Socio-Economics History Blog

Socio-Economics & History Commentary

Spain Credit-Default Swaps Surge to Record on Bank Bailout Woes!

Eurozone train wreck coming!

  • Credit Default Swaps (CDS) are financial derivatives and are simply insurance against default (in this case Spain and Spanish banks). It is sold largely by the major Illuminist banks. No one really knows how much $$ CDS is being held. It is definitely in the trillions of dollars. When Spain goes bust, I do not believe the banksters have the money to pay out on the insurance claims! All major western banks are essentially bankrupt! The Illuminist central banksters will create a massive amount of money out of thin air to bail themselves (ie. their bankster shareholders: the major western banks) out. This will trigger a global currency crisis. The Euro, UKP, JPY …. and finally the USD will all go down the toilet bowl of debasement. Got physical gold yet?
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    Spain Credit-Default Swaps Surge to Record on Bank Bailout Woes! 
    By Michael Shanahan, http://www.bloomberg.com/
    The cost of insuring against default on Spanish sovereign bonds rose to a record as the nation’s debt crisis deepened amid concern over bank bailouts. Credit-default swaps linked to the nation’s debt climbed 23 basis points to 583 at 11:44 a.m. in London, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The Markit iTraxx SovX Western Europe Index of swaps on 15 governments rose seven basis points to 320.5. An increase signals worsening perceptions of credit quality.
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    Bank of Spain Governor Miguel Angel Fernandez Ordonez resigned a month early, handing over the task of convincing investors that Spanish banks won’t need an international rescue.Bankia group, the nation’s third-biggest lender which received 4.5 billion euros ($5.6 billion) of public funds in 2010, asked for another 19 billion euros on May 25.
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    “The pressure remains on Spain,” Elisabeth Afseth, an analyst at Investec Bank Plc in London, wrote in a note. “The focus remains on how the government is going to deal with the banking crisis.”
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    The cost of insuring bank debt also increased with the Markit iTraxx Financial Index linked to senior debt of 25 banks and insurers rising eight basis points to 299 and the subordinated index jumping 12.5 to 497.5. Swaps on Banco Santander SA, the biggest Spanish lender, jumped 15.5 basis points to 421 while contracts on Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA added 15 to 461.
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    read more!

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May 31, 2012 Posted by | Economics | , , , , , , , | Comments Off

Biderman On Europe’s Unquantified ‘Delay-And-Pray’ And US Government Criminal Fraud !

  • Biderman On Europe’s Unquantified ‘Delay-And-Pray’ And US Government Criminal Fraud ! 
    by Tyler Durden , http://www.zerohedge.com/ 
    Repress extend-and-pretend; dismiss the can-kicking; and forget fake-it-til-you-make-it; Charles Biderman of TrimTabs recalls Jim Bianco’s quote of the day on Spain’s ‘Delay-and-Pray’ as the new normal for what is rapidly moving beyond farce in Europe. Beginning with the nations’ own ‘silly’ perspective that the problem is ‘unquantified’ at the moment – implying it is in the trillions (which we already knew, but as long as they don’t actually quantify it, it’s not real – like the tooth fairy) – Charles goes on to destroy the hope that Germany can save them all (too big a problem now) and with state and local debt mounting trouble upon trouble the only outcome is a failure of the Euro.
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    But it’s not just Europe, between benefit payments and deficits, unexpectedly low returns for pension funds (thank you Ben), and union ignorance, the US is set for just as big a problem (though given the printing press we may just last a little longer). This leaves our union pension and government offocials with the same solution of ‘delay-and-pray’ as they hide in ever more intricate ways how much they are stealing from the future to cover the here-and-now. Biderman’s back and this time he’s really ‘ranty’ right to the end as he calls them out for criminal fraud.

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May 31, 2012 Posted by | Economics | , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off

Spain Up Against a Wall as Borrowing Costs Soar!

I don’t think the Spanish Matador is winning!

  • Spain up against a wall as borrowing costs soar! 
    by Barbara Kollmeyer, http://www.marketwatch.com/
    Bankia woes, downgrade, central-bank governor exit pile onto crisis
    MADRID (MarketWatch) — Economists and analysts were asking just how long Spain can hold out before it needs some form of international bailout amid a chaotic trading session Wednesday that sent the government’s borrowing costs to nearly the highest levels since the euro’s inception.
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    The yield on the 10-year Spanish government bond rose 22.2 basis points to 6.685%, but pushed above that earlier, setting a fresh 2012 high, according to Tradeweb. The Nov. 25, 2011 intraday high of 6.779% and closing high of 6.723% weren’t far off, while beyond that, the yield will sit at euro-era highs. The yield on Italy’s government bond jumped 17.4 basis points to 6.068%. Global stocks and oil suffered as investors poured into the perceived safe-have of the dollar. Dollar probes two-year high
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    The 7% level for the Spanish yield is key as that was the point reached by yields for Greece and Irish 10-year government bonds when they required a bailout. A host of worries over Spain’s banks, its messy regional finances, stagnating growth and nearly 25% unemployment rate have turned Spain’s IBEX 35 stock market into the worst performer in Europe next to Greece so far this year, with a loss of 28%.
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    “Having their bonds above 6.5% right now is not sustainable and there has to be some solution,” said New York-based hedge fund manager Bob Gelfond, Chief Executive Officer of MQS Asset Management. “They can withstand that in the short run, but eventually the financing and rollover costs will get to be too much.”
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    The tipping point Wednesday came from a prior-day report in the Financial Times that the European Central Bank had rejected the Spanish government’s plans to recapitalize troubled lender Bankia SA, which is all but nationalized.
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    read more!

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May 31, 2012 Posted by | Economics | , , , , , , | Comments Off

Spain Sees €31 Billion Deposit Outflow In April !

  • And The Hits Just Keep On Coming: Spain Sees €31 Billion Deposit Outflow In April ! 
    by Tyler Durden, www.zerohedge.com
    Just when talks of Accelerated Kinetic Action In Close Proximity To Cash Dispensing MachinesTM in Spain were quieting down, here comes Goldman to reminds us that nothing is fixed. “The ECB released April deposit data today. Italian deposits in April were stable, with a moderate increase in retail (+€7 bn) more than offsetting a small reduction in corporate deposits. In Spain, April saw €31 bn (or 1.9%) deposit outflow from banks. Within this only half is attributable to corporate (down €7 bn or -3.4%) and retail balances (down €8 bn, or -1.1%). The residual outflow is attributable to deposit reductions by others (financial institutions / pension funds / etc).” And a pretty chart to go with this as we focus on the next Spain story!

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May 31, 2012 Posted by | Economics | , , , , , , | Comments Off

Euro Currency Could Collapse And Trigger Another Great Depression, IMF Warns for The First Time!

  • The IMF, ECB, FedRes, World Bank … and practically all central banks are privately owned Illuminist organizations. I still expect the Illuminists to pull the plug on the Eurozone around Aug-Oct 2012 followed by the Satanic World War 3, Greater Middle East War (triggered by an attack on Iran)! A global economic, financial and currency meltdown is coming! Got physical gold yet?
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    Euro currency could collapse and trigger another Great Depression, IMF warns for the first time
    by http://www.gold-prices.biz/home/
    The eurozone could break up and trigger a global economic slump to rival the Great Depression, the IMF warned last night. In its World Economic Outlook report, the International Monetary Fund said the collapse of the crisis-torn single currency could not be ruled out.
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    It was the first time the Washington-based insitution has accepted the prospect of the eurozone splitting up and follows fears over the health of the Spanish economy according to the Daily Mail.
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    The IMF predicted a return to recession in the eurozone this year but upgraded its growth forecasts for Britain. However, it warned that the world remains at risk of collapsing into a slump that would rival the Great Depression – with ‘acute risks in Europe’ the major threat. Things have quietened down but there is a very uneasy calm,’ said IMF chief economist Olivier Blanchard. ‘I have a feeling that at any moment things could get very bad again.’
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    Speaking at the launch of the half-yearly report in Washington, Mr Blanchard said there was ‘no plan’ in place to deal with a country leaving the euro. However Greece is widely expected to default on its crippling debts and quit the doomed single currency. ‘If such an event occurs, it is possible that other euro area economies would come under severe pressure as well, with a full-blown panic in financial markets,’ the IMF report said.
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    ‘Under these circumstances, a break-up of the euro area could not be ruled out. This could cause major political shocks that could aggravate economic stress to levels well above those after the Lehman collapse.’ U.S. investment bank Lehman Brothers imploded in September 2008 – plunging the world economy into the worst recession since the 1930s. The IMF said that although ‘the outlook for the global economy is slowly improving again’ it is ‘still very fragile’.
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    It warned of the ‘possibility that several adverse shocks could interact to produce a major slump reminiscent of the 1930s’.
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    read more!

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May 31, 2012 Posted by | Economics | , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Peter Schiff: America is Already Bankrupt !

Click on image to goto video!

  • Schiff: America is Already Bankrupt! 
    By Jeff Macke | Breakout , http://finance.yahoo.com/ 
    Peter Schiff makes it clear, up front, why he’s not trying to save America from fiscal disaster. He’s not un-American, he’s just too late. “We’re already bankrupt,” Schiff declares in the attached clip. “Better to acknowledge that fact than to pretend we’re not.”
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    The author of the new book The Real Crash says it’s the stimulus that got us into this mess, or at least exacerbated the one we already had. Because of the Feds effectively zero percent interest rate policy the U.S., both as individuals and a collective, spends, borrows, and generally wastes far too much while saving nothing.
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    “We can’t have real economic growth until interest rates go up,” says Schiff. “If we admit we’re bankrupt and at least restructure, we can start repairing the damage and preparing the economy for real growth.”
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    The man who forecast the end of the housing bubble in his book Crash Proof says the housing implosion wasn’t his primary concern. “I was worried about what was going to happen when the government tried to reflate the bubble.” The ensuing meltdown is going to result from the cure, not the original disease.
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    Schiff says the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) got it exactly backwards when they issued warnings that the U.S. would slip into recession if we reached the debt ceiling early in 2013. America literally can’t cut spending fast enough; a recession now beats a depression later.
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    “Right now the government can spend as much as it wants because it can borrow.” But there’s a limit. Once U.S. interest rates are forced higher by concerned lenders, the party is going to be over for the U.S. Of course, there’s no actual deadline for when those rate spikes happen. Currency and debt are relative, and the U.S. remains a relatively safe bet.
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    “The worst that can probably happen in the short run, if you’re trying to keep the bubble going, would be some kind of resolution in Europe. If Europe actually gets its house in order, then we’re really in trouble.”
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    As Schiff views it, America’s in much worse shape than Europe. What’s saving us is that the problems over there are providing enough of a distraction—or are at least making the U.S. look good enough by comparison—that the Fed can keep rates near nil. According to Schiff, the hangover from our money party will be hellish.

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May 31, 2012 Posted by | Economics | , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off

Europe Braces for Euro Collapse; Now Is the Time To Move!

  • Europe Braces for Euro Collapse; Now Is the Time to Move! 
    by http://larouchepac.com/home 
    The crisis in Greece and Spain has now reached such a breaking point, as of Friday afternoon, that the existence of “Plan B” can no longer be kept a secret.  On Sunday, Richard Ward, the CEO of Lloyds of London, admitted, in an interview with the Sunday Telegraph, that the insurance underwriter has devised plans for the breakup of the EMU. “We’ve got multi-currency functionality and we would switch to multi- currency settlements if the Greeks abandoned the euro and started using the drachma again,” he acknowledged.  The Franco-German firm Euler Hermes, which provides credit insurance for euro-denominated business, is considering cancelling future credit default swap contracts for Greek debt denominated in euros—also in anticipation of a Greek departure and possible breakup of the EMU.  And the head of the Swiss National Bank, Thomas Jordan, has also acknowledged that his government is working up contingency plans for the breakup of the euro.
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    This is but the tip of the iceberg.  There is no doubt that emergency meetings are taking place over this holiday weekend all over Europe and the United States, as the fate of the entire trans-Atlantic financial system hangs in the balance over the next hours.  But, as Lyndon LaRouche emphasized Saturday, there is no alternative for Europe or the United States to an immediate return to Glass-Steagall.  For Europe, this means the cold turkey cancellation of both the Maastricht and Lisbon treaties and a return to regulated, sovereign currencies, as existed under the European Rate Mechanism (ERM).  By imposing Glass-Steagall separation, wiping out the gambling debts, and walking back from Maastricht and Lisbon, Europe—like the United States—can launch a recovery program, based on a credit system and great projects.
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    Further highlighting the immediacy of the trans-Atlantic disintegration, over the weekend, the governor of the autonomous Catalan region of Spain, one of the wealthiest parts of the country, announced that they would run out of money at the end of the month.  The former prime minister of Greece, Papademos, warned that Greece runs out of cash at the end of June—unless the EFSF and IMF bailout funds come through.  And the head of the now-nationalized Bankia in Spain gave a series of interviews at the end of the week, insisting that Bankia would not need anymore bailout money—beyond the 23.5 billion euro price already on the backs of Spanish taxpayers.  Bankia officials were racing to announce a plan to sell off mortgage and corporate assets to halt the panic, before banks and markets reopen in Europe on Tuesday.
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    As we know, the disintegration now of the trans-Atlantic financial and monetary system is totally tied up with the issue of strategic war and peace.  In the past 48 hours, there has been a major escalation in the Syria crisis, with allegations of a massacre in the town of Houla near Homs triggering a heavy British push for outside intervention.  Russia convened an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council on Sunday afternoon.  The Syrian government not only declared they had nothing to do with the confirmed deaths in Houla, but that they would conduct an independent investigation and share the results immediately with the UN monitoring team.  Whatever happened inside the UN Security Council chambers, when General Mood delivered his preliminary report, pandemonium erupted when British, German, and French UN ambassadors flagrantly lied to reporters immediately afterwards, claiming that evidence confirmed that the Syrian government had carried out the massacre, when no such evidence had been presented, and the letter by the Security Council was endorsed by the Syrian ambassador.  The Syrian ambassador delivered a detailed account of a nine-hour battle launched by armed insurgents that spread killings to three villages in the area, and announced that the Syrian inquiry would be completed and made public in three days.
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    Lyndon LaRouche emphasized that the Syria situation is actually targeted at Russia.  The British remain desperate to get the Russians to blink, whereas the Putin government shows not the least inclination to do that.  In fact, Putin, Medvedev, Makarov, and others are baiting London and Obama by using every opportunity to flaunt their arsenal of thermonuclear weapons as a reminder that, under present circumstances, general war is tantamount to extinction.
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    As Mr. LaRouche concluded a discussion on Sunday afternoon:  Glass- Steagall is now a necessity, because the ability to save the U.S. system depends on Glass-Steagall. We’ve got to dump all government accountability for covering gambling debts.  This is the only option to save the United States!  And if the United States is not saved, there is no possibility that the rest of the world, starting with Europe, can survive.  An immediate action to get the Glass-Steagall process in place in the United States is now crucial.  It is the first step towards freezing the onrushing global financial disintegration that is already racing ahead of all of the hyperinflationary bailout efforts to halt the crash. This is the singular, urgent priority for our efforts going into Monday.

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May 30, 2012 Posted by | EndTimes, GeoPolitics | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off

LaRouchePAC: Game Over – Spanish Collapse Can Bring Down The Trans-Atlantic System This Weekend !

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May 30, 2012 Posted by | Economics | , , , , , , , , | Comments Off

International Banking Source Update On Beginning Derivative Default And Huge JPM Loss!

  • Disclaimer: I am unable to confirm or deny the accuracy of this source! However, it does provide confirmation of what Jim Willie (JW) mentioned earlier! Draw your own conclusions!
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    International Banking Source Update On Beginning Derivative Default And Huge JPM Loss! 
    by Steve Quayle, http://stevequayle.com/ 
    May 29, 2012

    Steve,
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     Here is the latest run down on JPM. They are stopping their share repurchasing for this very reason. You see their is a two front issue with JPM ; one, their naked shorting of the silver market which is well documented and two, their massive derivative exposure.
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     The derivative market that JPM plays in is the CDX.NA.IG.9, when factions within their London office (London Whale) made overly leveraged swaps, hedge funds smelled blood and so did a few banks. You see any moves that JPM does here on out exposes their weakness further. Which they can not afford any more exposure thus they are not buying back any more shares which is the equivalent of cutting an artery in a pool full of sharks. The strategy they are taking right now is to sit through the storm and ride it out as they can do nothing else for any action will make them even more vulnerable.They can not absorb hits in both JPM SLV and CDX.NA.IG.9. Inactivity is not something they want to do it is something they have to do. There is no other choice for them.
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     JPM is now in a panic as they are trying to unwind their losses without further signaling loss which will cause the other Big Banks like RBS, UBS, SocGen, PNB and Goldman Sachs will make at least $500 billion each on JPM’s position. They will do this by cooking the books.
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     Steve this is the truth, JW and others are right about the losses of JPM’s position, the reality is…brace yourself, the loss is over $150 billion!!! That is from the $100 billion loss in CDX and the $50 billion in other over-leveraged bets against it.
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     Massive is an understatement. The Fed and Dimon is working overtime to cover up the fissure, they can keep the sharade going for only so long. Many were looking for the collapse to begin in the derivative market, this is the sign everyone has been looking for, again…BRACE YOURSELF.
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    Regards,
    V.

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May 30, 2012 Posted by | Economics | , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off

‘Keep Calm, Your Cash is Safe’: UK Banks Ordered To Display Details of Savings Protection To Head Off Bank Runs!

  • ‘Keep calm, your cash is safe’: Banks ordered to display details of savings protection to head off bank runs! 
    By Lee Boyce, http://www.dailymail.co.uk/
    Banks will be required to display notices in branch and on websites that tell customers how much of their savings are protected if the bank goes bust, the Financial Services Authority (FSA) said today.
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    The plans – outlined in December – will also apply to building societies and credit unions. They will see stickers and posters displayed prominently in branches to draw attention to savings protection limits.
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    UK savers’ deposits are protected up to £85,000 under the savings safety net – the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). Foreign banks with branches in the UK which are not covered by the scheme will need to make this clear while stating which national scheme is providing protection.
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    The FSCS, which protects consumers when financial institutions go bust, said the plans are a ‘step in the right direction,’ but is urging firms to go beyond the FSA’s minimum requirements.
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    Mark Neale, chief executive of FSCS, said: ‘The banking crisis shows how important it is for consumers to have clear information about FSCS protection. ‘We never again want to witness the run on a bank because people do not know their money is protected. Since then, the industry has improved the quality of information it gives to consumers about FSCS.
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    ‘However, it needs to do much more to provide clear, accurate information about the protection we provide. This is essential to building consumer confidence, and is not limited to deposits. It is something that is normal in other parts of the world.’
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    read more!

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May 30, 2012 Posted by | Economics, Social Trends | , , , , | Comments Off

Egon Von Greyerz: $100 Trillion+ To be Printed, Expect Capital Controls!

We will all be trillionaires but can’t afford breakfast !

  • Greyerz – $100 Trillion+ to be Printed, Expect Capital Controls! 
    by www.kingworldnews.com
    Today Egon von Greyerz told King World News, “The tens of trillions of dollars that needs to be printed is without derivatives.  With derivatives we are talking about hundred of trillions of dollars that may need to be printed.”  Egon von Greyerz is founder and managing partner at Matterhorn Asset Management out of Switzerland.  Von Greyerz also said, “We will have exchange controls in virtually every country.  I can see this coming to the US in the next year or two.”  But first, here is what Greyerz had to say about what is happening in Europe:  “The bail out for Spain’s Bankia is now up to $25 billion in refinancing requirements, but that’s just the beginning.  We’re looking at country after country here where the dominos are falling.  The refinancing requirements worldwide are getting astronomical, and they will escalate at a faster rate.”

    “I’ve said to you that I expect the requirements to be in the tens of trillions of dollars, and that’s just for governments.  If you add to that corporate debt, private debt, mortgage debt, you are talking about sums that are hard to imagine. S&P estimated that over the next few years, corporate debt refinancing will be roughly $30 trillion.  That’s just corporate refinancing.  If you add in the mortgage markets, the number is extremely high, and that will need to be printed by someone because the money isn’t there.  No one has the money….
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    read more!

Feel fee to wipe your ass with it !

QE to infinity is coming!

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May 30, 2012 Posted by | Economics | , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off

John Butler on The Dollar Liability And Gold’s Role as The Insurance!

  • Japan and China to start direct currency trading on Friday
    by japantoday.com
    Japan and China will start direct currency trading this week, Tokyo said Tuesday, the first time Beijing has let a major unit other than the dollar swap with the yuan.
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    The move, which will scrap the greenback as an intermediary unit, comes as China introduces measures as part of a long-term goal of internationalizing its currency to rival the dollar.
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    The two-way trade will also be allowed to move in a wider range than the narrow band at which the dollar and yuan change hands, Dow Jones Newswires and the Nikkei business daily reported.
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    read more!

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May 30, 2012 Posted by | Economics | , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off

New Face of Terror: FBI Creates Bogeyman Out of Occupy!

May 30, 2012 Posted by | Social Trends | , , , , , , , , | Comments Off

Stephen Lendman: Daily Kristallinacht in Palestine! The Genocide & Ethnic Cleansing of The Palestinians!

  • Daily Kristallinacht in Palestine! 
    by Stephen Lendman, http://sjlendman.blogspot.com/
    Imagine daily life under these conditions. Occupation harshness enforces institutionalized terror. Fear is constant. Collective punishment is policy.
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    Peaceful public demonstrations are assaulted. Free expression and movement are prohibited. Population centers are isolated. Borders are closed. Normal daily life is denied. Economic strangulation and institutionalized racism are imposed. So are curfews, roadblocks, checkpoints, separation walls, electric fences, and other barriers.
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    Neighborhood incursions, land, sea and air attacks, bulldozed homes, land theft, ethnic cleansing, slow-motion genocide, targeted killings, mass arrests, torture, and gulag imprisonment reflect daily life for praying to the wrong God.
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    Fundamental civil and human rights are denied. Crimes of war and against humanity repeat without redress. Wanting to live free in sovereign Palestine is called terrorism.
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    Punitive taxes are imposed. Few services are provided. Vital ones are lacking or inadequate. Palestinian lawmakers are imprisoned for belonging to the wrong party. Fishermen are attacked at sea. So are farmers working their land. Trying at the wrong time risks arrest, injury or death. Crops and orchards are destroyed. Settlers commit regular attacks. Courts provide no help.
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    Gaza is suffocating under siege. Scoundrel media policy enforces coverup and denial, blame the victim, and portray Israel as the region’s only free democratic state. Reality reflects police state harshness. It persists without end.
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    Even Jews challenging injustice are targeted. Rogues tolerate no opposition. Israeli ones have few equals. On May 24, Haaretz headlined “Amnesty International: Israel uses excessive force against Palestinians,” saying:
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    AI’s 2012 annual report “is highly critical of Israeli policies toward the Palestinians….” It charges Israel Defense Forces with “frequent” use of “excessive, sometimes lethal force against demonstrators in the West Bank and civilians in Gaza.”
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    Dozens are lawlessly killed, including children. Blockading Gaza enforces a “humanitarian crisis.” Restricting free movement was also criticized.
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    read more!

Revelation 2:9 – …. and I know the blasphemy of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.

“ … it turns out the creation of Israel had not, after all, been a haphazard fight in which the Arabs fled their homes at the directives of their own leaders, but it had been an unprovoked, systematic campaign of ethnic cleansing by the Jewish militia involving massacres, terrorism and the wholesale looting of an entire nation.” - from 4:22 onwards

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May 30, 2012 Posted by | GeoPolitics, Social Trends | , , , , , , , | Comments Off

Spiritual Battle To Stop Dark Bilderberg Forces!

May 30, 2012 Posted by | EndTimes, GeoPolitics | , , , , , | 3 Comments

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