Showing posts with label Euro Zone. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Euro Zone. Show all posts

Thursday, January 12, 2012

IF Issue: Wednesday Jan 11, 2012

Excerpts and links from the latest issue:
Bob Chapman - AROOSTOOK WATCHMEN - Jan. 4, 2012

Bob Chapman - Financial Survival - January 6, 2012

Bob Chapman on Where to expatriate in case Ron Paul does not win the presidency

Bob Chapman - Gold Radio Cafe - January 6, 2012

The Stark Truth: Interview with Bob Chapman

Interview 446 – Bob Chapman

The Power Hour with Joyce Riley

Bob Chapman - Radio Liberty - 09 January 2012

US MARKETS
           
The hand of the US elitists shows more each day in the decisions being made in Europe. Mario Draghi, ex-Goldman Sachs, Trilateralist and Bilderberg, is putting everything in place just the way the US elitists want. We are about to see full scale quantitative easing. One trillion in loans times fractional lending of 3 to 9 to whatever will give Europe the funds it needs indefinitely. Europe is going to be a rerun of what we have seen in the UK and US. In behalf of German voters who are 65% against such funding, Chancellor Merkel has refused to allow issuance of Eurobonds or an expansion of the EFSF. Draghi at the head of the ECB is now putting pressure on Mrs. Merkel to drop back to a more defensive position. The intrigue is at its height. If Frau Merkel gives into Draghi she and her party will not score well in the next election and may even lose political control. That could cause Germany to consider leaving the euro, which would destroy the euro zone. There are major dangers here and all the players are well aware of it. Agreement will take time and if it is not reached everything could short circuit, other than the fact that the Fed has put the funds in place. The other objective of getting Germany to whole-heartedly accept the bailout and stimulation is another matter. Confusion reigns even among the participants. The US, UK, France and their front men, Draghi, Monti and Papademos are all moving forward. The price will be very high from an inflationary standpoint, but to the elitists that isn’t even a consideration. They could care less. That is why you want to have your assets invested in gold and silver related assets. We could be headed toward another Weimer episode.
What we are seeing worldwide is another expansive use of money and credit creating better known by the euphemism, quantitative easing. In June, the Fed will announce its latest version that has been secretly underway for the past few months. The Fed is the instrument of liquidity, because it is appointed. By using the Fed everyone’s covered politically. That lets the political types slide into the election not having to be worrying about finances and the economy. It will all be designated the Fed’s fault. This will do the Fed lots of damage. If Ron Paul is elected president these actions could lead to the Fed’s demise. Long-term unemployment is still about the same and the housing situation is worsening, not improving. U-3 unemployment figures at 8.5% are almost meaningless. It is U-6 that counts less of course the birth/death ratio and that is 15.2%, or real unemployment of 21.5%.
This past week the euro hit its lowest level versus the dollar in 15 months. Investors certainly see the short-term positives of more than a trillion dollar injection to the banks and sovereigns of Europe, but they are looking beyond that. They see major long-term damage to the euro caused by this massive injection of new liquidity. Unless there is a breakdown in Greece, or another European sovereign, the euro should make it in 2013. That may be so, but banks that just borrowed $850 billion from the ECB have re-deposited $587 billion of those funds back with the ECB. That means only $263 billion was used in other ways, or about 15%. Normally banks would lend overnight to other banks, lending banks do not trust other banks, hence, the massive deposits at the ECB. The lending is for three years or less at 1%, but this program may go on indefinitely as perhaps the programs in the UK and US will as well.
In addition to this really open ended financing many countries are rushing to sell bonds, as $90 to $100 billion has to be refinanced in Europe. That is $203 billion in just the first quarter.
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Wednesday, November 30, 2011

IF Issue: Wednesday Nov 30, 2011

Excerpts and links from the latest issue:

Bob Chapman - Sovereign Economist - November 23, 2011

Bob Chapman – Ralph Evans
WORLD FINANCIAL COLLAPSE - WWIII & Bankers Demise

Interview 418 – Bob Chapman

Bob Chapman - The Financial Survival 28 Nov 2011

Dr. Deagle Show 111123 1/3 - BOB CHAPMAN

Bob Chapman - Radio Liberty 28 Nov 2011

US MARKETS
           
Except for the MF Global scandal Europe still stands at the forefront of world debt problems. Up until now little has been accomplished toward solving these problems and the traditional Christmas season is upon us, which stretches from December 7th, to January 10th, a period in which very little will be accomplished.
It is reminiscent of last summer. The only thing that the elitists have accomplished is the placement of Bilderbergs as the head of the ECB and the appointments of two more as PM’s in Italy and Greece.
Over the last ten years we saw all debt grow, but in particular among the southern members of the euro zone. The imbalance was predictable, but the northern countries just ignored the problem. Those in the north blamed the difference on culture and work ethics. Thrown into the mix was government and banking profligacy and growing lack of competitiveness. All of that was true, but it did not alter the fact that great imbalances existed and still exist and that certainly contributed to the underlying non-competitiveness.
Financial mismanagement certainly had a profound effect in the six countries in serious trouble and you can also include France in the group. The problems were also compounded by the wild growth of indebtedness lorded over the banking community. The latter just loved one interest for all. The banks were particularly the blame in Ireland and Spain where unnecessary building went absolutely berserk. Through this period, Germany and the Netherlands, in particular, couldn’t lend money fast enough to those who shouldn’t have been borrowing it. This, as we reflect back, it was malinvestment, a misallocation of capital instituted by the banking community, which was leveraged about 70 to 1. We continue to ask what could they have been thinking of? The performance of the banks was at the very core and heart of what we see today.
Two to three years ago Germany reached the conclusion that this could not continue and they attempted to Germanize Greece and to instill discipline. That ended up being unsuccessful, due to the great cultural differences. That brought about the EFSF, which provided loans to those countries that were unacceptable to the bond market. This, of course, was just another effort in avoiding reality. The northern Euro Zone members want to continue to export to these countries, but they cannot do that and that is why they have no money. They are finding that collectivism doesn’t work. There is no such thing as collective responsibility. These new world order geniuses forget that when you have austerity GDP falls and you have a recession. In addition, it also brings about added inflation, which had and has the ECB very concerned, because their mandate is to keep inflation in check. This then has put the ECB at cross-purposes.
This points out why the ECB does not want to act as lender of last resort to governments. The six nations in trouble have been forced kicking and screaming to accept austerity government changes and to reveal the terrible condition that their banks are in. Greece, as an example, went into the stage one bailout and austerity, which forced revenues lower and the ability to pay interest lower as well. Wages were cut 40%, government wanted to take licensees from taxi drivers and turn their businesses over to a Germany consortium, which forced the largest demonstrations to date. We wrote more than two years ago that Greece should default, return to the Drachma and straighten their economy out. No one wanted to hear that and now the situation is much worse.
We have six countries on the ropes. Contagion has set in. Stress tests are a scam and meaningless. Dexia passed with flying colors and two weeks later went bankrupt.
Due to outright lying by bankers and politicians money is going to be much harder to raise in the future. If Germany’s auction was real last week, and if they could only raise half of what they wanted to raise, how can those in trouble believe they can raise any funds at over 7% on 10-year bonds?
The simple solution is to end the euro, a poorly thought out experiment; which its creators thought would become a one-world currency. If currencies are managed properly, central banks do not need to be a lender of last resort. All the lender does in creating money and credit out of thin air is inflate away excesses by the bank and fiscal policies. A cap of 3% annually in central bank monetary creation will bring only limited inflation and allow for growth.
A break up of the euro zone does not have to be disorderly. Every two months, over a one-year period, one of the six nations can be allowed to leave the euro in full default. The second year the remaining 11 members can decide whether they want to keep the group together, or return to their original currencies. This is essentially what 65% of German citizens want.