Crash 2 The Sequel!

[Malcolm Robinson]

The American Dream..........

[Malcolm Robinson]

Looks like a covering of backsides could well be on the cards at the CO-OP bank and not just the directors, CO-OP sponsored Labour MP's, Lib Dems, Unions...oh dear!

Only way out seems to wipe out bondholders who in this case will be made up of Mr and Mrs Average who worked all their lives and trusted in this supposedly ethical mutual model.

Can't just bail this one out without it looking like political party support!

But then we now have the Cyprus model to work with!

[Malcolm Robinson]

The American Dream..........

And who is holding a lot of the paper............Eurobanks!

[Malcolm Robinson]

Shamelessly ripped off another site but well worth the read.

Tell your boss you want him to make you his subcontractor. If he agrees set up your own shell company and get paid monthly GROSS no deductions for taxes or National Insurance. Next get together and form your very own HMRC approved Pension Trust put all your gross receipts into it and BORROW enough each month to cover your living expenses paying your borrowing interest at 1% to your pension fund.

Result

NO TAXES NO NI

An immediate tax free income because you don't pay tax on borrowings just like Microsoft, Google, Facebook, Walmart, Starbucks etc. and just like 2500 civil servants.

You have with little effort legally given yourself a 25% pay increase!

[Malcolm Robinson]

Our dear old CO-OP. Questions recently tabled by Myners.

Lord Myners (Labour)

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the absence of warnings from the Financial Services Authority or the Bank of England on the market in the bonds of Co-operative Bank; and why the regulators made public their concern about the capital shortfalls at Barclays and Nationwide but did not in the case of the Co-operative Bank.

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they are currently investigating, or have plans to investigate or cause to be investigated, whether employees of the Cooperative Group or Cooperative Bank gave assurances to retail savers and investors in the bonds and preference securities of the Cooperative Bank that might have misrepresented the capital status of those investment instruments and constituted the making of a guarantee by the Cooperative Group.

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the Cooperative Group or the Cooperative Bank or their directors and employees are or will be investigated for allowing a false market in securities issued by either body; whether the Financial Services Authority's role will be investigated in respect of the same issue; and, if so, by whom.

To ask Her Majesty's Government when the Cooperative Group and its directors and officers were last assessed as to being fit and proper to own and manage a bank; and by whom.

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to ensure that retail investors in securities issued by the Cooperative Bank receive advice in connection with the recapitalisation of the bank from an adviser or advisers independent of any firm advising the Cooperative Group and Cooperative Bank and its directors and officers; and, if so, whether they will protect such advice and its disclosure to investors from any interference by the Group or Bank.

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they are taking steps to review whether the Cooperative Bank has breached threshold conditions as a bank by failing to make interest payments to bond and preference shareholders in accordance with the deeds under which such instruments were issued to savers.

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they plan to investigate whether the suspension of interest payments to holders of Co-operative Bank accounts constitutes unfair treatment of customers; and whether they will take action to ensure that such investors receive independent advice from a competent firm on the proposed capital reconstruction.

[Symptoms]

The litmus test I apply to any 'official/corporate' announcement is guided by those wise words in The Prince, namely, who corruptly benefits. For example, if a junior Government Minister announces some policy, say in the energy sector*, then usually a few short months later the same crooked guy can be walking straight into a well-paid directorship of some energy company ... (just do a Google search to find a very recent case).

All politicians/businessmen are bent!!!!!!

*substitute energy for - banking, health, water, agriculture, and so on.

[Malcolm Robinson]

Has anyone noticed the new EU law about protecting taxpayers and bank bail-ins? Like our wonderful Chancellor's statement of nearly a couple of months ago….

"In future, taxpayers will not be called upon to bail banks out. It will be down to the creditors and the owners”.

Sounds like a good idea, sounds like we won't be burdening the country with more useless QE doesn't it?

What I really means is that ANYONE with a bank account will get clobbered in the next round of bank rescues! Who has bank accounts, oh yes the normal 'man in the street' or taxpayers! So in a FIAT monetary system we get done over whatever way it goes!

(BTW, that isn't just a Euro law it's an EU law so it applies to us too!)

*Treatment will not be the same regardless of size of deposit, BUT small account holders will have to wait up to four weeks to get their money….'depending on how serious the insolvency is'. During that time, there will be a maximum withdrawal of €100-200 per day – again, perhaps less depending on the seriousness of the failure

* The EU Parliament – allegedly – is demanding that deposits of €100,000+ euros should be confiscated within five days.

* In the event of a banking collapse, all previous government commitments are null and void. The force majeure of "exceptional circumstances” can lead to ways round such pledges. Part of the new plan suggests savers could also be subject to a 'penalty tax' if they have less than € 100,000 in the bank.

Gone a bit quiet at the CO-OP recently, wonder how they are going to square that circle? Course they can now use this new law to make 'shareholders' (depositors) pay up. Interesting to see who's accounts CO-OP holds because surly if there are any political ones there they can't possibly take part in any decision about bail outs or ins!

[Malcolm Robinson]

A Sunday morning catch up.

Putting Gibraltar to one side, as the distraction some are obviously hoping it will become, Spain looks to be ready to blow. Holding a higher percentage of Portuguese sovereign debt than France had with its Greece holding in 2010, itself a reason to obfuscate and distract, but also with unrealised house lending losses going upwards daily, Spain must be dreading the up to 50% haircut in sovereign debt proposed by this latest EU missive. That would be enough to tip the balance!

Course we do have to keep an eye on the German elections this September but if the Frau does get back in what happens next in Euroland is anyone's guess. Her financial misters are almost lining up to either want defaulting countries kicked out of the Euro or Germany herself out.

Here are 3 banks worth watching, Barclay's, DeutscheBank and SocGen, each stuffed full of the brown stuff!

If the Barclay's rights issue is a flop, as is now being suggested, undercapitalisation has to be the accusation according to the ECB/EC regulators.

As I have previously said DeutscheBank has itself more derivate debt than the world's GDP and is now taking severe hits on its currency trades. Course it may well be being propped up by say a group of politicos who know full well a hit on a national institution like that would be fatal for them in an imminent election!

SocGen have been unloading their Greek toxicity into the ECB at breakneck speed but it will still be on the hook because of unravelling derivatives once a collapse gets under way.

My personal favourite for the straw that breaks the camel's back is still Italy. Manipulating reserves and passing the parcel in a game that would amuse Machiavelli himself Italy continues to remain afloat but it is really just semantics.

Looking closer to home our very own RBS is reporting profits and will soon be off the public drip according to the politicos. Really? If the wrong warlord in eastern Russia gets assassinated that could be enough to tip RBS over, looking it its Russian toxicity. Trying to break it up can't be a success, too many insiders know the crack, unless they privatise it again and sell us, the gullible public, another can of worms.

Then there is the good old CO-OP, just waiting for that bucket of brown stuff to hit the fan.

So all this unnerving and worrying background music and what happens, the traditional hedge against economic upset, gold, is being systematically debased? The Chinese are buying any physical gold they can get their hands on and sovereigns are asking Fort Knox for their deposits back. Wonder why they want such a depreciating asset?

Amongst all this carnage and potential collapse the buffoons in number 10 and 11 Downing Street are talking the British economy up. Yes it might all be smoke and mirrors so the more smoke you blow in front of the mirror the more you can hide the real image but at the end of the day it will clear away.

In an act of crass futility the new incumbent of the Old Lady of Threadneedle Street has linked interest rates to unemployment figures. One company director I read recently suggested they won't be taking on any staff without a very very good reason now because they wouldn't want to increase their borrowing costs! Bet Gideon didn't think of that one when he instructed the Canadian Goose to make his recent pronouncement.

Course all it does really is to continue to rob the populous of any true worth in their FIAT holdings. Cash and its value is being eroded daily and even if you buck the system and win a bit you lose as soon as you covert back to cash to spend. It's a pernicious circle!

Maybe we should be following the likes of 'Kenny boy Clarke' (Bilderberg Group member) as he buys up any land holding he can get at!

[Symptoms]

Ref my earlier #331 post above (and apologies for duplicate posting in the windmill thread elsewhere ... smacked bot from Mods accepted) ...

"He's a villain Sarg."

Just to 'head off at the pass' those here who might be tempted to contradict wise old owl Sym's previous remark above ...

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-23655994

[Malcolm Robinson]

That new bailin law the EU is proposing, Article 38:

'Exceptionally and where there is a justified necessity to ensure the critical operations of the

institution and its core business lines or financial stability (Article 38) the resolution authority

could exclude derivatives' liabilities.'

Where is most of the brown stuff, oh yes in derivatives……………..

What they thought no one would notice????????

[Malcolm Robinson]

Cyprus in the USA.

http://www.globalresearch.ca/the-detroit-bail-in-template-fleecing-pensioners-to-save-the-banks/5345099

[Malcolm Robinson]

[Malcolm Robinson]

A Sunday morning catch up.

Putting Gibraltar to one side, as the distraction some are obviously hoping it will become, Spain looks to be ready to blow.

And Gibraltar is fast becoming the Falklands in the Med! HMG warship on its way, Spain imposing high charges and refusing access to airspace.

Watch that space this next week!

One MEP urges..........don't go to Spain on holiday!

http://www.theolivepress.es/spain-news/2013/08/14/don´t-go-to-spain-says-mep/

[Malcolm Robinson]

Watch the 'T' Bill repos, looks like they are being dumped which will again put borrowing costs up.

World reserve currency soon........the Yuan!

[Malcolm Robinson]

Could this derail the Asian takeover.............FUKUSHIMA?

[Malcolm Robinson]

Unbelievably the head honchos in Poland have just sequestrated 50% of private pension funds and brought them under state control. No doubt they can now prop up their banks a while longer!

By any other name this would be daylight robbery or looting but shows the utter contempt the political class have for their electorate many of whom will now have much reduced pensions if any at all.

Course the same thing happened in the UK, just ask a long serving post worker!

At some point the worm will have to turn!

[Malcolm Robinson]

Not for the feint hearted:

http://moneyweek.com/endofbritain/

[Malcolm Robinson]

Teach kids it good to save............

[Malcolm Robinson]

Any thoughts on the Italian position regarding Silvio's order to his party's members serving in government to resign from our Italian reporter?

[Malcolm Robinson]

Listening the politicians crow about how they have managed to save humanity from fiscal ruin is like waking up from a dream and then realising it was and still is a nightmare.

Big Dave's claim that 'our economy is growing' can only be described as fanciful, reading the latest ONS review. There was growth in one bit of one business sector, transport, but overall the 'manufacturing and production sectors remain well below their pre-2008 levels of output!' And where do we export the profits from our transport sector, ah yes India and Germany.

Housing remains a real concern to us in the North East with average prices still 11% below their 2008 peaks. Coupled with increasing household budgets and a huge increase in household unsecured debt looks like even with unrealistic lending rates we are not out of this particular recessionary influence.

Don't listen to the plaudits look at the hard cold figures! No one has fixed anything we are bumbling along the bottom of a long lasting recession which could nose dive at any time. The only thing stopping it is increasing debt and not what Dave is claiming, 'the deficit is falling'.

[Malcolm Robinson]

'In 2012/13 general government deficit (or net borrowing) was £82.1 billion, equivalent to 5.2% of gross domestic product – down from 7.6% of GDP in 2011/12….[However]….These estimates include the impact of two transactions which affect general government net borrowing in 2012/13. The asset purchase facility transfers in Q1 2013 lowered borrowing by £6.4 billion, while the transfer of the Royal Mail to Pension Plan assets in April 2012 reduced borrowing by £28.0 billion. Together the transactions have reduced net borrowing by 2.2% of GDP.'

[Malcolm Robinson]

 Just a quickie for anyone who used to read my posting regarding the financial position we are really in.  One item has been an officially unreported running sore throughout for me, public sector pension deficits.

 

The following with thanks to the Taxpayers Alliance:    

 

The official public sector debt quoted in the budget – £890 billion.

 

Unfunded public sector pensions – estimated at £1,283 billion

Unfunded state pensions – estimated at £2,717 billion

Others

including the Local Government Pension deficit, PFI, and nuclear decommissioning – £398 billion

[Malcolm Robinson]

UK 10yr gilts.........3.07%

 

Huge jump on Friday??????

[threegee]

Interesting that the art market is booming.  One or more economists put this down to QE.

 

As the stock market is certainly not over-inflated generally speaking, and seems to represent fair value with "blue-sky" stuff actually depressed for once, then there would seem to be a large divide between ordinary investors and the mega rich.  The mega rich of course can easily chose where they pay their tax - a fact which Mr Hollande seems to be blissfully unaware of.  Or, possibly, the mega rich may know something ordinary business people don't know.

[Malcolm Robinson]

 Just a quickie for anyone who used to read my posting regarding the financial position we are really in.  One item has been an officially unreported running sore throughout for me, public sector pension deficits.

 

The following with thanks to the Taxpayers Alliance:    

 

The official public sector debt quoted in the budget – £890 billion.

 

Unfunded public sector pensions – estimated at £1,283 billion

Unfunded state pensions – estimated at £2,717 billion

Others

including the Local Government Pension deficit, PFI, and nuclear decommissioning – £398 billion

 

Anyone wishing pension advice could do worse than ask recently knighted Paul Tucker, ex BoE Deputy Governor.  Although a public servant for the last 23 years he has managed to amass just under £6M in his pension scheme.  Worth considering in this country a lifetime's allowable contributions, as far as taxation goes, is £1.5M????  Looks like a case of do as I say not as I do again!