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Cyprus, Why Now? Follow The Money
Authored by Steve Hanke of the Cato Institute,
While the Cypriot Parliament may be dragging its feet on a proposed rescue plan for Cyprus' banks, the country ultimately faces a choice between Brussels' bitter pill... and bankruptcy. Cyprus' newly-elected President, Nicos Anastasiades, has quite accurately summed up the situation:
"A disorderly bankruptcy would have forced us to leave the euro and forced a devaluation."
Yes, Brussels and the IMF have finally decided to come to the aid of the tiny island, which accounts for just 0.2% of European output -- to the tune of roughly $13 Billion. But, this bailout is different. Indeed, the term "bail-in" has emerged, a reference to the fact that EU-IMF aid is conditional upon Cyprus imposing a hefty tax on its depositors. Not surprisingly, the Cypriots, among others, are less than pleased about this so-called "haircut".
Still, the question lingers: Why now? The sorry state of Cyprus' banking system is certainly no secret. What's more, the IMF has supported a "bail-in" solution for some time. So, why has the EU only recently decided to pull the trigger on a Cyprus rescue plan?
One reason can be found by taking a look at the composition of Cyprus' bank deposits...
There are three main take-aways from this chart:
1. European depositors' money began to flow out of Cyprus' banks back in 2010.
2. Indeed, most European depositors have already found the exit door.
3. Over that same period, non-Europeans (read: Russians) have increased their Cypriot exposure.
If the proposed haircut goes through, Russian depositors could lose up
to $3 billion. No wonder Vladimir Putin is up in arms about the bail-in. Perhaps a different "red telephone" from Moscow will be ringing in Brussels soon.
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Rape of cvyprus
Nice article Mr. Henke.
I know the Cyprus haircut is a disaster, people, but relax - Miley can grow it back.
Just 20 months ago Cyprus's 3 big banks passed the EBA/ECB stress tests to much acclaim. In July 2011 the Cyprus Finance Ministry issued a statement saying: “The measures which the banks are taking or planning to take will further increase solvency.”
Flash forward to present day. Due to a prolonged downturn in Europe, these banks are now in need of 10-13 billion dollars. My question is, if these banks are in such sorry shape so soon after passing tha stress test, how many other European banks are insolvent and how soon until they also need bailouts.
IMO, The unraveling of Europe is beginning to accelerate and in the coming months wealth taxes and capital controls will become the norm.
13 billion? Is that all? Ben will print that by Saturday....Prepare the Helicopter!!!
Oh yea, get that blue phone hooked up to Putin right away.
Stress test? Is that the same as a BLS NFP report?? Hmmmmmmm smells the same when you step in it.........
how do you spell DEXIA again??
Man when these guys proclaim how strong a bank is based on the "stress test" results Run Forest RUN!!!!
(Or go short either way it all be big bag o bullshit)
Stiff The Wrong Russians at Your Peril
It's all fraud, people.
The debt was ENGINEERED to be INEXTINGUISHABLE.
Debt Money Tyranny is a financial restraint on society, the same way the BTK serial killer might bind his victim before torturing and snuffing the life out of the person.
Unlike that person, this financial restraint is sufficiently abstract so that the societal victims don't realize they are being restrained en masse as they are being set up for their societal torture session and societal death at the hands of these mass murderers.
This is a slow motion financial snuff film.
Debt Money Tyranny
http://www.keepandshare.com/doc/4768883/debtmoneytyranny-6-1-pdf-60k?tr=77
I'm not kidding - that's what it is and millions, if not billions, will die because of these criminal mass murders and their monetary fraud.
Biggest Finance Capital may well want to create a world war as a pretext to create their totalitarian "utopia" with you and yours as the fertilizer or servants. You won't accept it now, but you might if they can cause orchestrate the deaths of 100 million Americans.
We know. You're preaching to the awakened here.
TiS,
If the Cyprus banks are leveraged 10-1 and have 10% capital requirements... how can they afford to give 6.7% to 10% to the ECB?
That would leave 2-3% capital and 30 times leverage.
Is anyone actually receiving money here, or are they just cutting down the money banks owe while nobody actually receives the money that, quite frankly, DOESN'T EVEN EXIST AT THE BANK?
It sounds like nation state bond holders were spared this haircut.
Screw wrong Russian, is come for Boris with pliers.
Yes, let's tax the Russians for our poor decisions. What can they do?
Cut off the nat gas flow in pipelines, quite literally, "to the west" ...
No gas to Europe means no money for them. And they just cannot build a new gas line to China overnight.
Why cut it off when you can just jack up the prices overnight and cripple the entire EU economically?
Seriously, taking the ball and running home is so childish. Adults just buy out the court in the first place and jack up the usage fees.
Visit you with a gun, an axe and some plastic bags.
polonium 210
It's clear that the EUbanksters waited until their people had gotten away with their money and then decided to go after the Russian cash. I think the EU elite should check their office chairs for polonium in the future before their teeth start falling out.
polonium 210
Wasn't that "Pull-one-over-on-'um 2.0"?
Yes, let's tax the Russians for our poor decisions. What can they do?
Seriously? Russian oligarchs? I’m betting that they would do something along the lines of strangling you with your kid’s intestines.
wait heres an idea!!!.............let the banks suffer for their stupidity.................they go under...........the altruistic european union overlords, who are SO CONCERNED for the well being of their union, can protect the depositors, who have no involvement with the idiocy of the bank they rely on to safeguard their money, by covering them.......this would renew confidence in the banking system by all european citizens............................
and then we can have peace on earth........
and a cure for all diseases...............
and the earth will flourish..........................
"the depositors, who have no involvement with the idiocy of the bank"
I'd say they are involved the minute they deposited their money. That's the problem on a bigger scale. Deposit insurance has created a monster because people could give a shit what the bank does with their money as long as it is "insured" and by now everyone knows the insurance is worthless in a crisis.
yes fonz, but you understand i meant that depositors have no decision making or any say in what the bank invests in.............most are simply depositing their money with the crazy idea that it will be there to withdraw when needed.............forget receiving interest....thats a pipe dream that most depositors have let die.......all they ask is that their money be there....................im not sure deposit insurance has created a monster.............rather its the fed/ecb that has created a monster by putting the well being of banks ahead of the people that give them their money...........................when banks know there is nobody to bail their asses out, then you will see banks acting differently...............its the banks that need to learn their lesson, not the simple people who just need a "safe" place to park their money..................
.......................... end scene.
encore...........................
merkel, take a bow!!!!
Then people can be robbed in their homes. The way it was intended!
At home they have a chance of defending themselves. It's kinda hard to protect your assets when they're 0's and 1's in some bank's computer. Got physical Fishes?
however in a larger sense, the ability of outside parties, even those with savvy and computational resources far beyond those of the small depositor, to understand the "reality" of bank balance sheets (and "off balance sheets") is part of why this massive control fraud continues to prevent organic economic recovery.
Given the FED and ECB are Banks it's a bit of a no-brainer that they are going to favor banks over people.
Given this, the question is, why do they have any power or capacity to do so at all?
Basic civil checks and balances should have totally eliminated that sort of possibility or abuse from ever arising.
The people who set that up and enabled it and keep enabling it are those who need to be hung drawn and quartered in the town square.
+1
+ 2
+ 2
drawn and quartered first, and then hanged.
Don't bend over in front of these guys.
The banks can only learn that lesson when people deicide to yank their deposits and walk with the cash and be their own bank. However, like you pointed out today, people are either too ignorant or too apathetic to see reality. So as far as I am concerned, let them take a haircut every once in a while. Shit they are practically begging for it at this point. They should all get a "beat me hard" t shirt upon opening an account. How the rest of the PIIGS could be so silent today with regards to depositors was fascinatingly awful to see.
edit - I'm sure Elizabeth Warren is working on a disclosure form that Shiela Bair was almost done with that says
"By depositing your funds with our institution, you are giving our bank permission to utilize your funds to purchase credit/equity/derivative instruments. We may use substantial leverage purchasing these instruments. Any losses that occur could result in our bank seeking a government bailout because we all know the fdic ain't got shit"
I heard it should be out by summer. It's going to be a game changer....
well, yes, that would be one way for the banks to learn a lesson, and i agree that the herd has nobody but themselves to blame when their country is next on the list of account confiscation......they shouldve seen the writing on the wall......but no fonz, no haircut for the depositor (i assume thats who your haircut reference was directed at)....that is their money, their property, and NOBODY has the right to reach into their account and grab it..................the haircuts need to be with the bondholders, the shareholders, the ones who invested in the bank itself..................that is when banks really learn a lesson, when they fail and others see their stock prices crumbling and big ben isnt there to pick them up...........the wildfire can no longer be surpressed or new trees will never sprout................
Of course I agree with you that nobody has the right to reach into their account. But it is glaringly obvious that that right got trampled along with the rest of our rights. I also don't wish these haircuts to happen to any depositors...I just no longer have any sympathy for them.
you know, the red pill works in strange ways..........i used to think of "haircuts" as a positive thing......you know.....trip to the barber........a little trim on top...some shaping....a good chat........now i cant help but think of defaults and central banks and debt...........im now scared of the barber........................I DONT WANT A HAIRCUT!!!!!!!
I hear you man. I am going to sleep. These ten point moves in the dow are wearing me out lately.
The banks can only learn that lesson when people deicide to yank their deposits and walk with the cash and be their own bank.
Or how about some laws are enforced??
This logic is so ridiculous...it's like you take your car to a mechanic and someone there steals it. And you're like, 'that settles it! Never going back to that mechanic again!!' That's great, but you still lost your fucking car!
People need to get together and demand some good old fashioned justice!
Just because the cops left the beat the solution isn't to run and hide in the forest.
Webster dictionary update submission:
Corzined, the act of putting funds in an institution for safe keeping, investment, or otherwise self directed investmentonly to have it seized, stolen or vanish with no further explanation or be properly investigated much less a prosecution by laws and governing bodies. a more simplier definition is as of 2013; you stupid fuck-you get what you deserve.
Actually, in America at least, they do have the power to do so. You see, banks are "agents" of the federal government (read your contract), therefore, when you deposit money into a bank, you have placed it into an area where your constitutional protections for private property no longer exist. You are now in a "contract" environment and the Constitution cannot impair contracts.
The People, unfortunately, have been put into a situation where having a legal education has become paramount, if they are to preserve their rights and their wealth. The vast majority of the people have no idea just how bad their situation is, brecause the State has not decided to push the point. However, as the debt explodes, that day draws nearer and nearer.
Having our money in a bank is our first mistake.
they grow up so fast ... with dreams and the best intentions ... then comes reality.
grab a pitchfork Kido (Kito)
The problem is the line between retail banks and investment banks is gone. Investment banks continue to make risky leveraged bets, just like they always have, only now they use insured depositer money to do it. Add the fact that there is effectively no oversight or regulation, and this forces the taxpayer to backstop the risky bets as we careen from one bank crisis to the next. It's just one big mess, and won't get any better until some country says enough and brings down the whole house of cards. Only when that happens, when the people can't be raped anymore, will the banks stop feeding on the people and start feeding on each other.
the problem is...there are lots of problems. fascism, socialistic imperialism using the facade of capitalism, greed, etc.
however, at the real core is the philosophy of money. what it is, and what it represent.
In the long run, it is economically impossible to store wealth by storing little pieces of fiat. Whether it's physical cotton fiber fiat...or digitized fiat.
But as commenters have stated here, TPTB have convinced the sheeple that saving and storing fiat is a riskless and in fact a 'guaranteed' proposition. The economic events around the world, current events surrounding the EU, and coming soon to Uncle Sam's theater will show that saved fiat is not a means of preserving wealth. And when the music stops, and people rush to squeeze value out of their fiat...crazy things will happen.
the show will go on...
Iceland....
The Fed is the Trojan Horse of the Biggest Finance Capital monster - the private interest people who define and control the monetary system.
The plan was to make people uber productive by tricking them, but only for a time, into thinking their chit was actually theirs. Since money is debt and government / society is beholden Biggest Finance Capital the minute they sign up for Debt Money Tyranny...
http://www.keepandshare.com/doc/4768883/debtmoneytyranny-6-1-pdf-60k?tr=77
...the people have to be in debt in order to have a money supply, The minute the banksters restrict credit, well, all that chit the debtors thoguht was theirs is suddenly not theirs anymore - it belongs to a TBTF&Jail Biggest Finance Capital front corporation (tax free, of course).
"If all the bank loans were paid, no one could have a bank deposit, and there would not be a dollar of coin or currency in circulation. This is a staggering thought. We are completely dependent on the commercial Banks. Someone has to borrow every dollar we have in circulation, cash or credit. If the Banks create ample synthetic money we are prosperous; if not, we starve. We are absolutely without a permanent money system. When one gets a complete grasp of the picture, the tragic absurdity of our hopeless position is almost incredible, but there it is. It is the most important subject intelligent persons can investigate and reflect upon. It is so important that our present civilization may collapse unless it becomes widely understood and the defects remedied very soon."
~ Robert Hemphill, Credit Manager of Federal Reserve Bank, Atlanta, Ga.
Source: In the foreword to a book by Irving Fisher, entitled 100% Money (1935)
Monetary Reform Talk, 4.09, Part 7: Robert Hemphill quote
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5TTVoNIpBjE
I've read all your posts on here tonight (insomnia). I'm very much afraid your audience comes here to be dogmatic, not enquiring. It typically considers itself 'awakened'
The good trumps the bad of that: its part of what makes ZH uniquely brilliant
We all have our limits, usualy t the point where, as Wittgenstein wrote, we just 'stop digging'. Few apart from CD here gives a though to their own cog diss...:-)
Personally, I think you should start your own blog as your message merits a more substantial presentation
You'd have a bookmark from me. Best of luck
insurance is worthless in a crisis.
But, but, isn't that the only time it's needed? I'm confused.
Historically, only the Jews really "get" the benefits of insurance....
Hey - Its not anti-semitic to point out the most insurance operations have been under the control of Jewish people. Don't down vote for fact.
Insurance is worthless in a societal level crisis.
FTFY. Does that explain it a bit better?
The idea of insurance is a number of people pooling their risk, but deposit insurance does not have the same rules as, say auto insurance. If you do not have a car, you do not pay a premium. With deposit insurance the banks pay a token amount but they are always underfunded and when the financial institution goes under the tax payer makes up the difference. People with no money in the banks are forced to pay into a pool they were not part of. The govt. sets the level of so called insured deposits, but never mandates that the risks be fully funded.
You mean deposit insurance should protect the depositors, but show the management the door? Now there's an idea...
Why don't these retards just print the money? Serious question. That's what they've been doing all along... Not that printing money is a solution.
That's the trillion dollar question, isn't it? Why the line in the sand now, over 5.8 billion, after the trillions that have been tossed around so casually over the past 5 years.
Al my theory is a bank run has to be started for that exact reason. It gives Draghi the ability to twist Germany's arm and print their asses off, first to stem a crisis...then just to print more. It gives Germany cover to finally say "we did not want to do this, but it was a crisis".
Not at brent $120
that's the catch ekm, I have no argument except the alternative was worse. Although if Russia turns out the lights that may be even worse than that.
It could be - there has to be an ulterior motive. Still, you have to question the judgement as far stealing from the Russians... I can see that being intentional too, but seems dangerous.
This engineered crisis and ensuing Euro bank runs will also give cover for "fair" capital controls...maybe in USSA too.
"We are with you dear sheeple. It is not fair for the rich to be draining cash from your neighborhood banks and taking it out of the country. We can help. Capital controls are your friend."
your missing the point of the euro or u don't understand it
Please elucidate, help me understand better.
I'm not sure anyone understands the point of the Euro at this point, least of all the people that created it.
What an unbelievable clusterfuck.
To my limited knowledge and please correct me if I'm wrong, the ECB will only print to fight deflation
The Rooskie Mafia ain't in the inner circle...Therefor, they can afford to be given a haircut...The only mistake was assuming that Rooskie Mafia is somehow separate from Rooskie Government....Vlady KGB ain't happy, and has an itchy trigger finger...
If they'll do that to Russian money they will do it to ANY foreigners money held in a Eurozone bank. Any foreigner with cash in a eurozone bank is not going to just leave it there. If they can get it out quick they will. If it is a term deposit they will take it out later, but it will be leaving. No way that green-shoots schtick is going to work now.
So then ,, any idea how much Chinese money would be in EU accounts ? Taking from China would be as good as Russia , in fact any BRIC at all would do.
+1 .. a fricken great question, ain't it. ;-)
Yea he's got a lot of great questions.
a lot (just fudging)
My understanding is that the ECB can't just print money to give to the insolvent bank directly, The ECB can only print money to buy bonds against the bank or Central Govt. So there has to be a mechanism in place to generate the bonds first. In the case of the Cyprus banks, they are insolvent, so there is no way to issue more bonds. And the Cyrpus govt will be insolvent if the Cyprus banks default, so they can't issue bonds either. it's all semantics, but there it is. That's why this convoluted Cyprus scheme involves stealing deposit accounts and giving insolvent bank bonds in return for the stolen money. The only mechanism available is bankruptcy or a "voluntary" bond write down like Greece did. At least, that is what the powers that be want you to think. The same was true of AIG, but the powers that be found a work around for that. So I predict the bankers will find a work around for this too IF Cyprus says "no" you can't steal the accounts.
This is the same situation in Spain and maybe Italy; whence the wealth tax thingie.
EU is going after tax evasion by wealthy corporates and people IN EVERY COUNTRY OF PIGS, who liabilities weigh on the core bank viability.
According to the Citi-Buiter's article thats the way to go, whatever legality may be its the only shock therapy now; its the urgency of the situation that dictates it. Better to lose a leg for the EU private oligarchy (as the NON EU oligarchy) than to lose the whole shooting match.
Lets face it the Club Med private banks, and therefore governments, are under water, to the same extent as Cyprus (or Greece).
Merkel's pitch is very clear : No joint n several bank guaranties in your backyard with my country's money! (It is election year in Germany).
So your rich people pay for those bank debts restructuring. No more ECB sterilised debt to fight bad debt....we don't have enuff good collateral to do that...neither in periphery nor here in core (Ger/Fr/Holl/AUs).
Who can argue with that logic?
The ringer-dinger is it makes a lot of innocents pay; but who like in Cyprus would pay anyway, if the banks and the country subsequently goes totally belly up!
Cyprus thus becomes a test case for periphery restructure.
Total collapse of capital markets...that is, as it was since 2008, the looming Iceberg in front of us. And these shills only made it worse since 2009; by doing sweet fanny annie!
If they aint fuming by now, I'll eat my short positions.
US is next .... lots of "articles" on individs/corps that don't pay taxes ... of course the landed nobility (pols/connected individs/corps) will still be above the fray
Funnily enough, printing makes the rich richer and the poor poorer. Merkel is correct, this is fairer... You are also correct, it is completely retarded. What's fair, is to kill the banks, bondholders get wiped out. Same story it's been since 08.
Germans are more cognisant of what printing is than most nationalities. The UK for example maybe 1 in 1000 have any clue what money is. Germany the proportion is higher. Coin stores for example are quite common here. This is why monetary policy in the EU is harder than the UK or US.
It will be for their own good.
Exactly!
This is like stealing money from the mafia... Not a wise move unless you enjoy a bullet in the back of your head?
http://imgur.com/r/reactionpics/FEXlF
Henry On Cyprus
http://chartistfriendfrompittsburgh.blogspot.com/2013/03/henry-on-cyprus...
I'm sure if you told the Cypriot people to pay 1% of their money in exchange for Merkel's head on a pike, they would agree to it.
Vlad P. is supposed to be good at that.
"No wonder Vladimir Putin is up in arms about the bail-in."
I think one may find these are crocodile tears, little more.
"I think one may find these are crocodile tears, little more."
Maybe so,but I think he wanted to bring the money back home on his terms,not Merkels.
the Russian response will never find its way to the front page - there will be a lot of Cypriani politicians that we will discover have been into erotic asphyxia.. how stupid can you be to steal $3b from the X-KGB? seriously -
did you read my mind?
Yep I hope a bunch of these Eurocrats end up having ``accidents`` like drowning in their tub or their plane having a malfunction or having a rare case of radioactive sickness or suicides with 3 bullets in the back of the head... it'll all be a coincidence... just like it's a coincidence when good people looking into government black ops have the same kind of ``accidents``...
nostrovia!
Prost!
I'm trying to understand what kind of money is banked in cyprus.
The answers I find on the internet are: Russian Mafia, ex-KGB.
ZHers, let me tell you something: THOSE PEOPLE NEVER LOSE MONEY.
Asmusen thinking that he's got a knife in his hands, may have declared war to people with bazookas.
ekm I truly thought this whole thing was to spark a selloff in piigs bonds and watch your theory of a PD blow up becuase they were stuffed with them. I am amazed at the total lack of reaction to this in the markets, unless it is still coming.
Selloff can't happen because it's the ECB and major banks who hold those bonds.
Selloff will occur only when the Fed stops paying for swap losses which are usually done quarterly. Then banks will be forced to sell whatever they have, margin call.
Fed will do that on order from the White House, or whoever is behind WH, military complex people. My only indicator is crude oil price.
Everything, literally everything, depends on a order from Obama, either by free will or forced. Obama has the power LEGALLY, PERIOD.
Something similar happened when the decision was made not to pay for MFGs margin calls. They let MFG go, and then.........they changed their mind......IRAN and came up with the global bailout, Fed swaps with ECB and BOE.
It was Nov 2011.
I have started to follow FOOD in general very closely.
Discovered this one:
http://www.agrimoney.com/
As Bush's hand was forced, not to allow the Fed to pay for Lehman's margin call, same way Obama's hand will be forced, either by crude oil or food.
My question is, and I'm assuming the Fed knew about the Cyprus stuff in advance to some degree, did the Fed plan for it to go smoothly, or is the bank holiday extention to Thursday going to turn into some bigger announcement involving the Fed on Wednesday?
I think they want to crash the system so badly, but they are looking for somebody to blame.
I don't know what they were thinking, if they really thought that ex-KGB would fall for it.
They may not be reacting, but I surely am.
Cypriot banks are still on holiday, it hasn't happened yet.
Patience... Either way there will be a portfolio "reblance".
What 'markets'..?
Oh, you mean the fed pumping..?
Well, it's about time for some pull-back anyway..
Help's maintain 'legitmacy'..
Question is, why not?
Bottom line:
Don't fight the Fed.
Putin will.
Game on if you must.
Nincompoops: write on, as per usual. Pets.
Is this East Germany getting back USSR for the post WWII Era?
Like China to Japan for the rape of Nanking?
--
Whew, that must be quite a relief! I'd maybe keep that quote handy though. Something tells me this may turn out to be not quite entirely so.
Nothing is true until officially denied. Cyprus proved that yet again with a denial of theft followed by the theft denied.
If I were greek, I'd be liquidating as fast as I possibly could after hearing this.
OT: Chase Bank down - see twitter #chasebank, #chase
all customer balances appear to be zero - wow... and oops
This is just not true. I checked a balance, and it was not 0. Fucking twatterverse.
I think the uproar on twitter can be explained by the fact the chase bank runs the ebt program, and that got some people worried.
Looks like Chase is up and down, hit or miss.
http://sitedown.co/chase
Fuckin A man! Chase has my mortgage :D
Let's all just have some damn waffles and wine.
While a quite bullish situation is developing too in Japan...
http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/story/2013/03/18/japan-daiichi-nuclear-plan...
Workers at the tsunami-damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant in Japan are trying to fix a crucial part of the plant that stopped working today.
The system that cools hundreds of spent fuel rods that are stored at the facility has stopped working, which could have dangerous consequences, CBC News producer Craig Dale has learned....
http://www.nuc.berkeley.edu/forum/218/nuclear-expert-fukushima-spent-fue...
Nuclear Expert: Fukushima spent fuel has 85 times more cesium than released at Chernobyl — “It would destroy the world environment and our civilization… an issue of human survival” -Former UN adviser
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn22084-nuclear-fuel-rods-removed-fr...
"The amount of caesium-137 in the fuel in the pools is equivalent to 5000 times the amount that was spread by the Hiroshima atomic bomb," says Koide. "The government has said that the amount of radioactivity released by the three affected reactors following [last year's disaster] was 168 times that of Hiroshima, so it is clear that we would be looking at a considerably worse outcome should the [reactor number 4] structure be compromised."
RT @W7VOA: TEPCO says with power cut to #Fukushima-1 NPP Unit 4 spent fuel pool temp rising ~0.4°C/hr.
RT: @W7VOA: #TEPCO: No major changes in radiation levels from nearby monitoring posts amid extended power cut to #Fukushima-1 #nuclear plant.
If you're on the west coast or in Japan... prepare your bunkers just in case.
what about napa wines??????? what will i do for a good cab or merlot?????!!!!! this is horrible!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Plan A washed out to sea 2 years ago. Plan B of pretend nothing happened ended when units started exploding hours later. Plan C seems to be repairing a fried switchboard. Plan D is to fabricate a new switchboard on site before the water hits 65 and the pretty colors start sparking.
Bioaccumulation means we're ALL fucked, as a species...
Have to wonder what the grand design was to have Japan get so fucked by radiation. I think that Karma kind of over-did itself here...
It seems they're delivering some athomic news these days.
Let's tell Brussels' residents to leave and then blow on some of Fukushima's nice winds over Brussels. Troika may take it as they're unplugged from the real world and people.
After all, they just started an athomic chain reaction.
Speaking of following the money.
From the original deal, I haven't checked updated info yet but I assume the basics still apply here regardless of what type of deal is ultimately agreed upon or if no deal happens.
http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/_w_articles_wsite2_1_16/03/2013_488205
"..However, Greek Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras said that depositors with money in Cypriot banks based in Greece would not be affected by the deposit tax. “The branches of Cypriot banks in Greece are totally excluded from the Eurogroup’s decision on Cyprus,” said Stournaras. “The stability of the Greek banking system is safeguarded.”..
The Greek branches of Bank of Cyprus and Cyprus Popular Bank have an estimated 13.5 billion euros in loans and 20 billion euros in loans."
choice between Brussels' bitter pill... and bankruptcy.
the choice is between bankruptcy now and bankruptcy later.
More fodder...
Little children with no grand plan, but if it services their personal delusion, they're all in.
It simply had to come to a head.
So now that it becomes exposed; the simple and pathetic nature of this giant hairball...
stay classy, as we cough it up.
Interesting ramp in European foreign deposits starting around Sept-Dec 2008 for obvious reasons, and a huge spike in Summer of 2010 - remind me what happened back then, something related to Greece?
Cyprus safe haven FTW. :) And the ECB is hammering that - can't have plebs across the EU accumulating wealth, can you?
Worth it just to see Putin get pissed.
Probably got a couple billion in there himself.
Wait a minute Steve. Does this really sum up the situation?
"A disorderly bankruptcy would have forced us to leave the euro and forced a devaluation."
Are we to believe that it's either the ECB/IMF "bail-in" or a disorderly bankruptcy? Why not an orderly bankruptcy, aka liquidation? Is that out of the question? Considering what happened after Lehman was flushed, any type of bankruptcy (liquidation) would be unacceptable to TPTB due to the fact that a potentially fatal OTC derivative meltdown could be triggered by any liquidation, even tiny Cyprus.
A "bankruptcy" would pretty much mean Cyprus is OUT of the EU. This would signify the end to any notion that the EU can "rescue" anyone. It would also signify the end of the EU.
The EU put guns to the heads of the Cyprians and demanded money, and in return they'd allow their banks to keep fucking them.
"Russia" has a gun to the heads of Cyprus and says to give them contract rights for developing the NG fields, and in return Cyprians get banks (non-EU) with actual money IN them!
This could explain why Anastasiades (is said to have said) essentially "fuck you" to Merkel (the Power behind the EU).
Which naturally begs the question, where's the ECB bazooka? ... looks like the tube was pointed in the wrong direction if they fired it.
The ECB bazooka is in the same place as the fairy god mother's wand.
seems the bail in is pretty disorderly to me!!! the actions of transferring capital to europe to get it back via a loan will bankrupt the country, causing a massive exodus of capital and people.
cyprus has been a retirement haven (70,000 retirees out of 900,000 people; equivalent to, say, 8 million germans retiring to france - no big deal if their money isn't stolen!!)
not sure how much worse a disorderly bankruptcy would be compared to this move which collapses the economy
The "Russians" are up in arms over a measly $5 billion? Are you serious?
You fucking think-tank wonks...
This is NOT about what's on the table today. This is ALL about future revenues.
"Russia," if in fact this is a nationally orchestrated affair by the Russian govt (I'll accept it as it, though I have yet to see this proven in any legally recognizable form), ain't going to bail out a fucking EU puppet. No, what they're doing is circling the waters. WHEN Cyprus pukes, which it will (really, how is the EU banksters going to keep the people of Cyprus from completely going nuts?), "Russia" will be there.
The EU has no money. It has no energy. Tell me, again, WHO controls this situation?
I'd like to add that "Russia" could make whole any such losses by increasing the gas prices on Europe. This of course would be states as a one-time deal (so that the Russian oligarchs don't get too uppity and start acting like the US/European oligarchs and getting whatever they want whenever they want it from their govts).
As I'd noted previously (in another thread?), Germany is WAY more fucked than people realize.
http://blog.securities.com/2011/11/russia-to-increase-natural-gas-export...
Got PHYSICAL?
But they are not using the "capacity", and the way most gas contracts are structured, you pay for it weather you use it or not...... looks like they have to get out of that deal (I would bet they are "hemorrhaging" financially due to the take or pays) and the Russians that put the money in the ground to build the pipeline are going to insist on a return on monies invested......
I wonder what other "layers" there are to this "banking" issue....
You might like to add to the set of equations the fact that the Russians are Christian Orthodox (just like Cyprus and Greece) and the church still has a lot of power there (just 40 years ago Archbishop Makarios was head of the church AND head of the state).
And not to forget the wackos of prisonplanet.gr (you probably won't understand the language, but just think of David Icke with a little less lizard reference and a lot more "Greeks as the dominant race" smoke) who, based on alleged prophecies of deceased Christian Orthodox saints and monks, claim that Putin is going to declare a war on Turkey, decimate the infidels, take Istanbul and offer it as a gift to the Orthodox of Greece and Cyprus. I would have a hard time to believe this, but honestly after this weekend, wouldn't many people start thinking "what if...?"
We're not very far from the moment when Russia will appear as the Saviour for Cypriots, with overwhelming popular support. And the British Royal Navy might want to start making relocation plans for their bases in the island, or strike a deal with the Russians. This wasn't an EU move against Russia only. UK is on their crosshair too. Alas, they probably missed their shot.
I'm sure that this can only add to it all. People of Cyprus (those staying) will feel pretty good about being able to really give a big "fuck off" to the EU.
Thank you for providing more insight (I'm no expert here, just good at seeing the Big Picture).
Clearly someone doesn't agree, and they've got such a great rebuttal that they can't even bother to provide it. Fucking punks.. Let's put a wager on this, shall we? Step out of the shadows: or, feel free to contact me in private.
Wrong. All wrong. 1985 is the start date.
Cyprus became the off shore money laundering conduit of all Russian oligarch money stolen from the former Soviet Union. If you do business with Russia, then monies transit Cyprus.
Cypriats knew this.
It is stupid to imagine that this EUSSR money grab in Cyprus is anything other than gangster bankstrers falling out among themselves, and Cyprus is merely a bargaining tool.
Gas, much?
I didn't down-arrow you, but I just don't buy this on the account that I believe that people see this as a turf war, and the entire notion is to protect one's turf. The BIG players (think energy) ultimately control things, banksters are fast losing their power (and This is what makes this much bigger than most are getting- This IS the transition from paper/virtual to PHYSICAL).
I wonder what the Big Players (energy sector) blow back will be?
This from the IEA in reference to Europe, about 40% of the NG consumed in Europe is purchased from Russia.
http://www.iea.org/Textbase/npsum/MTGMR2012SUM.pdf (first one I skimmed through)
"However, it collapsed in Europe, where it plummeted by 9% to levels even lower than in 2009."
Further,
"Gas consumption is hit by the triple whammy of 1) low economic growth translating into slow power demand increa ses and sluggish development of the industrial sector, 2) high gas prices, notably over the coming two years, and 3) the strong growth of renewables."Most of these contacts have large "take or pays" in them, and the gas/transmission companies don't willingly renegotiate these.... hmmmm???.
I read this on BBC's website. Simultaneously unbelievable, hilarious, insulting, and par for the course.
"As more details emerge of how last Friday night's meeting on Cyprus progressed, it appears - rather astonishingly - that the structure of the deal was something of an accident.
The Germans and their allies were determined that the levy would raise 5.8bn euros to augment the bailout. They presumed that nearly all of it would be recouped from large unsecured depositors, many of them from Russia.
President Anastasiades was determined that no-one would have to forfeit more than 10% of their deposits. He wanted to protect Cyprus's reputation as an off-shore haven.
To meet both these conditions, and to make the numbers add up, the demands made of those with deposits under 100,000 euros - those who had been assured that their money was safe - were more severe than anyone had expected."
Accidental arithmetic, riiiiiight, epically idiotic reporting. This was a trial baloon on a small island nation.
Putin needs to get his drones all in a row.
Not nearly detailed enough. Show the type of the deposits (ie. investments). Show the detail of loans to Cyprus banks, ownership and terms. The domestic & Russian share is similar in trend. Explain the 60+% drop in Euro in more detail.
Concur, there is more to this and I think your comments/questions are on the right track.
This was no act of stupidity, they set this stage knowing the possible out comes and pulled the trigger.
Question is why?
Much of the worry over the years has been whether the Credit Default Swaps on the different bonds would be activated and paid out.This is where the rubber hits the road systemic risk-wise. I feel much of the bail out business to avoid default is certainly about stopping a chain reaction counter party shitstorm,but perhaps I would like to see more coverage about hedge funds "shorting" countries by diving into this huge CDS pool.They want these countries to default.The media doesn't seem to cover this much.Also,where tiny countries have a huge banking industry perhaps the RISK element should be clarified.
Lena Komileva from G+ Economics made a rather respectable impression in her interview on Bloomberg TV's London office, today, 19.3.
The one troubling heads up was that some will require higher rates for riskier banks/regions.
if... and a big if...ALL the russian money is illegal, then this CLAIM must be proven via a court of law which would mean co-operation between russian and cypriot regulatory authorities.
that is the way to fix that side of the argument.
if a crime has been comitted, then prosecute it for christ's sake, shit or get off the pot.
Putin would love to know the names of those depositors, since the reason they are on Cyprus is to avoid Russian taxes going to his repression machine.
Anyone with money in a Spanish bank deserves to lose it.
What makes you think Putin himself isn't one of those depositors?
He does not need to avoid paying tax to himself. But he might consider a nest egg in case he is ousted.
Strange that people do not undestand that the tax eaters do not 'really' pay taxes.
Exactly, Putin wields a two edged sword against his tax dodging oligarchs, and also sees Cyprus conundrum in a geopolitical context; foot in the mediterranean door to replace ex-brit presence.
THe Ruskis virtually own the island financially and in RE. Even if they take a hit, they WONT walk away from Cyprus.
Its their financial trojan horse into EU along with UK City, and its too important for them; especially if there is now Gas for Gazprom gravy.