Hippity Hoppity Hope

The market spiked up about 125pts today, mostly based on hope..

"Greek Deal Hopes" as AP put it..

I think after 3 and a half years, there isn't a word in the entire English language I despise and loathe more than that empty, meaningless term...

Hope.

Hated it when a charlatan of a President used it in his 2008 election bid.

Hate it even more when it absurdly drives the stock market up and up.

Hope.

As in "I 'hope' it doesn't rain.. Now I have zero control over whether it does rain and my wants/wishes do not matter a damn whether it will rain...  I simply 'hope' it doesn't."

Hope..  Hopium..

Everyone must believe all will get better..  Just wish it.  Pray on it.

Hope it.

~ "I hope things get better, I hope my Daddy finds work & I hope for a pony"

Few to none with the power and means to make things better actually take the necessary steps to ensure things do get better..  Not the smartest way to get re-elected;   Not the smartest way to lock in or expand profits,

They just fudge the stats... fudge unemployment findings... fudge housing data, consumer spending, consumer confidence, GDP figures..  Fudge Fudge..

Fudddgggeee! as Ralphie from 'A Christmas Story would say.

And who questions?  Who wants reality- to admit depression instead of recovery?   Recovery sounds so much better.. just rolls off the tip of the tongue splendidly... Re-cov-er-y

And what hope is there that the parasites and vermin who make their living in the world of Finance have concerning Greece?  A deadline will be met to shore up a deal by Monday?  Wasn't there a deadline on Sunday Feb 5th?  And didn't it keep getting pushed and altered and adjusted?

And once the Greek politicians fully bowed down to their economic masters last week, wasn't that supposed to be the end?  Guess it doesn't matter to the investors and traders that Germany and Luxembourg's foreign ministers have both publicly stated that Greece is untrustworthy and it would be better if they simply default.  Or that many other European officials have declared enough of a buffer has been created, they're willing to risk what happens when Greece goes bankrupt.

Maybe they hope the US will ride to the rescue again and bail out the world again.  Or China will be the global economy's savior?  Or maybe Martians will come to Earth and bail out the banks and debtor nations of the world?

~ "I hope you do not look to me to save you.. busy dealing w/ Mars' economy"

Why not..  'Hope' doesn't cost money, take effort or use any brain power...

You simply declare an outcome you desire, then put your full faith and trust in people or entities which caused the problems to achieve it.  Or you put such faith and trust in nothing.   You can be right.. you can be wrong.. no one is going to sue you or take you to task for hoping.

In fact, your simpleness will appear quite endearing and sweet.

So maybe I will give hope a try as well..

I hope Greece defaults.  I hope it pulls the global markets down to 2008 levels and lower.  I hope it causes deep financial pain and suffering for banks, investors, traders and anyone else who profits excessively over people. I hope the reverberations force government to start enacting policies to help everyday people and not the top 1%.  I hope Obama loses in 2012 and I hope a third party candidate comes out of the woodwork who isn't immoral, unethical or owned and beholden to Wall St to defeat him.

Lastly, I hope 2012 becomes the death of assumption based 'hope' and the birth of genuine reality-based optimism.

One can hope...

~ "I hope no one notices my fingernails color contrasts with my dress"

"Greece won't see a penny of bailout funds"

A really excellent article written in today's Telegraph UK about the ongoing farce of Greece selling its soul for a bailout that the rest of Europe really doesn't want to give them, nor thought a year ago the nation would be around to request it...

The full article written by an economist which is quite superb in its accuracy and understanding of the situation in the EU can be found here:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/greece/9079430/Greece-wont-see-a-cent-of-the-great-bail-out.html

Here is a portion of the article from the Telegraph UK:

"Over the weekend, the Greek parliament voted to accept Europe’s latest demands for spending cuts and tax rises and other reforms and retrenchments. The aim was to make it marginally less implausible that Greece will pay back the hundreds of billions of euros that its neighbours are lending it. The alternative, we were told, was that it would become “ground zero” for a new financial meltdown, with its exit from the euro leading to social chaos within the country and economic chaos outside.

"So Greece’s MPs voted it through, 199 to 74 – despite the tens of thousands rioting on the streets of Athens, despite GDP having contracted for three years in a row, despite tax revenues collapsing thanks to austerity-induced depression and overt, systematic tax evasion, despite the main governing party’s popularity falling to 8 per cent in the opinion polls.

~ Beggar girl- Rhodes, Greece

"Now it won’t default or leave the single currency, and everything will go back to normal… won’t it? Almost certainly not. For a start, despite the vote yesterday, the Greeks probably won’t ever see a single cent of that second bail-out. The idea is that the eurozone will lend money to Greece, which it can use to pay off the banks holding its debt, as part of an agreement to save it from outright bankruptcy in March. But when the members of the single currency originally agreed to this second bail-out last year, Greece was not expected to last this long.

"In particular, the Slovakians, Finns, Austrians and Dutch would never have agreed to the deal if they had thought there was any chance of them actually having to pay. It was a political arrangement, spatchcocked together to force the International Monetary Fund to keep forking out for the initial bail-out. The Slovakians failed even to contribute to that first rescue package, so it was never credible that they had any intention of funding a second. The Finns have passed a law banning their government from giving any more money to Greece without collateral. The Austrians have enough trouble coping with the crisis in Hungary – to which their banks are heavily exposed – without sending money elsewhere; being downgraded by the credit ratings agencies hasn’t made them any keener to pay..."

"The truth is that Europe doesn’t want to pay – so despite all the drama in Athens, the Greeks will probably default outright in March anyway..."

~ And somehow the soulless know-it-all, piece of shit Rat investors who pushed the global markets up today based on Greece, do not understand this reality...or care to.

~ People walking past a beggar- Syntagma Square, Greece

Grecian Spring

Well the market is down today... -135pts as of 2:15p est..

Would be nice to see a four-digit decline; a '1' or '2' in front of that '135' but still, considering the Dow has been going up for all of 2012 without any rationale or reason beyond empty optimism and the Hunger to profit, we'll celebrate any triple digit down days.

Yesterday we demonstrated once again how deeply uninformed Americans are to the realities going on in Greece.  But as much as blame could be placed on the average person for not caring about anything or anyone outside of the immediate sphere of 'self',  it is also the fault of American media for intentionally doing a piss-poor job to accurately reporting on how troublesome the economic rots of the Eurozone are.

I guess media is incapable of serving corporate master and Truth equally.

Ultimately the economic and political demise of Greece will affect us all, so people better start paying attention to it as if it was local news or your favorite sports team, and not some profit-making nuisance or distant problem far, far away somewhere in the Mediterranean.

Here's some of the latest news and pieces of interest from Greece from today:

--  Greek Bailout "unagreed" 24 hrs after it was agreed upon.  The leader of the rightwing Popular Orthodox Rally (LAOS), Georgios Karatzaferis woke up to reality that the cuts would destroy what's left of Greece and pulled back support.  The Euro's value vs the Dollar plunges...  Their political party does not have enough votes in Parliament to derail the 25% reduction in minimum wage, 15,000 job cuts and other austerity sacrifices outright but let's just say their point of view is becoming more and more prevailing, especially as there's April elections to consider.

--  Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos has pledged to do "everything necessary" to rescue the €130bn bail-out package for Greece, and said that any senior members of Government who opposed him would be ousted.   Since at least 3 members of the coalition have resigned in protest, maybe ousters aren't necessary.

Isn't democracy just Wonderful?   Anyone who disagrees with your leadership or policy decisions, you simply 'oust'.  Of course Pamademos is a technocrat and wasn't elected by the people (he's simply a banker working for the EU and financial interests to ensure they get their money by all means necessary)

Papademos also said if Greece defaulted, there'd be 'uncontrolled chaos'.  Seems he forgot to finish the sentence... 'for the financial sector'.  And if there is chaos in Greece and the rest of the world, it will be due in large measure because the powers that be refused to make contingencies.  To the stubborn bastards who control global finance there never is nor was an Option B, so any chaos will be intentionally created to scare future debtors from defaulting.

-- Though more symbolic than reality, The Federation of Greek Police have threatened to arrest EU/IMF officials, accusing them, in a formal letter, of "...blackmail, covertly abolishing or eroding democracy and national sovereignty". They also wrote, ""Since you are continuing this destructive policy, we warn you that you cannot make us fight against our brothers. We refuse to stand against our parents, our brothers, our children or any citizen who protests and demands a change of policy."

There will come a point when the police stop fighting the protesters and join the struggle- then all bets are off, even across the Atlantic.  Hope you have some cash in a sock or something because your local bank will be on government-imposed 'holiday' for a few days to prevent a panic run.

The Greek situation also reminds me of the situation in Wisconsin last February involving that coward Governor Walker, who is in the pocket of the Tea Party controlled Koch Brothers.  He wanted to destroy the unions by making it illegal to collective bargain, so he targeted teachers, firefighters, everyday workers, etc..  The one union that was exempt from the law-- the police union.  That's what all third-world and third-rate leaders do- essentially bribe the police because without them, the leaders are powerless and emasculate.

Well now you're caught up to speed...

If you read this blog, we know you are informed and care.  But your friends... your family... your neighbors are still in a complete state of utter ignorance when it comes to the economic storm clouds coming from Greece and the rest of the Euro.   I could express a thousands analogies but I will only do one:

Due to globalization and banking interdependence, all the nations of the world are economically intertwined, like lights on a string.  When one bulb blows, it will affect all others, no matter how seemingly far away it appears on the string.

Another example of media misinforming Americans

Its incredible the lengths and depths the Wall Street loving corporate media whore presstitutes go to provide optimism and recovery through intentionally misleading headlines and articles.

So today, Greece supposedly capitulated to their owners like good little puppies and CNBC's headline is this:

Markets Get Greece Deal, So Where's the Big Rally? -- "Investors who counted on an orderly resolution to the Greek debt crisis appear to have gotten what they wanted. But the question now is: What happens next?"

Its all about investors getting what they want isn't it?   Yep--where's the Big Rally, those soulless mother-truckers inquire.. just too Funny..

OK so that's how the US media is portraying things-- problem solved.  Now everyone can continue celebrating the Obama led recovery during election year..  Lovely.

Here's what really happened today:

Schäuble: Greek cuts don't meet 'clearly required' conditions  (Telegraph UK) -- "German finance minister Wolfgang Schäuble warns ahead of a eurozone meeting in Brussels that spending cuts agreed by the Greek coalition leaders do not fulfill bail-out conditions."

The Telegraph UK seems to be a pretty honest newspaper.. here's a few more headlines expressing the true situation as it stands:

Greek death spiral accelerates --  "Greece's manufacturing output contracted by 15.5pc in December from a year earlier.  Industrial output fell 11.3pc, compared to minus 7.8pc in November.  Unemployment jumped to 20.9pc in November, up from 18.2pc a month earlier... This is what a death spiral looks like."

And..

Euro crisis averted? Don’t believe a word of it -- "However it is spun, any euro exit, even one as small as Greece, sets a potentially fatal precedent. Once Greece has gone, the markets will move remorselessly on to the next weakest link. And even if Greece does manage to cling on by its fingernails, default within the eurozone will surely soon have others clamouring for similar debt forgiveness."

Here's the Guardian UK's take:

"Amid a mounting sense of crisis, it is possible that any deal that might be struck may prove inadequate. With unemployment soaring, revenue sources drying up, recession deepening and social unrest increasing, there is palpable pessimism and resentment on both sides. In Greece, the idea is growing that austerity cannot work, and that default is more of a question of "when", not "if"."


Gee!  That doesn't sound optimistic does it, you lying fuckers at CNBC.

Yep, wonder where the 'Big Rally' is?

The Fourth Reich

The Greeks are cowards. Gutless, spineless cowards.

 All of them.

The leaders capitulate again and the populace still are afraid to fully commit themselves to a course of action to put new leadership in place that will work on their behalf, not the creditors. Oh sure they protest, throw rocks and strike a lot...  far more than any American would do in similar circumstance.  But they still believe the lies and want to stay in the Euro.  

So you get what you get.

So here's a brief recap:  First, that Sunday deadline that got pushed to Monday?  Now they say there is no deadline.  Then the troika basically say in layperson terms-- "Concede and bow to us or Default- either way, we are tired of you pathetic people"   So...

Greece caves in on 15,000 civil service firings (AP) -- "Greece's coalition government on Monday caved in to demands to cut civil service jobs, announcing 15,000 positions would go this year, amid mounting international pressure to agree on austerity measures needed to secure major new debt agreements... the job cuts would be carried out under a new law that allows such firings."

Next to be conceded is minimum wage, then it will be officially over- total political, global humiliation.  And the nation is still going to economically going to crash & burn.  It now will do so as an economic colony of Germany.

Portugal, Ireland, Italy & Spain.. you are all next.

If you know anything about WWII history, in a sense Greece is the modern version of 1930s Czechoslovakia-- taken over by Germany without a shot being fired, and you will hear leaders proclaim in most Neville Chamberlain-like fashion after Greece's surrender of autonomy is official that there will be economic peace in our times.

The modern Germany is the Fourth Reich.  The most wealthy and powerful nation in Europe.  And they want control politically and economically.  In some ways, no different than their predecessors except without the desire to exterminate people based on religion and ethnicity.

We said it a million times... we say it again:  Greece should outright Default.. do it today... do it immediately.  Don't even give advance warning.  Dramatically rattle and make chaotic the world markets and trigger the Credit Default Swaps...

Only a brave nation would do this to revenge against their financial oppressors.

Greece is not that nation.

Random Musings- Greece, America & apathy

~ A pie chart breakdown of where Greece's bailout money goes.  Only 19 cents on the dollar, or rather euro actually go back to the Grecian economy i.e. its populace.

No one respects deadlines anymore...

Frustrating... just frustrating..

The big news out of Greece over the weekend was that its leaders had just 24 hours to work out a deal with its EU, ECB & IMF creditors that would complete the selling of their nation and souls to their creditors.

Only 24 hours for Greece's leaders to agree to "the minimum wage be cut to less than 600 euros ($790) a month ($4.94/hr) and that at least one holiday allowance, the so-called 13th and 14th wages, be abolished, and pensions paid by supplementary funds should be cut by 35 percent" (AP)

Just 24 hours to agree to this harsh austerity or Default.

And what happens??   Talks extended into Monday...

Not sure what there really is to talk about.  The choices are really like an evil person saying "We will cut your left and right arm off as well as your right foot, or we will kill you outright"   How much deliberation does one need on a choice like that?  When does the pride instinct kick in?

We've learned and observed many lessons over the past 39 months.  Among them is that few to no world leader truly cares about its people, especially in a crisis, and when the choice is between reality and can-kicking, everyone including the common people want it kicked.  Happily so.

Also learned that few people in the US have really been affected so far by this recession.  Most of the people hurt and harmed were those in such bad shape from policies of the last 30 years that even in economic boom, they'd be going bankrupt, foreclosed upon and all that.  Very few others have.

You walk in most malls.. still see it bustling.. still see plenty of vapid, anti-social, technology addicted teenage morons with their headphone buds in ears and texting away without a care in the world.. Still see plenty of consumers consuming with credit cards swiping and registers cha-chinging all the live long day.. Still see people emotionally oblivious to everything outside their immediate family and more immediate needs.

The biggest lesson learned with few exceptions is that in this whole global economy narrative of crumbling banks, bailouts, recession and supposed "recovery", from politicians to investors to everyday people, there really is no one to cheer or root for.  And so few heroes.

Politicians are corrupt, bankers/financiers are evil, Investors are vermin and most everyday people won't fight back in any meaningful way.  Could be apathy or a fear that god-forbid, all their 'stuff' will be taken from them.  And the youth- they have the most cause to fight since every 18yr old college student without a silver spoon or teat to suckle upon, becomes a debt slave via student loans before legally allowed to take their first drink.  And that debt never, ever, Ever go away... Even in a bankruptcy.

In other parts of the world, youth fight back, or at least try to.

Angry Youths Attack House Of Greek President Papoulias; Hurl Rocks, Molotov Cocktails (AP) -- "About 30- 50 Greek youths arrived by motorbike and on foot just after 8 p.m, hurled a Molotov cocktail, rocks and paint at the house but stopped short of attacking the two guards at the President’s house"

In America, they sit outside in parks for days and weeks on end sipping coffee from thermoses while listening to their ipods and texting nothing important while mainstream America ignores them.

Either we've become That lazy and detached a nation, or those suffering the most still believe so much in the whole Left-Right political canard that no one wants to embarrass or hurt Obama's chances at re-election with a sincere dust-up.   I can't imagine such restraint if McCain/Palin were running the nation with exact same economic policies or even say a Bush third-term.

So, deadline extended in Greece one more day.  We still assume all will be worked out to the powerful banking interests' will...  or who knows, be extended another day.

Greece is the nation that invented democracy.   Would be nice if they be less like Athens and more like Sparta.

Ox bladder does Not taste like Chicken

Wild posting header I know... trust me, it all fits in by the end of the reading...

Another frustrating market day.. here we go..

Market is up about 130pts as of 2:38p

OK, fine.. why?

"Wednesday's gains were pushed by strong manufacturing data and positive signals from Greece. U.S. factories boosted output in January by the most in seven months, according to the Institute for Supply Management's manufacturing index. And the Commerce Department said construction spending rose 1.5 percent in December for the fifth consecutive monthly gain. "This is a market that is hungry for good news, and when it gets it, it responds very positively," said Alan Gayle, senior investment strategist for RidgeWorth Investments."  (AP)


Oh Jeebus Crispus!!~  What a load of...  Hmm.. Where to begin:

~ Bougatsa- a Greek pastry & breakfast treat


1)  For those who didn't look at yesterday's blog posting, Greek debt talks have dramatically taken a turn for the worse with the Greek govt calling an emergency meeting on Thursday to discuss what to do.  Banks don't want to take any real losses (negotiated credit markdowns thus far have been covered by insurance so banks and investors don't take any real hit)   They want Greece to cut pensions and lower the minimum wage, something Greek politicians know if they do, will be political suicide at minimum and anarchy & overthrow at worst.   


Of course for some inexplicable reason, Greece still feels the need to calm and soothe markets so a government spokesman released an empty statement that negotiations will conclude within days. 


And this empty piece of (fill in cuss word) statement raised hopes!  


I guess Rat investors are much like horny teenage boys-- it doesn't take much effort to raise their um.. hopes.  

2)  People read headlines and take positives on face value.  I mean who wants to dispute anything 'good' if it keeps the ruse of a growing economy going and Wall St profits growing?   Sooo.. the market also is up today because "construction spending rose 1.5 percent in December for the fifth consecutive monthly gain".  That figure, called PMI (Purchasing Managers' Index) which is an indicator of the economic health of the manufacturing sector, was at 54.1 for January.  December 2011's PMI was 53.1  So.. Yay!!!  


Oh, but wait-- what was PMI last year, say February 2011?  It was 59.8.  And what was it in March and April?  It was 59.7.    In fact here's the chart for the past 12 months.



Jan 2012 54.1   Jul 2011  51.4
Dec 2011 53.1   Jun 2011 55.8
Nov 2011 52.2 May 2011 54.2
Oct 2011  51.8   Apr 2011 59.7
Sep 2011 52.5 Mar 2011 59.7
Aug 2011 52.5       Feb 2011 59.8


I guess an eternal optimist can say January's figures are the best in seven months and this means things are Really getting better.   And a person in the world of reality can say seven months later, and the manufacturing sector's production still hasn't matched last July.  We know which choice the (fill in your most vile cussword) Investors made.   How about you?

3)  I thought the quote at the end of the AP story was interesting and telling.. I will repeat it:  "This is a market that is hungry for good news, and when it gets it, it responds very positively,"   


Hmm... Hungry for good news... Hungry for pretend good news... Hungry for Anything to justify the market rally.    Reminds me of of the TV show "Fear Factor"- there's a part of the show where contestants have to eat something truly disgusting and vile, like ox bladder, tarantula or elephant penis and if they don't, they can't continue with the competition.    


Usually there's three kinds of contestants:  the first are normally brave and courageous-- the type to skydive or climb mountains, but when it comes to the grotesque, they have too much dignity and common sense to ingest something putrid into their healthy bodies and pretend its 'food'.    The second type are similar to the first, but they psych themselves-- convince themselves that everything in the world ultimately tastes like chicken, and engorges on the inedible nastiness.


Then there's the third type- they're hungry.  Hungry not necessarily to eat but hungry for money... hungry to win... to be better than everyone else and nothing is off the table in that pursuit.  So they will eat the horribleness; they will devour and overtly go 'Mmmmm' to try to convince everyone else the rot their eating is something delicious because to this kind of person, there is no such thing as inedible or indigestible-- everything is an eating opportunity; a means to profit and win.


Guess which type Investors are?

When know-it-alls know nothing

~ "I'm tellin' ya.. you gotta' be in the market!  Buy lotta stocks.. ya Gotta!"

Don't know which I hate more- the stock market, those who invest in it or those who report on it.  Tough call- all equally dreadful and in the case of investors and media, both worthy of a face scratching.  The reasons we've stated too often to take time to repeat here.  Suffice it to say, if you're not part of the 1%, you should be wanting to sharpen your claws as well...

But as much as I despise these entities, they also make me laugh at times.  I tend to find it humorous when cocky cock know-it-alls think they have all the answers and can accurately predict economic events based on assumption that all will work out when push comes to shove, then are proven wrong.

Here's a headline from this morning:


Emerging Stocks Set for Biggest Monthly Gain in Three on Greece Optimism (Bloomberg) -- "Emerging-market stocks rose, with the benchmark index set for its largest monthly gain since October, after Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos said major progress has been made in debt-swap talks... he’s “strongly committed” to reaching a debt-swap accord with bondholders that is crucial to lowering Greece’s debt burden and freeing up another round of aid before the country faces a 14.5 billion-euro ($19 billion) bond payment on March 20."

And the market rejoiced and figuratively held hands as they danced around in the garden of eternal optimism and never-ending profit making...  La La La...

But then later in afternoon...

Greek officials attack EU and IMF as debt talks stall (Guardian.UK) -- "Greek officials launched a vociferous behind the scenes attack on European Union and International Monetary Fund negotiators as talks in Athens over the country's mounting debts appeared to stall... a crisis meeting of party leaders would be called as early as Thursday to thrash out a response to an increasingly intransigent negotiating team sent by Brussels, which is demanding severe austerity measures before sanctioning a further €130bn (£109bn) of bailout funds...


"On the negotiations over the bailout funds, Greek MPs have objected to demands by the troika for further wage cuts and reductions in the minimum wage.  The troika (European Union, International Monetary Fund & European Commonwealth Bank) doesn't appear to be willing to accept any concessions whatsoever on reducing the minimum wage and scrapping bonuses," said the government aide. "No political party is willing to move either, saying wage cuts are a red line they are simply not going to cross. You tell me how this is going to be resolved. We have no idea and we're very worried.""

A&G does not pretend to hide the fact we want this to fail and overall, desire Greece to do what it should have done two years ago... Default.

 "Meowww... hate investors & banks sooo much.. Meeeowww!! Rrrr Rrrrr"

Investors and banks have not had to take any real financial hit or punishment since the global economic crisis began with Lehman Bros in Oct, 2008. That is now 39 months.  Its about time they did..  Its about time the ultra-wealthy around the world who do nothing but create misery in populaces then financially profit from it, hemorrhage Severe losses and feel real pain.

Unfortunately the way this game has been played for over 3 years, there's always some magic trick or scheme or compromise pulled from thin air (or someone's ass) to keep all the plates spinning so no one at the top financial echelon ever feels any economic pain.   So we're realistic to the probability that all will work itself out for the bankers and the Investors will continue to rejoice and 'dance'.

But Lord knows, we are not hoping for it.

And if Greece sells all of its soul to the banks, well there's always a ray of hope that the Portuguese wont.. or the Irish... or the Italians.. or the Spanish..

Never-Ending Greek Debt Cock (a-doodle) Tease

The Greek government is sure damned determined to stay in the Eurozone vs going back to the drachma.  A poll recently showed about 80% of the Grecian people were brainwashed to want the same thing even though they're suffering horrible austerity and their stubbornness to refer to outright default two years ago has turned a regional nuisance into a global crisis.

If you turn on mainstream financial news this weekend, you will probably hear or read a crisis has been averted because, "Greece and its private creditors said on Saturday they were piecing together the final elements of a debt swap and expected to have a deal ready next week, essential for sealing a new bailout and avoiding an uncontrolled default. (Reuters)

This is pretty much akin to watching a dying man on the street and police waving their arms and saying, "Move along folks.. nothing to see.. everything's under control"

But see, here's the thing.. unless something major and drastic changes, Greece will default in late March.  The banks and financiers are already coming up with clever terms like "orderly default" and "strategic default"--  sounds so much more uplifting-- implies the ones who will suffer from the default are the ones controlling it.

"Move along folks.. financial crisis averted.. everything's under control"

In simple understandable terms, imagine you bring in a salary of $50k with zero in savings, your yearly expenditures no matter how much you slash, comes to $75k, putting you in the hole by an additional 50% per year and you already owe creditors $500k.

That is Greece.

And then this doozy:  "Greece must surrender control of its budget policy to outside institutions if it cannot implement reforms attached to euro zone rescue measures, the German economy minister was quoted as saying on Sunday." (Reuters)

Can you see Greece willingly give up its economic budgetary sovereignty to another nation?  To Germany-- a nation who once took over Greece during WWII and who the Grecian people still have bitterness toward?!!

Any "agreement" you hear with bondholders is pure BS, much like if a bill collector calls and you promise "check is in the mail" when you barely have enough money to pay for the stamp on the envelope. Whatever it takes to stop the pestering phone calls for a couple days.. whatever it takes~

 Greece can't get its budget under control, can't pay its creditors back even 5% what is owed, really needs 145billion Euro by March, not the 130b reported by others, and oh yes... will need even More money by May of this year.

And let's not even talk about the rest of the Eurozone..

And so the financial cock (a-doodle) tease goes on and on..

How a nation prostitutes itself...

~ A Brothel in Ancient Greece

What is the worst thing a person can sell for money?

Usually one's body is the worst, just slightly above one's soul.

And the worst thing a nation can sell short of their soul i.e. autonomy?

Greece's ancient sites to play starring role in recovery  (GuardianUK.co) --  "Archaeological treasures including the Acropolis and the temple of Delphi will be available as backdrops for filming and photographic shoots for as little as €1,600 (£1,339) a day... The debt-choked nation has taken the dramatic step of deciding to exploit some of its past majesty by utilising the Acropolis and other antiquities – cultural gems until now considered too sacred to besmirch with commerce...

"The move follows intense pressure from the European Union and IMF, the foreign lenders keeping the nation afloat. With fears of Greece defaulting on its debt mounting by the day, EU officials stepped in saying the time had come for its cultural treasures to be put to work"

Did you get that folks?  Its not that Greece wishes to do this... its the Worthless EU and by extension, the money-hungry US led IMF loan sharks pressuring the nation's government's historical antiquities "to be put to work".

Maybe its just me but reading that, I had this visual in my mind of a Bastard piece of shit 'pimp' stepfather forcing his wife to put her young daughter on the street to whore to contribute to the family income.

Can't hide it folks- that's what I think of the EU and IMF... You should too..

Greece.. Grecian people..  How much are you going to take?

Keep some pride and national autonomy... Default already!!

Can't have oxymorons without 'morons'

~ Greek drachma coins

The know-nothings who run the global financial world, and by extension, run and own the financial media, have recently been a wee bit more honest and forthright about Greece's economic situation than any time in the past few years.

Many are openly acknowledging that Greece will default.  But there's a catch isn't there?  Always seems to be one...

The new cool, kitchy-catchy catchphrase to be sweeping the globe on the Top 40 'Bullshit Double-Speak Phrases of the Week Countdown' IS ~drum roll~ :

'Orderly Default'

Of course this is an oxymoron, much like 'military intelligence' or 'sexy pig'.  And if this "orderly" destruction of a nation's economy was so easy or even possible, why wasn't it done two years ago before hundreds of billions of euros were dumped down Greece's drain and its corrupt leaders were so passionately determined to not go back to the drachma and sovereign autonomy?

But for laughs, here's how the scum who control global finance explain it:  Greece's creditors, bondholders, etc allow on its own for Greece to 'default' by taking very large haircuts and supposedly because this is all done "voluntarily", it will not trigger what the European banks and EU fears the most-  Credit Default Swaps

~ 1000 drachma note

CDS are a form of insurance bondholders take out when their investments pose a risk of not being paid back.  The insurance is offered and sold freely from institution to institution, but no one really expects there to be a day they'd have to be paid back.

Think of it like this- Let's say insurance companies sell tons of hurricane coverage policies for NYC and New England residents, never expecting a True Cat. 5 hurricane to directly hit.  So buying the policy is no biggie... the insurance company is happy to take your money.  But if the unforeseen becomes reality, the insurance companies can never cover even a portion of the total damage it would bring.

CDS are no different with one exception-  unlike acts of God, banks and other financials can easily manipulate economics and finance to suit their purposes.

Greece had to be propped up all this time to protect them, not the Greeks.   Now that the realization is upon everyone that Greece will default, the goal is to now perpetrate the investor 'confidence' con -- convince credit rating agencies, banks, and all vested parties the default is 'orderly' and essentially contained.

Will they succeed?  Probably.. unfortunately..   but Hopefully not.

Someone somewhere in global finance and investing-land Must take severe pain and hardship.  Someone somewhere must lose their shirt...

Sink or swim on your own, and if you drown, no one picks you up...  Could have sworn that was what Adam Smith Capitalism was all about...

~ Ancient drachma coins set as cufflinks

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PS.. Didn't feel like writing a new post when a couple sentences suffice..

Reuters headline today:  'IMF seeks $600 Billion more in funds'

Because the US runs/controls the IMF they supply 17.4% of its budget

17.4% of $600 billion is $104.4 billion.. that's how much More money in US taxpayer dollars is requested/needed to bailout Europe's national rots

It Never ends does it?   Perhaps economic capitulation and financial "reset" isn't such a terrible option in comparison..

Friday the 13th- semi scary & semi-funny

So much to write about this Friday the 13th, but since I am a little bit under the weather, we'll stick to highlights and summaries- enough information to keep my readers well-informed without ruining their weekends...

~  File this under "Too Funny.." -- we mentioned earlier in the weekend that Fitch's credit rating agency promised France it would not lower its undeserved AAA pristine credit rating until at least 2013.  And markets rejoiced, and the snotty, snooty French became more smug...

Well it turns out there isn't just one credit rating agency that determines how nations are to be rated, but three-  Fitch, Moody's and S&P which today announced they will cut the credit ratings of France along with Austria and two notches cut for Italy, Spain and Portugal.   S&P would spare Germany, the Netherlands, Finland and Luxembourg the axe this go-round.

The official announcement will come at around 4:30 pm ET, after the US stock market has closed, (though the roaches who profit on Wall St. aren't taking it well so far) so there's always a chance things can be altered, but if sources are correct...

 Hawww Hawww Hawww~

~  Next topic: Greece...  Here's the quickest, most concise summary I can give as to where things are at moment:  Greece is virtually bankrupt. It needs another 130bill Euro to survive. Its running out of bare necessities like aspirin.  Parents literally putting children on streets with notes saying they can't take care of them anymore....

Germany says "Greece, you must negotiate with bondholders and banks to come to an agreement First.  Bondholders and banks say: Fuck you & your problems Greece- we're not taking any more cuts--give us our money!  So Stalemate for now.  IMF- US owned & run finance arm doesn't want to keep helping Greece; looks horrible for Obama in election year.  No one wants to prop Greece anymore but everyone scared of consequences if they don't...

Will more billions upon billions be poured into Greece's caverns?  And what about Ireland, Hungary, Portugal, etc...  Stay tuned folks and keep a clean pair of panties or undies nearby.

~ The NY Times wrote a good article today entitled, Inside the Fed in 2006: A Coming Crisis, and Banter.  Its a long article which you can read in its entirety by clicking the link below via Yahoo! Finance:

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/inside-fed-2006-coming-crisis-124207691.html

Here are a couple of my favorite nuggets:

"“We think the fundamentals of the expansion going forward still look good,” Timothy F. Geithner, then president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, told his colleagues when they gathered in Washington in December 2006.  Some officials, including Susan Bies, a Fed governor, suggested that a housing downturn actually could bolster the economy by redirecting money to other kinds of investments."

"And there was general acclaim for Alan Greenspan, who stepped down as chairman at the beginning of the year, for presiding over one of the longest economic expansions in the nation’s history. Mr. Geithner suggested that Mr. Greenspan’s greatness still was not fully appreciated...  "I’d like the record to show that I think you’re pretty terrific, too,” Mr. Geithner said in adding his voice to the chorus of tributes at that final meeting (of Greenspan's- Jan '06). “And thinking in terms of probabilities, I think the risk that we decide in the future that you’re even better than we think is higher than the alternative.”

 And lastly.. "“It’s fitting for Chairman Greenspan to leave office with the economy in such solid shape. The situation you’re handing off to your successor is a lot like a tennis racquet with a gigantic sweet spot.”" -- Janet Yellen, then president of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco

Is it any wonder this nation, and the entire global economy is in such dire straits with such soulless incompetents like Greenspan running things then, and in the case of Golden Boy Timmy Geithner, running things still today?

Time Magazine - Feb 15, 1999; Cover Text: "The inside story of how the Three Marketeers (Robert Rubin, Alan Greenspan & Larry Summers) have prevented a global economic meltdown-- so far"