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Union: One Survived; One May Not
Submitted by Mark J. Grant, author of Out of the Box,
Uncounted Liabilities
One of the most interesting issues of what has happened in Cyprus is where was the problem three weeks ago? There was not a mention, not a hint of anything that was wrong. All of the banks in Cyprus had passed each and every European bank stress test. The numbers reported out by the ECB and the Bank for International Settlements indicated nothing and everything reported by any official organization in the European Union pointed to a stable and sound fiscal and monetary policy and conditions. The IMF, who monitors these things as well, did not have Cyprus or her banks on any kind of watch list.
What happened?
Let me assure you it was not some "Miracle on 34th Street" that took place overnight while everyone was in bed and counting sheep. I can also assure you it was not because some bean counter in Brussels or Frankfurt stumbled over some new bit of data and informed his superiors. Nothing of the sort. The culprit is what is counted and not counted in the European financial system and the quite real consequences of uncounted liabilities.
Before I even go on with Cyprus, so you do not glaze over the punch line, I point out to you what has taken place. In just two weeks' time we have gone from not a mention of Cyprus to a crisis in Cyprus because none of the official numbers were accurate. Without doubt, without question, if this can happen in Cyprus then it could happen in any other country in the Eurozone because the uncounted liabilities are systemic to the whole of Europe. The European Union does NOT count sovereign guarantees of bank debt, sovereign guarantees of corporate debt, derivatives or many other types of contingent liabilities. They are all uncounted, but still there, no disappearing act, and as the bills roll in they have to be paid by someone. Dexia was fine, the mortgage company in the Netherlands was fine, Bankia was fine and overnight, "Snap, Crackle Pop!"
And Jack comes out of the Box.
For investors here is the crux of the problem. The Press is handed the official numbers and reports them out as if they were accurate. To be fair to the Press; they have no choice. Some EU Finance Minister send out a press release and the story is printed. S&P, Moodys and the rest have some choice but it is limited if they wish to keep doing business in Europe. In a sense it is the CDO issue all over again. The ratings agencies take the word of Europe, make judgments based upon the faulty data and opine based upon the erroneous information. As the geeks among us would say; Garbage in---Garbage out.
Then many money managers rely upon the official data, rely upon the ratings agencies and make investment decisions based upon the data that they are given. The CDO issue again you see where everything was rated inaccurately. So then we have Garbage in---Investments based upon Garbage. Therefore I will tell each and every one of you; if you are making decisions relying upon the official numbers of Europe and upon the ratings of European sovereign debt then you are going to get burned. You are relying upon falsified data and any ratio that you might run is wrong as the underlying numbers are inaccurate.
Just Garbage---Everyone is talking Trash.
When discussing Cyprus, besides, the systemic mis-reporting of data, I always hear the wrong headed thinking that they are so small that they don't matter. Think of the Senate in the United States. New York has two Senators and Rhode Island has two Senators and the argument goes that only the New York ones matter. Sorry folks, every Senator has one vote and is part of the Senate regardless of the size of their State.
There is a distinction in the law of the United States and Great Britain between private property and investments. Your own money and your own house are treated differently than the ownership of securities. Both countries, also, have due process of law where courts decide who is entitled to what under the bankruptcy laws. The government does not and cannot mandate the seizure of private property without this due process. Then let us compare this to the demands of the EU and Germany.
They want bank accounts seized and part of the money to be used to pay off the national debt. They have not asked for the bondholders to be jeopardized because the bonds in Cyprus are governed under British law and they will not allow for a retroactive change of covenants. They also have not pressed for this because then they too would have to take a hit and they prefer the Russians, the British and the normal, ordinary people of Cyprus to pay the price. What a great message for the Cypriots; you pay your share for the banks of Spain, you pay for Greece, for Portugal and for Ireland as a member in good standing of the European Union. Then when you are in trouble we will seize your assets so that you can pay for yourself. Such nice people.
Germany now says that all of the bank in Cyprus are bankrupt. It is on this basis that they demand the depositors money; all of the depositors or perhaps just the wealthier ones with deposits over one hundred thousand Euros. There are French banks, British banks, Emirates banks and Swiss banks in Cyprus. In the case of Switzerland it is UBS. No one has told us yet that UBS is bankrupt. Perhaps they are waiting to tell us on Saturday night as is their usual practice, but today we all think that UBS is solvent. The German argument is spurious.
There are also American deposits in Cyprus. General Electric, Procter and Gamble, Caterpillar et al do business there and I am sure have money in the banks somewhere. How nice of Europe to expropriate American money along with the rest. Very kind of them. It is not a vast sum I am sure. It is not a significant amount of money; no doubt, but I am not sure that the act of stealing is defined by the amount of money that is taken. Maybe Merkel will send Obama a note thanking him for the extra liquidity. She could certainly send that note to Bernanke given the amount of money that the Fed has supplied to the foreign banks.
"While the Union lasts, we have high, exciting, gratifying prospects spread out before us, for us and our children. Beyond that I seek not to penetrate the veil. God grant that in my day, at least, that curtain may not rise! God grant that on my vision never may be opened what lies behind! When my eyes shall be turned to behold for the last time the sun in heaven, may I not see him shining on the broken and dishonored fragments of a once glorious Union…"
-Daniel Webster
A different day. A different time. A different Union. One survived; one may not.
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where was the problem three weeks ago?
It's Europe.....weeks are like doggy years.
Now days when people talk about "bailing out" something, it is meant as synonym to a rescue.
Not to long ago, when you "bailed out" something it meant you were in the boat as well and attempting to save your own hide by means of this was the last resort.
"There is a distinction in the law of the United States and Great Britain between private property and investments."
You make the point about how perceptions can change quickly, if the official data is faked. It is the same for "laws". Not only is the constitution gone, so is the Magna Carta. If a large percentage of the "audience" expects the laws to hold back Leviathan, we will have more quick changes of perception.
We've all been raised on television to believe that one day we'd all be millionaires, and movie gods, and rock stars. But we won't. And we're slowly learning that fact.
And we're very, very pissed off.
Not really,
Only the terminally slow people think that. Or kids who haven't got their first job yet.
A week of making subs and pizzas should cure any rational human of that premise.
(watch Tyler's movie)
In America that was pushed for decades and people thought they where one check or one lucky break from being wealthy. People are finding out and they are not really pissed off but going insane and doing insane things.
now this is rank propaganda from the article's author. I definitely remember about the Cypriot government and the Cypriot national bank governor having talks about the situation of those two banks - from June 2012 on
see this ZH article of today that points to the begin of Cyprus's troubles in 2011
and let's not forget that those two banks were initially in trouble because of the Greek debacle - courtesy of the great advisory work done by Goldman Sachs in Enronizing Greek books thanks to off-balance sheet scams loaded with derivatives
And yet today MSM is not covering this story. The topic is taboo it would appear. Sadly or fortunately most of my friends to not follow global economics. When I've tried to raise the subject I am meet with ... "well golly ... I wasn't aware of Cyprus."
The idea that Mondern Monetary Theory is based on confidence and all that officialdom must do is control confidence is absurd.
It is inherently ... inalienably wrong.
You cannot abridge my right to make decisions for myself that are based on accurate information. This is not Waco. I do not accept Jim Jones ... and you cannot make me drink the gawd dang koolaide.
Piss on ya.
PS -- That is a royal "you".
So where were you Ghordius?? We're tanking here?
WTF Cyprus has been on the radar for two years
Marks pointing out the propaganda. The official story that everything was fine.
It's always fine. Until it ain't.
In fact, it's fine right now...just a little bump.
the Troika has everything under control.
You feel sleepy ...close your eyes....zzzzzzzzz
"Some weeks, decades happen"
Joseph something or other.
Great quote, this is what I found on it:
"There are decades where nothing happens; and there are weeks when decades happen."
Vladimir Lenin
Argh I get my socialist despots confused, so damned many of them. Thanks for the correction.
"There are also American deposits in Cyprus". Oh, let's be a bit more exact - the majority is Russian, and the next sizable part of it according to my sources is... is... is...Israeli
'If you have done this to our eternal ally, you have done it unto us.'
Obama's in Jerusalem, visiting his most important constituency.
sorry, my fault - I failed to read "American" in the broader sense
God fuck the Jews
- the Bible
Ghordius,
So. Germans want Jewish money. Funny. They played that game 70+ years ago. They got the money. It still didn't do them any good. This time it will be different. For sure. This time the Russians oppose the Germans.
Wait a minute. Haven't I seen this movie before? Any one remember how it ends?
not so fast - the Finns, the Dutch, the Germans, etc. are offering 10bn - if the Cypriot do find 7bn themselves
this is btw the way the Germans on the street see this deal
Just Garbage---Everyone is talking Trash
Not ZH!
Errr...ZH has had testosteronepit (sp?) posting on Cyprus for months
"Errr...ZH has had testosteronepit (sp?) posting on Cyprus for months"
Yeah, but who's listening? I don't detect any movers and shakers weighing in here.
Those playing with the real money seem to be following the rating's agencies and official financial reports.
Cynics don't get jobs except as court jester.
So should ZH take Motley Fool's hat?
TP is not the MSM, was I think the point of the original post.
The culprit is what is counted and not counted in the European financial system
And what is not counted in the US are the national unfunded liabilities though every business and state and local government is required by US law to account for them. They are only $123.2 trillion and growing at $6.9 trillion a year.
It is 8:20 am in the US, so silver must be hammered. Just another fraud.
All PMs are getting the PTB beat-down! BTFD!
This article is a bit silly - They lied. They fucking lied. They all lie, all the time. They lie in Europe, they lie in America, they lie in China, and so on...
WTF do you think? That there will be an effort to solve the problems of the economy that might cost the PTB one copper-clad penny? There will be no solutions that don't involve a wealth transfer from those with little, to those with much.
This is the future, in the current day. Get used to it, or do something about it.
We're all made to be in the dark. We never have the complete story let alone the story itself. When "it" pops up we can either read from the script, drink from the Kool aid or start out next round of best guesses. So no...this is not a silly article at all. Sure...we've been talking about the problems with Europe (starting with me and Greece long before those interest rates hit 300 percent) and ZH has been the only consistent "lodestar" on what has been the "un-reeling" of the whole euro zone and quite possibly the failure of the euro itself. (I once called it "the zero" actually. So far it's been even worse.) as it relates to this article one of our Merry Band of Commentarians pointed out "what the he'll is a euro group" and this INDEED is a great question one i've tried to as a former graduate student at George Washington University who worked on what that town calls "a working group." these things are DEADLY "devices" (a "panzergruppen for the mind) and I can't get it out of my head that that's what that "euro group" in fact is. "mums the word" of course with these things but to say there isn't some spillover effect from Cyprus is to be ridiculous. The question therefore seems simple...to what extent is the "spillover effect" already understood "before the deed is done" and to what extent can that be anticipated and in CAUSING the island to be collapsed "containing the matter." needless to say equities have rallied...and what I find surprising is that people find this surprising. It was the basic plan of the USA's policy response to 2008...why should we expect "the euro groups" plan to be any different?
What happened with the Kulaks should be a lesson to all on the endgame.. If you have stock market 'wealth' or sitting duck deposits in a bank, they will happily let you keep your land and your production as they raid the markets and savings from time to time.. but once those place holders of wealth are gone so is the buffer keeping them away from your real wealth. Anything real you own is fair game once the paper games are done
I needed some education - I had heard of this but did not recognize the name Kulak.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kulak
VERY instructive.
"You gotta collapse it to find out what's in it..."
Brilliant!
The US pretends to be saving Europe and is doing it partially and openly. But the reality is that it will actually let Europe collapse and buy it with printed dollars as the USD will be the king once the euro and pound get totally trashed.
Financial World war III without bullets. Maybe some here and there to guarantee resources.
Buy Europe with dollars to sell at a discount to Russia and China when they kill the petro-dollar?
Theres a lot of oil moving without dollars already. Soon to be a lot more.
Very apparent that someone went down the list and gave down arrows to everyone. ORGANIZED HATE? or a bankster?
Noticed the same thing. Probably just another Khazarian who hates us Kulaks.
+1 but I'd reword it to "You gotta collapse it to find out what isn't in it..."
Yes but the point is that you get money managers who manage billions of dollars and flakes like Steve Liesman reporting and analyzing the numbers without questioning their accuracy
one can ignore reality - but not consequences. proven again.
And if you control the government, then you can shift those consequences onto the Kulaks as they arise.
Sure deflects (yet again) any banking/financial/budgetary woes in the U.S.
So does March Madness... Europe should just start a BRACKET picking contest to determine the outcome...
LOL. And I'll take Gonzaga over the EU minus 10.
Cyprus took a stop-gap loan from Russia extending the inevitable. This is why Merkel is adamant of sticking it to the Russian money. Hopefully it will teach them a lesson. LOL
Merkel had better be careful. And she might want to stay away from dudes carrying umbrellas, hot tubs, and thermal baths, just in case.
she is ex-stasi- which is pretty much KGB so she has connections from the "good old days"
The cb s hold markets till the news hits and then they let it drop a little and buy the dip. Rinse repeat
And its your money they are playing with that you get no interest. Who could have thought of a better plan
Oh wait.....
out of nowhere...just out of nowhere...amazing isn´t it....and the rating agencies were on top of it...lol.....I will say one thing...they really have let the cat out of the bag as to their end game...its wealth confication.....just steal it to keep the bankers whole....amazing really..to me this is the end...the final nail...if you have money in a bank...its yours to lose at this point....
We need some more Jonney come lately's around here.
"their end game...its wealth confication."
And they confiscate the wealth. And they continue the game. And they burn through the wealth.
Then what?
Tea and a pony ride?
Believe it , gentlemen....I was in CYPRUS 48. hrs ago. These people are angry. I sat in a cafe with an internet connection and showed them the ZEROHEDGE website and they started reading. My tour guide was very fluent in English...she kept reading the postings and comments and getting madder and madder. I hope I did my small part in waking someone up. Thieving bankers.
Well done lynnybee! Everyone deserves to know the truth.
Mighty fires start with a single spark....
You should of went full Joan of arc and led the charge into the banker district
Never go half Joan
Hi lynnybee,
I'm trying to gather intel on this Biggest Finance Capital tactic to suck the asset money from the people.
If you have personal knowledge of, or know someone who does, please relay an answer to the following questions:
1. Does Cyprus have credit unions that don't leverage their money and have they shut down also.
2. It looks like bond holders and having their financial arms cut off or, worse, financial necks hung, but what happens when a persoon holds bonds through their bank that is closed? Even though they aren't getting a haircut, is their money completely locked up because they can't access the intermediary?
This beta test is well corchestrated - they knew what they were starting with this and are probably loaded to the gills with CDSes to the downside that will be made whole by a debt saturated society.
This is Art of War... war is all about deception, the best warriors never have to fight...
TIA...
What will all the T&A guys look like in the future, when all the historic economic data is bullshit?
Like sub-prime is well contained, Fannie and Freddie were fine, all lies until they can't hold back the floodgates and the dam breaks
Cypruss had at least a year to come up with a plan B, for when, not if this situation arose and what happened, same as every other country, wait till the last minute. If they had any brains, they would have come up with a plan that would allow them enough leverage to be able to tell the EZ to take their plan and shove it, everyone is alseep at the wheel and they wake up as the car is flipping over.
As for the markets. It seems to be Buy First, Don't ask Questions, ever!!
I'm sure Dr. Bernanke would love to throw them a few Billion, what's another 10-20 billion when you're spending close to 100 billion a month to keep the broken system going!!
"They never tell you in advance"
Kyle Bass (best comment ever)
It's like Bear Stearns Vu all over again.
that's his 2nd best quote after "It's the government's job to lie to you"
He has other good ones like
“Capitalism without Bankruptcy is like Christianity without Hell-it does not work”
“Just as Latvians ran to the ATMs this weekend, so will depositors all over peripheral Europe in the months ahead.”
"You don't tape the mirror because you are ugly." Point 2.36 of below
http://paul.kedrosky.com/archives/2011/11/kyle-bass-on-hardtalk-full-interview.html
I do like his style...
I have to think that this could be another Bear Stearns moment. Time will tell but if the past is any indicator you have about 6 mos to get your shit together. But mos ZHers are ahead of the curve with that respect.
A fundamental misconception about what a bank deposit is.
IT'S NOT YOUR MONEY! GET THAT? IT'S NOT YOURS!
It's an investment in the bank. It's the bank's money. What you got when you invested was a book entry with a number written in it. That's what your bank account is.
more like a loan than an investment.
also, when there is deposit insurance supposedly guaranteeing the return of your loan (for under 100k euros), and eurocrats try to screw you by classifying the appropriation of your funds as a "tax" to get around the deposit insurance, that is dishonesty, and people have the right to be angry about it.
i'm glad that this happened, though, even the suggestion that bank funds might be stolen (taxed) without warning is waking people up to the fact that money in the bank is not safe at all.
by now i think everyone either suspects or is convinced that the official numbers or statements (such as the one on the bank stress tests) are all doctored. the question is what will stimulate people to act? i see strange apathy in people (not zh readers) if not optimism (as ES is green this morning). it is almost surreal. of course this is a slow train wreck (the developed world economies) but it is one train wreck that will end very badly for everyone. i have to say that it is true that people deserve their government.
friends I talk to think I'm a lunitic. after a couple years of gold going nowhere and the stocks dropping, it is not interesting them. they know the economy sucks but just hope it gets better like it used to after a recession. talking about inflation and default while S&P is back to all time high makes you the office idiot.
You should ask them questions that force them to look for answers.
Example: "Who controls/owns the Federal Reserve System?", "What is Money?"
Once they start to investigate, they'll find more questions on their own...
you have to counter that by showing them viral videos of kitties doing terribly cute things. This will get you back into their favor, and make them think that you're "one of them" again.
Sorry, but if you are actually trying to convince anyone that there is a problem they cannot see, then yes you are the office idiot.
Because you must be an idiot to think that anyone not reading ZH on a daily (hourly!) basis has even the first clue to what you are talking about. How can you hang around here, reading about all the propaganda and info-warfare going on, and then expect anyone to believe anything you have to say to the contrary?
There are things you do not do. You don't argue religion with fanactics. You don't argue living room decorations with your wife. And you don't argue economic realities with people who think fiat paper money has intrinsic value.
There is a blue pill and there is a red pill, but you cannot choose for people which one to take. And you can't fight with them about it, because it's their choice. It's just not worth it. It is nothing but frustration and pain to try. You will never make your point and your sustained efforts will have others thinking you are insane. Better to educate yourself toward the day when someone expresses doubts, answer any honest questions clearly and without emotion -- and otherwise wait.
This is what we should be talking about. There is no grand conspiracy, just a bunch of A-types all posturing for a bigger piece of power while ignoring the possibility of another systemic near-wipeout. I worry that those jockeying for power actually want a huge crisis, because it opens doors for new players. Humans are "wired" to be optimistic about the future, but when backed into a corner, our evolutionary programming turns to fight rather than fix. Cypress will be "solved" temporarily, but then the pressure in the system will blow a gasket somewhere else, until we get another Lehman.
cnbc, financeer byron winnie.."cypus is so small so small there is no impact, why I am going to buy greece at pennies on the dollar, the the but the big butt...we are worried that the insured bank accounts being hit could might in some less than likely happenstance may bring all finance down"...WTF?
He's right on his talking point...only schmucks keep their money in banks and not the market
call me crazy but isnt this how gold bug types want it.. ie if bank goes under.. no Govt support.. should be equity wiped out.. bonds wiped out.. then depsitors spit whats left..
What the EU is doing is closer to that ideal. The US provides unlimited Govt money to large banks under the guise of too big to fail.
This could set a good reality that ie if your getting zero interest maybe better put cash or gold in safty deposit box.. Then you take out the credit party risk..
The fact Obama was too scared to restructure banks ext has causd lot of US issues..
you have to be retarded to put anything in a bank's safety deposit box.
That's Globally Systemically Important Financial Institution to you.. and your kind
Silver taking a shit this morning. Where are my bitcoins?
I hope it stays on the toilet for a while. That's a FD that I'll B.
Here is the EBA stress test report on Bank of Cyprus. Tier 1 capital ratio as of 2012-12-31 in an adverse scenario 9,5%:
http://www.eba.europa.eu/pdf/bank/CY007.pdf
To boil the frog you must turn up the heat slowly. They will be sure to let all the little frogies know that its only the big croakies that need fear. Of course as the pond thins out, all those little frogies will start looking quite yummy in deed.
"To be fair to the Press; they have no choice. Some EU Finance Minister send out a press release and the story is printed. S&P, Moodys and the rest have some choice but it is limited if they wish to keep doing business in Europe"
Don't make excuses for these fuckers because they choose to put profits over principle. If they are going to be a "ratings agency" then it is incumbent upon them to be truthful or they are just as responsible as the rest of the liars.
What is even more galling is that they put profits over principles and people, and then expect us to understand the reasoning. This is a far more fundemental flaw that merely greed.
Doc, you're forgetting the 1st. rule of EZ fightclub...
"When it's serious, you have to lie."
It's true. The US people will be saying the same stuff soon. Oh, it's just Detroit. Oh Illinois is just one of the 50 states. Meanwhile Texas is opening up their Fort Knox. All those Damn Texans have always wanted their own country anyway, you can just tell with all their stupid I love Texas t-shirts and stuff. I'm on to your game Texas.
I think we got a lot more guns than Cyprus!
When do we liberate North Dakota?
Ponzi didn't know it, but he ran a FED scheme!
Which is a perfect reason why the stackers of gold and silver are getting trashed again this a.m. - we are in a secular bear market in the precious metals having seen the tops in 2011. Industrial metals such as zinc and lead are VERY attractive because no one is talking about THEIR looming shortages. World economies are being reflated back to life so as the trend is your friend, ride the wave and ignore the preachers of gloom.
Be careful investing in economy-dependent materials. Also, never forget that the demand for lead is not dependable, because lead in bullets can be replaced by other materials (even rubber if desired or necessary).
The only reason gold and silver aren't 2x, 3x, 5x higher is the manipulation by JPM with unlimited backing of fiat from the central banksters.
if this can happen in Cyprus then it could happen in any other country in the Eurozone
Thus the dogged insistence of France that "Cyprus has small GDP, 'uuge' bank deposits-to-GDP, and large nonresident deposits. You don't find this anywhere else in the EU."
In other words, it's not official until it's officially denied: France is in deep merde.
Excellent point. As a home owner and depositor/investor in any EU country, you have to worry and start to pull back a bit from this farce. Imprudent to have all your eggs in the "we will get through this" public statement nannycrat basket.
For them to succeed they need us to react. The key is to figure out how they want us to react and do the opposite. While I have always believed that we should take action in response to what is happening, I'm starting to believe the best thing is possibly to do nothing if we want these future tyrants to fail. We keep seeing these mini crisis's that appear to be arbitrary, but look to be created to cause an effect. That is the real question.
"The Press is handed the official numbers and reports them out as if they were accurate. To be fair to the Press; they have no choice."
Are you serious? Do you understand the purpose of a functioning press?
Yes. To regurgitate what they're told. They get paid to plant stories. It ain't like they make money from advertising anymore.
Then there's the internet and ZH who dig out the goods.
And the soveriegn bonds of Europe are still considered 'risk free' capital... until the next PSI makes them all too risky.
Must read - cyprus story WAS ACTUALLY REPORTED 3 WEEKS AGO ON 27 FEB 2013 - SEE BELOW!!!
"Germany, Finland and the Netherlands are among those who say taxpayers cannot be expected to go on financing euro zone bailouts, saying it is time for owners and depositors in risk-laden banks to accept losses on investments.
The concern is that announcing such a move will provoke the immediate, large-scale withdrawal of deposits from all Cypriot banks, where a large number of international investors, including many Russian and British companies, hold accounts."
http://www.newsday.co.zw/2013/02/27/euro-zone-at-odds-over-bail-in-of-cy...
I just smashed a hole in my wall to recover my money, gonna put it underground in a state forest next time.
'State owned'?? Sure your state didn't sell it to some foreign fund and already burned through the money?
Pretty sure, I'll know for sure in a few years.
I know what happened - someone got their money out first.
Good point Mark.
They can't haircut English Law bonds so what better way to get rid of the Russians on Cyprus than to steal their money and kill off the taxhaven status? The fact that they have a better reporting requirements standing than any Euro bank is apparently not the issue.
Maybe something to do about the negotiations to put Brit bases under NATO control? The gas play is a long way out and complicated by Turkish claims but may have influence on the Euro long game plan for access. Putin sends the Fin Min home empty handed. Why?
Could be that it's about more than just the benjamins. Wheels within wheels.
We need a mouse in Mutti's pocket.
Yep this is a perfect opportunity for a enterprising movie producer to start making news reels.
What the hell is wrong with the press? sellouts!
Somebody help me out here.
I'm American, and I am completely accustomed to the idea that when the Powers want to steal money they do it by printing more currency and thus diluting the purchasing power of the currency across all users.
So, when I see the Lords of Europe stealing 'money' the old-fashioned way, I can only assume that they are doing this because the Germans won't let them emulate the US.
But I just flat out cannot believe that the Powers really think they can simply institutionalize explicit theft, or expect that anybody will use their criminal "banks" anymore.
So I can only believe that this whole thing is really a ploy to get the Germans to back down, and let the Lords of Europe stop taking 'money' from the Fed through their "swap lines" or whatever, and start printing it like maniacs themselves, just like the US and Japan.
Am I stating the obvious? Raving like a lunatic? Something in between?
The people of Cyprus are just peons here.. This was a mugging of Russian money... grabbing purses off beach towels.. Mendevev came out and played his part condemning it as old Soviet style robbery but does he really give a fuck?
We'll see
When you are addicted to drugs, or deficit spending and fractional reserve banking, eventually you encounter what William Burroughs called TOTAL NEED.
Europe has reached the stage where they are ready to rip the wiring out of the walls of their house and sell it for scrap copper to get drugs for one more day.
That's the way it looks to me - sort of like Detroit after dark...
does light even shine there anymore?
Does Cyprus have insurance?
I think we have a congressman here in the U.S. that thinks if we can put all the people on one side of the island, it will tip over. TIP IT OVER, then put in an insurance claim.....problem solved! The people can tread water for a while then can climb back up on the bottom.
There is always a solution!
Of course I guess you could just "off" all the people and then grab their accounts. Okay...maybe that would be easier and then less sheeple to deal with.
I'm afraid there's a really high deductible --- total destruction of Cyprus and the conversion of all its citizens into blutwurst would still keep you under that limit.
Funny thing about houses of cards....one never knows when the ill wind will blow.
Black Swan Fart??
Yes, UK and US are those special places in the sky, were you "can't" do all that you do elsewhere and to everyone else, just because they're special and you just "can't". mmkay...
to be fair to the press, they're a bunch of deceiving deceptive deceivers. There... that was fair... maybe too kind.
"To be fair to the Press; they have no choice" ...BS! What is their job if not to investigate and verify? If they just regurgutate what they're handed, then they're irrelavent. More than any one entity, the press is to blame for this being such a surprise.
'One of the most interesting issues of what has happened in Cyprus is where was the problem three weeks ago?'
about two weeks ago the story was being hashed in an ecb/cyp pres' men meeting in which the ecb put their proposal on the table: fund the banks so no forced unwind in exchange for 15% on the uninsured over 100k crowd. the pres of cyp said 'no, i want to limit what is to be taken from the over 100k crowd limited to under 10%, and take the rest from the uninsured.' ecb said ok not because they wanted to but because they had to. ecb is not stupid, they know they need to keep the guarantee.
when the pres of cyp could not deliver the vote, his party had no choice but to abstain from the vote. world cb's coordinate, including russia, and circle the wagon and force cyprus back to the cb's table.the rest will be history.
them's just the facts and a couple of my thoughts. but explains the events rationally, unlike most of the 'russians are coming the russians are coming' scenarios.
one more aside. strategically, ecb should have done/do the original deal now, not force basd/good bank as punishment. this would place that in the light of day, not hidden behind closed doors. they are again, for the second time making a huge tactical mistake. too emotional in my view. (first one: just turning down the pres of cyp offer and walking away, saving their original offer for later).
by the way i personnally would like to see the public unwind of a too big to fail done in the light of day.
maybe it would start a trend.
just hopin :)
There was no issue with LTRO when it involved bailing out banks directly. This is the Anglo American banking cartel using it's lackey Merkel to threaten Russia. If this had happened in Malta would we have had this problem, of course not!
an objective player never keeps one eye on the ball,... whereas the subjective player knows where the ball is, but doesn't have a clue of what too do with it-- a classic... monkey's fucking a coconut scenario, where the coconut is all about the true aspiration, and the analysis is... just that-- a 'cyst on the anal'...
Why do so many human beings love to be enslaved?
I agree, but "There was not a mention, not a hint of anything that was wrong" is not right. The Cyprus problem is known over a year but Merkel & Co. hoped to protract the public discussion about this new site until past the election day in autumn. The problem was always mentioned in bloggs, some newspaper-articles etc....A party-fellow of Merkel emphasizes two days before, that allegedly there was no concrete request from Nikosia.
I believe that Cyprus played poker with urgency, possible new financial "solutions" (ESM, banking union etc...) and easements of austeriy-pressure in other PIIGS-states and simple with the card "too big to fail" and "system-relevance" - just like Greece did four years ago.