Game Over? Senior IMF Official - "I Expect A Hard Greek Default This Year"

While the US was panicking over a double zero jobs report, things in Europe just fell off a cliff. As both the WSJ and Reuters report, it seems that the second Greek bailout, following repeated and consistent disappointments by Greece which has resolutely refused to comply with the terms of its fiscal austerity program, has just collapsed.And with the US closed on Monday: long a counterbalance to European risk pessimism, this week (especially with the news fro the latest FHFA onslaught against global banks) may just be the one that "it" all comes to a head. But back to Europe, and more specifically Greece, which it now appears is doomed. From the WSJ: "I expect a hard default definitely before March, maybe this year, and it could come with this program review," said a senior IMF economist who is keeping close tabs on the situation. "The chances for a second program are slim." It is not only Greece - Italy also thought it would sneak by with getting quid pro no and continue leeching off of Europe, or specifically Germany, indefinitely, at least until the ECB said that absent Berlusconi taking austerity seriously that implicit ECB support for Italian bonds would be yanked, sending the second most indebted country in the world into a toxic debt tailspin. And so it comes that after 2 years of waffling, Europe finally realizes that the piper always eventually gets paid. Alas, it is now far too late.

Weekly Event Summary And A Look At Europe's Upcoming "Lehman Moment"

Whille the past week was full of economic news, most of them decidedly negative, it is next week that the house of cards could finally come unhinged. In what will be the event of the week, Germany's Constitutional Court is set to rule on the legality of the seemingly endless bailout pledges made by Merkel. If they rule against the bailouts, that would be Europe's version of a Lehman moment. Next on the docket you have Italy which has recently been softening its austerity program. Berlusconi needs to show increased leadership by solidifying his pledge towards consummate austerity in an effort to improve his country's finances. Financial markets have recently taken notice of these negative developments. Investors knew that the jobs report wouldn't be pretty, however, yesterday's large selloff was actually due to renewed euro zone jitters. If the Eurozone does blowup, all bets are off. 

Guest Post: The United States Of Deceit: 1968-2011

Although I am not as convinced as Stefan that the US government has brought about all our economic ills through deceit, I give it ample credence; but also give a good share of the blame to a citizenry at large vested with waste and greed. On my drive back, ruminating on that blame placed on the government as the mastermind and source of deceit I thought of my friend back in Portland. Was he really the victim of deceit, or did he really invite deceit by his own self-deceit? By entering into a romantic relationship two years before with a woman less than half his age with a compromising polyamorous background, one which was not much different from that which she is exhibiting, and blamed for, today!? Is it really economic, political or romantic deceit we are sometimes victims of, or is it more often than not a case of unfulfilled wishful thinking, of self-deceit?

Obama Teleprompter Quits, Will Still Write Comedy But In Hollywood

Where does one start with this one. The WaPo reports that Jon Lovett, an Obama speechwriter and the reigning champion of official Washington’s stand-up comedy circuit, is quitting his job as the teleprompter's telepronpter. "In mid-September, Lovett, 29, plans to leave the administration to write for television out West. “It’s always been a dream of mine to write comedy and be creative,” said Lovett, who insisted that the current West Wing woes had nothing to do with his timing. “I would like to be able to write in my own voice.” Uhm, Lovett may not have noticed, but his work over the past 2 years has directly created some of the most profoundly hilarious comedy in the history of the "free world."





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A story missing from our media: Iceland's on-going revolution

An Italian radio program's story about Iceland’s on-going revolution is a stunning example of how little our media tells us about the rest of the world. We may remember that, at the start of the 2008 financial crisis, Iceland literally went bankrupt. The reasons were mentioned only in passing, and since then, this little-known member of the European Union fell back into oblivion.

As one European country after another fails or risks failing, imperiling the Euro, with repercussions for the entire world, the last thing the powers that be want is for Iceland to become an example.

Please put this on your absolute must read list for sometime this weekend. It's posted over at the newsnetscotland.com website...and the link is here.

Leak at WikiLeaks: A Dispatch Disaster in Six Acts

Some 250,000 diplomatic dispatches from the US State Department have accidentally been made completely public. The files include the names of informants who now must fear for their lives. It is the result of a series of blunders by WikiLeaks and its supporters.

Everyone who knows a bit about computers can now have a look into the 250,000 US diplomatic dispatches that WikiLeaks made available to select news outlets late last year. All of them. What's more, they are the unedited, unredacted versions complete with the names of US diplomats' informants -- sensitive names from Iran, China, Afghanistan, the Arab world and elsewhere.

SPIEGEL reported on the secrecy slip-up last weekend, but declined to go into detail. Now, however, the story has blown up...and is one that comes as a result of a series of mistakes made by several different people. Together, they add up to a catastrophe. And the series of events reads like the script for a B movie.

You can't make this stuff up... The story is posted over at the German website spiegel.de...and the link is here.

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