We The Sheeplez- The Coming Economic Collapse.."A Nation Of Sheep Ruled By Wolves" Thomas Jefferson

Sunday, July 17, 2011

Europe Scrambles For Swiss Safety As EURCHF Plummets At Open To All Time Lows

Someone is very, very nervous in Europe as it took precisely zero time for the various CHF crosses to plunge to all time lows. The chart below shows the EURCHF which just opened about 140 pips lower than the Friday close. And while there is little if any movement in the crap currencies, i.e. the USD and the EUR, the flight to fiat safety has never been as profound. Since the CHF is a direct proxy of gold in the commodities space, look for gold to take out $1,600 as early as a few hours from now when the market reopens. Also, expect a possible SNB intervention any minute as the Reuters IFR article below speculates.

Preparations for WWIII ?

CVN 77 G.H.W. Bush Enters Persian Gulf As CIA Veteran Robert Baer Predicts September Israel-Iran War

One look at the most recent naval update maps shows that in addition to global insolvency (courtesy of the broke European dominoes and a potentially technically broke US), a UK on the verge of a parliamentary scandal courtesy of a media baron whose empire is crumbling, and not to mention yet another downward inflection point in the global economic slowdown courtesy of the end of QE2 and no replacement yet, market watchers may have to start factoring in geopolitical risk yet again. While the fact that Syria, Yemen, Egypt, Tunisia, and now Turkey, are ever more increasingly on edge is apparently something Mr. Market has managed to internalize, when it comes to geopolitics everyone stops to listen when renewed Iran-Israel rumblings reappear. Which may just be the case. As the most recently updated naval map from Stratfor demonstrates, the CVN 77 G.H.W. Bush has just entered the Persian Gulf, the first time a US aircraft carrier has passed through the Straits of Hormuz in months. What is also notable is that the LHD 5 Bataan amphibious warfare ship has just weighed anchor right next to Libya: this is odd since the coast of Tripoli had been left unattended for many weeks by US attack ships. And topping it all off is that a third aircraft carrier, the CVN 73, is sailing west from the South China seas, potentially with a target next to CVN 76 Ronald Reagan which is the second carrier in the Straits of Hormuz area. Three carriers in proximity to Iran would be extremely troubling, yet fit perfectly with the story of CIA veteran Robert Baer, the man played by George Clooney in Syriana, who as Al Jazeera reports, appeared on KPFK Los Angeles, warning that Israeli PM Netanyahu is "likely to ignite a war with Iran in the very near future." It gets worse: "Masters asked Baer why the US military is not mobilising to stop this war from happening. Baer responded that the military is opposed, as is former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, who used his influence to thwart an Israeli attack during the Bush and Obama administrations. But he's gone now and "there is a warning order inside the Pentagon" to prepare for war." The punchline: "There is almost "near certainty" that Netanyahu is "planning an attack [on Iran] ... and it will probably be in September before the vote on a Palestinian state. And he's also hoping to draw the United States into the conflict", Baer explained." For the betting public out there, an September CL call may not be the dumbest trade possible...

Alabama Jefferson County Chapter 9 Muni Bankruptcy "Very Strong Possibility" Says Governor Bentley

Alabama's Jefferson Country, which has been teetering on the verge of bankruptcy for years courtesy of $3.2 billion in bonds related to its sewer system (a deal which has not made JP Morgan many friends south of the Mason Dixon line over the years), may soon decide to unleash the spring-loaded municipal bankruptcy dominoes. Reuters reports that "bankruptcy is still a "very strong possibility" for Alabama's Jefferson County, Governor Robert Bentley said on Saturday -- a move that could make for the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history. "It is still on the table, and it's a very strong possibility," Bentley told Reuters during the National Governors Association meeting in Utah's Salt Lake City. The county is observing a "standstill period" to allow settlement talks with creditors, and this week it finalized a plan aimed at settling the debt to present to creditors." And while the municipal insolvency tsunami is merely a matter of time (it would be amusing to watch the army of Whitney bashers retract), the greatest irony would be if the Federal government were to file first, a move which as Moody's already noted would immediately send 7000 munis down the Chapter 9 rabbit hole as well, effectively bankrupting the entire $2.9 trillion municipal bond market overnight.

Complete US Debt Talks Update

A complete summary of what is happening (or not, as the case may be) in the third and final act of the debt talks tragicomedy courtesy of Reuters.

Sol Sanders | Follow the Money No. 75 -- Breaching China’s great wall of arrogance

Posted by: rcwhalen

Post date: 07/17/2011 - 11:28

Outgoing Joint Chiefs Chairman Admiral Mike Mullen’s bumbling replies to questions by “automated” university students during a mid-July Beijing visit were symptomatic of total disarray in U.S. China policy. Instead of clear-cut defense of no military takeover of Taiwan, with its 25 million the only free society in Chinese history, the Admiral backed into a defense of U.S. policy as if the Taiwan Relations Act were an impediment Washington leadership had difficulty overcoming.