.com.au/business/markets/market-braces-for-wipeout-with-rate-cut-likely/story-e6frfm30-1226381872234

Billions wiped off market in share bloodbath

ASX 200 drops below the critical 4000 point level
Weak US job figures trigger heavy falls overseas
Falls expected to put pressure on RBA rate decision


http://resources2.news.com.au/images/2012/06/03/1226381/838926-wall-street-crash.jpg

Wall Street trader Peter Tuchman is stunned on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange at the close of trading, on Friday. Picture: Richard Drew

THE sharemarket has hit its lowest level since November last year, with more than $16 billion has been wiped off the market in early trade.
Of the 200 companies on the ASX, 177 are trading lower, and ASX 200 index has dropped below the critical 4000 point mark.
At 10.11am AEST, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was down 1.75 per cent to 3992.8, while the broader All Ordinaries index was down 1.76 per cent to 4044.6.
It is the first time since November that the S&P/ASX200 has been below 4000. It reached 3984.3 on November 25.

http://resources3.news.com.au/images/2011/01/02/1225980/659011-asx.gif

The energy sector is leading losses, but banks are also taking a hit with ANZ down 2 per cent in early trade.
The weakest US jobs figures in a year released on Friday (8.2 per cent unemployment) have triggered heavy falls on both north American and European markets.
"A torrent of recent economic data now reveals weakness, and investors are beginning to take notice," said Peter Schiff of Euro Pacific Capital.
IG Markets analyst Stan Shamu said the Aussie dollar and the euro have both opened weaker this morning, suggesting risk assets are in for a tough start, he said.
The Aussie dollar was trading at 97.00 US cents at 7am AEST today, down from 97.02 cents on Friday.
China data worries Australia
In Asia on Friday, figures showed that China's manufacturing activity grew at a much slower rate than expected in May, further confirmation that the world's number two economy was slowing rapidly after recent poor figures on trade, investment and industrial output.
"China's manufacturing numbers did nothing to quell the growing concerns that it might suffer a harder landing than previously forecast," said Rebecca O'Keeffe, head of investment at online brokerage Interactive Investor.
This figure is particularly worrying for Australia, because the Federal Government's plan to return the Budget to surplus is banking on the assumption that the China-driven resources boom will continue.
The official purchasing managers index (PMI) fell to 50.4 from 53.3 in April, the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing said in a statement.
Market braces for eurozone carnage
Also on Friday, data showed that eurozone unemployment stood at a record high of 11 per cent, with Spain the hardest hit at 24.3 per cent in April.
More than 17.4 million people were jobless in the 17-nation single currency area in April, as 110,000 more men and women joined unemployment queues, according to Eurostat data agency.
The news comes as Greece's political and economic future remains uncertain and Spain's banking sector looked increasingly fragile, stoking fears that debt-laden Madrid could need an international bailout.
The yield on 10-year Spanish bonds dipped to 6.424 per cent from 6.536 per cent at the close on Thursday.
For a eurozone country such as Spain, an interest rate above 6.0 per cent is considered dangerous territory with respect to its ability to refinance public debt.
Countries that had to pay 7.0 per cent or more, including Greece, Ireland and Portugal, were forced to negotiate international bailouts.
In the US on Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 2.2 per cent, the broader S&P 500 index shed 2.5 per cent and the tech-laden Nasdaq gave up 2.8 per cent.
In Europe, the German and French markets plunged by more than two and three per cent respectively, while London's FTSE 100 retreated by more than one per cent.
Aussie economy is strong - Swan
With local investors nervously waiting for the market open, Treasurer Wayne Swan says Australians should keep concerns about the global economy in perspective.
The local economy's underlying strength is a defence against looming disruptions in the eurozone, he says.
"We face these challenges from a position of strength,'' Mr Swan told ABC Radio today.
"We have solid growth, we've got low unemployment, a healthy financial system, strong public finances and a huge investment pipeline.''
Inflation was under control and a cash rate at 3.75 per cent left more room to move in providing stimulus to the economy.
Mr Swan said decisive action in Europe was needed to stabilise the eurozone economy.
"There is going to be a very long and painful adjustment in Europe,'' he said.
Case for rate cut grows
The May falls on the ASX and the latest global carnage will increase pressure on the Reserve Bank of Australia to cut interest rates to stimulate spending when it meets tomorrow.
Commsec economist Craig James said he favoured waiting until August for another cut following June inflation data, but he thought a 25 basis point cut at least was likely.
Rates were cut by half a per cent to 3.25 per cent last month, but consumer confidence data so far showed that had not worked, Mr James told AAP.
"We haven't had too much of a response to the interest rates cut, the bad news in Europe basically serving to offset any stimulus being applied here in Australia," he said.
AMP chief economist Shane Oliver was more pessimistic, saying a 50 basis point cut was needed with China's economy slowing more than expected and Australian home sales poor with the cash rate to hit 2.75 per cent by year's end.
However, economists and investors are divided on what will happen.
Big day for economic data
Mr James said he expected those doubts to lead to caution on the markets in the early part of the week, with important data to be released today.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) today releases its business indicators for March 2012 quarter, the Melbourne Institute's inflation gauge for May comes out as do the ANZ job advertisements series for May.
"High dividend paying stocks will be most in favour on Monday, people will be on the search for yields if interest rates come down," he said, with the banks, Telstra and utilities set to benefit.
There was cause for some optimism for Australian miners at least, with the gold price in the US up by 3.7 per cent to $US1622.10 per fine ounce and falls in base metal prices not dire at 1.2 per cent, Mr James said.
Stocks in dual-listed Australian mining majors BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto were not punished in London, with Rio only down by about .0.3 per cent and the latter flat.
"We need to be much more focused on what's happening in China and Asia generally, the Chinese authorities are well placed to stimulate growth and we're going to be the key beneficiaries here in Australia," Mr James said.
In local equities news today, Gloucester Coal Ltd has a unitholders meeting scheduled while the Rabobank rural confidence survey is due out.
The Australian market on Friday closed lower for a third straight session as weak offshore economic data led to a sell-off among resources stocks.
The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index ended down 12.4 points, or 0.3 per cent, at 4063.9 points, while the broader All Ordinaries index fell 16.8 points, or 0.41 per cent, to 4116.9 points.
With AAP and AFP

http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-/breaking/13907856/asx-closes-deep-in-red/

ASX closes deep in red

http://resources3.news.com.au/images/2011/01/02/1225980/659011-asx.gif

Credit rating downgrades for Spain and Japan, the absence of fresh stimulus measures from the Bank of Japan and Germany’s dismissal of calls for a eurobond to contain regional debt crisis sparked another wave of risk aversion across Asian markets and the Australian sharemarket deep in the red.

Overnight European markets soared 2 per cent on average, while Wall Street reversed gains to close flat, but broad US dollar strength against other risk assets saw the S&P/ASX 200 index lose 54 points, or 1.31 per cent, to 4067 points after Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos said preparations were being considered for Greece to exit the euro.

The World Bank warned that China’s economy could slow more quickly if Europe’s sovereign debt crisis worsened, leaving commodity exporters like Australia struggling..

Yesterday safe-haven demand for the greenback resumed in European trade after Japan’s credit rating was cut two notches to A- by Fitch, while ratings agency Egan Jones cuts Spain one notch.

Sentiment was also hit by comments from Austrian Finance Minister Maria Fekter that Austria was opposed to joint Eurobonds being pushed by French President Francois Hollande.

“Like my colleague (German Finance Minister Wolfgang) Schaeuble I am against euro bonds,” she said. “I’m not willing that Austria should potentially pay twice as high interest as we currently do.

“As long as fiscal discipline of the euro nations isn’t completely complied with, as long as stability isn’t really reached, as long as there is no direct influence on how the states run their finances and which fiscal measures they set, I won’t sacrifice the Austrian credit rating.”

The Australian dollar tumbled 1.9¢ to a fresh six-month low of US97.40¢ before bouncing to US97.60¢.

Japan’s Nikkei index tumbled 2 per cent after exports fell well short of forecasts and the Bank of Japan failed to announce an increase to its bond purchasing stimulus plan. The Shanghai composite index was off 0.7 per cent at the close of the ASX.

The broader All Ordinaries index was down 52.4 points, or 1.26 per cent, at 4,121.1.On the ASX 24, the June share price index futures contract was 64 points lower at 4071 with 36,556 contracts traded.

The local market fell in line with other Asian bourses ahead of a fresh round of debt crisis talks by European leaders tonight.

The market is expecting the leaders to express a consensus that they want Greece to stay in the euro, John Curtin, associate director of Patersons Securities, said.

"The market is moving from positive to negative commentary on the slightest hint of what will happen out of Greece because contagion is the big fear,” he said.

"The prevailing view from Europe is that a deal will be negotiated to stay in the euro, but until that is sorted markets will be very flighty."

Fitch Ratings’ downgrade of Japan’s sovereign debt rating to A-plus also weighed on the local market, IG Markets analyst, Stan Shamu said.

Australia’s major lenders lost at least 0.92 per cent, with ANZ Banking Group suffering the heaviest fall and closing down 36 cents, or 1.71 per cent, at $20.70.

Suncorp Group and QBE Insurance both lost 3.08 per cent, with Suncorp closing 24 cents lower at $7.55 and QBE Insurance off 39 cents to $12.29.

Market heavyweight BHP Billiton dropped 39 cents to $31.93, while Rio Tinto declined 61 cents to $56.28.

Gold major Newcrest Mining lost 50 cents, or 1.98 per cent, to $24.74 as the gold price plunged.

The spot price of gold in Sydney was $US1557.20 per fine ounce at 2.16pm, down $US30.58 from Tuesday’s local close of $US1587.78 per ounce.

Shares in struggling department store owner Myer Holdings sank to a four-month low after the company warned its full year profit could drop by as much as 15 per cent amid tough trading conditions in the retail sector.

Myer’s stock plunged 17 cents, or 7.83 per cent, to $2.00.

National turnover was 1.54 billion securities worth $4.3 billion, with 321 stocks up, 636 down and 322 unchanged

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2012/06/09/245407/spanish-banking-sector-seeks-eu-bailout/

Spain seeking EU bailout of its banking sector

http://previous.presstv.ir/photo/20120609/shamseddin20120609201840293.jpg
Spanish Economy Minister Luis de Guindos speaks during a press conference in Madrid on June 9, 2012.

Spain has announced that it will be asking for European Union financial assistance to save its banks, following emergency economic talks with eurozone finance ministers via videoconference.


“The Spanish government declares its intention to request European financing for the recapitalization of those banks that need it," Spanish Economy Minister Luis de Guindos said at a press conference after the videoconference.

The loan, to be delivered via an existing bailout fund called the FROB, is meant to end the economic crisis in Spain and prevent devaluation of the euro.

The Fondo de reestructuracion ordenada bancaria (FROB), known in English as the Fund for Orderly Bank Restructuring (FOBR), is a banking bailout and reconstruction program initiated by the Spanish government in June 2009.

A new report by the International Monetary Fund estimated Madrid will need $50 billion to save its distressed banking sector.

De Guindos did not specify the amount but stated that Spain would request enough money for recapitalization, plus a safety margin.

The decision is seen as a U-turn in policy by Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, who had firmly ruled out the need for a bailout for the country’s banking sector.

Spain has been under pressure to shore up its banking sector before the parliamentary elections in Greece.

There are growing concerns that the outcome of the Greek polls could lead to the country’s exit from the eurozone and further destabilize the euro.

MRS/HGL

The former head of the Vatican Bank has become the Papacy’s Enemy Number One, after police discovered a trove of documents exposing financial misdeeds in the Holy See. The banker now reportedly fears for his life.
Earlier this week police conducted a dawn raid on the house and office of Ettore Gotti Tedeschi. Investigators say they were looking for evidence in a graft case against defense and aerospace firm Finmeccanica, which was formerly run by a close friend of Gotti Tedeschi.
Instead, as it turns out, police stumbled upon an entirely different find.
They discovered 47 binders containing private communication exposing the opaque inner workings of the secretive Holy See.  They included financial documents, details of money transfers and confidential internal reports – all prepared by Gotti Tedeschi to build a convincing expose of corruption in the Vatican.



A renowned economics professor and head of the Italian branch of the giant Bank of Santander Gotti Tedeschi took what turned out to be a poisoned chalice of a job in 2009, when he became the President of the Institute for Works of Religion, the formal name for the Bank of Vatican.

http://www.infowars.com/former-gods-banker-could-blitz-vatican-with-cache-of-secret-documents/

http://www.infowars.com/vatican-and-israel-to-sign-economic-agreement/

Vatican and Israel to Sign Economic Agreement

http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/img/index_benxvi.jpg

Times of India
June 12, 2012
JERUSALEM: The Vatican is about to “indirectly recognize” Israel’s annexation of East Jerusalem, seen by many Palestinians as the future capital of their independent state, a media report today on Monday.
This would be done if the draft of an economic agreement between the Jewish state and the Holy See, containing no distinction between sovereign Israel and the territories occupied by it in 1967, is approved by the two sides, Ha’aretz online reported.
The lack of a preamble containing such a distinction is at the center of heightened tension between Palestinian Christian denominations and the Palestine Liberation Organisation ( PLO) and the Vatican, it said.
Palestinian sources told the Israeli daily that the agreement would mean “indirect recognition” of Israeli annexation of East Jerusalem and of the imposition of Israeli law in part of the West Bank.
France, which has special standing as custodian of holy Christian sites and Christian communities, is also said to be concerned at the apparent latent recognition of the annexation and the economic implications for the communities, and particularly its Christian institutions in the country and the people who are part of them, the report said.
Contrary to the Palestinian concern, a “well informed source” is quoted as saying that “there is nothing in the agreement to harm the rights of the Palestinians,” and that the agreement was made with the sovereign State of Israel in its internationally recognized identity, and therefore there was no need for a clarifying preamble.
The Bilateral Permanent Working Commission between the Holy See and the State of Israel is to meet in Rome today and tomorrow to continue with talks held in Jerusalem last week, addressing matters of disagreement.

Negotiations toward an agreement on the fiscal status of Catholic institutions in Israel have been underway for 13 years, 11 more than the original two years allocated in what is known as the “fundamental agreement”.
The signing of that accord by Israel and the Vatican on December 30, 1993 had led to the establishment of diplomatic relations between the Vatican and Israel.
Over the past few months, NGOs and members of various Christian denominations in Israel have begun to receive details about the draft agreement, which has been presented to them as a lapse and a failure by the Vatican, the daily said.
The people who informed Palestinian Christians and NGOs of their concerns preferred not to approach the Palestinian Authority (PA) immediately because they did not believe that PA could act on its own in this diplomatic and legal realm.
Members of the Christian community in Jerusalem and the West Bank have held a number of emergency meetings recently and have contacted the Vatican to make clear that the agreement under discussion is not merely a fiscal and a technical agreement, and that a lack of distinction between occupied territory and Israeli territory could have severe implications, Ha’aretz said.
The legal agreement, known as the ‘Legal Personality Agreement’ was signed on November 10, 1997, but never ratified by Israel, it said.
Meetings on fiscal issues, which relate to property rights, actions involving property by church bodies, and Issues of taxation and tax exemption, began in 1999 and have still not been concluded.
The parties decided to exclude a list, known as “Schedule 1″, of institutions on both sides of the Green Line from the text of that agreement, with regard to which they felt they would not be able to resolve differences soon.
Among the sites and institutions on the list are those in which ownership and possession are in dispute, such as properties that Israel has expropriated or whose owners were declared absentees and the Church wants to take possession of again, or sites that Israel has declared open to the public and the Church believes should remain in the private sphere.
A draft of the agreement, dated January 25, 2012, which Ha’aretz has said to have obtained, appears to address Israeli law in a general way, without relating to or alluding to Israel’s status as an occupying power according to international law, the report said.
The same is the case with regard to sites in East Jerusalem.
A Palestinian lawyer, who reflects the position of the Palestinian Christian denominations with regard to the agreement now being formulated, told Ha’aretz that in bilateral agreements with Israel there is a clause defining what is meant by “Israel” from which a distinction clearly emerges between the two sides of the Green Line.
The term “Israeli law” without any kind of codicil or restriction, is a dangerous precedent and implies recognition of the annexation of East Jerusalem and Israeli civil rule over areas of the West Bank (where a number of the sites on Schedule 1 are located), the lawyer was quoted as saying.
A well informed source quoted by the daily rejected the interpretation saying that the agreement contains no geographical reference to any institution it mentions and there are no negotiations underway over the status of institutions in East Jerusalem.
He said that the agreement recognises that “the Vatican has some obligations but [also] some immunities because of the special character of the Church and religion”.
A Foreign Ministry official, not familiar with the draft, said that the Vatican’s position is clear and is known to the ministry and has not changed – “The Vatican does not recognise Israeli sovereignty beyond the Green Line”.
The secretary general of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, Ekemeleddin Ihsanoglu, is said to have written a letter to Archbishop Dominque Mamberti, who is the secretary for relations with states of the Holy See.
The archbishop reportedly answered in early May that “the eventual agreement will not represent a change in the position of the Holy See”.
“The Church, with particular attention to fiscal questions, is asking the State of Israel to treat her institutions in a fair manner, wherever the State of Israel exercised its authority de facto without taking into consideration or determining whether it does so as a sovereign state or as an occupying state, thus without entering into the political aspect of the question,” Mamberti wrote.
He said that the Church remains “extraneous to all merely temporal or political conflicts…Unless the contending parties or the international institutions make concordant appeal to its mission of peace”.
The response has only increased the concerns of local Christians denominations over what they see as erosion of the Church’s position.
A number of Palestinian Christians have complained that the Church and the spiritual authority of the Vatican should have taken into consideration the special situation of Christians under Israeli occupation, and it has not done so, the report said.
As a state the Vatican is obligated to international law, and it did not take this into account in formulating the accord with Israel, they said.
The draft to be discussed over the next few days has undergone changes since January 2012, but Palestinian sources believe that these changes are not dramatic.

http://www.thestar.com/business/article/1209373--eu-plans-for-greek-exit-could-include-atm-withdrawal-limits-capital-controls

http://resources3.news.com.au/images/2011/12/12/1226219/556435-pn-slideshow-aussie-dollar.jpg


EU plans for Greek exit could include ATM withdrawal limits, capital controls

Luke Baker
Reuters

BRUSSELS—European finance officials have discussed as a worst-case scenario limiting the size of withdrawals from ATM machines, imposing border checks and introducing capital controls in at least Greece should Athens decide to leave the euro.

EU officials have told Reuters the ideas are part of a range of contingency plans. They emphasized that the discussions were merely about being prepared for any eventuality rather than planning for something they expect to happen—no one Reuters has spoken to expects Greece to leave the single currency area.

Belgium’s finance minister, Steve Vanackere, said at the end of May that it was a basic function of each euro zone member state to be prepared for problems. These discussions appear to be in that vein.

But with increased political uncertainty in Greece following the inconclusive election on May 6 and ahead of a second election on June 17, there is now an increased need to have contingencies in place, the EU sources said.

The discussions have taken place in conference calls over the past six weeks, as concerns have grown that a radical-left coalition, SYRIZA, may win the second election, increasing the risk that Greece could renege on its EU/IMF bailout and therefore move closer to abandoning the currency.

No decisions have been taken on the calls, but members of the Eurogroup Working Group, which consists of euro zone deputy finance ministers and heads of treasury departments, have discussed the options in some detail, the sources said.

As well as limiting cash withdrawals and imposing capital controls, they have discussed the possibility of suspending the Schengen agreement, which allows for visa-free travel among 26 countries, including most of the European Union.

“Contingency planning is underway for a scenario under which Greece leaves,” one of the sources, who has been involved in the conference calls, said. “Limited cash withdrawals from ATMs and limited movement of capital have been considered and analyzed.”

Another source confirmed the discussions, including that the suspension of Schengen was among the options raised.

“These are not political discussions, these are discussions among finance experts who need to be prepared for any eventuality,” the second source said. “It is sensible planning, that is all, planning for the worst-case scenario.”

The first official said it was still being examined whether there was a legal basis for such extreme measures.

“The Bank of Greece is not aware of any such plans,” a central bank spokesman in Athens told Reuters when asked about the sources’ comments.

The vast majority of Greeks—some surveys have indicated 75 to 80 percent—like the euro and want to retain the currency, something Greek politicians are aware of and which may dissuade them from pushing the country too close to the brink.

However, SYRIZA is expected to win or come a strong second on June 17. Alexis Tsipras, the party’s 37-year-old leader, has said he plans to tear up or heavily renegotiate the 130-billion-euro bailout agreed with the EU and IMF. The EU and IMF have said they are not prepared to renegotiate.

If those differences cannot be resolved, the threat of the country leaving or being forced out of the euro will remain, and hence the need for contingencies to be in place.

Switzerland said last month it was considering introducing capital controls if the euro falls apart.

In a conference call on May 21, the Eurogroup Working Group told euro zone member states that they should each have a plan in place if Greece were to leave the currency.

Belgium’s Vanackere said two days after that call that it was a basic function of each euro zone member state to be prepared for any eventuality.

“All the contingency plans (for Greece) come back to the same thing: to be responsible as a government is to foresee even what you hope to avoid,” he told reporters.

“We must insist on efforts to avoid an exit scenario but that doesn’t mean we are not preparing for eventualities.


http://www.tradearabia.com/news/CM_218897.html

Oil plunges on EU debt crisis impact
London: Tue, 12 Jun 2012

Crude oil futures fell below $98 a barrel on Tuesday, extending losses due to fears that the euro zone debt crisis will worsen and hurt the global economy, threatening growth in oil demand.

Optimism over a bailout for Spain's troubled banks faded because of concerns about the package's impact on public debt, while uncertainty surrounding elections in Greece on Sunday compounded worries the financial crisis in Europe will deepen.

European shares turned negative on Tuesday and the euro was flat, little changed at $1.2504 .

Brent crude futures slipped 76 cents to $97.33 by 0954 GMT. Earlier in the session, prices fell as low as $96.62 a barrel, close to this year's low of $95.63 struck on June 4.

US oil was down 52 cents at $82.18 a barrel after hitting a one-year low at $81.07.

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2012/06/13/246095/greeks-withdraw-money-ahead-of-key-election/

Greeks withdraw money ahead of key election

http://previous.presstv.ir/photo/20120613/jammas.hussain20120613215519687.jpg
A man makes a transaction at an ATM machine outside a bank branch in central Athens on May 24, 2012.

Greeks are withdrawing money out of the banks and stockpiling foodstuff ahead of a key parliamentary election on Sunday that many think will force the country out of the eurozone.


According to Greek bankers, some 800 million euros (1 billion dollars) were being drawn out from major banks daily, Reuters reported on Wednesday.

Retailers said people are buying pasta and canned goods in case of shortages as concerns of returning to the drachma were fueled by rumors that Alexis Tsipras, the leader of the leftist SYRIZA party, may win the election.

The latest published opinion polls show that the SYRIZA party, which opposes the 130 billion euros (160 billion dollars) bailout, is running close with the conservative New Democracy party, which backs the rescue deal.

However, some other unpublished "secret polls" suggest that SYRIZA will get a thumping victory.

On Tuesday, Tsipras said, if elected in Sunday's election, he would scrap the country’s bailout deal with the European Union and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

"The bailout deal is already in the past. It will be history for good on Monday," he declared.

Greece is the epicenter of the eurozone debt crisis and is experiencing its fifth year of recession. One in every five Greek workers is unemployed, banks are in a shaky position, and pensions and salaries have been slashed by up to 40 percent.

Latest statistics show that the Greek economy has lost 6.2 percent in the first quarter of 2012. Greece could go bankrupt by the end of June if international lenders refuse to prop the country up with the 130 billion euros bailout fund to keep it afloat and inside the eurozone.

GJH/AS/HN

Greece will be the first card to fall, then the whole deck will collapse on top of it. Goodbye capitalism, hello new sustainable economy, after a couple of decades of misery.

Are you ready for it?

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financialcrisis/9335025/Debt-crisis-nervous-world-awaits-Greek-polling-day.html

Debt crisis: nervous world awaits Greek polling day
The New Democracy party, narrowly favoured to win Sunday's Greek election, knows that the fate of the 17-member eurozone could lie in its hands.

http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/02249/tsipras_2249844b.jpg
Although the promise offers some succour to the international community, there is widespread concern that if the radical Leftist coalition Syriza triumphs it will precipitate Greece's exit from the single currency. That could endanger Spain, Italy and others, further weaken the region's hobbled banks and lead to a worldwide credit crunch, reminiscent of the 2008 crisis

By Alex Spillius, in Athens7:22PM BST 15 Jun 2012


With the world watching nervously, the party has vowed to pursue the major reform required by the country's colossal bailout agreements, while also pledging to ease deeply unpopular austerity measures.
Although the promise offers some succour to the international community, there is widespread concern that if the radical Leftist coalition Syriza triumphs it will precipitate Greece's exit from the single currency. That could endanger Spain, Italy and others, further weaken the region's hobbled banks and lead to a worldwide credit crunch, reminiscent of the 2008 crisis.
Investors in the US welcomed reports that central banks were acting to head off a deeper European debt crisis, but there was more bad news for the Greeks as Carrefour, Europe's biggest retailer, said it was pulling out of the country after making estimated losses of €40m (£32.3m) last year.
French bank Crédit Agriocole has meanwhile moved to take direct control of its Albanian, Bulgarian and Romanian units from its Greek bank Emporiki in order to minimise the impact from any Greek exit from the euro.
The finance ministry has reportedly admitted that Greece only has money left to pay salaries and pensions until late July, and state revenue is officially €666m short of a target €18.8bn for the first five months of the year.
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Without the next tranche of its €130bn bailout Greece could soon default – whoever wins that remains a possibility.
No party is likely to win outright. The final public polls, published on June 4, showed that New Democracy was leading Syriza by two percentage points.
Private polling conducted since suggests that gap has widened a touch.
That would leave New Democracy leader Antonis Samaras able to form a coalition with the fast-diminishing socialist party Pasok and a smaller grouping, the Democratic Left.
None of the parties was able to lead a government after the May 6 election.
Dimitrios Tsmocos, a senior economic aide to Mr Samaras, said a victory for Syriza and its young leader Alexis Tsipras would "transform the Greek economy into a lunar landscape".
Yet New Democracy is also seeking to end many of the harsh cuts contained in the memorandums of understanding between Greece and the European Commission, International Monetary Fund and European Central Bank, which have propelled Syriza's astonishing rise into second place from a party that polled 4pc in 2009.
"The difference is we are seeking a mutually-agreed time extension of the memorandum, not a unilateral abrogation of signed obligations," Mr Tsmocos told The Daily Telegraph.
Greece has so far performed woefully in meeting the memorandum's requirements for economic liberalisation that might have provided encouragement of a recovery.
But troika officials concentrated more on the imposition of large horizontal cuts to pensions and public sector wages, as well as tax hikes, which have helped impoverish millions.
Deepening misery and a sense of a society coming apart are palpable. The riots that scarred the capital's centre for 18 months may have abated, but soup kitchens are overrun, businesses are closing and even the once infamous traffic jams have receded.
Voluntary medical clinics are providing free life-saving drugs every day to hundreds of patients who have lost their health insurance, usually because they have exceeded a year of unemployment.
"This is a state of war, people can't get their basic needs," said Athanassios Kaproassos, an industrial designer who volunteers at the MKIE clinic in southern Athens.
"We have pensioners coming here who have 500 euros to live on and their medication is 300 a month. It is just incredible this is happening in Greece, a modern country in Europe."
Despite Germany's public unwillingness to cut the Greeks any slack, Mr Tsmocos and his party are convinced that "Europe's ears are open" to a more "pro-growth" approach.
"I think the Germans have realized that the fiscal medicine was too strong for the patient and are now reconsidering.
"The question is, is there enough time for Greece and the rest of southern Europe?" he asked.

http://www.news.com.au/business/greek-spanish-savings-flee-eurozone-crisis/story-e6frfm1i-1226397683962

Greek, Spanish savings flee eurozone crisis

http://resources1.news.com.au/images/2012/06/16/1226397/683157-germany-europe-financial-crisis.jpg

SAVERS across Europe are fleeing the continent's debt crisis.
In Europe's most economically stricken countries, people are taking their money out of their banks as a way to protect their savings from the continent's growing financial storm.

Worried that their savings could be devalued, or that banks are on the verge of collapse and that governments cannot make good on deposit insurance, people in Greece, Spain and beyond are withdrawing euros by the billions - behavior that is magnifying their countries' financial stresses. The money is being hoarded at home or deposited in banks in more stable economies.

In Greece and Spain, two of the hardest-hit by the debt crisis in the 17 countries that use the euro, savers and businesses are already pulling money out of banks. They are either worried that their money could be converted into a new currency at a much lower value or because their bank might be on the verge of collapse.

It's a steady bank "jog" at the moment than a full-bore run. But it threatens to undermine the finances of those countries' already-stressed lenders. And if it does turn into a full bank run after Greece's crucial election on Sunday, it could hasten financial disaster in Europe and help spread turmoil around the world.

Since the Greek debt crisis broke in late 2009, deposits have fallen by 30 percent cent, as savers have slowly pulled some 72 billion  Euros ($90.24 billion) from local lenders, with total household and corporate deposits standing at 165.9 billion Euros ($207.94 billion) in April, according to the latest data from the Bank of Greece.

Spanish deposits have fallen about six percent over the past year. They dipped suddenly in April by about ?3.1 billion, or 1.8 percent, to ?1.624 trillion as problems with the country's troubled banks stated to grow to alarming proportions.

This is despite the fact that deposits are guaranteed by the government up to 100,000 Euro across the Eurozone.

Spain's financial turmoil quickly worsened in late May, when the country's second-largest lender announced it needed capital of 19 billion  Euros to stay afloat. Bankia denied reports of a rush by its customers to withdraw but the bailout scared Spaniards who assumed their money was safe.

Bankia client Rosa Monsivais panicked and decided she had to move her savings from Bankia to one she thought would be safer. She chose a foreign bank with Spanish operations, the Dutch owned ING bank.

It took longer than she thought, leading to anxious days until she knew her money was in her new account.

"It scared me a little. I took all my money out and put it in ING," Ms Monsivais, a 41-year-old graphic artist, who would not say how much money she moved said. "But it took a full week to do this kind of transaction, I was reading the newspaper each day and it worried me."

The money across Europe is headed different places. Some has simply been withdrawn and spent out of urgent need as people lose their jobs due to recessions. Some is winding up in bank accounts or invested in countries that are more stable such as Germany. The rest is being invested in property or bonds being issued by other eurozone countries.

In the UK, the eurozone crisis was seen as one factor pushing up central London house price, according to Knight Frank, a real estate agency dealing in high-end property.

"While it looks very much that the surge in Greek buyers has fallen off sharply since the beginning of the year - those who had the funds to buy have done so - we are now seeing a noticeable uptick in interest from France, Italy, Spain and even German-based purchasers looking at the prime London market," the company said in its Prime Central London Index report.

Meanwhile, some money appears to be simply hoarded at home, despite the risk of theft. Last month, police in Athens arrested a gang that specialised in breaking into basement storage spaces under apartment blocks, netting a rich haul in stashed cash and valuables.

"What the average Greek has in mind is to secure the euros they currently hold," Theodore Krintas, managing director at Attica Wealth Management said. "That has been going on for a long time, and will continue as long as the uncertainty increases concerning Greece's position in the near future in the eurozone and the European Union."

Tomorrow's vote could determine whether Greece stays in the euro or leaves in chaos. Since 2010, Greece has been dependent on two bailouts totalling 240 billion Euro in loans to pay its bills. In return, the government had to promise to make deep spending cuts to lower its deficit. That has helped put the country in a deep recession. Leading political figures have called for renegotiating or rejecting the bailout deal, which could lead to a payment cutoff from mistrustful eurozone governments and the IMF.

A bailout cutoff could lead to a complete collapse of government finances. And a euro exit so the country will have to print its own money to pay bills or recapitalize banks.

A large-scale bank run in Greece could further wreck government finances and push the country closer to leaving the euro. The country could either quit the single currency in order to introduce a devalued currency that would improve its economic competitiveness, or because it has no choice but to print its own currency to recapitalise banks or pay government salaries.

So far it's been a trickle rather than a flood in Greece, underlining its slow-motion nature. Many people have kept their deposits because they don't believe Greece will leave the euro.

It's not just in the financially troubled countries that savers are worried. Wealthy Germans are concerned that inflation will surge if Europe's central bank has to step in and spend huge amounts of money propping up the single currency. So they are putting more money into their own country's high-end real-estate in hopes their investment will keep its value.

Well-heeled Spaniards have been moving money to Switzerland and the U.S. for months amid mounting worries about Spain and the safety of the eurozone, said Bruce Goslin, managing director for Europe, the Middle East and Africa for K2 Intelligence consulting group.

"We're not money managers but we deal a lot with clients who are looking for intelligence," Mr Goslin said. "As we are circulating and talking to people, some things are becoming clear. Everyone says 'There is nothing going on in Spain, the economy is contracting so fast we're going to have to go out of Spain.'"

Spain's banking problems come from the collapse of a real estate boom. Banks that made reckless loans are not being paid back and are seeing the value of the properties they invested in tumbling. This is making the country's banking system increasingly financially insecure - heightening savers' fears that their money is not safe.

Fernando Encinar, head of research at real estate website Idealista.com, said some wealthy people who didn't have money to buy during the boom were now taking advantage of prices that have fallen 26 percent in four years, he said.

"Someone who has 200,000 Euro in the bank is looking for property to buy because they prefer property than having it in the bank," he said. "This was happening before Bankia but Bankia and all the trouble in Spain has accelerated it."

Many Spaniards can't move money abroad because times are so tough, Vincent Forest at the Economist Intelligence Unit. said With unemployment now at nearly 25 per cent, Spaniards with jobs and savings are increasingly helping out less fortunate relatives.

"Most Spaniards have huge savings, but they have someone in the family who needs money and isn't earning anything. They won't just say I've got a few thousand euros and I will put it in Germany: They can't," Mr Forest said.

Many Italians - some of Europe's most devoted savers - are also moving money. They are worried that their government will be the next to fall victim to the crisis through its heavy debt load. That's even though Italy's banks, government finances and economy are in better shape than Spain's.

Some 60,000 to 70,000 small investors have bought property abroad, mostly in Germany but also on the Spanish islands, in the last three months, for a total investment of 400 million Euro on an annual basis, Paolo Righi, president of the Italian Federation of Real Estate Professionals said. "They are looking for certain investments," Mr Righi said.

Ruth Stirati, who runs a business helping Italians buy property in Berlin, said she gets about 10 emails a day asking about properties.

"Over the last two or three weeks, there has been a new panic," she said. "They have a thousand fears: That the banks won't have money, that the euro will fail. It is without substance, their doubts. But they worry there will be one strong euro in Germany, and one that is weak.'

Wealthy Germans aren't worried about seeing their money disappear due to collapsing banks but they are concerned that their savings will be eaten away through inflation. As a result, they are putting money into real estate - at home.

Even though inflation currently is moderate at 2.2 percent in May, there has been a lot of talk about the risk of rising prices in Germany's media. There is speculation that inflation could jump if the European Central Bank has to take drastic measures to keep the eurozone from breaking up - such as printing large amounts of money to buy government bonds and cover bankrupt governments' financing needs.

The current EU treaty bars that. But that hasn't stopped German newspaper headlines warning about possible inflation to come.

http://www.news.com.au/business/world-bank-warns-europe-risks-meltdown/story-e6frfm1i-1226397826699

World Bank warns Europe risks meltdown

it_is_the_light wrote on Jun 17^th, 2012 at 11:26pm:

http://www.news.com.au/business/world-bank-warns-europe-risks-meltdown/story-e6frfm1i-1226397826699 World Bank warns Europe risks meltdown

There is no risk about it and it is not just Europe!

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2012/06/20/247181/greeks-queue-for-food-handouts/

Starving Greeks queue for food handouts amid economic crisis

http://previous.presstv.ir/photo/20120620/rahimi20120620174958263.jpg

It's that time again. Ben Bernanke must decide whether to put some fresh new money into the economy or to hold off, this will be quantitative easing number3.

The trouble seems to be that they get through the money fairly quickly, it never seems to stimulate  like it's supposed to and next thing you know they're doing it all over again.
............................................................

Bernanke Playing Markets Like A Fiddle: Extend The Twist, Save QE3

Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke made it clear that a third round of quantitative easing remains on the table, and that his main concern will be labor markets going forward.  The Chairman recognized the risk posed by the European sovereign debt crisis, rejecting any possibility that Fed will step in to buy sovereign bonds, while telling reporters that he is in constant communication with ECB chief Mario Draghi.  Bernanke also asked Congress for a little help jump-starting the economy, and told them to solve the so-called fiscal cliff problem before it gets worse.

“I wouldn’t accept the proposition that the Fed has no more ammunition,” he said, later adding “at this point we still have considerable scope to do more and we are prepared to do more.”

http://www.forbes.com/sites/afontevecchia/2012/06/20/bernanke-playing-markets-like-a-fiddle-extend-the-twist-save-qe3/

http://www.news.com.au/world/new-greek-pm-finance-minister-in-hospital/story-e6frfkyi-1226406386624

New Greek PM, finance minister in hospital

http://resources2.news.com.au/images/2012/06/23/1226406/390338-greek-pm.jpg

GREECE'S new Prime Minister and Finance Minister were both in hospitals today, being treated for different ailments less than three days after a government was formed in the crisis-struck country.
Prime Minister Antonis Samaras, 61, was undergoing eye surgery to repair the early stages of a detached retina discovered during what his office said was a routine eye test yesterday. The surgery was expected to last an hour, and a hospital announcement on his condition was to be issued at about midday.
Although Samaras returned to his office yesterday afternoon after his eye check, a meeting of his conservative party's newly elected deputies that had been planned for last night was canceled.
Finance Minister Vassilis Rapanos, 65, remained in a private clinic after being rushed to hospital yesterday suffering from intense abdominal pain, nausea, dizziness, sweating and weakness. The cause of his symptoms was not immediately clear, and he was undergoing tests.
Mr Rapanos, who was named to the post on Thursday, has not been sworn in to office yet. His swearing in ceremony had been scheduled for Friday evening, but was postponed due to his illness.
The hospital said on Friday that his condition had stabilized but that he would remain there for further tests. It was unclear how long he would need to be hospitalized.
Samaras was sworn in as Greece's fourth prime minister in eight months Wednesday, ending a protracted political crisis that had raised fears of Greece being forced to leave the eurozone and spreading the financial crisis across Europe.
His New Democracy party came first in June 17 elections, but without enough votes to form a government on its own. After three days of negotiations, he formed a coalition government with long-time socialist PASOK party rivals, and the small Democratic Left party.
The Government has pledged to keep Greece within Europe's joint currency and broadly stick to the terms of its international bailout from other European countries and the International Monetary Fund. But it has said it will seek to renegotiate some of the conditions of its rescue loans.
Greece has been dependent on billions of euros of rescue loans since May 2010, after it became locked out of the international borrowing market by sky-high interest rates following years of profligate spending and poor fiscal management.
In return, it imposed harsh austerity measures, including slashing spending on everything from healthcare to education, cutting salaries and pensions and repeatedly raising taxes.
But it has still struggled to meet its fiscal targets, and the measures have plunged the country into a deep recession, now in its fifth year, and have sent unemployment soaring to above 22 per cent.
Mr Samaras faces his first test to his pledges to renegotiate some of the bailout terms next week, when he is due to go to Brussels for a European Union summit on June 28-29.

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2012/06/27/248180/us-city-to-file-for-bankruptcy-soon/

Stockton to become largest US city to declare bankruptcy

http://previous.presstv.ir/photo/20120627/Baqeri_d20120627051335920.jpg

The city of Stockton in the US state of California is set to become the largest American city ever to declare bankruptcy as the financial troubles of the US deepen.


A formal bankruptcy filing may come as early as Wednesday following the failure of negotiations between Stockton's officials and creditors.

The northern Californian city, which has more than USD 700 million in debt, was ranked as America's most miserable town in 2010.

The river port city of 300,000 has suffered a plunge in revenues with the collapse of its housing market.

The city has over USD 300 million in outstanding debt, plus USD 450 million in health insurance and pension liabilities for city pensioners. Stockton's financial woes have been blamed on the 2009 US housing market crash.

In October 2011, a court rejected the filing of bankruptcy by Harrisburg, a city of nearly 50,000, due to the fact that a state law prohibited municipalities of a certain size from seeking legal protection from creditors.

DB/GHN/HJL

http://www.infowars.com/ecb-banksters-introduce-new-concept-negative-interest-rates/

ECB Banksters Introduce New Concept: Negative Interest Rates

Kurt Nimmo
Infowars.com
June 27, 2012
It’s a sure sign fractional reserve banking is on the rocks. It looks like European Central Bank President Mario Draghi will cut ECB interest rates below zero.
In other words, instead of realizing a return by holding money in a bank – albeit at a miniscule 0.25% as the Fed currently does – the ECB will charge institutional customers to use their money.
Go figure.
But here’s the logic, according to Bloomberg:
If the deposit rate was cut to zero or lower, it would discourage banks from parking excess liquidity with the ECB overnight, potentially prompting them to lend the cash instead. Almost 800 billion euros ($1 trillion) is being deposited with the ECB each day.
On the other hand, a deposit rate cut could hurt banks’ profitability by lowering money-market rates, potentially hampering credit supply to companies and households and reducing banks’ incentive to lend to other financial institutions.
In fact, the blood sucking vampire squid – otherwise known as Goldman Sachs – admits this scheme is nothing more than smoke and mirrors designed to boost short term confidence. “By demonstrating its willingness to play a part in sustaining the euro, the ECB may hope to boost confidence in the current fragile environment,” Goldman explains.
“Nothing like the smell of desperation in the morning,” remarks SilverDoctors.com.
Or something worse – a big flat red flag indicating that the bond market is dead in the water and the global economy is headed for uncharted territory.
Back in August of 2011, the usually prescient Zero Hedge made the following comment when the Bank of New York announced it would charge institutional clients to hold their money:
This is nothing short of outright terrorism to get everyone out of cash and into fiat-based ponzi products. Such as Short Term Bills. Indeed, as was reported earlier the 3 Month bill just hit zero. But you ain’t seen nothing yet. As Credit Suisse strategist Ira Jersey reports, courtesy of Bloomberg,  “If this is true then we’re likely to see short-end interest rates actually go negative. By what degree depends on who else follows and how much money is involved.” Cue unpredictable consequences of a totally broken bond market. What happens next will likely make the market dislocations following Lehman like a breezy walk in the park.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mDwcrFzZnOY&feature=g-u-u

JP Morgan's 9 Billion Trading Loss

http://www.news.com.au/business/companies/britains-banks-caught-in-a-storm-of-scandal/story-fnda1bsz-1226412840252

Britain's banks caught in a storm of scandal

BRITAIN'S major banks, including HSBC and Barclays, were ordered on Friday to pay up for misleading businesses over interest rate insurance, in a second blow to the image of the City.
The regulator said that the culprits were guilty of "serious failings", and in a broader attack Bank of England governor Mervyn King told the British banking sector to wake up to a need for a "real change in culture".
His comments came after the Financial Services Authority (FSA) said it had reached agreement with Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds and Royal Bank of Scotland "to provide appropriate redress" for mis-selling interest rate hedging products.
The targeted banks issued statements stating that the compensation due would have little impact on earnings.
Far worse for Barclays, which has seen its shares hammered this week, was expected to be the fallout from record fines imposed on the bank for rigging interest rates.
Also this week, a severe IT meltdown at bailed-out Royal Bank of Scotland left millions of customers unable to complete transactions.
"We can see we need a real change in the culture of the (banking) industry. And that will require two things. One is leadership of an unusually high order and changes to the structure of the industry," BoE Governor King told a press conference.
Earlier, the FSA said in a statement that it had "found serious failings in the sale of interest rate hedging products to some small and medium-sized businesses."
It added: "We believe that this has resulted in a severe impact on a large number of these businesses.
"In order to provide as swift a solution to this problem as possible we have today confirmed that we have reached agreement with Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds and RBS to provide appropriate redress where mis-selling has occurred."
It was a second major blow for Barclays in just a few days, with the bank on Friday remaining under intense pressure over being fined for rigging interest rates that affect businesses worldwide.
Shares in Barclays plunged by as much as 17 percent on Thursday, wiping billions of pounds from its value, as Prime Minister David Cameron and finance minister George Osborne said the bank had "serious questions" to answer.
So far Barclays has ignored calls for chief executive Bob Diamond to resign ahead of an appearance by the US national before British deputies likely next week to explain the inter-bank rates rigging scandal.
British and US authorities on Wednesday said they had fined Barclays a total $US452 million ($456 million) amid probes into suspected manipulation by several banks of key markets for Libor and Euribor interest rates.
Barclays is the first major financial institution to settle with regulators following investigations on both sides of the Atlantic.
The rates concerned play a big role in international financial markets, and are linked to the level of borrowing costs passed on by banks to businesses and consumers for products such as mortgage loans.
Anticipating a backlash over the rates rigging fines, Diamond and other senior executives at Barclays said they would forego their annual bonuses due for their work in 2012.
Ed Miliband -- leader of Britain's main opposition Labour party -- has meanwhile called for a criminal investigation into the affair.
"With law suits and criminal charges likely, and other banks set to agree settlements in the coming months, this issue is not going away soon," said Rebecca O'Keeffe, Head of investment at Interactive Investor.
"Barclays has a long way to go to reassure its customers and investors that its culture has changed," she added in a note to clients on Friday.
The rates rigging scandal is another massive blow to Britain's embattled banking sector after huge bailouts in the wake of the financial crisis -- and as lenders continue to massively compensate clients for mis-selling insurance.

Corrupt banks, who'd have thought it lol

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1KnJbBJTE0

CNBC Admits We're All Slaves To ROTHSCHILD CENTRAL BANKERS GLOBAL GOVERNMENT

Published on Jun 23, 2012 by TNSONSOFLIBERTY


4 sec: "Do we all work for Central Bankers? Is this Global Governance at last? Is it One World.. with the Central Bankers in charge?"

1 min: "To answer your question: We are absolutely slave to Central Banks"

1 min 16sec: "Markets are driven by policy now, they're not driven by market forces"

1 min 26 sec: "Fiat currency thats continually watered down.. so the markets go up and we feel good about it"

2min 25 sec: "We are basically beholden to Central Bankers"

2min 30sec: "..admits (Federal Reserve) are debasing currency and borrowing our way to false prosperity"

2min 48sec: "Every Central Bank in the world has to devalue their currency"

3min 28sec: "Free markets will fight back and ultimately they'll win"
Category:
Education

http://www.infowars.com/cnbc-admits-were-all-slaves-to-a-global-government-run-by-bankers/

CNBC Admits We’re All Slaves to a Global Government Run by Bankers

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pRNkmDqTTxg&feature=g-u-u

http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/news/ftse-consolidates-previous-sessions-leap-084026657--finance.html

FTSE dragged down by banks on LIBOR scandal

LONDON (Reuters) - Banking shares dragged FTSE 100 into the red on Thursday, battered by concerns over the financial impact of an investigation into the fixing of interbank lending rates which has already engulfed Barclays .
Barclays slumped 15.5 percent in its worst daily fall since 2009, with four times the usual number of shares traded.
The LIBOR affair already is costing the bank a record $453 million (292 million pounds) in fines and - more worryingly for investors - has raised the spectre of CEO Bob Diamond being forced out.
Other banks also sold off sharply, with RBS and HSBC also under investigation.
"The honest truth is that you have absolutely no clue on what the impact from litigation will be ... and that is bad for the stock because it will create more volatility for a very long time," said Chirantan Barua, UK banks analyst at Sanford Bernstein, adding that the possibility of Diamond's departure was also a big negative due to a lack of good replacement.
"There is too much volatility so what I am advising clients is to lay up on the side and watch this out for the next few days."
Sandy Chen, analyst at Cenkos, forecast "multi-year provisions that could run into the billions" for the sector.
RBS - where the public fallout could be much greater as it is owned by the taxpayers - fell 11.5 percent.
Banks as a whole slashed 29 points off the FTSE 100 <.FTSE>. The benchmark blue-chip index closed down 0.6 percent, or 30.86 points, at 5,493.06.
The LIBOR jitters added to already negative sentiment in the financial sector as a result of its exposure to the crisis-hit euro zone and its bonds.
Hopes of big new measures to ease the strains were low as a two-day meeting of European leaders kicked off on Thursday, with Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel showing no sign of relenting in her refusal to back other countries' debts.
"People are right to be cautious that you can't fix all of the problems of the euro zone with a two day summit so I don't expect any magic wand solutions," said John Haynes, head of research at Investec Wealth & Investment.
"If the euro falls apart, it's our biggest trading partner, so we won't be able to get out of the way of that."
UK data offered little cheer to investors concerned about the health of the economy, with a downward revision to fourth quarter gross domestic product (GDP) and with housing prices shrinking at their fastest annual pace in almost three years in June.
The real estate sector fell 1.3 percent <.FTUB8600>. Defensive companies such as utilities and drug makers - whose goods are needed even in tough times - outperformed.
Longer term, though, investors do see value in UK stocks: a Reuters poll of more than 40 market participants showed the FTSE gaining around 6 percent in coming months to end the year at 5,800.
"Institutions appear to be reserving their cash and at some point - needs must - they will have to invest it," said Max Bascombe, institutional salesman at Merchant Securities.
(Reporting By Toni Vorobyova; Editing by Michael Roddy)

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/07/02/barclays-libor-watchdogs-idUSL6E8I2H2I20120702

UPDATE 1-UK watchdog and BoE may have missed Libor red flags

NEW YORK/LONDON, July 2 (Reuters) - Officials from the Bank of England and Britain's financial watchdog missed several opportunities to investigate how banks set the London interbank offered rate, now the subject of a scandal that has forced the resignation of the chairman of Barclays, according to U.S. and UK government records.

British regulators or the association charged with overseeing Libor were told at least five times since 2007 that fault lines existed in the way the rate was set.

Critical questions were raised in 2007 when in the autumn eight Bank of England officials, including Paul Tucker, now deputy governor, held a regular money market committee meeting with an official from the Financial Services Authority (FSA) as well as executives from the world's biggest banks.

As usual, an official from the British Bankers' Association (BBA), charged with the oversight of Libor, was also present.

Minutes of the meeting reveal attendees discussed the fact that Libor rates were lower than actual bank-borrowing rates. The minutes noted that, "Libor indices needed to be of the highest quality given their important role as a benchmark."

Now, nearly five years later, the same problem raised in that meeting -- and other meetings or phone conversations involving UK and U.S. financial regulators -- are at the heart of investigations that led last week to a $453 million fine against Barclays for playing a role in rigging the global rate that underpins trillions of dollars of derivatives and loans.

More than a dozen other banks are being investigated in the long-running global probe by authorities in North America, Europe and Japan, including Citigroup, HSBC, UBS and Royal Bank of Scotland.

Analysts and bankers expect more big fines.

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/wall-street-journal/uk-banks-probe-scope-widens/story-fnay3ubk-1226419711713

UK banks probe scope widens
BY: CASSELL BRYAN-LOW AND DAVID ENRICH From: The Wall Street Journal July 07, 2012 11:33AM


INVESTIGATIONS of interest-rate manipulation have broadened as Britain's top fraud prosecutor said it had formally launched an investigation, opening the potential for criminal charges against individuals.

The move is the latest fallout from Barclays $453 million settlement with US and UK regulators over its manipulation of a key interbank lending rate called the London interbank offered rate, or Libor.

The Barclays settlement, the first of what is expected to be several involving global banks, has created a political firestorm in the UK and led this week to the resignation of Barclays chief executive Robert Diamond, chairman Marcus Agius and chief operating officer Jerry del Missier.

The UK's Serious Fraud Office, known as the SFO, said yesterday that its director, David Green, had "decided to accept the Libor matter for investigation."

A person familiar with the investigation said the probe isn't limited to Barclays.

hat probe comes as other authorities around the world pursue criminal investigations, including those in the US and Canada, into a range of potential violations related to how Libor is set.

On Tuesday, Barclays delivered to a UK parliamentary committee its summary of the events and investigation into the company's submission of interbank offered rates.

These are in addition to probes by financial regulators in countries that include the U.S., U.K. and Japan, as well as by the European Commission.

No individuals have been charged with wrongdoing.

The SFO has said it is working with authorities in other jurisdictions conducting Libor-related investigations.

Mr Green has been in his job just over a month, taking over an agency with a spotty history of prosecutions and, lately, budget difficulties. A former criminal lawyer, he previously headed prosecutions at the UK's revenue and customs agency.

Among challenges he faces is a much-depleted budget. The SFO's budget has seen a planned cut of nearly 40 per cent  over a five-year period, to about £32 million (about $50 million) for the fiscal year that ends in April 2014, from more than £50 million in 2009.

UK Treasury Minister Danny Alexander welcomed the SFO's probe said the government was "committed to making sure they have all the resources that they need to carry this investigation absolutely to the full".

It isn't unheard of for the SFO to request additional resources from the government to fund a big investigation.

The Libor scandal has become a huge political story in the UK, tapping into a public distrust of bankers that has intensified with a taxpayer bailout of several large banks during the 2008 financial crisis.

Regulators said Baclays traders profited by influencing the bank's submissions to a panel that sets the key interest rate, used to determine terms of loans and other financial contracts around the world.

British politicians voted on Thursday for a parliamentary committee to probe the rigging of the interbank rate across the banking sector.

During a parliamentary committee hearing about Barclays on Wednesday, the panel asked Mr. Diamond whether he was under any civil or criminal investigations by US or UK authorities. "Not that I know of," Mr Diamond replied.

Mr. Diamond couldn't be reached for comment yesterday.

The various inquiries have prompted some midlevel bank executives to hire their own criminal defense lawyers, according to lawyers who have been retained.

The SFO's track record of high-profile prosecutions is patchy, legal specialists say. Last month, it dropped an investigation into well-known property developer Vincent Tchenguiz as part of a long-running probe into the collapse of Iceland's Kaupthing Bank in 2008. His brother Robert Tchenguiz remains a suspect in the ongoing investigation.

The agency suffered a major black eye in 2006 when it dropped its highest-ever profile probe, an investigation into whether defense contractor BAE Systemsmade illegal payments to Saudi Arabian officials in relation to a big fighter-jet deal. The SFO dropped it following pressure from then-prime minister Tony Blair, who had been lobbied by Saudi officials. Mr Blair cited national security grounds but the moved sparked a political uproar.

In 2010, BAE reached settlements totaling more than $400 million with the US Justice Department and the SFO in an offshoot of the scotched 2006 probe.

The SFO has successfully prosecuted bank executives in the past. In 1997, it secured criminal convictions against several executives of Bank of Credit and Commerce International and a shipping magnate following a fraudulent scheme that led to the bank's collapse.

http://www.infowars.com/the-biggest-financial-scandal-in-history/

The Biggest Financial Scandal In History?

http://www.letthemknowuk.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/166.jpg

Michael Snyder
The Economic Collapse
Friday, July 6, 2012
We always knew that the financial markets were rigged, but this is getting ridiculous.  It is now being alleged that 20 major banks have been systematically fixing global interest rates for years.  Barclays has already been fined hundreds of millions of dollars for manipulating Libor (the London Inter Bank Offered Rate).

But Barclays says that a whole bunch of other banks were doing this too.  This is shaping up to be the biggest financial scandal in history, and criminal investigations have been launched on both sides of the Atlantic.  What those investigations are likely to uncover could shake the financial markets to their very core.  In the end, this scandal could absolutely devastate confidence in the global financial system and it could potentially bring down a number of major global banks.  We have never seen anything quite like this before.
What Is Libor?
As mentioned before, Libor is the London Inter Bank Offered Rate.  A recentWashington Post article contained a pretty good explanation of what that means….
In the simplest terms, LIBOR is the average interest rate which banks in London are charging each other for borrowing. It’s calculated by Thomson Reuters — the parent company of the Reuters news agency — for the British Banking Association (BBA), a trade association of banks and financial services companies.
Why Does Libor Matter?
If you have a mortgage, a car loan or a credit card, then there is a very good chance that Libor has affected your personal finances.  Libor has been a factor in the pricing of hundreds of trillions of dollars of loans, securities and assets.  The following is from a recent article by Maureen Farrell….
These traders influenced the pricing of the London Interbank Offered Rate or Libor, a benchmark that dictates the pricing of up to $800 trillion of securities (yes trillion)
$800 trillion?





That is a number that is hard to even imagine.
Most American consumers do not even know what Libor is, but it actually plays a key role in the U.S. economy as the Washington Post recently explained….
In the United States, the two biggest indices for adjustable rate mortgages and other consumer debt are the prime rate (that is, the rate banks charge favored or “prime” consumers) and LIBOR, with the latter particularly popular for subprime loans. A study from Mark Schweitzer and Guhan Venkatu at the Cleveland Fed looked at survey data in Ohio and found that by 2008, almost 60 percent of prime adjustable rate mortgages, and nearly 100 percent of subprime ones, were indexed to LIBOR
Who Was Involved In This Scandal?
According to the Daily Mail, in addition to Barclays it is being alleged that at least 20 banks (including some major U.S. banks) were involved in this interest rate fixing scandal….
Hundreds of bankers across three continents are embroiled in the interest-rate fixing scandal that has left Barclays chief executive Bob Diamond fighting to save his job.
As pressure intensified on Britain’s highest paid banking boss to quit, MPs heard a string of other financial institutions across the world were under investigation.
At least 20 banks are believed to be under suspicion, with growing demands for a criminal investigation.
There are also indications that the Bank of England itself may have been involved in this scandal.
What Did They Do?
Employees at Barclays (and apparently at about 20 other major banks) were brazenly manipulating interest rates.  A recentYahoo Finance article described how this worked…
To help the bank’s trading positions between 2005 and 2009, and most notably during the global financial crisis of 2007-09, the bank made false submissions to the Libor-setting committee, which agrees rates daily in London.
At the request of its own traders of interest-rate derivatives, Barclays made false submissions relating to Libor and Euribor (the eurozone benchmark rate). By doing this, Barclays personnel aimed to help their trading colleagues to profit by manipulating Libor.
Rigging the world’s leading benchmark for interest rates is pretty serious stuff. Indeed, in the words of the FSA, “Barclays’ behaviour threatened the integrity of the rates, with the risk of serious harm to other market participants”.
Many in the financial world have been absolutely horrified by the details of this scandal that have been emerging.
One recent CNN article declared that “the stench” coming from London is now “overwhelming”….
The Libor scandal has confirmed what many of us have known for some time: There is something smelly in the London financial world and the stench is now overwhelming.
But It is only when I read the Financial Services Authority report — all 44 pages of it — that is became clear just how widespread, how blatant was the fixing of the benchmark interest rate Libor and Euribor by Barclays. Brazen is the only word for it.
The emails and phone calls reveal that on dozens of occasions those who stood to gain by the decisions asked for favors (and got them) from those who helped set the interest rates.
You can read many examples of the kinds of emails that were exchanged between traders in New York and traders at Barclays in London right here.
What Does This Scandal Mean For The Future?
This scandal is making the global financial system look really, really bad.  Confidence in global financial markets has already been declining, and these new revelations are not going to help at all.  The following is how an article in the Huffington Post put it….
The ballooning interest rate manipulation scandal at Barclays, coupled with stock market instability, is likely to fuel fresh doubts about the integrity of the stock market, insiders said.
“Every time people begin to gain a little confidence, something else comes up,” said Randy Frederick, managing director of active trading and derivatives at Charles Schwab. “If it’s not Europe, it’s [troubled] IPOs, or JPMorgan or Barclays. Something new blows up and people say, ‘I knew it was rigged.’”
In addition, we are undoubtedly going to see a huge wave of lawsuits come out of this scandal.  Those lawsuits alone will gum up the financial system for a decade or more.
So needless to say, this is a very big deal.
Sadly, the revelations that have come out about Barclays in recent days are probably just the very tip of the iceberg.  Before this is all over, we are probably going to find out that most of the major global banks were involved.
At a time when the global financial system is already on the verge of a major implosion, this is not welcome news.
This financial scandal is just another reason to be deeply concerned about the second half of 2012.  The house of cards is starting to look really shaky, and nobody knows exactly when it will fall, but anyone with half a brain can see that things are progressively getting worse.
A “perfect storm” is rapidly developing, and when it strikes it is going to be very, very painful.

http://www.infowars.com/the-27500000000000-question/

The $27,500,000,000,000 Question

planet.infowars.com
July 9, 2012

http://www.kankolenski.com/wanta.jpg

Enough cash to pay off the national debt in 1 fell swoop, wouldn’t it be nice to find it just laying around? With the latest string of publicized government investments; GM, Solyndra, Zombie Banks, and “Green Energy” in general wouldn’t it be nice to find out they’ve actually made some good ones with our money? And even better, those investments having been made in an effort to collapse the Soviet Empire? Of course it would! Wouldn’t you guess if that were possible the same old institutions and players are actively suppressing and obstructing this money, attempting to steal it, and even just plain saying no our Government/People do not want the money?
Leo Wanta; Ambassador, Master Engraver, Intelligence Agency Treasury Agent, and Entrepreneur; a little heard of Patriot involved in 1 of the biggest financial scandals in history. Leo Wanta worked with several intelligence agencies during the Reagan Administration to undermine the Soviet Union through financial warfare. Leo Want was given a $150,000,000,000 initial investment by the US Government for this, The plan, Operation Stillpoint, was carried out under Executive Order 12333 (EO12333, UNITED STATES FOREIGN INTELLIGENCE ACTIVITIES -authorizes the establishment of Title 18 Section 6 corporations domestically and offshore. Title 18 Section 6 corporations can be owned by the U.S. government, or not, and can be run by intelligence operatives who may legally disguise their intelligence agency affiliations and can deny they exist). Many believe this Operation led to the end of the Cold War. The goal was to undermine the Soviet Economy by flooding the market with Rubles. The plan was to purchase Rubles in “above-normal” quantities through Wanta’s several 18/6 corporations for far below the standard exchange rates. During live interviews in 2006 Wanta described these purchases as being “from 18 to 23 cents on the dollar”; they would then sell the Rubles at higher rates converting them to Yen or other currencies and then they would repeat the process over and over again; and they would continue to do so until Soviet banks could no longer keep up with the pressure crashing the currency. This plan was and still is legal and the purchase of “discounted Rubles” enabled him to amass profits along with put options placed on the falling of the Soviet Currency. According to Ambassador Wanta the profits are held in offshore accounts, he mentions “the accounts were distributed throughout secret offshore accounts and had doubled in value every 2 years” Wanta’s 18/6 corporations have amassed a sum worth of $27,500,000,000,000 (Yes, that is $27.5 TRILLION). Wanta emphasizes that the initial investment has been paid back to the Treasury, and it was within 6 months. The yields of these investments were ordered by President Reagan to go back to the US Treasury, Reagan wanted this money available for the US people to be able to buy themselves out of problems that should arise from the bankers and money powers that planned to lead the country into economic chaos.
Read the rest at Planet Infowars

http://in.reuters.com/article/2012/07/13/us-markets-forex-idINBRE83Q0O120120713

Italy downgrade keeps euro pinned near 2-year lows



(Reuters) - The euro slipped towards two-year lows on Friday after a Moody's downgrade on Italy that added to an already bearish stance on the single currency, while commodity currencies rose on growth figures from China that met expectations.

The euro fell to $1.2190, not far from a two-year trough of $1.2166 hit on trading platform EBS the previous day and on track for its second straight week of losses. It fell to $1.2181 in the Asian session after Moody's cut Italy's credit rating by two notches.

Moody's warned it could further cut the new Baa2 rating, which stands just two notches above junk, if Italy's access to debt markets dried up. <ID:L3E8IC48F>

The timing of the downgrade was particularly bad, coming hours before Italy heads to the debt market to raise 5.25 billion euros in bonds with maturities of up to 11 years. A huge jump in yields could exert pressure on the euro as it would fuel the risk of debt contagion in the euro zone.

"The Italian downgrade means demand from international investors for the bonds on auction today will suffer," said Beat Siegenthaler, currency strategist at UBS.

"While there is a risk of a short squeeze that could push the euro higher, we expect more selling into a bounce. We also expect the ECB to lower rates and launch unconventional measures in coming months, all of which will keep the euro under pressure."

Near-term support for the euro is expected around $1.2151, the June 29, 2010 low, with another support level around $1.1876 a low struck on June 7, 2010.

There was some talk of an option barrier in the euro at $1.2150. That suggests options players would bid for the euro if it drops close to that level, offering the single currency some support.

The euro has lost 5.7 percent so far this year, already exceeding the losses it chalked up in 2011, with losses accelerating after last week's deposit and refinance rate cuts by the European Central Bank (ECB).

The unprecedented cut to zero in the deposit rate means banks will earn nothing for parking excess funds with the ECB, and it will encourage investors to sell the low-yielding euro and buy higher-yielding riskier currencies.

Traders expect 800 billion euros that banks used to park with the ECB would start leaving the euro zone in the hunt for better yields.

Analysts said the deposit rate cut also meant the euro had become the funding currency of choice for higher-yielding assets. This left the euro vulnerable in times of both improving and deteriorating market sentiment.

CHINESE GROWTH

While the euro hovered near two-year lows against the dollar, the Australian dollar rose 0.3 percent to $1.0169, boosted by data showing that China's economy grew 7.6 percent in the second quarter from a year earlier.

China's economic health is always a key driver for Australia because the Asian powerhouse is Australia's single largest export market.

Though the lowest reading in three years, it was exactly in line with expectations and came as a relief to investors, who had been worried about the risks of a weaker result especially at a time when activity in the U.S. and Europe is slowing.

"I don't think there is much need to worry about China, which is a country that can afford to implement fiscal measures quickly," said Daisuke Karakama, market economist for Mizuho Corporate Bank in Tokyo.

"I think a soft landing would be the most reasonable expectation about the outlook."

The safe-haven dollar held near a two-year peak hit against a basket of major currencies the previous day. The dollar index stood at 83.640 .DXY, having climbed to 83.829 on Thursday, the highest level since July 2010.

Against the yen, the dollar held steady at 79.28 yen.

http://www.infowars.com/bailed-out-behemoth-hsbc-to-apologize-at-hearing-for-terrorist-money-laundering/

Bailed-Out Behemoth HSBC To Apologize At Hearing For Terrorist Money Laundering

Daily Bail
July 12, 2012
Anyone remember how many billions, HSBC, Europe’s largest beggar bank, borrowed secretly from The Bernank at 0% during 2008-2009…?
Or as an AIG counterparty via Goldman Sachs… $3.5 billion.
This is nothing new for HSBC, which has a sordid history in money-laundering, or global banking in general, which relies on hundreds of billions in illicit accounts as a regular and sometimes requisite (think crisis of 2008) staple of business.
Here are a couple of reminders:
Wells Fargo (via Wachovia) and BofA were busted 2 years ago
Mexican Drug Cartel Laundered Millions Via Bank Of America Into U.S. Horse Racing
Bloomberg
HSBC will apologize at a July 17 U.S. Senate hearing for anti-money laundering controls that weren’t effective enough, according to an internal memo obtained by Bloomberg News.
“We failed to spot and deal with unacceptable behavior,” Chief Executive Officer Stuart Gulliver said in the note sent to employees yesterday, referring to the period between 2004 and 2010. “It is right that we be held accountable and that we take responsibility for fixing what went wrong.”

Europe’s largest bank will be questioned by U.S. lawmakers about two weeks after a record fine was levied against Barclays for rigging interest rates and its ex-CEO Robert Diamond was grilled in the U.K.  HSBC, which has doubled spending on compliance since 2010 to curtail illicit money transfers, may also face a “hefty fine,” Mizuho Securities Asia Ltd. said.
“The real issue here is that the U.S. agencies have cited HSBC several times for being deficient at money-laundering practices as long ago as 2003,” Jim Antos, a Hong Kong-based analyst at Mizuho, said by telephone today. “Nine years later, the situation is apparently not yet under control.”
U.S. prosecutors may take criminal or civil enforcement measures involving the London-based bank amid an investigation into terrorist funding, HSBC said in February.
Continue reading…

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-07-11/hsbc-s-gulliver-to-apologize-at-senate-hearing-memo-says-1-.html

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/banksandfinance/9399198/JP-Morgan-traders-may-have-tried-loss-cover-up.html

JP Morgan traders may have tried loss cover-up
Traders at JP Morgan may have sought to conceal the size of the bank’s multi-billion dollar trading losses, in the latest damaging admission in a saga that has stunned Wall Street.

http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/02275/JPMorgan3_2275761b.jpg
JP Morgan said it was cutting first quarter profits by $459m to $4.92bn because it had discovered information that "raises questions about the integrity" of values placed on certain trades

By Richard Blackden
7:00AM BST 14 Jul 2012

http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01824/Richard-Blackden_6_1824254j.jpg

The attempt by employees to hide the scale of the losses as they mounted during the first quarter of the year forced America’s biggest bank today to lower its estimate for how much money it made in the first three months of the year by almost $500m (£322m).
The disclosure is a further blow to a reputation for risk management that JP Morgan built up during the financial crisis, when it was the only Wall Street bank to remain profitable.
JP Morgan warned that the trading losses, which it put at $2bn in early May, had now spiralled to $5.8bn and could still deepen.
Chairman and chief executive Jamie Dimon, who in April dismissed speculation about the possible losses as a “tempest in a teapot”, said that the episode was not a “proud moment”.
In an effort to appease shareholders’ anger, the bank said it would claw back bonuses from staff involved in the trades, including Bruno Iksil, a trader nicknamed the “London Whale” because the size of his bets were so large.

The losses stemmed from bets made by the London arm of the chief investment office (CIO), a division tasked with investing the $323bn of deposits that JP Morgan has yet to loan out.
The unit within the CIO that made the credit derivative trades has now been disbanded and Mr Iksil and Achilles Macris, a colleague, have left the bank. Ina Drew, a veteran of the bank who ran the CIO, left in May.
JP Morgan’s own review of the losses found that the CIO did not have adequate risk controls and that its risk management committee did not do enough to challenge the traders.
Given that the bets were made in London, which is also the epicentre of the Libor scandal, Mr Dimon was asked by an analyst yesterday whether risk controls in the UK were robust enough. He said that the bank’s risk management in Europe was “very good”.
The trading loss overshadowed the release of JP Morgan’s profits for the second quarter which, including the impact of the loss, fell to $4.96bn from $5.43bn. Revenues slipped 17pc to $22.2bn.
Profits at the investment bank declined 7pc to $1.9bn in the quarter, a drop that is expected to be echoed by Goldman Sachs and Citigroup when they release results next week. However, shares in JP Morgan jumped almost 5pc to $35.59 today as investors took comfort from the fact that the bank has now closed more than two thirds of the backfiring trades.
The remaining trades have been moved from the CIO to the investment bank and, according to Mr Dimon, they “don’t have to lose any money at all”. Should a severe credit crisis develop or the eurozone implode, they could lose another $1.6bn to $1.7bn, he said.
The trading loss has reignited the debate in the US over how to best regulate the world’s biggest banks. Mr Dimon has been one of the most vocal critics of parts of the Dodd-Frank law, the central piece of financial reform passed by Congress since the financial crisis.
JP Morgan has insisted that the trades were principally a hedge, rather than an attempt to reap profits. However, supporters of tougher regulation argue that the scale of the loss at a bank whose deposits are insured by the US taxpayer shows little real reform has been made.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uFZ-OAJHJws&feature=g-u-u

Published on 13 Jul 2012

AP: JPMorgan Cost of Bad Trade Balloons to $5.8B.

http://www.presstv.ir/usdetail/250956.html

US government records $904bn deficit

http://previous.presstv.ir/photo/20120714/ramezani20120714234744500.jpg

The U.S. budget deficit grew by nearly $60 billion in June, remaining on track to exceed $1 trillion for the fourth straight year.

Through the first nine months of the budget year, the federal deficit totaled $904.2 billion, the Treasury Department reported Thursday.

President Barack Obama is almost certain to face re-election having run trillion-dollar-plus deficits in each his first four years in office. That would likely benefit his opponent, GOP presumptive nominee Mitt Romney.

Obama and congressional Republicans remain at odds over how to lower the deficit. normantranscript.com

FACTS & FIGURES

The Congressional Budget Office predicts the deficit for the full year, which ends on Sept. 30, will total $1.17 trillion. That would be a slight improvement from the $1.3 trillion deficit recorded in 2011, but still greater than any deficit before Obama took office.

Obama submitted a budget request to Congress in February that sought $4 trillion in deficit reduction over the next decade through a combination of spending cuts and tax hikes.

A key part of his proposal is to allow tax cuts to expire for couples earning more than $250,000. He has called for extending similar cuts for people earning less than that.

The International Monetary Fund warned that the U.S. economy could suffer another recession if Congress doesn’t do something to avert the so-called “fiscal cliff.” The impact could shave 4 percentage points off U.S. growth, the IMF said. AP

ARA/ARA

Obama and congressional Republicans remain at odds over how to lower the deficit.

_________

2 comedians playing in a freemasonic pantomime

namaste

http://www.presstv.ir/usdetail/250949.html

Missouri's Glasgow Savings Bank shut down

http://previous.presstv.ir/photo/20120714/ramezani20120714210102043.jpg

Glasgow Savings Bank, a one-branch bank in Glasgow, Mo., was closed by state banking regulators, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. said Friday.

Regional Missouri Bank of Marceline, Mo., will assume all of Glasgow Savings' deposits.

Deposits will continue to be insured by the FDIC, up to legal limits. Glasgow Savings Bank as of March 31 had roughly $24.8 million in total assets and $24.2 million in total deposits. It is the 33rd bank to fail this year. MarketWatch

FACTS & FIGURES

Banks failures have continued at a relatively steady pace in mid-2012, though the size and number of closures are well below levels seen during the prior three years. At the same time last year, 47 banks had failed. RTT News

On an average, 13 banks have failed per month in 2010, with bank closures for 2011 averaging nearly eight per month, and currently averaging near six in 2012. The 92 bank closures in 2011 were down from 157 in 2010 and 140 in 2009, but nearly four times of the 25 bank failures in 2008. Only three banks failed in 2007. The highest and all time record for bank closures was in 1989 when 534 banks closed, followed by 181 bank failures in 1992. RTT News

From 2008 through 2011, bank failures cost the fund an estimated $88 billion. The FDIC expects failures from 2012 through 2016 to cost $12 billion. Washington Post

Smaller banks, particularly those with less than $1 billion in assets, comprise the majority of closures over the past few years. Many of these community banks have been hit hard due to their exposure to the troubled commercial real estate market. Reuters

ARA/ARA

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2012/07/17/251289/moodys-downgrades-13-italian-banks/

Moody’s has downgraded 13 Italian banks

http://previous.presstv.ir/photo/20120717/nushi20120717004056090.jpg


Moody's Investors Service has slashed the credit ratings of 13 Italian banks, three days after downgrading the Italian government’s credit rating.


On Monday, the ratings agency lowered the debt ratings of the banks, including giants Unicredit and Intesa Sanpaolo, by one to two notches, citing the Italian government’s weakened creditworthiness.

The ratings of UniCredit and Intesa Sanpaolo were cut two notches to Baa2. The two banks account for a third of the Italian banking market by assets.

Italian banks had previously been downgraded in mid-May as part of an international bank rating review.

Last week, Moody’s downgraded Italian government bonds by two notches due to concerns over the country’s higher funding costs and slowdown in growth and the risk of contagion from the economic crises in Greece and Spain.

The firm lowered Italy’s rating to Baa2 from A3, saying that Italy “is now more likely to experience a further sharp increase in its funding costs or the loss of market access" for borrowing to service its financial plan.

The downgrade is a fresh blow to Italy, which has been in recession since mid-2011.

Over the past decade, Italy has been the slowest growing economy in the eurozone single currency area.

Various eurozone member states, such as Greece, Spain, and Italy, have been struggling with deep economic woes since the bloc's financial crisis began roughly five years ago.

MN/MF/HGL

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/house-passes-ron-pauls-audit-the-fed-bill-2012-07-25-151032221?link=MW_latest_news

July 25, 2012, 3:22 p.m. EDT
House passes Ron Paul’s audit-the-Fed bill
Retiring Fed critic savors triumph, but bill faces long odds in Senate

By Robert Schroeder and Greg Robb, MarketWatch
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — A bill authored by Rep. Ron Paul that would open up previously secret Federal Reserve deliberations to scrutiny by members of Congress passed the House of Representatives on Wednesday, but the measure faces long odds in the Senate.

The bill from Texas Republican Paul, a persistent Fed critic, would remove all restrictions on the Government Accountability Office’s ability to examine the central bank’s deliberations. Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke opposes the bill, and argued last week that the Fed’s discussions about monetary policy should be protected.

The House vote was a moment of triumph for Paul, who announced earlier this year that he won’t seek another term. He has long sought to shed light on the Fed’s operations, and the full House vote put his once-obscure quest in the national spotlight. Read about bill on Paul's web site.

“The Fed needs transparency and [my bill] would provide it,” Paul said earlier this month.

The measure passed overwhelmingly, garnering 327 yes votes, and 98 no votes. It had 274 co-sponsors, including 45 Democrats.

“The Fed should not be permitted to operate in the dark without oversight by Congress and accountability to the people. The American people deserve no less than a full and complete audit,” said Rep. Dennis Kucinich, an Ohio Democrat, in a statement on Tuesday, when the main debate on the bill was held.

But most Democrats disagree. Rep. Barney Frank, the Massachusetts Democrat who co-authored the bank reform bill, said the legislation could potentially destabilize markets.

“[Wall Street] will see it as political interference, not with the contracting procedures, not with the budget, not with how many cars they have, but with how they decide on interest rates. And the perception that the Congress is going to politicize the way in which interest rates are set will in itself have a destabilizing effect,” Frank said.

The bill now faces long odds in the Democrat-controlled Senate. Mark Calabria, director of financial regulation studies at the libertarian Cato Institute, said that a few Republican senators are trying to find a way to get a floor vote for the measure. But he added he thinks Democrats don’t have any desire to bring it up for a vote.

The Fed argues that members of Congress who oppose an interest-rate move by the central bank could launch an audit and put its officials under political pressure.

“It’s a mistake to eliminate the exemption for monetary policy and deliberations which would effectively, at least to some extent, create a political influence or a political dampening effect on the Federal Reserve’s policy decisions,” Bernanke told a House Financial Services Committee hearing last week.

The Fed now releases a summary of its meetings after three weeks, but does not release a full transcript for five years.

The GAO is now prohibited by law from examining the Fed’s discount window and open-market operations, as well as its agreements with foreign governments and interest-rate decisions.

Robert Schroeder is a reporter for MarketWatch in Washington.
Greg Robb is a senior reporter for MarketWatch in Washington.

Light - isn't it true that to make money you should

buy in gloom sell in boom

therefore - are you saying that it's time to buy?

http://newyork.newsday.com/news/nation/audit-the-fed-bill-u-s-house-passes-measure-that-would-open-fed-policy-to-scrutiny-1.3861707

Audit the fed bill: U.S. House passes measure that would open Fed policy to scrutiny
Originally published: July 26, 2012 8:28 AM
Updated: July 26, 2012 8:50 AM
By REUTERS

http://cdn.newsday.com/polopoly_fs/1.3861730.1343306810!/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/display_600/image.jpg
Photo credit: AP | U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas wrote the 'Audit the Fed' bill, which would open the Federal Reserve's monetary policy to scrutiny and which was passed by the U.S. House on July 25, 2012. In this file photo, taken Aug. 5, 2012, Paul speaks at the University of California in Berkeley, Calif.

Legislation to subject the Federal Reserve's monetary policy to audits sailed through the U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday although the measure is expected to die in the Democrat-controlled Senate.
The legislation, written by Republican representative Ron Paul, whose anti-Fed crusade prompted a presidential bid and his grass-roots folk-hero status, passed the House by a 327-98 vote on Wednesday, exceeding the two-thirds majority needed.
Eighty-nine Democrats joined 238 Republicans to approve it.
VIDEOS: Economy lost strength | Bernanke: Economic growth working | More help for economy
Fed officials have long fought the audit bill, arguing it would compromise their independence. Chairman Ben Bernanke told House lawmakers last week it would open the door to a "nightmare scenario" of political meddling in monetary policy decisions.
The vote showed bipartisan support in the House for greater scrutiny of the U.S. central bank's powers which, were expanded to help it tackle the financial crisis.
"I don't know how anybody could be against transparency," Paul said during a debate on the floor on Tuesday, adding that Americans deserved more details of the Fed's bank rescue deals and support to foreign central banks.
"They're sick and tired of what happened in the bailout and where the wealthy got bailed out and the poor lost their jobs and they lost their homes," said Paul, who retires at year-end.
"It's time that we stood up to the Federal Reserve that right now acts like some kind of high, exalted priesthood, unaccountable to democracy," added Dennis Kucinich, a Democrat who is losing his seat due to a primary defeat.
Many Republicans and some Democrats have criticized the Fed's extraordinary measures to rescue banks and buy mortgage and Treasury debt, saying the central bank strayed into Congress' fiscal policy territory.
They say the Fed's actions to ease the 2007-2009 recession may have planted the seeds of high inflation in the future.
The Fed asset purchases, aimed at lowering borrowing costs and spurring economic growth, have swollen its balance sheet to $2.8 trillion from around $800 billion before the crisis. It has held interest rates at nearly zero for three and a half years and has pledged to keep them extraordinary low until late 2014.
Paul's bill directs the Government Accountability Office, an independent, nonpartisan congressional agency, to conduct a full Fed review. It would remove an exemption that shielded from audit the monetary policy and other decisions by the Federal Open Market Committee.
NO VOTE IN SENATE Paul's son, Republican Senator Rand Paul, has introduced a companion bill, but the Democrats who control the Senate do not intend to bring it to a vote, a senior Democratic aide said.
But the aide said Rand Paul was expected to try to force a vote on it as an amendment to other legislation.
Some Democrats, generally less critical of the Fed, say such audits would undermine the Fed's independence and erode market confidence in the central bank.
"That will politicize the making of such policy, and I think it's a bad way to go," said Steny Hoyer, the number-two Democrat in the House.
SECOND CHANCE IN 2013? Should Republicans win control of the Senate in November's elections, the Paul audit measure will likely resurface in some form next year. Rand Paul will continue in the Senate and will succeed his father as Congress' top Fed critic.
His efforts to rein in the Fed's powers also could shift next year to a campaign to replace Bernanke, whose four-year term expires Jan. 31, 2014.
Ron Paul also may try to influence future Republican policy toward the Fed by insisting that portions of the bill be incorporated into the Republican economic platform at the party's convention in Tampa in August.
"Paul has 158 delegates and it is not inconceivable that some 'audit the Fed' language is prevalent in the Republican platform when all is said and done," said Chris Krueger, senior policy analyst at Guggenheim Partners in Washington.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B1nHy93lNic&feature=g-u-u

Audit the Fed is UNSTOPPABLE!

Bobby. wrote on Jul 26^th, 2012 at 8:47pm:

Light - isn't it true that to make money you should buy in gloom sell in boom therefore - are you saying that it's time to buy?

Light - forums are places where topics are discussed not
monologues.


monologue - definition from kids dictionary:


Quote:

A long utterance by one person (especially one that prevents others from participating in the conversation)

You should answer questions.
Anyway - you are forgiven.
Namaste.

this thread has now been moved

to finance and economics

so be it