Are we on the verge of a massive financial collapse in Europe? Rumors of an imminent default by Greece are flying around all over the place and Greek government officials are openly admitting that they are running out of money. Without more bailout funds it is absolutely certain that Greece will soon default on their debts. But German officials are threatening to hold up more bailout payments until the Greeks "do what they agreed to do". The attitude in Germany is that the Greeks must now pay the price for going into so much debt. Officials in the Greek government are becoming frustrated because the more austerity measures they implement, the more their economy shrinks. As the economy shrinks, so do tax payments and the budget deficit gets even larger. Meanwhile, hordes of very angry Greek citizens are violently protesting in the streets. If Germany allows Greece to default, that is going to start financial dominoes tumbling around the globe and it is going to be a signal to the financial markets that there is a very real possibility that Portugal, Italy and Spain will be allowed to default as well. Needless to say, all hell would break loose at that point.
So why is Greece so important?
Well, there are two reasons why Greece is so important.
Number one, major banks all over Europe are heavily invested in Greek debt. Since many of those banks are also very highly leveraged, if they are forced to take huge losses on Greek debt it could wipe many of them out.
Secondly, if Greece defaults, it tells the markets that Portugal, Italy and Spain would likely not be rescued either. It would suddenly become much, much more expensive for those countries to borrow money, which would make their already huge debt problems far worse.
If Italy or Spain were to go down, it would wipe out major banks all over the globe.
Recently, Paul Krugman of the New York Times summarized the scale of the problem the world financial system is now facing....
Financial turmoil in Europe is no longer a problem of small, peripheral economies like Greece. What’s under way right now is a full-scale market run on the much larger economies of Spain and Italy. At this point countries in crisis account for about a third of the euro area’s G.D.P., so the common European currency itself is under existential threat.
Most Americans don't spend a lot of time thinking about the financial condition of Europe.
But they should.
Right now, the U.S. economy is really struggling to stay out of another recession. If Europe has a financial meltdown, there is no way that the United States is going to be able to avoid another huge economic downturn.
If you think that things are bad now, just wait. After the next major financial crisis what we are going through right now is going to look like a Sunday picnic.
The following are 20 signs of imminent financial collapse in Europe....
#1 The yield on 2 year Greek bonds is now over 60 percent. The yield on 1 year Greek bonds is now over 110 percent. Basically, world financial markets now fully expect that Greece will default.
#2 European bank stocks are getting absolutely killed once again today. We have seen this happen time after time in the last few weeks. What we are now witnessing is a clear trend. Just like back in 2008, major banking stocks are leading the way down the financial toilet.
#3 The German government is now making preparations to bail out major German banks when Greece defaults. Reportedly, the German government is telling banks and financial institutions to be prepared for a 50 percent "haircut" on Greek debt obligations.
#4 With thousands upon thousands of angry citizens protesting in the streets, the Greek government seems hesitant to fully implement the austerity measures that are being required of them. But if Greece does not do what they are being told to do, Germany may withhold further aid. German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble says that Greece is now "on a knife’s edge".
#5 Germany is increasingly taking a hard line with Greece, and the Greeks are feeling very pushed around by the Germans at this point. Ambrose Evans-Pritchard made this point very eloquently in a recent article for the Telegraph....
Germany’s EU commissioner Günther Oettinger said Europe should send blue helmets to take control of Greek tax collection and liquidate state assets. They had better be well armed. The headlines in the Greek press have been "Unconditional Capitulation", and "Terrorization of Greeks", and even “Fourth Reich”.
#6 Everyone knows that Greece simply cannot last much longer without continued bailouts. John Mauldin explained why this is so in a recent article....
It is elementary school arithmetic. The Greek debt-to-GDP is currently at 140%. It will be close to 180% by year’s end (assuming someone gives them the money). The deficit is north of 15%. They simply cannot afford to make the interest payments. True market (not Eurozone-subsidized) interest rates on Greek short-term debt are close to 100%, as I read the press. Their long-term debt simply cannot be refinanced without Eurozone bailouts.
#7 The austerity measures that have already been implemented are causing the Greek economy to shrink rapidly. Greek Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos has announced that the Greek government is now projecting that the economy will shrink by 5.3% in 2011.
#8 Greek Deputy Finance Minister Filippos Sachinidis says that Greece only has enough cash to continue operating until next month.
#9 Major banks in the U.S., in Japan and in Europe have a tremendous amount of exposure to Greek debt. If they are forced to take major losses on Greek debt, quite a few major banks that are very highly leveraged could suddenly be in danger of being wiped out.
#10 If Greece goes down, Portugal could very well be next. Ambrose Evans-Pritchard of the Telegraph explains it this way....
Yet to push Greece over the edge risks instant contagion to Portugal, which has higher levels of total debt, and an equally bad current account deficit near 9pc of GDP, and is just as unable to comply with Germany's austerity dictates in the long run. From there the chain-reaction into EMU's soft-core would be fast and furious.
#11 The yield on 2 year Portuguese bonds is now over 15 percent. A year ago the yield on those bonds was about 4 percent.
#12 Portugal, Ireland and Italy now also have debt to GDP ratios that are well above 100%.
#13 Greece, Portugal, Ireland, Italy and Spain owe the rest of the world about 3 trillion euros combined.
#14 Major banks in the "healthy" areas of Europe could soon see their credit ratings downgraded. For example, there are persistent rumors that Moody's is about to downgrade the credit ratings of several major French banks.
#15 Most major European banks are leveraged to the hilt and are massively exposed to sovereign debt. Before it fell in 2008, Lehman Brothers was leveraged 31 to 1. Today, major German banks are leveraged 32 to 1, and those banks are currently holding a massive amount of European sovereign debt.
#16 The ECB is not going to be able to buy up debt from troubled eurozone members indefinitely. The European Central Bank is already holding somewhere in the neighborhood of 444 billion euros of debt from the governments of Greece, Italy, Portugal, Ireland and Spain. On Friday, Jurgen Stark of Germany resigned from the European Central Bank in protest over these reckless bond purchases.
#17 According to London-based think tank Open Europe, the European Central Bank is now massively overleveraged....
"Should the ECB see its assets fall by just 4.23pc in value . . . its entire capital base would be wiped out."
#18 The recent decision issued by the German Constitutional Court seems to have ruled out the establishment of any "permanent" bailout mechanism for the eurozone. Just consider the following language from the decision....
"No permanent treaty mechanisms shall be established that leads to liability for the decisions of other states, especially if they entail incalculable consequences"
#19 Economist Nouriel Roubini is warning that without "massive stimulus" by the governments of the western world we are going to see a major financial collapse and we will find ourselves plunging into a depression....
“In the short term, we need to do massive stimulus; otherwise, there's going to be another Great Depression”
#20 German Economy Minister Philipp Roesler is warning that "an orderly default" for Greece is not "off the table"....
''To stabilize the euro, we must not take anything off the table in the short run. That includes, as a worst-case scenario, an orderly default for Greece if the necessary instruments for it are available.''
Right now, Greece is caught in a death spiral. The more austerity measures they implement, the more their economy slows down. The more their economy slows down, the more their tax revenues go down. The more their tax revenues go down, the worse their debt problems become.
Greece could end up leaving the euro, but that would make their economic problems far, far worse and it would be very damaging to the rest of the eurozone as well.
Quite a few politicians in Europe are touting a "United States of Europe" as the ultimate solution to these problems, but right now the citizens of the eurozone are overwhelming against deeper economic integration.
Plus, giving the EU even more power would mean an even greater loss of national sovereignty for the people of Europe.
That would not be a good thing.
So what we are stuck with right now is the status quo. But the current state of affairs cannot last much longer. Germany is getting sick and tired of giving out bailouts and nations such as Greece are getting sick and tired of the austerity measures that are being forced upon them.
At some point, something is going to snap. When that happens, world financial markets are going to respond with a mixture of panic and fear. Credit markets will freeze up because nobody will be able to tell who is stable and who is about to collapse. Dominoes will start to fall and quite a few major financial institutions will be wiped out. Governments around the world will have to figure out who they want to bail out and who they don't want to bail out.
It will be a giant mess.
For decades, the governments of the western world have been warned that they were getting into way too much debt.
For decades, the major banks and the big financial institutions were warned that they were becoming way too leveraged and were taking far too many risks.
Well, nobody listened.
So now we get to watch a global financial nightmare play out in slow motion.
Grab some popcorn and get ready. It is going to be quite a show.
“Grab some popcorn”…….if you were smart enough to have prepared to get some. Otherwise you will be part of the show.
I have 250 pounds all sealed in mylar, I was saving it for our own show on this side of the ocean, but I guess a few bowls could be spared to watch the foreigners.
Ha ha… that’s exactly what I was going to say. I have a couple hundred pounds of popcorn, too. Guess I’d better get poppin’.
If you’ll be able to afford the popcorn. Watching the show will be mandatory.
Eurozone countries don’t want more integration.
Eurozone countries have been free to run their economies as they see fit.
Eurozone PIIGS are now in deep Pig Muck, threatening to bring down creditor banks and spread the damage. Well, they have no right to bust up the whole zone by mismanaging their own monetary policy and economy.
So the only way is to re-establish Eurozone credentials to higher and stricter standards. Those who can meet it stays, those who can’t must exit. Since they don’t want more integration to solve their problems, they therefore must accept loss of membership when can’t can’t solve their problems.
Such a fundamental re-structuring is essential to save the Euro.
“So now we get to watch a global financial nightmare play out in slow motion.”
I’m confident the global financial collapse is coming, not so sure it will be in slow motion. The first stage which we have watched develop over the last 4 years has indeed been in slow motion as central banks have thrown fiat money down the abyss of debt. But IMO once the first large bank or sovereign nation defaults the panic will start and swiftly bring down banks, nations, and of course markets around the world. Ashes, ashes, we all fall down.
The banks in Europe claim their holdings of sovereign debt (like Greek bonds) is worth 100%, just like the banks in America claiming their holdings of mortgage backed securities is worth 100%. It is all a LIE, the banks are bankrupt.
The banksters want their governments to buy the rotten “assets” of the banks. Privatize the profits, socialize the losses!
The Europeans and Americans have a choice: they can try to save the banksters or they can seize the bankrupt banks and liquidate them (just like we did with the bankrupt S&Ls in the 1980s).
It is time for the banksters to pay the price for their speculations before it destroys all of us.
Amen! The only path to recovery is to let the too big to fail become the too big to save. It will be painful for the guilty and the innocent alike, but its the only way to proceed.
You are absolutely right on every point.
So true, I rather it be now than later on. They keep kicking the (beat up) can down the road way to much to the point we are almost at a dead end which will leave us with only 2 options any way(I think they call it catch 22)where no matter what option you pick your screwed no matter what.
Your posts never fail to inform me. Europe is such a mess right now. The whole continent is literally in flames. Frankly this scares the hell out of me.
With time, birth pangs increase in both frequency and intensity….
Repent
The imminent return of the Lord Jesus Christ is near!
Ummm, not for at least another seven years, according to the Bible. And he’ll probably prefer to be addressed by the name his Father gave him, Yeshua, which means “he will save”, instead of the alias assigned to him by his murderers. Call us.
Jesus said “at the last day” four times!
http://lastdayrapture.blogspot.com/2011/08/jesus-said-at-last-day.html
I agree. Unfortunately, the US economy is going down in flames too. I believe we’re going to have hyperinflation like Germany did in the 1920s. The dollar will lose its status as the world’s reserve currency. I believe that those two events put together will cause a complete collapse of the economy and government at all levels. I believe that 95% of Americans will die in the chaos.
Central planning and debt are the problem. So what do the failed economists prescribe? More of the same, of course, in the form of more bailouts and massive stimulous. Taking it to the next level of centralization they now want a United States of Europe.
What they need in Europe and what we need here is less centralization. Failed enterprises must be allowed to fail. The nation state is in on borrowed time, let alone forced multi-cultural economic conglomerations.
The great part? The central planners will blame “free market capitalism” and prescribe more and “better” planning. Too big to fail, too big to survive.
It will be horrific but God’s word foretold of all of this. Just turning the news on every day and seeing it all play out just as the bible said it would is a remarkable experience but should also motivate all of us who are firm believers to wake others up. We need to spread the message of salvation to as many people as quickly as posible because time is running out.
Very nice article, I don’t think the EU is going anywhere soon, and Nouriel Roubini howling for more massive stimulus is just bizarre. How does this guy think we got 14.5 Trillion in debt?
Anyway I noticed you didn’t mention the CDS held by European Banks and Insurance companies. I would bet some if not most hedged thier risk to PIIGS debt with a Credit Default Swaps, if this blows up at one time I’m doubt the counter parties can pay up that’s what happened to AIG. How many CDS contracts are swimming around out there on PIIGS debt nobody knows. This is why I think the EU kept trying to bail out Greece instead of cutting their losses. Now with Italy looking to be the next victim Brussels has to either fish or cut bait. I think after this plays put you’ll see a smaller more indebted EU.
What is the best way to find out how much Greek debt a particular country has?
Goggle Sovergin debt, there are several good web sights.
Sign # 21 – It’s in the script ( read Revelation ch.6 ).
This means you should long Adidas track jackets and molotov cocktails… or FUBU for North American markets.
The comedy show continues in Europe! The death-spiral continues to swirl down the drain. If you were German, would you take your vacation in Greece?
I don’t believe it will be a recession or a great depression. My gut feel is that this is the end. Total collapse of the capitalist system. The capitalist equation does not make any sense. Indefinite growth (and population growth) based on finite resources. It’s insanity. Government borrow because their populations start to exceed their economically sustainable level. So they borrow on the basis that growth (which got them into the hole in the first place) will get them out of the hole. Now not only are they growing their populations on the basis of unsustainable growth they are now borrowing to sustain the unsustainable and all the while the populations get bigger and bigger. By definition it’s a system doomed to failure at the very start. This system is going to implode. It has to. No this won’t be a recession or depression. It will be complete collapse and hopefully, eventually, rebirth of a society not based on greed and profit irrespective of the cost but rather based on sustainability and intelligence. Of course surviving to this stage will be the catch. We are about 5 Billion over the sustainable level when you factor in peak oil….
“The capitalist equation does not make any sense.”
There lies the nexus of your misunderstanding. We have not had a capitalist economic system for over 75 years. Instead we have had crony capitalism and the attendant graft, greed, and corruption at all levels of government. The parasitic swarm of politico thieves & whores sucked laissez-faire capitalism dry long ago. In a laissez-faire economic system success is achieved in the market place without government intervention and is rewarded accordingly; while failure in the market place without government intervention suffers the negative consequences of failure. Laissez-faire capitalism has been dead for more than a century.
“When buying and selling are controlled by legislation, the first things to be bought and sold are the legislators.” ~ P. J. O’Rourke
I don’t see this as a failure of capitalism, but capitalism at work. Capitalism is the only financial system that works when used by human beings. Failures must be allowed to fail. The present economic crisis exists because we are trying to keep failures from truly failing.
Utopia does not and will never exist. As much as some hate to hear it, you are right about world population. All of us who are presently on planet Earth cannot stay here. Those of us who cannot make our own way will perish, just as in the past.
Africa will be hit quite hard as other parts of the world are unable to afford to give aid any longer. If the world does break its “oil addiction” the mideast will end up largely barren as it was in the past.
The ship will right itself, albeit painfully.
So are you volunteering to snuff yourself for the greater good? That’s the problem with you “sustainability” people – you always expect someone else to pick up the slack…
Don’t be ridiculous. They are pointing out the problem, not volunteering for snuffing themselves. Geez, get a different response, people. This one is childish and gets us nowhere.
As the others have stated so well, this is not the failure of capitalism. We only have a nominally capitalist system in the US. This is the failure of mercantilism and post-Constitutional Republicanism. Had the Supreme Court and the Judicial Branch done its job, the FDIC, FHA, Fannie, Freddie, Dept. of Education, Dept. of Energy, etc. etc. would have been all rightly declared unconstitutional and we would not have so many of the problems of today.
Sorry Homer, this is the failure of socialism and Keynesian economics.
“a society not based on greed and profit irrespective of the cost but rather based on sustainability and intelligence”
Have you ever thought for two seconds about how your kind vilify, eschew and denigrate moral codes provided by religion and then cry when people in charge of large corporations act according to your godless amoral code? I mean jeez, whadda simpleton. To be sure, there is no such utopian society.
We do need to shed the disposable society tho.
Germany is getting sick and tired of giving out bailouts and nations such as Greece are getting sick and tired of the austerity measures that are being forced upon them.
1. Greece has ALWAYS been financially profligate and economically backward. The Germans knew this, yet they continued to throw money down the Greek rat hole anyway.
2. The Greek government, as corrupt, profligate, and economically backward as it always has been, was still smart enough to know that Germany wasn’t going to play “Sugar Daddy” forever, that a day of reckoning would one day come, and that the laws of economics are as immutable as those of physics.
In short, BOTH of these countries have only themselves to blame. On the other hand, this mess shouldn’t surprise anyone, in any corner of the globe, with even a cursory knowledge of how global financing works. WE ALL should have seen this coming LONG AGO!
German banks are the creditors of about $22B of Greek debt. If Greece defaults only a portion of it will be initially affected. The danger is Greece will likely keep defaulting – the math is clear. But even when the entire German portion is defaulted, Germany will be OK. Because German banks can withstand the full loss even when it is likely the government will replenish half of the loss from public money. Same argument goes for France, whose banks hold about $15B of Greece debt. As to Italy, who holds about $2.3B of Greek debt, things will be more complicated because of Italy own weakness. In greater trouble will be UK, who holds $3.4B of Greek debt. UK banks simply cannot afford to lose this money, nor can the government afford to bail them out if they do. So Some UK banks will likely go belly up.
Overall Germany, France and Italy can handle it, while UK will will take a big hit.
But of course, the one who will crash is Greece, whose banks hold $63B of its own government debt. A sovereign default will wipe out the entire Greek government finance, the Greek banking system, and the country private and commercial savings. It will get kicked out of the Eurozone, and its new currency will compete with Zimbabwe for the records. It will be a deep profound human tragedy. If this happen, I see the UN coming in to to help run the country like one of those Africa basket case.
Germany is bailing out German banksters. The Greeks might can get used to either living in a third-world nation or learn to actually produce something to allow them to live as they do now.
In modern times, Greece has never had an economy that would allow them to live as they do now. Their entire entry and existence in the EU has been a fraud. Greece should never have been allowed into the EU club.
grab the rug and greece. obama will save us ultimately.
“the laws of economics are as immutable as those of physics”. Only a small minority understand that concept.
#13 Greece, Portugal, Ireland, Italy and Spain owe the rest of the world about 3 trillion euros combined.
Correction: Greece, Portugal, Ireland, Italy and Spain owe the Banksters of the world about 3 trillion euros combined.
“Correction”
Exactly. Greece owes neither you nor me anything. We were not foolish and did not lend Greece a single Euro cent.
“Correction”
*sigh* our govt loaned them plenty without our consent.
The banksters think they are above losses.
Note to anyone who works at a bank in any capacity: It’s probably a good idea to keep some extra clothes handy in case of a bank run or similar incident. Try to ditch your “Chase” or “Key Bank” attire.
Rioters will not be acting rationally nor will they be in any mood for explanations re: “I am just a teller”.
Good article Michael.
We are witnessing the beginning of a collapse that will make the great depression look like a Christmas party. This thing is global and there is no way out.
Governments and central banks know this which is why they are secretly buying all the gold they can get.
It’s a race to see who can devalue their currency the fastest. Look at the Swiss pegging their currency to the euro last week. shocker!
There are no safe havens left except for silver and gold. I highly suggest people start preparing for this mess that’s coming because it won’t be pretty.
Here’s a free guide that’s a good starting point.
http://www.prepareforeconomiccollapse.org/free-report
Cheers,
James
“This is the end
Beautiful friend
This is the end
My only friend, the end
Of our elaborate plans, the end
Of everything that stands, the end
No safety or surprise, the end…” Doors
Either the European “elites” found a EU state with a durable dictatorship NOW or the Euro and the EU are toast.
Why EU state? The money to spend NOW is more than any European country can afford. Neither to rescue the burning banks nor to rescue the PIIGS. The market will not believe it.
Why dictatorship? Because the European people don’t want such a state and it would crash immediately within the first free election.
The democracy in Europe as far as it has ever existed is dead. If you think about the last rescue measures they have broken every major treaty and every constitution. I think they will go further. The barriers are broken.
Banks are leveraged to the hilt 31:1, 32:1, do we all not realize that only the “1″ represents actual money? All the rest is fractional reserves, created out of thin air and representing absolutely nothing. Banks in their current form are nothing short of criminal enterprises that go around the globe hollowing out economies for short term capital gains for their ultra rich shareholders. Banks in danger of collapse should all be allowed to collapse and rigorous investigations should be made–everyone guilty of financial shenanigans should be arrested. The world has been sold snake oil in the form of the “casino economy” where powerful interests fleece nations, markets and the common people on a regular basis. New, powerful regulations and a new debt-free monetary system are required to return to productivity and prosperity. Let the profligate, speculating vultures collapse and starve, the world does not need them or the institutions they populate.
My popcorn is all buttered up. I’m ready!
It blows me away that people can see everything collapsing around them ( physically, morally and financially ) and still not feel compelled to re-evaluate their worldviews in respect to wether or not this is God’s doing, and if it is, why is he doing it? Incredible! Instead, they’re focused on the 2012 election or who to blame for all that’s happened, or they avoid it all together, living in denial and hoping it will all just disappear real soon. They truly fail to see the forest for the trees. You people can live in denial all you like, but it’s coming. Now is the time to seek God ( WHILE YOU STILL CAN ) and be forgiven of your sins through Jesus Christ’s sacrifice for sin on the cross. ” God made him who knew no sin to become sin for us, so that we might become the righteousness of God in him ” 2 Corinthians 5:21. Just use the reasoning ability that God gave you. You have been given the ability to know right from wrong, as well as a desire to see justice served. That alone should tell you that God is going to hold you accountable, not based on what you think the standard is, or what your friends opinion of it is, But God’s standard,( perfection ), and no man will be able to stand. Thats why you need Christ’s sacrifice for your sin. ” The law is our teacher to bring us to Christ, but after faith has come, you are no longer under the authority of the teacher “. Better think it through folks, time is short for you….P.S, Thank God there have been some on this site who are.. I have read a few that are starting to wake up. AMEN.
Aren’t you forgetting Nicea? Perhaps you may be the one differentiating the trees…..no?
You are correct Sir, NO…..
I am torn.. should I pay off my debt or spend my extra income of having fun with my family and helping others? I mean, if it is going down and I will be in Heaven-what’s the point of worrying and fretting?
Seek first the kingdom of heaven and all those things will be added to you… Except the debt.
It is time to “look and listen” like Henry George, author of Progress and Poverty, self taught economist, and caring social observer, but most especially, “A Man looking to God” in what should be done.
https://libertyrevival.wordpress.com/
http://www.henrygeorge.org/pcontents.htm
The elites are just sitting back and enjoying the show they created. First will be the United States of Europe, than the United States of a one world government, just what they wanted. Modern day Tower of Babel, here we come. Only this time God isn’t going to protect mankind from himself. He will allow man to set up Satan’s kingdom on earth, which will open the door to Antichrist — some charismatic politician whose only goal will be to crush Israel.
He will visit the Jews newly built (prophesied future) Temple, and proclaim himself the messiah. The Jews will be severely offended and the ultimate war will begin until Jesus returns to save the day.
However there is a lot of suffering that will take place in the meantime. For those who think I’m nuts, I’ve been saying the elites want to create the circumstance to allow them to force upon us a one world government and we are almost there.
Watch for a surprising peace deal between Israel and Palestinians. It’s coming. A part of the deal will be a proposal to allow Israel to build their third Temple somewhere on the Temple Mount, now occupied by the Muslims. After that event, Antichrist will emerge, because he will get the credit for negotiating the deal.
When you begin to see these things you will remember what I wrote today, although many will just say I was a lucky guess, others will begin to realize the Bible is true afterall.
European market was on the verge of default right since 2009 but by some or other way ,other euro zone countries tried to stretch it as long as possible by giving them money..but in this way , they themselves burnt their fingers and now they are pulling whole world towards financial collapse..
To avoid the risks, I follow http://www.forecastfortomorrow.com/ they give an accurate predictions about the market and other happenings
To demonstrate how fast things are changing some of your bulleted points are old news, news from yesterday. To keep current monitor reports on the Zero Hedge website.
“The attitude in Germany is that the Greeks must now pay the price for going into so much debt.” One day the Chineese will treat the US the same way. And they will want payment in natural resiurces. The high quality coal Bill Clinton locked up in southern Utah under the Grand Staircase-Escalante national monument as “payback” for large Chineese campaign contributions will be mined and sent to China.
#19 Roubini is an idiot. His answer to debt is more debt and printing of money. The only thing more debt will do is bring about the collapse, and that may be his desire, and that of a small group of people at the top of the heap. To prove my point reread the end of this article:
“For decades, the governments of the western world have been warned that they were getting into way too much debt.
For decades, the major banks and the big financial institutions were warned that they were becoming way too leveraged and were taking far too many risks.
Well, nobody listened.
So now we get to watch a global financial nightmare play out in slow motion.
Grab some popcorn and get ready. It is going to be quite a show.”
you are right on the money. clinton/babbit mafia
locked up grand staircase and other monuments as collateral for cheena and otherw.
Imminent Financial Collapse In Europe will follow the US Federal Reserve that is bankrupting the nation… paper money will become worthless… you have to prepare yourself and your family for the financial crisis ahead.
(click on my profile name to go to my blog to see full video)
This is a must see video… you have you prepare yourself and your loved ones before it’s too late.
I am from the Netherlands. I read someone’s comment saying the whole continent is in flames. However, please realise that for people in the Netherlands nothing seems out of the ordinary. We have some modest cut backs in spending and a contracting housing market. People are pretty much still completely oblivious as to what is going on. Many of the young people I talk to are fully supporting paying their taxes to Greece.
What an incredible mess this will becoem when the majority start realising what is going on and what this means. Then we will truely see a Europe in flames.
If their economy is shrinking rapidly because of austerity, it’s because their economy was built on borrowed money and should never have been that big from the start….They too like the USA have/had a false economy built on too much debt….
I think it is great that the focus once again looms largely on Europe and its financial woes.
Now, to be entirely honest, consider that most US states are bankrupt or near bankrupt and the entire picture doesn’t look so lopsided.
The main difference is that the privately owned FED is able to magically create money out of thin air which then is supplied to all States alike. The European market is not integrated in the same fashion and therefore one currency creates major imbalances. It is a very complicated matter to explain the world’s ludacrous financial system. It is doomed to collapse… in one form or another.
Civil wars, revolutions and other obvious signs of change are unavoidable since the powers who want to hold on to a dying system will not want to let go of their hold and control.
cheers
Let us not forget that but for firms such as Goldman SUCKS, Greece would never have been granted inclusion in the EMU. The thieves in suits hid liabilities off the balance sheets of many of the PIIGS as a means to put lipstick on the pigs. It all comes down to outright fraud, and the RICO Law should of been used against these bastards and bitches in 2008 who had already made many millions of dollars by committing white collar crimes against the citizens of the planet.
More wonderful news from The Economic Collapse.
Greg: Enter the Anti-Christ. ..
The notion of massive stimulus will be something akin to having your Dr. massage your prostrate, it my cause massive liquidity but its wholely unsatisfying and completely ineffectual.
They Said What?
http://www.theeveningchronicle.blogspot.com
Can we quickly get a list of European / British banks most exposed to European sovereign debt as depositors need to make moves without delay. Also which currencies are considered the safest bet at this stage. Suggestions have been Norwegian Krona and key Asian countries such as Singapore dollars.
Any and all advice appreciated
It is just a matter of time.
One country after another is
having major financial problems
and eventually it is going to
fall like a house of cards.
Are you ready for the collapse?
I am so glad I found this site put
together by a millionaire that
tells what to do during this time
of financial crisis to profit
like the ultra rich.
Massive wealth is about to change
hands.
Check out his free video:
http://theelevationgroup.net/presentation/register.php?a_aid=160667&a_bid=290b868b&chan=y
Amazing how many people repeat the mind control lies they learn while getting an “education” in university. Capitalism OR Socialism OR any other -ism cannot survive CRIMINALS taking advantage of that system. Anyone who talks about Socialism or Communism is simply ignoring Soviet history and human tendencies. Corruption lies at the heart of all problems in the world. If there was no corruption, Capitalism would be good. Because of corruption, Communism will NEVER be good. Keep parroting all the talking points though, because anyone who gloats over societal collapse is a throwback to our pond scum ancestors.
No problem: sell the Parthenon.
If your major credit card lender discovers you’ve missed a payment or two, you’ll suddenly discover your little intro “teaser rate” of 4% or 5% interest or whatever, has suddenly skyrocketed to something like 29%. Which in turn only makes things worse for you, since you can’t afford payments on a 29 percent interest rate on your Visa or Mastercard. (Hey, you couldn’t afford payments when the interest was 5 percent! Duh!!) What do you do, what DOOO you do? Declare bankrupcty? Dumpster-dive? Oh yeah, and add an emergency like a car crash, broken transmission or cancer into the mix. If you’re not independently wealthy, you are pretty much toast.
Kind of what’s happening in our ongoing feature presentation, “My Big Fat Greek Nightmare”. Greek bond yields are skyrocketing. Greece is having problems paying its debt. The fact is, Greece overspent in the “good times”, borrowed like there was no tomorrow, got heavily indebted, and now finds itself in deep doo-doo. (Does this sound familiar, my fellow 20K-30K credit card debtors?) Greece might not make it. World Economy, meet Domino #1.
If (when) Greece falls, Italy, Ireland, Spain, and Portugal might succumb as well, to this new PIIGS illness. (You can call it swine flu if you want..hee!) There are U.S. banks that are leveraged to European debt as well. So we in the USA aren’t immune either. Not by a long shot.
Of course, our banks are still in trouble. Bank of America plans to start massive layoffs soon. Doesn’t sound like a healthy financial sector to me. Not that the public sector is doing any better. The banks are nervous. If Greece does default, none of the big commercial or investment banks will want to lend to anyone. Forget a loan for a start-up business. You won’t be able to get a mortgage loan, or a home improvement loan, or a “keep me from starving to death” loan.
If the PIIGS crisis gets out of control, the U.S. economy, currently in a “jobless recovery” (gag!!) – will be Lost in Space.
“Danger, Will Robinson! Danger!”
Greg above is totally wrong about capitalism and completely right about the Governments for the most part …..
Government borrow because their populations start to exceed their economically sustainable level.
Oh is that true – then what about most countries of Africa or China with the largest population in the world and NO DEBT.
The more realistic is that Governments borrow because they can – lining their own pockets with as much as they can – pillaging the wealth of the populations and borrowing so the next Government can pay for their economically unsustainable levels of borrowing because of the “I will be gone when this needs paid” attitude.
Ha nothing to do with Capitalism but everything to do with typical Government mismanagement and the way reserve Central Banking works loaning money at interest – but the interest is never printed forcing everyone to take someone elses principal causing them to default because the Interest does not exist outside of taking someone elses principle – let the Banksters FALL!
IThinkTherforeIam has it mostly right.
Having established a clever and well disguised Ponzi Scheme in 1913 via the Federal Reserve Act stealing from all workers through inflation and conning us into DEBT slavery, the International Bankers are now in a position to establish their one world government.
They will exercise complete control of the slaves, where personal freedoms and rights are totally abolished and nobody is allowed to buy or sell unless they bow the knee to the Beast system, just as predicted in the Bible.
So how did the Creator know thousands of years in advance? Simple, HE knows human nature and that man by nature being GREEDY would violate his instructions to have “honest weights and measures” and use gold and silver as an exchange medium that fairly values each persons labour and provides a means of purchasing power preservation.
“Government borrow because their populations start to exceed their economically sustainable level.”
You need to spend a few weeks in Hong Kong or Singapore where high population densities mean thriving economies. The whole silly Club of Rome nonsense was disproved decades ago.
Um, I’m going to have to disagree with you somewhat. Have you ever been to those cities? I have been to both several times and they both have MASSIVE sectors of poverty in them. Just cuz the economy is thriving doesn’t mean it’s due to the number of people and it sure doesn’t mean everyone is thriving.
Liebe Deutschland,
Helpen uss!
Danke schon, Europa.
——–
(Finally, a chance to use my beginner German! Don’t laugh, I literally haven’t written or spoken a single word in German since about 1981 when I was in high school.)
I have this idea for a brand new Broadway play. It’s called “OMELETTE”. It’s kind of like “Hamlet” I suppose – by that playwright Billy Shakes-Beer, but instead of ham, this play features eggs.
Here’s the plot. Major world nations place all their economic and financial eggs in one basket. Citizens of the world place their savings into NEST EGGS!! Then a major global financial crisis scrambles all their hopes and dreams and future plans of prosperity, and you end up with an… Omelette! And the major actors all drink from a cup of poison hemlock, I mean DEBT, and they all die.
Brilliant, huh? Still a bit of editing to do… don’t know what roles Polonius and Ophelia will play in this presentation. Needless to say, just about everyone gets wiped out…
MOndo,
That might just be the funniest comment I’ve seen yet….anywhere!! That unemployment thing is working like spades for ya’…..I’d call ole’ Barry O’B and interview to either write his speeches or replace his teleprompter….you choose!! Keep ‘em coming brother, laughter is meant to be shared by everyone….God bless you.
GP
hide ya kids hide ya wife.
It’s no mystery who will ride in on their white horse and try to save the entire Eurozone…good old Uncle Ben B. The CDS swap lines are and have been wide open for months with our own FED pumping billions into the ECB thru US member banks to stave off a complete collapse. Unfortunately Greece is too far gone to save. Proves the law of economics will trump the follies of governments every time. These same laws will sink the good ole USA just as suredly.
I read these lines and I’m confused:
#16 The ECB is not going to be able to buy up debt from troubled eurozone members indefinitely . . .
#17 According to London-based think tank Open Europe, the European Central Bank is now massively overleveraged….
Can’t buy debt forever? An issue with a central bank balance sheet? These folks can create all the money they want. Central banks can bail everyone out and do so in secret. I don’t understand any limitation on their ability to add zeroes until the currency blows up.
Please correct my thinking…
At this point, most of us just want to get on with collapse so we can pick up the pieces and rebuild. It’s obvious we can no longer run the human enterprise like a corporation.
FIGHT THE CAUSE – NOT THE SYMPTOM
OsiXs (Revolution 2.0 – The Smart Revolution)
Was anyone around during the late 70′s when the price of gold ran up to $900/oz? Was there talk of collapse back then, I mean there must’ve been some catalyst going on that would launch gold like that.
How did they eventually fix it? Was this only a US economic thing?
Any input would be great.
“Was there talk of collapse back then, I mean there must’ve been some catalyst going on that would launch gold like that.”
Inflation.
How did they eventually fix it? Reagan.
I think you are misreading the bond quotes. The VALUE is NOT the percentage!
The 2YR is at 10.3%
The 1YR is around 14 and a few clicks%
Still very crappy, but please review your data before publishing.
Eric:
Check again – you will see that I got it right.
Michael
Failure is failure, let it happen…Start over later….later…and take the pain, be less greedy and less dishonest next time…….
Famine will break out next month (october 2011). Religious war in the middle-east at christmas-time 2011 resulting in Babylon taking over in Jerusalem. War/famine will last until april 2012 and something will happen in may 2012. Got this from a “Leslie” on “Precognitions and Dreams” on website http://www.2012predictions.net. Leslie says she got her message from Jesus Christ/holy spirit). 1 Thess 5:20 – Despise not prophesyings.
Ok, I am long on EUO, If Grece is kicked out, won’t that make the Euro stronger. Am I on the wrong side of the trade?
Superman, Where are you now?
When everythings gone wrong somehow.
The men of steel, These men of power.
Are losing control by the hour.
And this is the time, this is the place
Where we look to the future, and there’s not much
love to go around, Tell me why this is the Land Of Confusion?
And this is the world we live in.
And these are the names were given.
Use them and let’s start trying to make it a place worth living in.
Phil Collins-Land of Confusion.
Youtube the Disturbed version of this song. It shows the rich banker fat cats being destoyed by the little people. It has more meaning now than when Phil wrote it in the 80s.
Where’s Superman?
If I was Kal-El and saw what is currently transpiring here in earth, I would use the legion ring to head back to Krypton……..
Wow
Its getting scary.
But I would like to know why American economists and commentators keep rabbiting on about the European problems.
Its not as if the US is in a perfect position.
The US govt is broke.
The US banks are poorly capitilised.
Unemployment is like 17% (the real figure)
US Jobs are not growing.
US industry is disappearing – its a service economy ! – servicing what ?
Its only because the US$ is a reserve currency that it is able to devalue its currency and screw the rest of the world.
Eh, sorry to burst your bubble, but I think the actual figure of unemployment is actually 22%…
First, even though I am scarcely a liberal, word to Mr. “Hamrick”: Romans killed Jesus, if you will recall. Germany’s Jews were not even 1% – fact – of its population. Check in for a headcheck.
As for Greece and other PIIGS, sure wish I had the dough and wherewithal to do something. No psychic here, but I knew fer shure in Spring ’08 that the coming fall was off the cliff time. Doesn’t take a genius to see this one ain’t going to be resolved without enormous pain, and been obvious for a long time. If you can cash in on the obvious, great for you.
Romans killed Jesus?
Jesus didn’t exist.
Yes he did!
You can deny his divinity all you want, but his existence is surely backed up by archaeology. Watch out – you’ve been duped dummy.
People of Greece: Make a Revolution against the government, banks, elite, etc. Take back your country while you can. Either wise, all of Greece will become a German colony.
Make a revolution against what? They’re ALL socialists so what are they gonna take it back to? Socialism is always a failure and they’ve run out of other people’s money.
Socialism always a failure? LMAO, allowing the military industrial complex take over your country that’s the biggest failure of all. Tax evasion is sport number 1 in Greece, especially by the greedy uberrich. I will agree that they need to shrink down the number of people working for the government, they need more businesses. But then again which bank(s) helped the greek government to hide the true extent of their debt? Guess who.. Goldman SUCKS. By the way, The Young Turks had a show about poverty rates in the U.S. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oh4ambk6DRY) turns out that 0.1% of the country takes home 24% of all American wealth. Looks like economics isn’t working too well over there either.. Does it?
I heard somewhere that the U.S. was now at 100% GDP. Correct me if I’m wrong.
Go look at http://www.usdebtclock.org. The true figure is hundreds of times our GDP. It’s all a shell game of hiding the true figure on different accounting books. We’ve all been duped by republicans and democrats alike. I think once Americans start truly sniffing out what’s happened, theres gonna be a violent revolt followed by Nuremburg trials and ************************. Either that or slavery…
Hello Michael,
As far as I remember there are some articles on gold. Do you still think it’s a good investment today? Even though it’s almost $2000/ounce.
Great article BTW!
I don’t give out investment advice, but over the long-term gold has held value. You can’t say the same about fiat currencies.
However, in the times that are coming I think that we are going to see some really, really wild fluctuations in the price of gold. Anyone that wants to jump into gold should be prepared for that.
Michael
There is a gold bubble right now. Gold is no use for anything than speculation, you said it already – you can’t eat it, you can’t make homes from it, it’s no use to make a fire from it in Winter. It’s OK for contacts in microchips and in teeth.
Buying gold only increases the paper money on the market and fuels inflation. And who buys gold? Those who make a huge profit from not paying sufficient wages.
If you want to store your wealth, build a house from stone, something that will survive weather changes – hurricane, tornado, flood, drought, snow, whatever.
Inside the house accumulate your wealth – your parents, your kids, your clothing, your diplomas, your equipment.
Can’t buy a house? Stay mobile. Have a look at the mobility of hikers and campers and learn from it. Why not stay in sleeping bag and tent inside the building during the cold Winter? It saves a lot of heating costs. And if that flood is coming, you are up and running in no time.
Instead of going to the gym, have a dynamo fitted to your stationary bike and generate electricity from your fat deposits.
And buy locally. Those kids who work have less inclination to make trouble.
You can’t eat Euros, Yuan, Dollars, Yen etc. either. Gold does not increase inflation. If it caused anything it would be deflation by not going into and adding to the velocity of “money”. I’m not in debt and don’t owe anyone any money. I worked for every penny, shilling, pfenning that I have. Gold has intrinsic value and when paper money has no value, gold and silver will. Those that are wise will have ALL their wealth in their paid for house and land, food, supplies, weapons and gold and silver. To do otherwise is foolish.
That would be the uneducated man’s wild ************* guess.
My 2, unsolicited, cents: Don’t buy gold unless you have boodles of cash. If you want to buy metal, buy a little silver. However, the best investment you can make is a minimum of 3 months of food & water for your family. Beans trump gold in a collapse.
I believe it will be the investment to be in over the next few years. It is trading as the only currency that can not be printed and devalued. Gold could go to 5,000.00 an ounce over the next few years.
Right now there are only two safe haven investments. U.S. Treasuries and gold. With the true rate of inflation taken into account, treasuries provide a negative return on investment. Also there is a wave of inflation coming in the next two years which will destroy the value of our dollar and destroy the value of existing treasury bills.
Moreover, the central banks are falling over each other to print money to stimulate growth. Printing money always results in higher gold prices.
Sure gold is getting more volitile. These day traders holding stocks less than three minutes are driving volitility. However, these dips provide a between these two choices, I am taking my chances with gold.
they are terrified thats why. us banks also carry a lot of eurozone soverien debt and if the euro collapses which it will many banks in the us will be wiped out if they are not bailed out ( aka print more money which means the dollor will crash also). we are entering the great great depression and there is nothing u can do about it except to protect your purchasing power by buying gold or silver coins which after the crash will have real value and u wont have to bring wheelbarrels of cash to buy bread.
These events were set in motion 30 years ago.Things are going to get so bad everyone will accept anything in order to restore stability even loss of freedom.A one world government (the new world order) will be put in place to stabilize and regulate everything.This will of course be controlled by the most wealthy people in the world.Its coming ,there is nothing you can do about it,suck it up change your life and deal with it.It has all been very well orchestrated and planned.The US economy was set up to fail,all of europe was bound together and set up to fail in the same way.China was fooled into buying massive amounts of debt and becoming dependant on the purchases of their goods by all those involved and they too will fall.
what about the QE3. i heard they are doing the grand daddy of all bailouts by getting all the banks together to help out.
It is going to be the mother of money printing binges. Of course they will blame any inflation on the weather. But it will be great for gold.
For the rest of the world, especially for places that once knew rich cultures and high civilization, watching these northern barbarians finally crash their Starship will come as a great relief. In the history books of China and India this period will be grouped and studied along with the Mongol invasions, a time when people from beyond the ancient world but with better transport and military technology ruled for a violent and mercifully brief time. Such empires bring important technologies that remain but they destroy more of cultural and religious significance than they bring.
What a racist cretin.
When the west’s economies fail, what do you think is going to happen to china when its customer base is wiped out overnight. The day China wakes up, and finds it has no customers to sell their goods to, will see massive unemployment over night with its industries collapsing very quickly, and this does not take into consideration the massive debts that china owns, and will never get back, which is quite ironic really, because China buys the debt for us to carry on buying their goods, and we are never going to pay China the money back.
If we use my country (UK) as an example for the aftermath of a global and economic collapse, we would see that after the crash, our wages would be as low as the current 3rd world countries, so will be cheaper to produce the goods here to sell to the local population to avoid the costs of transport ect, so after the crash.
As for violence, if we look to the time when China was last the powerhouse of the world, anybody who was not rich had no rights, and were the property of land owners.
Suggest you get an education, because your views are based on a hatred (racism) not fact.
thats funny. consumers? consumption is what got you into this mess. China’s exports balance imports and most imports go towards feeding exports. Exports collapse, imports collapse, nothing happens. The government dumps its dollars to put people on the dole or to just buy products and dump them into the ocean.
If any country defaults, China can simply seize their assets as collateral, and there’d be nothing anyone can do about it.
It is always far better to be the producer with excess capacity, than to be the consumer that gets cut off. Physical ownership of equipment and processes trumps paper in a crisis.