Turkey

All you need to read.

You mean, aside from the relentless headline barrage? Why yes, in a vivid reminder of what used to happen when actual fact-based events mattered, here is a complete summary of the key events in the coming week.

• Chinese banks fight for deposits (FT)... unlike those in the US
• Hong Kong Starts Trading Bullion in Yuan (Bloomberg)
• Can hyperinflation happen here? (Mauldin)
• G-20 Gives EU One Week to Fix Debt Crisis (Bloomberg)... make that 6 days now
• Greek PM calls for unity before reform vote (FT)
• Banks and insurers defend ‘liquidity swaps’ (FT)
• Greek debt write-down must be larger: German finance minister (Reuters)
• EU faces 20 years of rising energy bills (FT)
• Lack of ECB firepower weakens Europe’s Grand Plan (Telegraph)
• Deutsche Bank’s casinos exposure hits $4.9bn (FT)

All you need to read.

The latest from Bloomberg on the story that just won't quit: "Belgium received approval from France to buy as much as 100 percent of Dexia SA (DEXB)’s Belgian consumer bank as part of proposals to dismantle the French-Belgian lender, three people with knowledge of the talks said. [read: Good Bank is fully nationalized; only Dexia's approval is now needed, and that has not come yet...] The price of the Belgian bank is under discussion at a meeting of Dexia’s board of directors in Brussels, and an agreement on that transaction may be announced as soon as tonight, said the people, who declined to be identified because the talks are private."

Earlier today, Reuters reported that the final solution for Dexia is imminent. "The governments of France, Belgium and Luxembourg reached agreement on Sunday on a rescue package for Dexia , which will be put to the stricken Franco-Belgian bank's board later in the day for approval. "The governments... have reaffirmed their solidarity in finding a solution to secure the future of Dexia," said a statement from the office of Belgium's caretaker Prime Minister Yves Leterme. "The suggested solution, which is also the result of intense consultations with all partners involved, will be submitted to Dexia's Board of Directors for approval." Sure enough, from Dow Jones:

• GOVERNMENTS AGREE TO NATIONALIZE 100% OF DEXIA'S BELGIAN BANK

We are waiting for more details but with that we have Belgium-Dexia CDS compression, an imminent Belgian rating downgrade, and the unleashing of the completely unpredictable domino effect.

All you need to read.

• Steve Jobs "may never be equaled" (Reuters)
• Secret panel can put Americans on "kill list" (Reuters)
• Michael Lewis: California and Bust (Vanity Fair)
• Europe’s Rescue Fund is Only Last Resort (Bloomberg)
• EC To Propose Coordinated Action On Bank Recapitalization (MNI)
• SNB Foreign Currency Reserves Climb to Record (Bloomberg)
• Geithner Says Europe Debt Crisis Poses Risk to Global Growth (Bloomberg)
• Repatriation Tax Holiday to Be Proposed by Hagan, McCain (Bloomberg)
• China Tests US With Currency Move (FT)

• German conservative MP says "Greece is bankrupt" (Reuters)
• Eurogroup to discuss EFSF leveraging, Greek reforms (Reuters)
• Europe Aims to Dodge ‘Scapegoat’ Label (BBG)
• UK Treasury Fears Effects of a Euro Break-up (FT)
• Dollar Beating All Assets in September Undermines S&P Downgrade (BBG)
• Japan Tankan Sentiment Below Pre-Quake Level on Global Slump (BBG)
• Osborne Reaches for Middle Ground (FT)
• Hong Kong Banks Face Higher Credit Risks in Midterm, KPMG Says (BBG)
• Greece to Miss Deficit Targets Despite Austerity (Reuters)
• US Congress Presses China on Currency (FT)

All you need to read.

All you need to read.

In what is a pathetic attempt at Mutual Assured Destruction only in this case is Virtual Assured Suicide, Athens News reports that Greece, in order to demonstrate just how "serious" its fiscal condition is, will slash its defense spending in the form of support for NATO, thereby destabilizing the region even as Turkey and Syria are already on the verge of way: a development which NATO will surely be delighted by. "Greece will significantly reduce its participation in Nato and EU military missions due to the economic crisis in the country, National Defesce Minister Panos Beglitis announced on the sidelines of an informal EU defence ministers' Council held here on Friday. He said that the ministry was preparing to cut down Greece's participation in the Nato and EU missions in Afghanistan, Kosovo and Somalia, noting that local political forces in Afghanistan and Kosovo were anyway entering the phase where they would gradually take over control." So instead of going ahead and doing any of the austerity stuff Greece promise to enact back in 2010, which has been sacrificially pushed forward from 2015 to 2014, pretty much like what the US will need to do soon to avoid more downgrades when the next debt ceiling hike is due in a year, it will instead pack up and leave, most likely giving Turkey the impression it can do whatever it wants in the region, and why not: after all the third coming of the Ottoman Empire has been long in the making.

On 17 September The Wall Street Journal published a fascinating article on “peak oil,” “There Will Be Oil,” written by Daniel Yergin, chairman of IHS Cambridge Energy Research Associates, an energy research and consulting firm and deserved recipient of Pulitzer Prize for his 1991 book, The Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil, Money and Power. According to The Wall Street Journal, “There Will Be Oil” “is adapted from his new book, The Quest: Energy, Security and the Remaking of the Modern World.” The essay will doubtless have widespread influence amongst prosperous The Wall Street Journal readers, but in his glib dismissal of “peak oil” theory advocates, Yergin glosses or ignores a number of issues fundamental to the larger picture, for whatever reason, and these oversights should be considered in any evaluation of the piece and the peak oil “specter.”

Europe’s fiscal and debt crises have dominated the financial news for months, and with good reason: the fate of the European Union and its common currency, the euro, hang in the balance. As the world’s largest trading bloc, Europe holds sway over the global economy: if it sinks into recession or devolves, it will drag the rest of the world with it. As investors, we are not just observers, we are participants in the global economy, and what transpires in Europe will present risks and opportunities for investors around the world. The issue boils down to this: is the European Union and the euro salvageable, or is it doomed for structural reasons? The flaws are now painfully apparent, but not necessarily well-understood. The fear gripping Status Quo analysts and leaders is so strong that even discussing the euro’s demise is taboo, as if even acknowledging the possibility might spark a global loss of faith. As a result, few analysts are willing to acknowledge the fatal weaknesses built into the European Union and its single currency, the euro. In the first part of this series, we’ll examine the structural flaws built into the euro, and in the second part, we’ll consider the investment consequences of its demise.

Trillionaires. Just the sound of it! It's beautiful, Ben. But without your help, we'll never get there. So, at your big meeting next week, think about us. Because the way you make trillionaires is by printing money.