Category: Global Debt Crisis
The analysis published under this category are as follows.Thursday, July 07, 2011
Greece Massive Loss of Sovereignty, E.U. Seeks to Curb Rating Firms / Interest-Rates / Global Debt Crisis
Jean-Claude Junker, the man who says "When it becomes serious, you have to lie", apparently has had a sudden splash of honesty, stating Greek sovereignty to be massively limited.
Read full article... Read full article...Greece faces severe restrictions on its sovereignty and must privatize state assets on a scale similar to the sell off of East German firms in the 1990s after communism fell, Eurogroup chairman Jean-Claude Juncker said.
Wednesday, July 06, 2011
China Owns More Debt Than Thought: Did US Win Inflation War? / Interest-Rates / Global Debt Crisis
It has been brought to the attention of the Treasury that China may own more US Treasury debt than once thought. Rules put in place in 2009 limited would-be buyers of US Treasury debt to 35% of any given auction, but by using primary dealers (who have to buy US Treasuries at auction) as a proxy, the Chinese government has purchased more Treasuries than originally thought.
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Tuesday, July 05, 2011
Greece Buys Time for Insolvent Bankers and Delusional Politicians / Politics / Global Debt Crisis
Last week, the Greek parliament voted by a narrow margin to pass an economically crippling austerity plan of some $40 billion in return for some $159 billon of fresh liquidity injections. Although many hailed the event as a needed first step on a long road to recovery, I believe the austerity program will make a bad situation worse. It is a flawed solution that stems from a false premise: that Greece should continue to be part of the euro zone, and continue to use the euro as its currency.
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Tuesday, July 05, 2011
Rented Papandreou Selling Off Greek Assets, Pan Hellenic Socialist Kleptocrats / Politics / Global Debt Crisis
"George Papandreou is not bought, he is rented. He sells public enterprises to the multinationals. He reduces wages, pensions and employment at the behest of the IMF. He turns over the public treasury to the European banks. He supports NATO’s war against Libya . He directs the Greek Coast Guard to enforce Netanyahu’s blockade of Gaza .” According to a demonstrator in Syndigma Square , Athens , July 3, 2011
A self-proclaimed “Socialist” Government in Greece is imposing by ballots and clubs the most far reaching reversals of wages, pensions, jobs, educational, health and tax programs in the history of Western Europe.
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Tuesday, July 05, 2011
Debtocracy Greece Debt Crisis Explained by Greeks / Politics / Global Debt Crisis
For the first time in Greece a documentary produced by the audience. "Debtocracy" seeks the causes of the debt crisis and proposes solutions, hidden by the government and the dominant media.
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Sunday, July 03, 2011
Why Civil Unrest Is Sweeping the Globe / Politics / Global Debt Crisis
Attempts to save the morally bankrupt financial system will fuel further instances of civil unrest -- until the system itself finally implodes.
Civil unrest -- or to use an even harsher term, rage -- is sweeping the globe.
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Sunday, July 03, 2011
No Solution to the Global Credit Crisis, Rising Gold and Silver Prices / Interest-Rates / Global Debt Crisis
World markets and especially US markets are in a state of uneasiness and it is only a matter of time before they degenerate further. The real question is will everything break loose between now and the end of the year? The answer in part is yes, and it is currently in process.
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Friday, July 01, 2011
Greece Debt Crisis Today Compares to Germany 1923 / Politics / Global Debt Crisis
At the bankers queue up to get served their pound of flesh, which is all that’s currently on offer, it’s hard not to notice the striking similarities between the Greece of today and Germany in 1923. Then Germany owed billions thanks to a treaty that was made in a French-speaking country along with an offer that couldn’t be refused, back then Versailles, this time Maastricht.
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Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Why the New IMF Chief Will Cost U.S. Taxpayers Billions / Politics / Global Debt Crisis
Kerri Shannon writes: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has made another mistake - a mistake that'll cost U.S. taxpayers a lot of money.
The organization's executive board yesterday (Tuesday) selected French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde as its new leader. A U.S. pledge of support Tuesday morning secured Lagarde's approval. She already had backing from European countries and major emerging markets Brazil, Russia, and China.
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Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Get Ready to be Financially Conscripted into Financial Repression / Politics / Global Debt Crisis
A new financial policy initiative known by the label “Financial Repression” may soon become our worst nightmare. ‘Repression’ rhymes with ‘depression’ which could be what we have to look forward to as rampant price inflation and permanently lower living standards take hold. Get ready to be conscripted into a citizen army assembled for the greater cause of saving the nation from being swamped by a tsunami of debt. Let me explain.
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Wednesday, June 29, 2011
European Debt Crisis Investing, Buy U.S. Treasury Bills / Interest-Rates / Global Debt Crisis
According to Fortune (citing IMF data), Germany’s banks are now more leveraged than Lehman Brothers at the time of its collapse (Lehman: 31 to 1). Similarly, their leverage is financed by “cheap, short-term loans that are vulnerable to a market shock.” These loans (as we explained last December) are from money market funds here in the U.S. (Investors should Buy Treasury Bills instead.)
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Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Bankrupt Greece Blackmails Europe, Bailout or Euro Zone Dies, Global Financial System Collapse / Interest-Rates / Global Debt Crisis
The Greek population is in constant revolt with another 48 hour national strike underway against ever expanding announcements of economic austerity though to date little of which has actually been implemented and therefore risks at the very a least a delay of the latest tranche of Euro 12 billion in what has now become a permanent flow of funds from core Euro-zone to Greece and other peripheral eurozone countries, therefore tax payers of core Europe and to a lesser degree Britain are being taxed to pay for the unwillingness of the PIIGS to pay their bills.
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Tuesday, June 28, 2011
United States of Denial / Interest-Rates / Global Debt Crisis
The suggestion that there is anything remotely approaching a recovery in the United States, or the world economy, is pure cow pie, as evidenced by the requirement for more borrowing, more easing, and more deterioration in employment and housing. But as the title suggests, its not just America. I’m referring to the heads of state around the world. Apparently too busy jetting back and forth from Washington, New York, Vienna, Athens, Berlin, London and Paris to have anything approaching a grip on reality, we’re delivered surreality by world leaders immersed in United States of Denial. Now the banks in Europe are carving up the assets of Greece as vig for continued lending.
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Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Credit Default Swaps: Why Washington Warnings / Interest-Rates / Global Debt Crisis
Martin Hutchinson writes: Three years ago, I told you that Wall Street's newest invention - credit default swaps - would cause a major financial crash.
Now, I'll concede that credit default swaps (CDS) weren't the only cause of the financial meltdown that brought about the collapse of Lehman Brothers Holdings (OTC: LEHMQ) and nearly brought down American International Group Inc. (NYSE: AIG). But these financial derivatives were a major exacerbating factor - which is why I also warned that credit default swaps should be banned.
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Tuesday, June 28, 2011
3-D Economic Hurricane of Debt, Deficits and Demographics Heading for All Developed Economies / Economics / Global Debt Crisis
Today's Outside the Box is from an old friend, but one who is new to my readers. Jason Hsu is a partner at Research Affiliates and helped create the Fundamental Indexes with Rob Arnott. Starting at Cal Tech, he went on to a PhD in economics,and is now a professor at UCLA and teaches in China and Taiwan. Wins all sorts of awards and has won the Rising Star of HedgeFunds award. In short, he is really smart.
He sent me this piece last week, and I asked if I could use it. He graciously acceded. It is on what Jason and Rob call "the3-D Hurricane of Debt, Deficits and Demographics."
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Sunday, June 26, 2011
Banker Occupation of Greece / Politics / Global Debt Crisis
Economist Michael Hudson calls it "Replacing Economic Democracy with Financial Oligarchy" in a June 5 article by that title, saying:
After being debt entrapped, or perhaps acquiescing to entrapment, the Papandreou government needs bailout help to pay bankers that entrapped them. Doing so, however, requires "initiat(ing) a class war by raising its taxes (harming working households most), lowering its standard of living - and even private-sector pensions - and sell off public land, tourist sites, islands, ports, water and sewer facilities" - in fact, all the country's crown jewels, lock, stock and barrel, strip-mining it of everything of worth at fire sale prices.
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Global Debt Crisis Illusions Versus Reality / Interest-Rates / Global Debt Crisis
"Illusions commend themselves to us because they save us pain and allow us to enjoy pleasure instead. We must therefore accept it without complaint when they sometimes collide with a bit of reality against which they are dashed to pieces." - Sigmund Freud
Our global society needs a reset. The insolvency of Greece or the growing US fiscal imbalance are only symptoms of a much deeper problem. It is easy for market participants to sit behind their red and green charts and point blame at "the Bernank." It is easy for homeowners to forego their mortgage payment to fund the expenses they are "entitled" to. It is easy for the Mortgage Bankers Association to "strategically default," after all it's a "business decision."
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Friday, June 24, 2011
Silver, Comex and The War Over Money / Interest-Rates / Global Debt Crisis
Once again, S&P is at it, issuing its monthly threat to the USGovt to fall into compliance or risk its AAA credit rating. On the surface, these warnings have become rather laughable in that the ratings agency feels the need to say something while, in effect, saying nothing. As time has gone by, the idea that the markets would be jittered by an actual ratings cut has become equally absurd. To hear it reported, you’d think the market consisted of a bunch of first graders who need S&P, Moody’s or Fitch to tell them the sky is blue.
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Friday, June 24, 2011
Greece Death by a Thousand Cuts, What it Means for Us? / Stock-Markets / Global Debt Crisis
The political landscape: The Greeks need even more boat loads of cash to stay afloat and its richer European partners are scrambling to put a package together. The German government are desperately trying to enlist more contributors and the UK is an obvious target. So the question is will David Cameron rollover or stand firm, for now he is standing firm. One of the reasons for keeping the pound was to avoid such nonsense. This bailout is good money after bad, all in aid of keeping the Eurocrats in highly paid jobs rather than helping the Greeks solve their debt problems. Taking on more debt is not a cure for debts, it is akin to giving smokers another cigarette as they try to kick the habit.
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Friday, June 24, 2011
Pimco’s El-Erian Says Greece Debt Crisis Response Risks Wider Contamination / Stock-Markets / Global Debt Crisis
Mohamed El-Erian, CEO and co-CIO of Pimco, spoke to Bloomberg Television’s Betty Liu, Mike McKee and Jon Erlichman this morning. He talked about Greece’s debt crisis, QE2 and whether QE3 should be on the table, as well as the IEA oil reserve release.
El-Erian said that the efforts to resolve Greece’s crisis risks contaminating the entire system because they don’t address structural problems. Excerpts from the interview can be found below, courtesy of Bloomberg Television.
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