Greek PM Demands Report On Default, Eurozone Exit Consequences
Ok, we get the hint. End the foreplay already and file finally. From Bloomberg: "Greece’s Prime Minister Lucas Papademos requested the country’s Finance Ministry to prepare a document on the implications of a Greek default, Panos Beglitis, spokesman for the socialist Pasok Party said. The Prime Minister yesterday told the leaders of the three political parties supporting his interim government that he asked the Ministry “to record accurately and realistically all the consequences of the country’s exit from the euro zone,” Beglitis said today in an interview with Radio 9, according to a transcript of his comments e-mailed from the Athens-based offices of Pasok." And yes, the market initially rallied just after Lehman filed. It didn't last long, because guess what, it was priced in... incorrectly.Revisiting The Greek "Razor's Edge"
With
the impending March 20th maturity GGBs trading at 1400% yield (or 36%
of par), EURUSD trading at 1.31, and European financials (and Greek
financials explicitly) all up considerably, one could be forgiven for
confusion as to what is priced in and what is not. As Bank of America
(BAML) noted earlier in the year, believe it or not, Greece remains a blind spot and that risks from Greece are not fully priced in.
Summarizing the deep cuts that Greece is expected to make - the Troika
is demanding fiscal measures of 2% of GDP in 2012 - BAML points out
that while they believe a common ground can be found, the asymmetric
risks of a disorderly default could weaken the EUR well below their projection of 1.25
in the first half of the year. Certainly, while Greek sovereign bond
markets seem priced for inevitable default (as real cashflows still
count in the credit markets), FX and equity markets seem to be
jumping-the-shark of the crisis - Europe will be stronger without Greece and Fed will backstop inevitable crisis - and missing the interim crisis conditions (Lehman-moments) that will occur as tail-risk scenarios and social unrest
(that LTRO seems to have assuaged for now in people's minds) could
return rapidly across the entire region. With frustration growing
between an impatient Troika (that faces total humiliation, moral
hazard, and ugly precedents for others) and a stubborn
April-election-facing political class in Greece (along with the
inability of the PSI to get done for all the reasons we have discussed
in the past - foreign law bonds, basis traders, hedged positions, hedge
fund sovereign litigation arbs) it seems the Troika has the most to lose for now seemingly holding a gun to their own head (as once again a massive ECB intervention might be needed with all its knock-on effects on the Fed's balance sheet expansion).John Williams: US Unemployment Hits 22.5% in Alternate Estimate
USS Enterprise Holding Drills To Attack Made Up 'Faux Theocracy' Shahida States And 'Pesky Garnetians'
A
few days ago we presented some speculation on what the final
deployment of the 50 year old USS Enterprise aircraft carrier in the
Arabian Sea may mean from a strategic standpoint, today we get to hear
it from the US Navy itself. And just when we thought we had heard it
all, we now get confirmation that the farcism that has defined capital
markets for the past 3 years is slowly migrating to military planning.
"The carrier and its entourage of support ships are in the Atlantic
Ocean, somewhere east of Florida, with land completely out of sight. But
for the purposes of the drill, they’re cruising near the fictitious
Treasure Coast. Maps displayed on the bridge’s monitors show the
contours of the Eastern Seaboard, the Gulf of Mexico and a good chunk of
the Midwest, but all state borders have been removed and replaced with
a handful of countries that come with their own boundaries and
political allegiances. Enterprise and its strike group are
focused on Garnet and North Garnet, countries that support terrorism on
the Treasure Coast. They’re fundamentalist Shahida states — a
faux-theocracy — and they want to reunite with Pyrope, one of the nine
other made-up countries. On Enterprise, intelligence analysts
evaluate the situation, fighter squadrons plan sorties, and the ship’s
newspaper, “The Shuttle,” prints an extra section that details the
international political situation. It’s a novella set at sea that grows
more complex as hours past. “Those pesky Garnetians,” strike group commander Rear Adm. Walter Carter Jr. told sailors after a day packed with maneuvers, launches and landings."
The Greek Prime Minister is struggling to get coalition party leaders
to buy-in to harsh new international bailout terms. The country must
now accept even more painful cuts if it’s to get a 130 billion Euro
second lifeline from international creditors. If the deal falls through
Greece is expected to default by the end of March. Professor of
constitutional law George Katroungalos says measures imposed by the EU
aim at selling Greece’s basic infrastructure to Germany.
from GoldCore:
Gold’s London AM fix this morning was USD 1,717.00, EUR 1,315.31, and GBP 1,090.85 per ounce.
Friday’s AM fix was USD 1759.50, EUR 1,335.48, and GBP 1,110.66 per ounce.
Gold has followed the now familiar trading pattern of gains in Asia followed by weakness in Europe. While gold has fallen and is weaker in most currencies gold remains higher in euro terms due to euro weakness on the concern of a Greek default.
Spot gold bounced back in Asian trading Monday as investors snatched up bargains after a 2% dip the previous session. The Greek debt debacle is still supporting the price as a deal remains elusive.
Read More @ GoldCore.com
Gold’s London AM fix this morning was USD 1,717.00, EUR 1,315.31, and GBP 1,090.85 per ounce.Friday’s AM fix was USD 1759.50, EUR 1,335.48, and GBP 1,110.66 per ounce.
Gold has followed the now familiar trading pattern of gains in Asia followed by weakness in Europe. While gold has fallen and is weaker in most currencies gold remains higher in euro terms due to euro weakness on the concern of a Greek default.
Spot gold bounced back in Asian trading Monday as investors snatched up bargains after a 2% dip the previous session. The Greek debt debacle is still supporting the price as a deal remains elusive.
Read More @ GoldCore.com
Last
month gold plunged more than $200 in less than a week and the dollar
soared, trumping even gold. The move caused a catfight among letter
writers with investors and central bankers questioning gold’s safe haven
status. By contrast, the US Treasury sold more debt despite growing
concern about the US economy and politically dysfunctional Washington.
In the seventies, gold corrected more than 50 percent, dropping $100
before heading higher. In the eighties, gold pulled back $100 after
reaching $510 per ounce before reaching new highs. So, why the
disconnect?
Start with cash strapped Europe where concerns about the euro crisis
have sent investors into dollars instead of gold in a “dash for cash”
because dollars provide liquidity at a time when liquidity is at a
premium. Although the one month gold lease rate hit 0.2703 percent,
European banks were “swapping” their gold in order to raise cash amidst a
shortage of dollars, depressing gold prices. Investors seem to have
confidence to hold dollar assets for maybe 30 seconds, 30 days but not
30 weeks.
Read More @ FinancialSense.com
Read More @ FinancialSense.com
by Graham Summers, GainsPainsCapital.com:
I wanted to take a moment to address the notion of serious collapse and/or systemic failure.
First off, most people in general tend to be optimists or to generally believe that things will work out fine. So the idea of catastrophe is not something they spend much time thinking about.
Because of this and other factors I’m about to explore, for most investors the notion of systemic failure is virtually impossible to grasp. Most professional traders are usually under the age of 40 (in fact they’re typically in their mid to late 20s). As a result of this, they:
1) Didn’t experience the 1987 Crash
2) Have never seen a Crisis that the Fed/ IMF/ etc. couldn’t handle
Read More @ GainsPainsCapital.com
Dear CIGAs,
The spin on the employment figures is reaching spiritual levels.
The dollar’s gain is on the airwaves but there is no mention of today’s range.
The USDX at .80 to .82 is a barrier of formidable strength. So is 79.645.
I wanted to take a moment to address the notion of serious collapse and/or systemic failure.
First off, most people in general tend to be optimists or to generally believe that things will work out fine. So the idea of catastrophe is not something they spend much time thinking about.
Because of this and other factors I’m about to explore, for most investors the notion of systemic failure is virtually impossible to grasp. Most professional traders are usually under the age of 40 (in fact they’re typically in their mid to late 20s). As a result of this, they:
1) Didn’t experience the 1987 Crash
2) Have never seen a Crisis that the Fed/ IMF/ etc. couldn’t handle
Read More @ GainsPainsCapital.com
The
Greek prime minister has failed to secure a bondholder agreement
despite appealing for help from the bosses of the International Monetary
Fund (IMF) and the European Central Bank (ECB) to help break the
dangerous deadlock.
by Louise Armitstead, Telegraph.co.uk:
Lucas
Papademos held emergency telephone talks with Christine Lagarde and
Mario Draghi today in a bid to find a way to meet the demands of both
Greece’s private creditor banks and its “troika” paymasters.
Evangelos Venizelos, the Greek finance minister, told reporters he hoped to announce a deal this evening to avoid rattling global stockmarkets. However, he added: “It’s not an impasse but there are problems for the Greek side.”
There are just six weeks left before Greece faces a €14.5bn (£12bn) bond repayment which it cannot meet without international aid. European leaders have said Greece will not receive funds from the €130bn rescue package unless it can persuade its private creditors to take losses to reduce the country’s debt pile.
Read More @ Telegraph.co.uk
Following
improvements in US unemployment data, both gold and silver prices faced
sales pressure. Should the US labour market continue to show signs of
recovery, this may reduce the likelihood of the Federal Reserve engaging
in more quantitative easing.
According to America’s Bureau of Labor Statistics, official unemployment figures have dropped to 8.3% – the lowest rate since February 2009. Due to this development, by the end of last week both gold and silver prices came under selling pressure, with traders looking to buy back into equities and more people doubting the likelihood of further QE from Bernanke and the Fed. Nevertheless, critics argue that the official US unemployment rate is only dropping because an increasing number of long-term unemployed are not being factored into these statistics.
Read More @ GoldMoney.com
by Louise Armitstead, Telegraph.co.uk:
Lucas
Papademos held emergency telephone talks with Christine Lagarde and
Mario Draghi today in a bid to find a way to meet the demands of both
Greece’s private creditor banks and its “troika” paymasters.Evangelos Venizelos, the Greek finance minister, told reporters he hoped to announce a deal this evening to avoid rattling global stockmarkets. However, he added: “It’s not an impasse but there are problems for the Greek side.”
There are just six weeks left before Greece faces a €14.5bn (£12bn) bond repayment which it cannot meet without international aid. European leaders have said Greece will not receive funds from the €130bn rescue package unless it can persuade its private creditors to take losses to reduce the country’s debt pile.
Read More @ Telegraph.co.uk
Federal agency would be forced to consider applications to remove TSA screeners
by Paul Joseph Watson, InfoWars.com:
Following House approval of the measure on Friday, the Senate is set to vote today on legislation that would allow U.S. airports to replace TSA workers with screeners from private companies, a move that could spell the beginning of the end for the highly unpopular federal agency’s role in airport security.
“The U.S. agency must allow airports to switch to private companies for screeners unless it can show the move wouldn’t be cost-effective and would be detrimental to security, according to the legislation, which if passed will go to President Barack Obama for his signature,” reports Businessweek.
“They’ve been trying to force the door open for several years,” Jeff Price, a Denver-based consultant who has written a textbook on aviation security, said of U.S. lawmakers. “It reverses the burden of proof. It is definitely trying to checkmate the TSA.”
Read More @ InfoWars.com
by Paul Joseph Watson, InfoWars.com:
Following House approval of the measure on Friday, the Senate is set to vote today on legislation that would allow U.S. airports to replace TSA workers with screeners from private companies, a move that could spell the beginning of the end for the highly unpopular federal agency’s role in airport security.
“The U.S. agency must allow airports to switch to private companies for screeners unless it can show the move wouldn’t be cost-effective and would be detrimental to security, according to the legislation, which if passed will go to President Barack Obama for his signature,” reports Businessweek.
“They’ve been trying to force the door open for several years,” Jeff Price, a Denver-based consultant who has written a textbook on aviation security, said of U.S. lawmakers. “It reverses the burden of proof. It is definitely trying to checkmate the TSA.”
Read More @ InfoWars.com
According to America’s Bureau of Labor Statistics, official unemployment figures have dropped to 8.3% – the lowest rate since February 2009. Due to this development, by the end of last week both gold and silver prices came under selling pressure, with traders looking to buy back into equities and more people doubting the likelihood of further QE from Bernanke and the Fed. Nevertheless, critics argue that the official US unemployment rate is only dropping because an increasing number of long-term unemployed are not being factored into these statistics.
Read More @ GoldMoney.com
Dear CIGAs,
The spin on the employment figures is reaching spiritual levels.
The dollar’s gain is on the airwaves but there is no mention of today’s range.
The USDX at .80 to .82 is a barrier of formidable strength. So is 79.645.
By Greg Hunter’s USAWatchdog.com
Dear CIGAs,
The most recent unemployment number is a total lie, and that lie was repeated all over the mainstream media (MSM). Two sins were committed here, and I don’t know which one is worse. The report was a sham, and the MSM reported that information without a single question about its accuracy. In a story carried across the MSM spectrum, the Associated Press said, “In a long-awaited surge of hiring, companies added 243,000 jobs in January – across the economy, up and down the pay scale and far more than just about anyone expected. Unemployment fell to 8.3 percent, the lowest in three years.” The report went on to say, “At the same time, the proportion of the population working or looking for work is its lowest in almost three decades. The length and depth of the recession have discouraged millions of people from looking for jobs. The better news of the past couple months has not yet encouraged most of them to start searching again.” (Click here for the complete AP story.)
Here’s a headline for you. If it were not for accounting gimmicks and what the government calls “seasonal-adjustments,” the unemployment rate would have gone up, not down! In his latest report, economist John Williams from Shadowstats.com said, “January’s unadjusted unemployment rate rose to 8.8% . . . The only difference between those numbers and the headline 243,000 January jobs gain and 8.3% unemployment rate, is how the seasonal adjustments were applied. There are serious issues with the current quality of those adjustments, and extremely small distortions in those seasonals can make big differences in the resulting headline data.”
As far as “discouraged” workers who are not looking for a job, that is total rubbish put out by the government. The real story is the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) simply has stopped counting more than 1.2 million of the unemployed in its report Friday. Williams goes on to say, “The issues here suggest that the headline 8.3% unemployment for January has moved well outside the realm of common experience and credibility, into the arena of election-year political shenanigans.” Williams is such a gentleman. Please take into consideration the government’s “official” or “headline” number is only based on people being out of work for 6 months or less. If the unemployment rate was calculated the way BLS did it in 1994 and earlier, the unemployment and underemployment would be 22.5% (according to Shadowstats.com.)
More…
Dear CIGAs,
The most recent unemployment number is a total lie, and that lie was repeated all over the mainstream media (MSM). Two sins were committed here, and I don’t know which one is worse. The report was a sham, and the MSM reported that information without a single question about its accuracy. In a story carried across the MSM spectrum, the Associated Press said, “In a long-awaited surge of hiring, companies added 243,000 jobs in January – across the economy, up and down the pay scale and far more than just about anyone expected. Unemployment fell to 8.3 percent, the lowest in three years.” The report went on to say, “At the same time, the proportion of the population working or looking for work is its lowest in almost three decades. The length and depth of the recession have discouraged millions of people from looking for jobs. The better news of the past couple months has not yet encouraged most of them to start searching again.” (Click here for the complete AP story.)
Here’s a headline for you. If it were not for accounting gimmicks and what the government calls “seasonal-adjustments,” the unemployment rate would have gone up, not down! In his latest report, economist John Williams from Shadowstats.com said, “January’s unadjusted unemployment rate rose to 8.8% . . . The only difference between those numbers and the headline 243,000 January jobs gain and 8.3% unemployment rate, is how the seasonal adjustments were applied. There are serious issues with the current quality of those adjustments, and extremely small distortions in those seasonals can make big differences in the resulting headline data.”
As far as “discouraged” workers who are not looking for a job, that is total rubbish put out by the government. The real story is the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) simply has stopped counting more than 1.2 million of the unemployed in its report Friday. Williams goes on to say, “The issues here suggest that the headline 8.3% unemployment for January has moved well outside the realm of common experience and credibility, into the arena of election-year political shenanigans.” Williams is such a gentleman. Please take into consideration the government’s “official” or “headline” number is only based on people being out of work for 6 months or less. If the unemployment rate was calculated the way BLS did it in 1994 and earlier, the unemployment and underemployment would be 22.5% (according to Shadowstats.com.)
More…
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