Financial Crisis

[midas]

why do we tolerate these double standards?

There is clear evidence Goldman Sachs deliberately conspired to hide the true extent of an EU government’s debt. That’s abetting fraud, plain and simple. Jeffrey Skilling, former CEO of Enron, is sitting in jail today for that very offence. By contrast, Gary Cohn’s boss, Lloyd Blankfein, just received a $9m bonus.

God forbid that Congress should antagonize one of its main funding sources.

http://www.creditwritedowns.com/2010/02/wi...all-street.html

[Gambles]

Only speculation but ..

What Is Hedge Fund King John Paulson Doing in Greece?

"News of Paulson's fund taking large positions against Greek debt has barely risen above rumor in the English-language press, despite this article in a Greek daily, which says that Paulson is "orchestrating the pressure on Greek government bonds and the Euro," and reports that Paulson has a team of 20-30 traders focused on Greece."

continued ..http://blogs.alternet.org/speakeasy/2010/02/15/what-is-hedge-fund-king-john-paulson-doing-in-greece/

and remember Paulson is an avid gold convert these days.....

add Soros

and unfortunately thousands of short-term speculators which as you know has turned gold into a risk asset creating the air pocket that caused Jeremy Charlesworth to ask if there's a gold bubble (there probably is but relatively insignificant to gold's upwards trajectory but enough to make us greedy to buy into the trend at a lower price than today)

[Gambles]

Foreigners cut Treasury stakes; rates could rise

WASHINGTON (AP) -- A record drop in foreign holdings of U.S. Treasury bills in December sent a reminder that the government might have to pay higher interest rates on its debt to continue to attract investors.

China reduced its stake and lost the position it's held for more than a year as the largest foreign holder of Treasury debt. Japan retook the top spot as it boosted its Treasury holdings.

The Treasury Department said foreign holdings of U.S. Treasury bills fell by a record $53 billion in December. That topped the previous record drop of $44.5 billion in April 2009

Full Article At Link Above

So China will be increasingly diversifying , supporting Commodities , Gold and probably emerging markets .

China's been commoditizing its Dollars for a while now. It's stocked its warehouses full of all non-perishables and as the world's largest gold producer it's very happy to see the gold price rise. However it seems to have locked in commodities at low prices and won't be ordering any more until the prices fall - Australia is in for an unimaginably rough ride H2 10 and commodity prices will probably exhibit volatility like you wouldn't believe. Fasten your seatbelts and don't even think about trying to do this at home!!

[Gambles]

why do we tolerate these double standards?

There is clear evidence Goldman Sachs deliberately conspired to hide the true extent of an EU government's debt. That's abetting fraud, plain and simple. Jeffrey Skilling, former CEO of Enron, is sitting in jail today for that very offence. By contrast, Gary Cohn's boss, Lloyd Blankfein, just received a $9m bonus.

God forbid that Congress should antagonize one of its main funding sources.

http://www.creditwritedowns.com/2010/02/wi...all-street.html

and this could be exactly the stick that Pres. Obama needs to hit GS with. I believe that since he's found out that he's been lied to, he's fallen out of love big time and USG could be about to enter into a protracted covert warfare with Bankfiend & Co - expect the Fed to side with the street and not DC. This could be a real chance for Obama to try to get back in touch with 'we the people' despite the huge wedge driven between him & them by his blind support of The Fed, the street and GS during his own particular game's first quarter......

alternatively this could be the banana skin that he trips over and never gets up from........

[AlexLah]

Just expect, another piece of hope will be given.

Take care all.

[sokal]

Only speculation but ..

What Is Hedge Fund King John Paulson Doing in Greece?

"News of Paulson’s fund taking large positions against Greek debt has barely risen above rumor in the English-language press, despite this article in a Greek daily, which says that Paulson is “orchestrating the pressure on Greek government bonds and the Euro,” and reports that Paulson has a team of 20-30 traders focused on Greece."

continued ..http://blogs.alternet.org/speakeasy/2010/02/15/what-is-hedge-fund-king-john-paulson-doing-in-greece/

He is there for the same reason why George Soros was in Thailand in 1997

[sokal]

why do we tolerate these double standards?

There is clear evidence Goldman Sachs deliberately conspired to hide the true extent of an EU government’s debt. That’s abetting fraud, plain and simple. Jeffrey Skilling, former CEO of Enron, is sitting in jail today for that very offence. By contrast, Gary Cohn’s boss, Lloyd Blankfein, just received a $9m bonus.

God forbid that Congress should antagonize one of its main funding sources.

http://www.creditwritedowns.com/2010/02/wi...all-street.html

That is a tough subject. Why was Greece so stupid to go into that much debt ? Can you really blame Lord Blankfein for finding a stupid customer ?

[lannarebirth]

why do we tolerate these double standards?

There is clear evidence Goldman Sachs deliberately conspired to hide the true extent of an EU government's debt. That's abetting fraud, plain and simple. Jeffrey Skilling, former CEO of Enron, is sitting in jail today for that very offence. By contrast, Gary Cohn's boss, Lloyd Blankfein, just received a $9m bonus.

God forbid that Congress should antagonize one of its main funding sources.

http://www.creditwritedowns.com/2010/02/wi...all-street.html

That is a tough subject. Why was Greece so stupid to go into that much debt ? Can you really blame Lord Blankfein for finding a stupid customer ?

Stupid? It's brilliant!

[Abrak]

He is there for the same reason why George Soros was in Thailand in 1997

Actually Soros got screwed in Thailand from what I remember. The hedge fund trick with Greece is that they dont have any easy options. Either they default or they get bailed out. By prevaricating they are simply digging a bigger hole. Both are the end of the Euro dream. I was told (emphasis on 'told') that Euro7bn left Greece from domestic deposits last week.

[Abrak]

Stupid? It's brilliant!

Well maybe the stupid customer is actually Germany.

[lannarebirth]

Stupid? It's brilliant!

Well maybe the stupid customer is actually Germany.

Exactly! The thing people need to understand about these "mai bpen rai", "no worries mate" cultures, is that it's not that they don't recognize a problem; they're just not going to make their own problem.

Edited February 18, 2010 by lannarebirth

[churchill]

Merkel Slams Greek ‘Scandal’ as Goldman Role Examined

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=206...id=azB6zY7.XCc8

[Naam]

He is there for the same reason why George Soros was in Thailand in 1997

Actually Soros got screwed in Thailand from what I remember. The hedge fund trick with Greece is that they dont have any easy options. Either they default or they get bailed out. By prevaricating they are simply digging a bigger hole. Both are the end of the Euro dream. I was told (emphasis on 'told') that Euro7bn left Greece from domestic deposits last week.

that is not correct. Soros made a bundle with THB and GBP and was on the verge to make a bundle with MYR too till Mahathir stepped in and drew a line in the sand. Soros got screwed in Russia 1998... as was my [not so] humble self.

[ding]

Check this out;

The Warning on PBS Frontline

The same team that let it all happen under Clinton is in charge of repairing the damage now under Obama. This film is about a whistleblower that tried to prevent the financial crisis and who was silenced. Of course the Bush team was fully in favor of it all. The topper is Greenspan admitting he was wrong his entire career to believe that the free market would solve everything. He's a crushed man acknowledging that his faith in Ayn Rand and her libertarian theories was absolutely wrong.

[Naam]

Check this out;

The Warning on PBS Frontline

The same team that let it all happen under Clinton is in charge of repairing the damage now under Obama. This film is about a whistleblower that tried to prevent the financial crisis and who was silenced. Of course the Bush team was fully in favor of it all. The topper is Greenspan admitting he was wrong his entire career to believe that the free market would solve everything. He's a crushed man acknowledging that his faith in Ayn Rand and her libertarian theories was absolutely wrong.

[churchill]

The next target - Spain ?

‘We believe the market might be underestimating the risks the [spanish] financial system faces’

http://ftalphaville.ft.com/blog/2010/02/18...l-system-faces/

[12DrinkMore]

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=206...id=azB6zY7.XCc8

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said it would be a “scandal” if banks helped Greece massage its budget, as European officials investigate Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s role in Greek efforts to conceal the size of its deficit.

An the crux is

“Eurostat will look at this question to determine how Goldman Sachs helped Greece defer its obligations,” she said, referring to the EU’s Luxembourg-based statistics office. “We need to know if it was legal. If it was legal, we must ask if it was good for stability -- probably not.”

GS&Co are simply not interested in stability. Their bonuses would dwindle to zero.

Booms, busts, rapid price movements are the key to their earnings and they know it and that is what they play for.

Back to the UK

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2010/fe...-davies-banking

"In order to return to the same levels of profitability we estimate that pricing on all products [retail, commercial and investment banking] would have to go up by 33%," the JP Morgan analysts said.

Well, maybe the banks should not return to the same level of profitability. The world's economy has slumped and so should the banks' profits. After all, if fewer debts are being taken out as investment falls back to a level reflecting the sales, then so should the banks profits fall. But presumably this guy is talking more about his bonuses?

And so Brown reckoned that he had saved the

universe - sorry no

world - nope

how about the UK employment - sorry, wrong again Gordo, you blind idiot.

the only bright light on the horizon is that he will be joining the ranks of the unemployables soon. Certainly can't save his own job.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2010/fe...mployment-rises

Labour's hopes that the "feelgood factor" would flood back as the economy recovers received a fresh blow today with news that the number of people claiming unemployment benefit has hit its highest level since 1997.

......

There is now a total of 8 million economically inactive people of working age – the highest number on record.

Another record for Brown, Leader of the Labour Party's Lost Decade.

:D

[12DrinkMore]

And it is yet another record for Brown

British government posts worst January borrowing figures on record

Sharp rise in government spending and drop in tax receipts means Britain borrowed another £4.3bn last month rather than repaying £2.8bn as economists expected

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2010/fe...-january-record

Certainly a job well done!!!!

:D

[flying]

The topper is Greenspan admitting he was wrong his entire career to believe that the free market would solve everything. He's a crushed man acknowledging that his faith in Ayn Rand and her libertarian theories was absolutely wrong.

Have not watched the program but...That would be a topper for Greenspan to claim he followed or had faith in Ayn Rand during his tenure. While he may have had faith long before like in 1966 when he wrote his essay "Gold & Economic Freedom".

He was more like a Darth Vader turning against any previously held faith during his tenure.

[flying]

Hmmm getting a little heated in Texas....

Some guy decided enough with the IRS...

Set his house on fire then went to his small airplane.

Flew it into the IRS office in Austin. Left a suicide not on the web...

To the effect of...

"I saw it written once that the definition of insanity is repeating the same process over and over and expecting the outcome to suddenly be different," the online message says. "I am finally ready to stop this insanity. Well, Mr. Big Brother IRS man, let's try something different; take my pound of flesh and sleep well."

There is more but the site keeps getting taken down.

CNN has some news on it.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/02/18/texas.pla...dex.html?hpt=T1

[sokal]

why do we tolerate these double standards?

There is clear evidence Goldman Sachs deliberately conspired to hide the true extent of an EU government's debt. That's abetting fraud, plain and simple. Jeffrey Skilling, former CEO of Enron, is sitting in jail today for that very offence. By contrast, Gary Cohn's boss, Lloyd Blankfein, just received a $9m bonus.

God forbid that Congress should antagonize one of its main funding sources.

http://www.creditwritedowns.com/2010/02/wi...all-street.html

That is a tough subject. Why was Greece so stupid to go into that much debt ? Can you really blame Lord Blankfein for finding a stupid customer ?

Stupid? It's brilliant!

going into perpetual debt is brilliant ? If it was not for Greece being in the euro zone it would look worse the Iceland. There is no Mcdonalds in Iceland anymore <deleted>,

[sokal]

Stupid? It's brilliant!

Well maybe the stupid customer is actually Germany.

Exactly! The thing people need to understand about these "mai bpen rai", "no worries mate" cultures, is that it's not that they don't recognize a problem; they're just not going to make their own problem.

It will be their problem soon enough, just like Iceland

[sokal]

Check this out;

The Warning on PBS Frontline

The same team that let it all happen under Clinton is in charge of repairing the damage now under Obama. This film is about a whistleblower that tried to prevent the financial crisis and who was silenced. Of course the Bush team was fully in favor of it all. The topper is Greenspan admitting he was wrong his entire career to believe that the free market would solve everything. He's a crushed man acknowledging that his faith in Ayn Rand and her libertarian theories was absolutely wrong.

hahaha, are you serious ?

The Feds control of interest rates is not exactly what I would call a libertarian policy.

[Naam]

Hmmm getting a little heated in Texas....

Some guy decided enough with the IRS...

Set his house on fire then went to his small airplane.

Flew it into the IRS office in Austin. Left a suicide not on the web...

To the effect of...

... he is now happily dead ever after

[seanocasey]

The next target - Spain ?

‘We believe the market might be underestimating the risks the [spanish] financial system faces’

http://ftalphaville.ft.com/blog/2010/02/18...l-system-faces/

Winston Churchill

Who will save the world when America becomes a third-world country? When the money lenders, the power brokers, the socialists, the communists, the Marxists and the Fascists have successfully stripped America of its wealth, its resources, its freedom and its sovereignty, where will the wealth come from to rescue the poor countries on the planet, from natural or man-made disasters?

[Abrak]

Stupid? It's brilliant!

Well maybe the stupid customer is actually Germany.

Exactly! The thing people need to understand about these "mai bpen rai", "no worries mate" cultures, is that it's not that they don't recognize a problem; they're just not going to make their own problem.

To be honest the Greeks have been very upfront about their abuse of the euro. They would argue that any accusation of bad faith was made on an assumption of good faith.

I just want to know how many countries Germany is going to bailout before they realize that if you cant see the sucker you are the sucker. Whether their political commitment or financial discipline goes first.

Some people argue that Greece should be bailed out because it could bring down the Euro. I hope they realize that if that is the case then it simply isnt worth preserving in the first place. To be honest I feel bad for Germany they are about the only honest major economy and they are about to realize how futile that has been.

[Abrak]

The next target - Spain ?

‘We believe the market might be underestimating the risks the [spanish] financial system faces’

http://ftalphaville.ft.com/blog/2010/02/18...l-system-faces/

Winston Churchill

Who will save the world when America becomes a third-world country? When the money lenders, the power brokers, the socialists, the communists, the Marxists and the Fascists have successfully stripped America of its wealth, its resources, its freedom and its sovereignty, where will the wealth come from to rescue the poor countries on the planet, from natural or man-made disasters?

Oh please dont feel sorry for the USA. They are involved in a continuing default that is larger than all others put together in history. And please dont indicate that a celebrity phone in for Haiti is any indication of commitment by the US to the third world. It is the second world that finances the US and not the other way round. Who is the largest borrower in the world - it is ridiculous to argue they are financing anyone.

I dont believe the US is even acting in good faith towards its debt anymore. By the way that is one of the most offensive quotes I have seen in a long time but I am very sensitive.

Edited February 19, 2010 by Abrak

[lannarebirth]

Stupid? It's brilliant!

Well maybe the stupid customer is actually Germany.

Exactly! The thing people need to understand about these "mai bpen rai", "no worries mate" cultures, is that it's not that they don't recognize a problem; they're just not going to make their own problem.

To be honest the Greeks have been very upfront about their abuse of the euro. They would argue that any accusation of bad faith was made on an assumption of good faith.

I just want to know how many countries Germany is going to bailout before they realize that if you cant see the sucker you are the sucker. Whether their political commitment or financial discipline goes first.

Some people argue that Greece should be bailed out because it could bring down the Euro. I hope they realize that if that is the case then it simply isnt worth preserving in the first place. To be honest I feel bad for Germany they are about the only honest major economy and they are about to realize how futile that has been.

I don't think they are going to bail out any countries to any great degree. I think the Euro is falling, not because of the PIGS, but because the core major governments are only months away from having their own problems. Hey, look what the Fed did!

[chiang mai]

The next target - Spain ?

‘We believe the market might be underestimating the risks the [spanish] financial system faces’

http://ftalphaville.ft.com/blog/2010/02/18...l-system-faces/

Winston Churchill

Who will save the world when America becomes a third-world country? When the money lenders, the power brokers, the socialists, the communists, the Marxists and the Fascists have successfully stripped America of its wealth, its resources, its freedom and its sovereignty, where will the wealth come from to rescue the poor countries on the planet, from natural or man-made disasters?

Oh please dont feel sorry for the USA. They are involved in a continuing default that is larger than all others put together in history. And please dont indicate that a celebrity phone in for Haiti is any indication of commitment by the US to the third world. It is the second world that finances the US and not the other way round. Who is the largest borrower in the world - it is ridiculous to argue they are financing anyone.

I dont believe the US is even acting in good faith towards its debt anymore. By the way that is one of the most offensive quotes I have seen in a long time but I am very sensitive.

Not to detract form the subject but I do think that the quote showed great incite, given that it was made over sixty years ago.

[flying]

I don't think they are going to bail out any countries to any great degree. I think the Euro is falling, not because of the PIGS, but because the core major governments are only months away from having their own problems. Hey, look what the Fed did!

All Cores

Greece loses EU voting power in blow to sovereignty

Britain at risk of worse deficit crisis than Greece

Greece is Irrelevant Compared to Whats Unfolding in the US