The euro should now be put to the sword

[pmaitra]

Graphic: EU treaty and Eurozone crisis deadlock explained

 

[pmaitra]

Debt crisis: Italy's deficit to double, but Germany's to halve

Italy has almost doubled its deficit forecast, as Germany halved its, underscoring the increasing lag of "sinner states" that could persuade the European Central Bank to cut interest rates on Thursday.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel talks with Italian PM Mario Monti during a news conference in Rome on Wednesday.

By Louise Armitstead
9:30PM BST 04 Jul 2012

Mario Monti, the Italian prime minister, told a joint press conference with Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, that Italy's deficit would rise to 2pc of GDP rather than the 1.3pc predicted, while the German finance ministry revised its forecast from 1pc to 0.5pc "thanks to the favourable overall economic development".

Referring to their clash at the Brussels summit, Mrs Merkel said she and Mr Monti were "willing to overcome our difficulties" and work together to end the three-year-old debt crisis. She said that "every day counts" in finding a resolution.

Francois Hollande, the French president, announced €7.2bn (£5.8bn) of tax rises in a bid to relieve France's "crushing" national debt. The government expects the French economy to grow by just 0.3pc this year, compared with previous estimates of 0.7pc. Despite the gloom, markets have risen in recent days in anticipation of an ECB rate cut.

Yesterday, the rally tailed-off as traders feared Mario Draghi, president of the ECB, would again resist the pressure to act. Germany's Dax was off 0.2pc, the French CAC slid 0.1pc and the FTSE 100 was almost flat.

Jim Reid, of Deutsche Bank, said: "The ECB is widely expected to ease its key rate by 25 basis points tomorrow but we can't help thinking that additional market-friendly action is required from Draghi to sustain this rally. The market is hoping that

politicians have done enough to encourage the ECB to lend a hand. We suspect that they won't add additional support for now, which may lead to some disappointment."

Source: Debt crisis: Italy's deficit to double, but Germany's to halve - Telegraph

 

[pmaitra]

Re: Three million cash-strapped Brits fail to save

Eurozone remains weak, warns Mario Draghi, as ECB cuts interest rates

British humour takes time to get used to, and I am starting appreciate bits of it.

Here are some comments in a conversation from the article above:

Tony Camilleri
Today 07:56 AM
Just invest in a very strong safe and guns and take your money out of the banks. Then let them enjoy their empty vaults.
[HR][/HR]
ExasperatedMe
Today 08:46 AM
What happens if you don't have any money to buy a safe never mind put any in it and recognize that it is illegal to own a firearm?
[HR][/HR]
foxenburg
Today 08:53 AM
Then you are paradoxically quite fortunate in some ways - you have nothing to lose.
[HR][/HR]
ExasperatedMe
Today 09:00 AM
Quite!!

Mind you, I own a fair bit of land...

_____
[HR][/HR]
mhayworth
Today 02:29 PM
Then start growing food....
[HR][/HR]
ExasperatedMe
Today 02:58 PM
I am, we have hens and ducks too also.

Can we eat badgers?

_____
[HR][/HR]
random_turns
18 minutes ago
You certainly can. Make sure you hit them accidentally with your car first though.

Roadkill cuisine - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[pmaitra]

Eurozone remains weak, warns Mario Draghi, as ECB cuts interest rates

Interesting comment:

Simple Simon says
Today 10:05 AM
LOL, yet more delusion, more debt to pay off debt, it is now clear that all leaders are only interested in short term fixes to suit their short terms in power, this reminds me of the end of the 5 (so called good) Emperor's.

The time of the 5 good Emperor's was a time of expansion, what rome gained those that they defeated lost and became part of romes slave chain gang, so rome grew, after the last of the 5 despots, the empire could not expand any more, much like the USA is now, it can't expand any more with out taking over china or russia, anyway i digress, as rome could not expand anymore it didn't let that stop it's lifestyle, so they borrowed, so to cut a long story short, the job of Emperor went to the highest bidder, each emperor after used his position to just strip rivails of power and wealth and got killed doing it, everything was short term, grab and run became the norm.

Seems we are in that state now, all our leaders are short term despots lining their own pockets, more debt will just keep them safe while in office, they don't care what happens after, look at greece and how many ex leaders became billionairs on loading greece up with debt, do you see them offering some money back even though they know they took money from debts that the people could never pay back, and look at the bank goldman's that took fees while doing it and fiddling figures so they could, they claim to be doing "gods" work, if so this "god" is a very dishonest person and lacks any guilt at all, no this "god" is made in the image of an inbred brain damaged sub human.

This will only make things worst and when it does you won't know who is taking the fees for setting this up.

 

[pmaitra]

Finland could leave the eurozone rather than pay other nations' debts, says Jutta Urpilainen

Finland would consider leaving the eurozone rather than paying the debts of other countries in the currency bloc, Finnish Finance Minister Jutta Urpilainen has said.

"Finland is committed to being a member of the eurozone, and we think that the euro is useful for Finland," Ms Urpilainen told financial daily Kauppalehti, adding though that "Finland will not hang itself to the euro at any cost and we are prepared for all scenarios".

The finance minister stressed that Finland, one of only a few EU countries to still enjoy a triple-A credit rating, would not agree to an integration model in which countries were collectively responsible for member states' debts and risks.

Source: Finland could leave the eurozone rather than pay other nations' debts, says Jutta Urpilainen - Telegraph

 

[pmaitra]

Cyprus asks Moscow for €5bn loan, says Russian finance minister Anton Siluanov

Cyprus has asked Moscow for a €5bn loan, Russia's finance minister has said.

Russia said it was studying the request from the debt-laden island, which needs to shore up its struggling banks from financial turmoil rocking nearby Greece.

Finance minister Anton Siluanov confirmed that Cyprus has also asked for an assistance package from the European Union.

Analysts note a particular interest by Moscow in making sure that Cyprus does not fail and deprive the Russian authorities with the cash needed to help pursue their stalled efforts and modernisation and diversification of oil exports.

Source: Cyprus asks Moscow for €5bn loan, says Russian finance minister Anton Siluanov - Telegraph

 

[Virendra]

Few extracts from a reading :

...The European Christian social contract of colonialism imposes order by explicitly pursuing a policy of overseas theft and loot, based on the superiority of "guns, germs and steel". Interestingly, this social contract is now unraveling, as there are no more subject peoples to loot and steal from: Europe is collapsing into oblivion...

...Europe's social contract with its citizens has been that they would get prosperity in return for providing the muscle for overseas expeditions. Bereft of empire and forced to fall back on their own (minimal) resources, countries like the UK are rapidly reverting to their natural, Hobbesian state: the riots in several cities last year are indicative of this...

The Weekend Interview With Norman Davies: The Emperor of Vanished Kingdoms - WSJ.com

Regards,
Virendra

 

[roma]

Who will gain the most and loose out of this impending break up of Euro?

speaking frorm the euro-zone itself :- iwould say :-
good question , importatnt question might be a personally helpful qn to me too !

before i attempt to give my "IMHO" or not so "H" O , ..i might just add that the whole experience so far has been a pain for consumers in south europe - real estate doubled in price - cost of all items in cafes doubled - without any change in quality - food prices at least 50% up - with no real apparent gain to the individual consumer - some big guys here and there might have gained - those high up in govt and the really big businesses

were the euro to be demolished, those smaller timers who invested in real estate , homes on loan - like the real estate crah in usa , those would be considerabaly hard hit - their house values would drop at least 30 % within first two years maybe more.

basically the whole thing has been badly planned , badly executed , no real over view - someone thought it was a good idea 8 for themselves ) and had the policitical clout to get it going - now theyve benefitted while everyone else is feeling the pinch

 

[pmaitra]

Germans in court battle to block eurozone bailouts

The German Constitutional Court may take up to three months to rule on an injunction by private citizens and Left-wing lawmakers aimed at blocking the eurozone bailout machinery, leaving markets hanging in suspense as the eurozone debt crisis eats at confidence.

Source: Germans in court battle to block eurozone bailouts - Telegraph

 

[pmaitra]

Interesting comment:

graeme_b
02/27/2011 09:06 PM
2050?

'Ray Kurzweil has used Moore's law (which describes the relentless exponential improvement in digital technology) to calculate that desktop computers will have the same processing power as human brains by the year 2029. He also predicts that by 2045 artificial intelligence will reach a point where it is able to improve itself at a rate that far exceeds anything conceivable in the past, a scenario that science fiction writer Vernor Vinge named the "singularity".'

(from the wikipedia article on artificial intelligence)

2050 is hidden from us by the dense, impenetrable fog of time.

 

[Scalieback]

Graphic: EU treaty and Eurozone crisis deadlock explained

Thanks for the link Pmaitra but finance bores me nearly as much as cricket

Germany will do economically what it couldn't do militarily. France (once again) has capitulated. The other eurozone countries are scared of what will happen if Greece (then Spain? Italy? Portugal?) leave the Euro; but don't want the austerity and fiscal union (has it really taken an economic crisis for these nations to realise this?) required.

Greece, Portugal and Spain all have the military worried and it's not that long ago that they all had a military Govt.

You can't have a single currency without fiscal union. You're very unlikely to have fiscal union without political union. In the end, the Euro will survive and the Socialist Democratic Uber state of Europe will exist.

British politicians are scared of a referendum on Europe as they know they'll lose ie the majority of the Brit public do not favour the political maelstrom that has arisen from a trading agreement.

 

[pmaitra]

What really worries me is that people who have worked hard all their lives and saved money have suddenly lost a chunk of their savings, thanks to the UK Govt. printing more money out of thin air to bail out some of these imbecilic banks.

Like one commentator said, if you have saved money, you have lost it, and if you haven't, then you are really lucky, because you have nothing to lose. LINK

 

[pmaitra]

ScaleyBack, yet another thread that you might be interested in: http://defenceforumindia.com/forum/...ee-million-cash-strapped-brits-fail-save.html

Crossposting:

Exactly.

The modern theories of economics are not only imbecilic, but sinister to the hilt.

I have no idea how concepts such as 'debt is money,' 'must inflate currency,' 'must encourage spending,' 'must create demand,' and an eclectic mix of assorted drivel ended up being taught in business schools. Some of the things taught, and practiced in real life are not only mind numbingly dumb, but also fatal to the point that is can cause protests, riots, or even war, even when the flow of tangible goods and services remains more or less the same.

I wonder why a small coterie of fraudsters should be allowed to go scott free with their theories, that are causing so much harm to the hard working people of this world.

 

[Scalieback]

What really worries me is that people who have worked hard all their lives and saved money have suddenly lost a chunk of their savings, thanks to the UK Govt. printing more money out of thin air to bail out some of these imbecilic banks.

Like one commentator said, if you have saved money, you have lost it, and if you haven't, then you are really lucky, because you have nothing to lose. LINK

So if we didn't print more money and bail the banks out .........

There are thoughts that we should have let some of the banks go to the wall. However, that's been and gone now. We are where we are and need to move on. B(w)ankers are still making massive profits. Until their shareholders do something about it, so it shall always be.

It's like footballers salaries. Everyone moans about it. I say, stop paying to watch the games then and stop your Sky Sports subscription. Until that happens, footballers will still be paid astronomical amounts. The same with bankers.

Anyway, our previous chancellor who then became PM made such a glorious decision of selling gold and buying Euro's, what's to do

 

[Scalieback]

ScaleyBack, yet another thread that you might be interested in: http://defenceforumindia.com/forum/...ee-million-cash-strapped-brits-fail-save.html

Thanks for the link, but as I say I'd rather watch paint dry than discuss finance

 

[Iamanidiot]

Football is the only thing that moves the emotionally frigid English.The queen may be another thing.Scalieback a lot of Indian origin docs in UK want to move back to India

 

[Scalieback]

Football is the only thing that moves the emotionally frigid English.

What? Really? Source? I might say the same as cricket and Indians, but that would be wrong, albeit easier to prove than the English and football.

The queen may be another thing.Scalieback a lot of Indian origin docs in UK want to move back to India

What has the Queen got to do with the Euro or even sport?

A lot of Indian origin docs (Doctors?) want to move to India? Source?

 

[pmaitra]

What? Really? Source? I might say the same as cricket and Indians, but that would be wrong, albeit easier to prove than the English and football.

He is stereotyping, and that is wrong, as much as stereotyping Indians would be wrong. India isn't yet engulfed in the fire of political correctness, so please excuse us; but then, that is not altogether a bad sign - we get to call Pakistanis Pakistanis, and not Asians.

What has the Queen got to do with the Euro or even sport?

Nothing really.

A lot of Indian origin docs (Doctors?) want to move to India? Source?

AFAIK, most Indians (doctors and others) do not want to return to India, but then again, that is proven by the fact that immigration is more India to UK than the other way around. But with the way these hedge funds, banks, and now oil companies are manipulating the market, and the government printing away paper currency, it could happen soon.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/energy/fuel/9401934/Was-the-petrol-price-rigged-too.html

 

[Scalieback]

He is stereotyping, and that is wrong, as much as stereotyping Indians would be wrong. India isn't yet engulfed in the fire of political correctness, so please excuse us; but then, that is not altogether a bad sign - we get to call Pakistanis Pakistanis, and not Asians.

Fair one, if he'd said obsessed with reality shows I might have agreed

We've had that discussion add infinitum. Maybe if the Indians in the UK (yes, I've seen the headlines) wanted to make sure they were ethnically seperated ...........

Nothing really.

Not really sure why he mentioned it. Perhaps it's an insult lost in translation

AFAIK, most Indians (doctors and others) do not want to return to India, but then again, that is proven by the fact that immigration is more India to UK than the other way around. But with the way these hedge funds, banks, and now oil companies are manipulating the market, and the government printing away paper currency, it could happen soon.

Was the petrol price rigged too? - Telegraph

Brits emigrating or those of Indian descent? Might be both for all I know. How big a house do you get in India for £200K?

 

[pmaitra]

Brits emigrating or those of Indian descent? Might be both for all I know. How big a house do you get in India for £200K?

Those of Indian descent.

Assuming Cameron does not print a few million more by the time I finish writing my post, for £200,000 = Rs.17,195,000, you could get a 3BHK flat in Noida, which is very close to Delhi, or two 3BHK flats in Bangalore, and in each of the two cities, save enough for a medium sized car.

P.S.: I know housing is a big issue in the UK right now.