World Bank Chief Robert Zoellick: Greece’s €130bn Bailout Merely Buys It Time

Robert Zoellick, the outgoing President of the World Bank, has warned that Greece’s latest €130bn (£108bn) bailout would merely buy it time, adding that a European recession would hamper crucial reforms needed to lift the area out of the crisis.
[Ed. Note: The head of the World Bank is saying, in plain English, "ALL THIS is being done, just to be able to deal with the problem tomorrow, rather than today."]
by Telegraph staff and agencies, Telegraph.co.uk:
“I think that the European Union has dealt with Greece as one element but the core elements are really going to be the success of some of the bigger countries, such as Italy and Spain,” Mr Zoellick told Reuters.
“It’s too early to know, partly it depends on the actions the Greeks have to take,” he added.
Mr Zoellick, who will step down in June, also said that Portugal, which received a €78bn rescue package last year, would not need another bailout.
“Each country’s situation is different and you really have three interconnected problems. For some it’s the size of the sovereign debt, for some it’s the effect on the banking industry, and for some it’s their competitiveness,” he said adding that “Spain and Italy need time to make the reforms.”
Read More @ Telegraph.co.uk

Dexia bank/Deutsche Bank/Greece/Silver and Gold Standings at the Comex/ Iran

Harvey Organ at Harvey Organ's - The Daily Gold and Silver Report - 35 minutes ago

Good morning Ladies and Gentlemen: Before beginning, I would like to report that we had only one bank join the ranks of fellow morgue honourees: These links contain useful information for the customers and vendors of these closed banks.Central Bank of Georgia, Ellaville, GAhttp://www.fdic.gov/ The price of gold fell today courtesy of a raid orchestrated by our bankers.  The object of the more »

 

 

The Final Crisis Has Been Postponed By Monetary Intervention

Admin at Marc Faber Blog - 3 hours ago

We have a crisis in Europe but basically the crisis, the final crisis has been postponed by monetary intervention. It`s not being resolved, it`s being postponed- *in a recent Bloomberg Radio interview* *Marc Faber is an international investor known for his uncanny predictions of the stock market and futures markets around the world.* more »

 

 

Myanmar Once Was The Single Richest Country In Asia

Admin at Jim Rogers Blog - 3 hours ago

In 1962 Myanmar was the single richest country in Asia. Now it’s the poorest because it’s been so badly managed in the past 50 years. But they are changing that now.” - *in Bloomberg* *Jim Rogers is an author, financial commentator and successful international investor. He has been frequently featured in Time, The New York Times, Barron’s, Forbes, Fortune, The Wall Street Journal, The Financial Times and is a regular guest on Bloomberg and CNBC.* more »

 

 

Yen hits seven-month low after Bank of Japan measures

Eric De Groot at Eric De Groot - 3 hours ago

Japan's crippling debt burden, aging population, expensive labor, and ultra low yields will force capital to flee Yen at some point. The invisible hand has been accumulating the dips since 2007. Cycles suggest that signs of distribution could emerge in 2013 or 2015. Japanese Yen (FXY) and Yen Diffusion Index (DI) Headline: Yen hits seven-month low after Bank of Japan measures The Japanese... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]] more »

 

 

Franklin D. Roosevelt on Problems of The Day: August 1932

 more »

 more »

 

The Great Crash of 1929 - Bonfire of the Vanities

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Stockton California Takes First Step Towards Bankruptcy - "Somebody Has to Suffer"

In The News Today

February 24, 2012, at 8:36 pm
by Jim Sinclair 

Jim Sinclair’s Commentary

Only one so far this weekend

Bank Closing Information Updated Feb 24, 2012 17:02:28 EST
These links contain useful information for the customers and vendors of these closed banks.
Central Bank of Georgia, Ellaville, GA
http://www.fdic.gov/




Jim Sinclair’s Commentary

Here is the latest from John Williams’ www.ShadowStats.com.

- Monetary Base Surge to Record High Suggests Intensifying Systemic-Solvency Crisis
 
- January Home Sales Numbers Continued Bottom-Bouncing
 
- Unstable Seasonal Adjustments in Existing Home Sales?

No. 420: Monetary Base, January Home Sales
 
www.ShadowStats.com




Jim Sinclair’s Commentary

This will have a meaningful impact on the cost of Tanzanian electrical power as gas generation powers the national expanding grid.

Statoil: Tanzania gas find significant discovery By Katarina Gustafsson
Norwegian oil and gas giant Statoil ASAFriday said its Zafarani gas find offshore Tanzania is a significant discovery and its fifth largest find in the past 12 months.
Last Friday Statoil said the company, together with its partner ExxonMobil Corp had encountered indications of natural gas in the Zafarani exploration well in the block 2 license offshore Tanzania.
Drilling is ongoing and the company said Friday that the discovery has so far proved up to 5 trillion cubic feet of gas in-place, making it Statoil’s fifth biggest discovery in the last 12 months.
"The well has encountered 120 meters of excellent quality reservoir with high porosity and high permeability," Statoil said.
The water depth at the well location is 2,582 meters and the well itself will be drilled to reach an expected total depth of around 5,100 meters.
More…




Jim Sinclair’s Commentary
I love the video, but turn the sound down low or off.





Jim Sinclair’s Commentary

QE makes equities a better buy on breaks than a short for investment at some point considered overvaluation.

S.&P. 500 Index Closes at Highest Level Since June 2008
The Standard & Poor’s 500-share index on Friday finished at its highest point since 2008, extending a climb that began in November.
But in a generally lackluster trading day, the Dow Jones industrial average ended the day flat, failing again to close above 13,000 points. The Nasdaq ended 0.2 percent higher.
The S.&.P. closed at about 1,365 points. The last time it was higher was in June 2008, before the worst of the financial crisis.
More…




Dear Jim
I am sure your readers would appreciate the courage that is demonstrated herein.

Text of statement here: http://www.degaray.com/misc/144-Banks.html


Dear Jim,

This seems to be a unique way to try and avoid bankruptcy.
This event is a trickle, but as a trend it will become a flood.
CIGA Green Hornet

City of Stockton will suspend bond payments to avoid bankruptcy Published: Friday, Feb. 24, 2012 – 1:31 pm
Last Modified: Friday, Feb. 24, 2012 – 2:52 pm
STOCKTON — Hoping to stave off the ignominy of becoming America’s largest city to declare bankruptcy, Stockton officials are planning on suspending $2 million in bond payments and are seeking mediation with the city’s creditors.
In a press conference this morning, Stockton City Manager Bob Deis said City Council members will vote Tuesday on "major action" plan to rescue the financially beleaguered city in lieu of filing for bankruptcy protection.
It includes taking advantage of a new California law that allows cities to seek a 60- to 90-day mediation with creditors in hopes of reworking its payment obligations outside of U.S. bankruptcy court.
More…




Housing market perks up, but prices are still falling CIGA Eric
Americans largely leveraged to the previous cycle’s investment darling breathed a sigh of relief as signs of a rebound begin to emerge in the real estate sector. Only one break or bounce becomes the real turning point. While time, money flows, and credit support a short-term liquidity driven bounce, they don’t support a secular bottom. That won’t come until 2034.
Chart 1 and Chart 2 illustrate the work yet to be done in real estate.
Chart 1: U.S. Median Home Price (MHP) And MHP to Gold Ratio
Chart 2: Months Months Supply of New One-Family Houses for Sale And Change YOY
2011′s bullish setup increased the probability of a counter trend hiccup in 2012.
Chart 3: Lumber (CC) And Lumber Diffusion Index (DI)

Headline: Housing market perks up, but prices are still falling
Though the pace of home sales picked up last month as the economy and job market improved, home prices have yet to show any meaningful turnaround.
The National Association of Realtors said Wednesday that sales of existing homes – which account for most of the housing market – rose 4.3 percent in January. That pace of sales, about 4.5 million a year, is still much less than the 6 million rate that’s considered “healthy.” And it’s far below the peak of 7 million homes sold in 2005.
Home prices are still going nowhere – they fell 2.2 percent in January, according to the NAR. That’s because there is still no end in sight to home foreclosures: so-called “distressed” home sales accounted for 35 percent of sales in January, up from 32 percent in December. As those homes are sold, they push prices lower for all houses on the market.
Source: msnbc.msn.com
More…




Hi Jim,

It appears that Iceland is the only country in the Western hemisphere that’s been able to come to terms with the debt crisis!!
Iceland? Who would have thought?
Respectfully,
CIGA Black Swan


Icelandic Anger Brings Debt Forgiveness By Omar R. Valdimarsson – Feb 19, 2012 7:01 PM ET
Icelanders who pelted parliament with rocks in 2009 demanding their leaders and bankers answer for the country’s economic and financial collapse are reaping the benefits of their anger.
Since the end of 2008, the island’s banks have forgiven loans equivalent to 13 percent of gross domestic product, easing the debt burdens of more than a quarter of the population, according to a report published this month by the Icelandic Financial Services Association.
“You could safely say that Iceland holds the world record in household debt relief,” said Lars Christensen, chief emerging markets economist at Danske Bank A/S in Copenhagen. “Iceland followed the textbook example of what is required in a crisis. Any economist would agree with that.”
More…




Dear Eric,

Add to this $4 per gallon. That is the cost today in California and NYC.
Regards,
Jim


One in four Americans has more debt than savings CIGA Eric
Pop culture’s full embrace of the "live for today and forget about tomorrow" philosophy has raised generations of Americans that no longer understand that living beyond their means not only jeopardizes their future standard of living but also increases their dependency on governmental largess. One can’t help see the devilish irony that a growing number of Americans blame government largess and its crippling debt as our economy’s public enemy number one.
Regardless of your perception of economic reality, the facts remain the same. The US economy, driven by “live for today and forget about tomorrow” philosophy, has become increasingly consumption-driven since 1981-82 (see chart 1). As savings dwindled into 2005, Americans embraced debt as a means to the end rather than abandon their self-destructive philosophy (chart 2). It should come as no surprise that one in four Americans have more debt than savings. If it reaches one in three or two, will we be surprised then? I doubt market forces will give us the opportunity to find out.
Chart 1: Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) As A %GDP and Personal Consumption Expenditures As A %GDP Average from 1947
Chart 2: Savings (SAV) As A %GDP Average from 1947

Headline: One in four Americans has more debt than savings
Many U.S. consumers are so deep in a financial hole that even as the economy begins to turn around they can’t quite dig themselves out.
A survey by Bankrate.com released Tuesday found that 25 percent of Americans have more credit card debt than they have in emergency savings, and that spells trouble if an emergency situation actually hits.
Consumers are doing better when it comes to living within their means, said Greg McBride, Bankrate.com’s senior financial analyst. But, he added, years of stagnant wage growth, high unemployment, declining home values and escalating household expenses have strained wallets. “Even though there’s been progress things are still out of whack,” he said.
And the economic pictures may get even gloomier for consumers if gas prices continue to escalate, he pointed out. Last year, he said, “60 percent of Americans said they cut back on discretionary spending because of gasoline prices.”
Those hit hardest when it comes to debt versus savings, are individuals on the low end of the economic ladder and those with less education, according to the study that polled more than 1000 adults earlier this month.
Source: msnbc.msn.com
More…




Jim,
La Reunion is a small Island (owned by France). The people on the island make their living from tourism mainly.
La Reunion has suffered its second night of riots over the cost of living and unemployment.
Most of food and water comes from mainland. They are directly impacted by the rise of oil price.
Islands living essentially from tourism will be the first to suffer from today’ s rise of food and energy. Youth unemployment will make things even worse.
Best regards,
CIGA Christopher

Second night of riots on French Indian Ocean island Réunion
A second night of rioting erupted on the French Indian Ocean island of Réunion Wednesday. Hundreds of youths have clashed with police and attacked businesses after protests over the cost of living.
Three police officers and a night watchman were injured on Wednesday night, officials said.
A squadron of gendarmes has been sent to reinforce police on the island.
Thirty-one people were arrested, bringing the total to 49 in two days.
The trouble broke out in the main city Saint Denis, spreading to Le Port and Saint Benoît on the east of the island.
Gangs of about 200 young people attacked a shopping centre, a Peugeot showroom and other businesses, looting and setting fire to property.
They clashed with police, who fired teargas at them.
One police officer was seriously injured when a teargas grenade exploded in his hand, police sources said.
More…

Buffett Releases Annual Letter To Shareholders, Will Avoid Derivatives Going Foward, Continues Bashing Gold

While mostly a regurgitation of old, very trite, and quite meandering thoughts, there are some tidbits of information in the latest just released 2011 Berkshire Letter to shareholders such as that Buffett has chosen a successor to the 81 year old increasingly more confused head (unclear who), that Buffett is on the prowl for large acquisitions, that he hopes IBM shares languish for the next five years (frankly we can't wait until Buffett opens a stake in Apple so he can control the two stocks that between them account for about half of the moves in the DJIA and the NASDAPPLE - after all "economies of scale" is all about how Nominal Buffett exudes 'success'), that he once again sees a housing bottom (he adds: "Last year, I told you that “a housing recovery will probably begin within a year or so.” I was dead wrong" - this admission is far more than we will ever hear from James Cramer who has been calling a housing bottom since 2009), and "Housing will come back – you can be sure of that" - sure, just not in your lifetime, and probably not in ours either, but most importantly, is the discovery not that BRK's profit declined by 30% (to $3.08 billion from $4.38 billion) on a smaller gain on derivatives, but that since he actually will have to post collateral on new derivatives, "we will not be initiating any major derivatives positions." The reason: "We shun contracts of any type that could require the instant posting of collateral. The possibility of some sudden and huge posting requirement – arising from an out-of-the-blue event such as a worldwide financial panic or massive terrorist attack – is inconsistent with our primary objectives of redundant liquidity and unquestioned financial strength." So his warning that derivatives are WMDs years ago was only appropriate if there was money to be lost, such as is the case for 99.9999% of other investors? Ah, there goes the good old hypocritical, crony Warren we have all grown to known and love. And finally what would be a recent Buffett missive without the obligatory gold bashing section: after all, how will the Ponzi scheme inflate if people have realized it is a ... well, Ponzi, championed by none other than the person everyone once thought was actually an investing genius. Fast forward to Buffett's 2020 Letter (when Greek debt/GDP is precisely 120.5%) his main bullet will : "I told you to run away from gold. I was dead wrong."

Juncker: "Greece May Need A Third Bailout"

No. No way. If we have to go through one more year of endlessly repetitive and utterly worthless European bullshit, rumors, headlines, and other subterfuge whose only point is to extend and pretend the fact that Europe is utterly broke, just so the effete Greek citizens can pretend they give a rat's ass about their independence, when in reality they will gladly pay 80% of their salary to keep European banks solvent simply to retain the illusion that their retirement funds are still worth more than diddly squat, we are done.

Grantham Nails It: "The Industry So Much Prefers Bullishness...So Does The Press"

In his most recent quarterly letter titled appropriately enough "The Longest Quarterly Letter Ever" GMO's Jeremy Grantham literally kills it. Well, maybe not literally but certainly metaphorically.

Euphoria Shifts From Stocks To Commodities

Silver and Gold remain the major outperformers year-to-date but the rest of commodities - most notably oil is catching up very fast having over taken stocks this week. It appears that the new-found flood of liquidity that we have been so passionately banging the table on for weeks, has found its way into the energy complex as European Sovereigns, European Financials, European Stocks, and US Stocks have all flattened or turned down as Crude and WTI surge. And as a hint to anyone who hasn't jumped on this tidal movement yet, one thing to note is that unlike stocks, commodities always have the risk of marginal or weak hands being shaken out via CME...margin hikes.

Guest Post" The "Housing Recovery" In One Index

There have been numerous media stories out over the last couple of weeks about the recovery in housing at long last.   Of course, this is the same housing bottom call that we heard in 2009, 2010 and 2011 - so why not drag it out again for 2012.  Eventually, the call will be right and they will be anointed with oils and proclaimed to be the gurus that called the bottom.  In the financial world you only have to be right once. However, back on earth, where things really matter, housing is a major contributing component to long term economic recovery.  Each dollar sunk into new housing construction has a large multiplier effect back on the overall economy.  No economic recovery in history has started without housing leading the way.  So, yes, housing is really just that important and we should all want it to recover and soon.  The calls for a bottom in housing now, however, may be a bit premature as I will explain.

NYSE Volume At New Decade Low

Both NYSE and ES (e-mini S&P futures) volumes were the lowest of the year so far. This is the lowest non-holiday trading day on the NYSEVOL (from Bloomberg) since its data began a decade ago and eyeballing ES volumes, this appears to be one of the lowest ever volumes of the last few years. For those who think this is irrelevant as the market's price has risen and so total USD volume remains approximately equal - wrong! Today is the lowest USD volume day since the mid 2009 (which tended to coincide with holiday trading volumes around July 4th) - making today's USD trading volume less than 50% of their 2004-2007 average!

David Rosenberg Presents The Six Pins That Can Pop The Complacency Bubble

The record volatility, and 400 point up and down days in the DJIA of last summer seem like a lifetime ago, having been replaced by a smooth, unperturbed, 45 degree-inclined see of stock market appreciation, rising purely on the $2 trillion or so in liquidity pumped into global markets by the central printers, ever since Italy threatened to blow up the Ponzi last fall. In short - we have once again hit peak complacency. Yet with crude now matching every liquidity injection tick for tick (and then some: Crude's WTI return is now higher than that of stocks), there is absolutely no more space for the world central banks to inject any more stock appreciation without blowing up Obama's reelection chances (and you can be sure they know it). Suddenly the market finds itself without an explicit backstop. So what are some of the "realizations" that can pop the complacency bubble leading to a stock market plunge, and filling the liquidity-filled gap? Here are, courtesy of David Rosenberg, six distinct hurdles that loom ever closer on the horizon, and having been ignored for too long, courtesy of Bernanke et cie, will almost certainly become the market's preoccupation all too soon.

Quotes Of The Week... And Friday Humor

For our quote of the week, we go to the man who almost brutally cut the meal between breakfast and brunch (it was formerly supposed to be German demand #39 for Greece but was mysteriously cut in the final draft) in the name of fiscal austerity and setting a shining example of calorific sacrifice. We repeat almost. Quote Busineweek: "No one pays attention to the activation of the CDS." Venizelos told lawmakers in comments broadcast live on state-run Vouli TV........     :0

"Oil Won't Stop Until The Economy Breaks"

As gold strengthens on the back of the extreme experimentation of the world's (now-sheep-like) central bankers' easing and printing protocols, it does no real harm to the world, but as John Burbank (of Passport Capital) notes, the painful unintended consequence of all this liquidity is energy costs skyrocketing - and it won't stop until the economy breaks. The negative feedback loop, that we pointed to yesterday as potentially the only thing to stall a magnanimously academic response to the insolvency we see around the world (and the need for deleveraging at this end of the debt super-cycle), of oil prices into the real economy will be devastating not just for US but for EM economies, though as the bearded-Burbank reminds us - Saudi benefits greatly (and suggests ways to trade this perspective). Flat consumer incomes while costs are rising is never a good thing and while we make new highs in oil in terms of EURs and GBPs, he warns we may soon in USDs also. Summing up, his perspective is rising tensions in the Middle East combined with central bank liquidity provision are a huge concern: "We're actually quite bearish. The only reason all this liquidity is coming into the market is because things are really bad. It's not because things are good. It's hard to know where things are going to go. The point is, just because they're putting liquidity in the market doesn't mean the economy is improving."

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