European Union

Today we got yet another tortured admission of just how ugly Greek balance sheets are, the ECB has admitted what we knew months ago, namely that more than  half of all Greek loans are now nonperforming, and that as much as 57% of the loans made by Piraeus Bank the bank which fared worst, are at risk with the other Greek banks not much better off.

• World stocks on course for best month in four years (Reuters)
• Global Stocks Up Amid Stimulus Hopes (WSJ)
• BOJ Refrains From Adding Stimulus Even as Inflation, Growth Wane (BBG)
• U.S. Avoids Debt Default as Congress Passes Fiscal Plan (BBG)
• China naval chief says minor incident could spark war in South China Sea (Reuters)
• Exclusive Club: No High-Frequency Traders Allowed at Luminex (WSJ)

With winter rapidly approaching, Europe has yet to develop a viable plan to provide shelter for the hundreds of thousands of refugees fleeing the war-torn Mid-East. If the bloc doesn't act soon, tens of thousands of families could end up freezing to death on the way to Germany. 

According to the Guardian, the US trade representative, Michael Froman, in the first public comments from a senior US official on the matter, said that "the United States is not keen on pursuing a separate free trade deal with Britain if it leaves the European Union."

• Global shares rise as Riksbank helps ease Fed wait (Reuters)
• Asian Stocks Retreat Before Fed as Material Shares Lead Losses (BBG)
• For Fed, a Rates Puzzle Looms (WSJ)
• What the Superforecasters Say About When the Fed Will Lift Rates (BBG)
• U.S. Looks at Proposals to Step Up Fight Against Islamic State (WSJ)
• China Steel Head Says Demand Slumping at Unprecedented Speed (BBG)
• VW slumps to first quarterly loss in at least 15 years (Reuters)

It will become clearer, fast, what an awful mess Brussels and Berlin have created here, because with winter approaching more refugees will fall victim to the conditions under which they’re forced to live once they’ve entered Europe. Which, in their own eyes, will still be preferable to the conditions in their homelands. And then what will we do, when dozens start dying from cold and diseases? Send in more police and military? This is a road to a very bleak nowhere.

The world is witnessing the destruction of Syria, a country with a rich history going back millennia. But there is one significant minority that faces total annihilation if the radical factions prevail: Syria’s Christian community.

Over the next six months, Barcelona’s left-wing city council plans to roll out a cash-less local currency that has the potential to become the largest of its kind in the world. While the socialist mayor's official reasoning is 'to boost economic opportunities for local businesses', perhaps there are somewhat less altruistic motives behind the move, such as encouraging people to embrace cashless currencies. It appears the war on cash has moved from one of words to actions (as it is likely no coincidence that most of the local community currencies that have been launched so far are in purely digital format, as would Barcelona’s.)

• European shares slip as easing expectations fade (Reuters)
• Valeant and Pharmacy More Intertwined Than Thought (WSJ)
• The Pawn Isolated: Valeant, Philidor and the Annals of Fraud (WSJ)
• Strongest Afghan Quake Since 1949 Triggers Search for Survivors (BBG)
• EU Agrees To Tighten Border Controls And Slow Migrant Arrival (AP)
• Volkswagen Suspends More Employees (WSJ)
• Volkswagen Loses Global Sales Lead to Toyota Amid Diesel Scandal (BBG)

"If European leaders fail to agree a plan to counter the sudden inflows of refugees, it could mean the end of the European Union. If we don't find a solution today, if we don't do everything we can today, then it is the end of the European Union as such," Prime Minister Miro Cerar said. "If we don't deliver concrete action, I believe Europe will start falling apart."

As John Kerry prepares to meet Sergei Lavrov in Vienna, Putin and Assad are drawing up plans to call for elections in Syria. The idea, of course, is that Assad will prevail in a landslide, allowing Moscow to claim that the people have spoken and the regime must rightfully be restored. 

A beleaguered Deutsche Bank is set to slash the investment bank bonus pool by some $566 million as John Cyran's effort to right a sinking ship continues. As Bloomberg reports, "no decision has been taken and the biggest reductions are likely to impact employees in the fixed-income business. Some managing directors may have their entire bonus scrapped, according to the person."

Animals and Babies Are Getting Fatter Too …

The terms of Obama’s proposed TPP ‘trade’ treaty with Asian countries won’t be made public until the treaty has already been in force for at least four years. The terms of Obama’s proposed TISA (Trade In Services Agreement) with 52 nations won’t be made public until the treaty has already been in force for at least five years. Obama’s proposed TTIP treaty with European countries has been so successfully hidden, that even the number of years it will be kept from the public isn’t yet known. Hello, international fascism — all in secret, until too late for the public to do anything.

Submitted for your consideration: 1) "A man from northern Sweden who has praised Adolf Hitler on Facebook and participated in Nazi demonstrations has answered a call from Sweden's Migration Agency for volunteers willing to offer accommodation to refugees," 2) "I said this to Merkel too. No one should expect Turkey to turn into a concentration camp where all the refugees stay in."