The European Crisis Cycle: Hope, Relief... And Always Disappointment

By now we can only hope (pun intended) that everyone has seen the David Einhorn chart showing the circularity of the European "summit-based" decisionmaking process - somewhat relevant since we have had 21 summits since 2008 and Europe has never been in a condition quite as bad as last week when a historic move by the ECB to lower the deposit rate to zero and the refi rate below the critical threshold of 1.00%... and nothing happened. (that's not quite true: JPM, Goldman and Blackrock all made it quite clear European money markets are now officially dead). However, as the following empirical analysis from Credit Suisse shows, the "Einhorn" chart is not just a conversation piece at cocktail parties: there is an actual trade pattern which has made traders lots of money, and which makes Eurocrats the best friends of not only Belgian caterers, but short-sellers everywhere: go long into a summit when the clueless algos read headlines and send risk soaring, only to short the inevitable fizzles days if not hours later.

The Euro Crash Refuses To Go On Vacation

from Testosterone Pit.com:
Finnish Finance Minister Jutta Urpilainen set the scene for the long European summer break when she declared that Finland was a dedicated member of the Eurozone, eager to solve the crisis, but “not at any price”; it wouldn’t agree to take on “collective responsibility for debts and risks of other countries” via a banking union. And if push came to shove: “We are prepared for all scenarios, including abandoning the Euro.”
A spokesperson had to do some furious backpedalling: Finland wasn’t planning to abandon the euro; such assertions were “simply wrong,” her words had been misinterpreted. Nevertheless, this was the first time ever that a government official of a triple-A rated Eurozone country publically admitted that they were making contingency plans for ditching the euro—and worse, that there was a desire to do so under certain conditions.
The road to hell, I mean the road to the euro, was paved with good intentions—and signposted with lots of warnings that at the time were ignored, downplayed, or ridiculed. But one by one, they turned out to be correct. The warnings continue, along with efforts to sweep them under the rug which is more difficult now as the dimensions of the debacle have become apparent for all to see.
Read More @ TestosteronePit.com

What Is Market "Certainty"?

One of the few things that we do know - for certain - about the future is that actions have consequences. In the world studied by the physical sciences of inanimate matter, it is possible to predict the future with certainty. That is because the entities being studied ARE inanimate. They have no power to initiate an action so they have no power to vary their reaction to a force which is applied to them. In the field of the study of HUMAN action, the situation is fundamentally different. No “stimulus” will ever produce the same response on entities which have the power of thought and the power of choice.

How Germans Feel About More European Bailouts

In summary, this is how Germans feel about continued ongoing bailouts of Germany's liquid(ity) crack-addicted neighbors:

 

Untitled

Harvey Organ at Harvey Organ's - The Daily Gold and Silver Report - 3 hours ago

Good morning to you all: It is good to be back from a holiday as I took my entire family (13 of us including my 4 grandchildren) to Club Med as I celebrated by 65th birthday and 41 st anniversary. I had some computer problems with my laptop but kept up with events as my kids loaned my their computer. During the Friday session gold was whacked $30.50 to $1578.40 while silver also followed suit

Executive Tyranny

by Alan Caruba, Right Side News:

The use of Executive Orders (EO) goes back to the first President, George Washington. Every chief executive has issued them since then. Some have been historic, but the latest Executive Orders of President Obama are downright scary.

The Executive Order signed on June 25 is titled “ Russian Highly Enriched Uranium” and offers as its justification the fact that “the accumulation of a large volume of weapons-usable fissile material in the territory of the Russian Federal continues to constitute an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States, and hereby declare a national emergency to deal with that threat.”
A national emergency? Over Russian nuclear material?
Are we still in the Cold War? Are we facing another Cuban Missile Crisis? Are the Russians getting ready to launch a nuclear attack on the U.S.? Are the Russians provocateurs? Yes, but what else is new?
The justification for this Executive Order is absurd: The world is filled with nuclear weapons held by both our allies and our presumed enemies.
Having proclaimed a national emergency, why hasn’t Obama gone on television to inform Americans? Because, like everything else he does, it is done with stealth.
Read More @ RightSideNews.com

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Silver Update 7/7/12 Economic Flatline

from BrotherJohnf:

Support the Declaration of Internet Freedom

by J. D. Heyes, Natural News:
An alliance of groups who advocate for freedom and privacy have joined to push U.S. lawmakers into acknowledging so-called digital rights of all Americans by signing a new Declaration of Internet Freedom.
The declaration, which has been supported by groups like the American Civil Liberties Union, Amnesty International and the Electronic Frontier Foundation, features five simple principles (not 2,700 for keeping a free and open Internet. They are:
Expression: Don’t censor the Internet.
Access: Promote universal access to fast and affordable networks.
Openness: Keep the Internet an open network where everyone is free to connect, communicate, write, read, watch, speak, listen, learn, create and innovate.
Innovation: Protect the freedom to innovate and create without permission. Don’t block new technologies, and don’t punish innovators for their users’ actions.
Privacy: Protect privacy and defend everyone’s ability to control how their data and devices are used.
Read More @ NaturalNews.com

New July 6th Obama Executive Order Seeks ‘Control’ Over Communications During ‘Crisis’

Executive Order — Assignment of National Security and Emergency Preparedness Communications Functions
from Prison Planet:
ASSIGNMENT OF NATIONAL SECURITY AND
EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS COMMUNICATIONS FUNCTIONS
By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered as follows:
Section 1. Policy. The Federal Government must have the ability to communicate at all times and under all circumstances to carry out its most critical and time sensitive missions. Survivable, resilient, enduring, and effective communications, both domestic and international, are essential to enable the executive branch to communicate within itself and with: the legislative and judicial branches; State, local, territorial, and tribal governments; private sector entities; and the public, allies, and other nations. Such communications must be possible under all circumstances to ensure national security, effectively manage emergencies, and improve national resilience. The views of all levels of government, the private and nonprofit sectors, and the public must inform the development of national security and emergency preparedness (NS/EP) communications policies, programs, and capabilities.
Sec. 2. Executive Office Responsibilities.
Sec. 2.1. Policy coordination, guidance, dispute resolution, and periodic in-progress reviews for the functions described and assigned herein shall be provided through the interagency process established in Presidential Policy Directive-1 of February 13, 2009 (Organization of the National Security Council System) (PPD-1).
Read More @ PrisonPlanet.com

Welcome to ‘democraship’

By Pepe Escobar, Asia Times.com:
Let’s start with a bomb. Over 10 days ago a new brand of coup d’etat took place in Paraguay against elected president Fernando Lugo. It was virtually unnoticed by global corporate media.
Anything unexpected? Not really. A March 2009 cable from the US Embassy in Asuncion, revealed by WikiLeaks, [1] had already detailed how oligarchs in Paraguay were busy devising a “democratic coup” in congress to depose Lugo.
At the time, the US embassy noted political conditions were not ideal for a coup. Key among the plotters was former president Nicanor Duarte (2003 to 2008), severely bashed by progressive South American governments for having allowed US Special Forces in Paraguayan soil to conduct “educational courses”, “domestic peacekeeping operations” and “counter-terrorism training”.
This US Special Forces drive was happening decades after “one of our bastards”, notorious dictator-general Alfredo Stroessner (in power from 1954 to 1989) had allowed the set up of a giant US-owned semi-clandestine landing strip near the Argentina-Brazil-Paraguay Triple Border – later to become part of the war on drugs, and then the war on terror.
Read More @ ATimes.com

Your Bucket List

by Gary North, Lew Rockwell.com:
On October 3, 2009, I attended my 50th high school reunion. The 50th high school reunion is the last hurrah institutionally in the United States. No other final meeting will attract as many people from a person’s generation. There is nothing like your 50th high school reunion to remind you that the clock is ticking.
The committee posted the photos of the known deceased. Some had been gone for 25 years. Others had been gone less than a year. But the reality was clear: the list would grow.
The men were all unrecognizable. So were most of the women. There were a few exceptions, however. Time had not run over all of us to the same degree. A couple of men looked more distinguished than at 18. I hated to see them.
The reunion committee supplied name tags with the senior year photos. These were reminders of time gone by. We could see the before-after contrast. The contrast was considerable, with only one exception – not mine. Grim.
Read More @ LewRockwell.com

Gold Is Money

from Wealth Cycles:
Despite the tradition of stock pushers and mainstream media to deride gold as an investment, the American public persists in holding gold in high esteem, according to an April Gallup poll. According to Gallup, Americans believe gold is a better long-term investment (28% of those polled) than real estate (20%), stocks (19%), savings accounts or Certificates of Deposit (19%), or bonds (8%). This faith in gold persists despite the public statements of investment gurus such as Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett or economists such as Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke that scorn gold on the basis that “it doesn’t produce anything” or does not yield a return.
What gold does do is provide a store of value that offers hope for future prosperity to those who otherwise despair of watching the value of their paper currency erode with each new round of central bank printing, for those who once burned fear the fire of the stock markets, and for those who see the bond markets for the debt-burdened sinking pyramid that they are. Real estate? Despite a slight warming in some parts of the country, with banks continuing to slowly dole out foreclosures and short sales for fear of swamping the market, with governments continuing to buy up bad mortgages, it’s far from certain that real estate has yet found a bottom; in some parts of the world (Canada, Australia) looming real estate crashes have still to play themselves out. But here’s the most important thing to understand about gold—it is not merely another investment vehicle. In fact, gold is and has been for all of human history, money.
Read More @ WealthCycles.com

Collapse Confirmation News Update

from Fabian4Liberty:

How Saving is the New Investing

from Silver Vigilante:
I mentioned in my article yesterday that saving is the new investing. A glance at five year graphs across the board pretty much demonstrate this point. Other than day traders, there’s not much long-term appreciation. And, even for day traders, the increasingly volatile conditions on the markets are making price movements increasingly difficult to predict. Below is the 5-year chart for the S&P 500. At the onset of 2007, at 1450.00, it stood on the edge of a precipitous price drop below 700.00 in 2008-2009. Today, nearly four years later, the S&P 500 hangs 100 points off its high.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average comprises the same storyline. In 2007, at 12,700.00, it stood on the precipice of a fall down to below 7,000.00 in 2008-09. Over the following years, until now, it clawed its way back to about even with its beginning of 2007 price.
Read More @ Silver Vigilante

Google Sadly Joins The Anti-Gun Brigade

by Frank Miniter, Forbes:
Google is censuring information on guns and other products from Google Shopping. Sure, we know they once gave in to the Chinese government, but why are they censoring products used for self-protection by America’s gun owners?
Google announced this new policy on May 31. Now firearms manufacturers and others are pointing out Google’s hypocrisy. Meanwhile, the media has mostly ignored the story.
Ironically, Google’s own policy for “Freedom of Expression” says, “We’ve pressed governments to make combating Internet censorship a top priority in human rights and economic agendas.” And they say, “We regularly assist research efforts like the Open Net Initiative, the premier monitor of global trends on Internet censorship, by providing funds for their work.”
Maybe so, but they don’t think the Second Amendment in the Bill of Rights is acceptable in the U.S.
Specifically, they’ve banned results related to firearms and other products that they don’t deem to be “family safe.” Until recently, gun-related products appeared with other products in search results on the shopping section. Many of America’s 80 million gun owners have used Google as a powerful price-comparison tool. Not anymore.
Read More @ Forbes

Banks’ Defenses to Potential Trillions in Libor Claims Fail

from Washington’s Blog:
The big banks have been manipulating the world’s central economic indicator – Libor – for decades, harming homeowners, students, credit card holders, small businesses, cities and many others.
The sums involved were huge. As the Economist notes:

The sums involved might have been huge. Barclays was a leading trader of these sorts of derivatives, and even relatively small moves in the final value of LIBOR could have resulted in daily profits or losses worth millions of dollars. In 2007, for instance, the loss (or gain) that Barclays stood to make from normal moves in interest rates over any given day was £20m ($40m at the time). In settlements with the Financial Services Authority (FSA) in Britain and America’s Department of Justice, Barclays accepted that its traders had manipulated rates on hundreds of occasions.

The Independent notes that potential liability from the Libor suits could wipe out Barclays, RBS and other banks … and that the big banks have taken inadequate reserves against litigation risks.
Read More @ WashingtonsBlog.com

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