Monday, February 9, 2015

If Your Name Is On This List, Prepare To Be Audited (Or Worse)





A Day Of Reckoning For The Euro Has Arrived: $26 TRILLION In Currency Derivatives At Risk

by Michael Snyder, The Economic Collapse Blog:
This is the month when the future of the eurozone will be decided.  This week, Greek leaders will meet with European officials to discuss what comes next for Greece.  The new prime minister of Greece, Alexis Tsipras, has already stated that he will not accept an extension of the current bailout.  Officials from other eurozone countries have already said that they expect Greece to fully honor the terms of the current agreement.  So basically we are watching a giant game of financial “chicken” play out over in Europe, and a showdown is looming.  Adding to the drama is the fact that the Greek government is rapidly running out of money.  According to the Wall Street Journal, Greece is “on course to run out of money within weeks if it doesn’t gain access to additional funds, effectively daring Germany and its other European creditors to let it fail and stumble out of the euro.”  We have witnessed other moments of crisis for Greece before, but things are very different this time because the new Greek government is being run by radical leftists that based their entire campaign on ending the austerity that has been imposed on Greece by the rest of Europe.  If they buckle under the demands of the European financial lords, their credibility will be gone and Syriza will essentially be finished in Greek politics.  But if they don’t compromise, Greece could be forced to leave the eurozone and we could potentially be facing the equivalent of “financial armageddon” in Europe.  If nobody flinches, the eurozone will fall to pieces, the euro will collapse and trillions upon trillions of dollars in derivatives will be in jeopardy.
Read More…



The World's Best Known Global Shipping Index has Crashed To Its Lowest Level Ever

Having fallen for 47 of the last 51 days, The Baltic Dry Index (tracking the cost of shipping dry bulk from iron ore to grains) has been collapsing in a well-documented manner by Zero Hedge (though not the mainstream media). With Cramer having told investors of its importance previously, it will be hard to ignore the fact that, as of this morning, the index of global shipping costs has never (ever) been lower at 554. We leave it to readers to decide what they think this means (but we already know what it means for shippers and ship-building companies).



Another JPMorgan Banker Dies After Murder-Suicide: Chokes Wife, Stabs Himself To Death

By now, there have been so many banker-related suicides that it has become a moot point of i) tracking them all or ii) trying to find a pattern. And yet, one name continues to stand out: JPMorgan. The bank which has been most prominent among the list of "suicided" bankers notched one more casualty over the weekend when "a JPMorgan Chase & Co. employee strangled and stabbed his wife to death before turning the knife on himself, according to police who are treating the couple’s death in Bergen County, New Jersey as a murder-suicide." But most eerie and disturbing is how comparable the Tabacchi double-death is to a comparable case from July of last year when as we reported not only did a JPM executive director shoot his wife multiple times before using the same weapon on himself (like now), but the tragedy also took place in New Jersey.


Why Citi Thinks Oil Is Going To $20

The recent rally in crude prices looks more like a head-fake than a sustainable turning point, suggests Citi's Ed Morse, noting that short-term market factors are more bearish, pointing to more price pressure for the next couple of months and beyond. While the shape of the oil price recovery is unlikely to be 'L'-shaped in their view (more likely 'U', 'V', or 'W'-shaped recovery), Citi warns the oil market should bottom sometime between the end of Q1 and beginning of Q2 at a significantly lower price level in the $40 range (perhaps as low as the $20 range for a while) - after which markets should start to balance, first with an end to inventory builds and later on with a period of sustained inventory draws.



Warning: “The American Dream Is About To Drastically Change… It Is Time To Prepare Accordingly”

by Tess Pennington, SHTFPlan:
By and large, the majority of the population has deluded themselves into believing a bright future is upon the horizon. For years, economic forecasters and preppers alike have warned of the bottom dropping out of the economy. The proverbial doom prediction of “it’s not if, but when” is not just a phrase to add dramatic effect, it is a call to action. It’s a warning that the American dream is about to drastically change and that it is time to prepare accordingly.
The End of an Era
We have all seen the anomalous increase in food prices. We can blame it on the massive droughts, extreme weather patterns, and increased cost-of-living that has occurred over several years. While these factors certainly play into the equation, experts believe the root cause is that the world has entered into an era of “peak food” production. Peak production refers to a point at which the growth in production of a crop, animal or other foodstuff begins to slow down. Nine or ten food staples feed the world and they are slowing in their production.
Read More @ SHTFPlan.com



Fearing Grexit, Greeks Turn To Gold Again

It never fails: every time redenomination risks and the specter of the (New) Drachma rear its ugly heads, Greeks, like dutiful Austrian economists, realize that Neoliberal economics is nothing but a steaming pile of drivel that only works when everyone is "confident" and gets deeper in debt with a smile on their face while failing in every other instance, and decide that the time has come to convert their paper wealth into hard assets. It happened in 2010, in 2012, and now that Greece is on the verge of its third Grexit in the past 5 years, it is happening again. "The one thing everyone knows about gold is it is a good thing to hold if your currency is about to devalue,” Matthew Turner, an analyst at Macquarie Bank Ltd., said via phone. “It would be understandable for Greeks to buy gold because they are afraid of losing their money.



Obama & Merkel 'Agree': No Prospect Of "Military Solution" In Ukraine

"Success is anything but certain," warned Germany's Merkel during the uncomfortably un-united joint press conference as both the leaders appeared to be able to agree on only one thing - that a military solution will not happen. This was followed by what appeared to be President Obama conceding to Merkel that the provision of arms to Ukraine was kinda sorta 'off-the-table' - though still under "ongoing analysis."  Hopes remain for a diplomatic solution and President Obama even concluded, "we are not looking for Russia to fail. ... Our preference is for a strong, vibrant, confident Russia." Other items that caused some tension included Iran, Israel, NSA "trust" and US asking for "benefit of the doubt," and Greek anti-austerity plans...


Americans Are "Twerking & Jerking", Not Working

One thing is clearing up: Europe does not want or need to start a war with Russia at America’s insistence. What America needs is a war with itself, a war against the lazy narcissism that has left it susceptible to armies of grifters and racketeers, because ordinary people were too busy twerking and jerking to pay any real attention to the systematic dismemberment of their culture. Waiting in the wings is a whole category of human endeavor quaintly known as virtue, lately absent in the collective consciousness.



UBS Says "A Market Dislocation Is Necessary To Focus Minds" And Stop "Underestimating Grexit Risks"

  • The terms of a compromise are easier to see than the willingness to compromise. At the time of writing, Greece is deadlocked in its bilateral discussions, as well as with the troika members.
  • Breaking the deadlock voluntarily may not be easy. Political realities in the rest of Europe argue against granting the Syriza-led government concessions on debt or fiscal relief. Yet the Greek government feels it has a mandate to demand such relief.
  • Hence, outside pressure—in the form of financial and market dislocations—seems necessary to focus minds.





When Barry Met Angie: US & Germany Explain How "United" They Are - Live Feed

This could be awkward... US President Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel are face-to-face this morning to present a 'united' front on world affairs. 'United' that is apart from Germany slamming US plans to provide weapons to Ukraine as "risky and counter-productive" and Obama rejecting Germany's calls for more austerity in Greece... let's see if they can "agree to disagree."



Greek Contagion? Spanish/Italian Bond Risk Surge Most In 4 Months

With Spanish and Italian leaders desperately running around to any and every media outlet to proclaim themselves economically fit and deny deny deny what Greek FinMin Varoufakis said yesterday, it appears the market has a different perspective. Portuguese bond spreads are 16bps wider and Spanish and Italian bond spreads are 12bps wider - their worst day in almost 4 months - as it appears Grexit fears are starting to creep into the rest of the periphery.


Stunning Chart Of The Day: For The First Time Ever, Central Banks Will Monetize More Than 100% Of Global Sovereign Debt

For the first time ever, "developed" central banks are now monetizing more than 100% of global sovereign debt issuance!


We've Run The Numbers And It's True - This Is A Failed Strategy

The urgency to put your savings to work is understandable, but patience is a virtue. Sometimes the hardest thing to do is to wait for the right opportunity to come along... The math is pretty simple.


Greek Bank Bonds & Stocks Crumble To Record Lows

Just 3 short months ago, Greek bank bonds were trading near par and every over-leveraged, over-confident, over-full-of-propaganda hedge fund was buying them "for the yield" - well, S&P had upgraded Greece and implied 'all-clear'. Today, Greek bank bonds are trading at 60% of face-value, having dead-cat-bounced last week before re-collapsing today. Greek bank stocks are also careening lower with most at record lows (below the lows reached during the peak of the crisis). The reason to focus on these instruments is that, while somewhat illiquid, they are the most sensitive to the day-to-day headlines and overall sentiment on Greece (and Grexit) as a pure reflection (redenomination risk aside) of trouble ahead.



Harvey Organ: $4 TRILLION in Greek Derivatives to Detonate in 10 Days- ENTIRE FINANCIAL WORLD WILL FALL LIKE DOMINOES!

from Silver Doctors:
Tonight’s commentary regarding the Greek ultimatum is the most important development in quite some time. If I was a betting man, I strongly believe that China and Russia have had extensive talks and they are willing to finance the Greeks.
If Greece does its GREXIT then derivatives will blow up the entire globe.
It means that the entire 320 billion euros of debt will blow up along with around 3.4 to 4 trillion of derivatives on Greece and interest rates on Greek bonds etc.
THE ENTIRE FINANCIAL WORLD WILL FALL LIKE DOMINOES…
Read More @ SilverDoctors.com

Common Sense and Prepping Go Hand in Hand

from The Daily Sheeple:
I understand now why some of your readers are so interested in the old ways of doing things, and rightly so. Back in the day everything we did had a purpose, a reason behind it that made it a common sense thing to do. Life was more difficult as everything took much longer to do but having the right thing to hand, in the right place at the right time, made things more bearable.
I have often mentioned that the amount of waste people create these days irritates me, and this I think fits in with the mindset that Edith and I have compared to the mindset that many youngsters have.
Read More @ TheDailySheeple.com

Trade Data show China’s Credit Bubble is Bursting, USA to See Deflationary Effects – Global Depression Ahead?

from Gold Core:
China’s debt-driven economy and monumentally wasteful building boom which has created entire cities with no inhabitants looks set to unwind as figures show that Chinese imports of raw materials continue to decline.
Imports fell 19.9% year on year in January. While such a dramatic slump can largely be explained by considerably lower prices for raw materials the data shows that imports are down in terms of volume also.
Iron ore imports fell by 9.4% in volume (YoY) while coal imports fell almost 40% by volume and oil by 7.9% between December and January. Imports into China have been declining every month since October.
Read More @ GoldCore.com


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