Crash 2 The Sequel!

[Malcolm Robinson]

Lampposts are to good for these people!

[threegee]

Easy! You just do the Monte-Paschi and you turn around - that's what it's all about!

...oh Draghi, Draghi, Draghi ...oh Draghi, Draghi, Draghi

Monte Dei Paschi Bank CEO Fabrizio Viola speaks during a news conference

Hey!! Hey!!

Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena Chief Executive Fabrizio Viola said on Thursday the bank sees no more derivatives losses beyond the 730 million euros disclosed late Wednesday.

...and it only took six years to come clean on!

Monte dei Paschi, which has the biggest Italian government bond portfolio relative to assets among Italian banks and which was hit hard by the euro zone debt crisis, reported a 15.6 percent annual fall in customer deposits and securities issued.

The bank also had gross impaired loans worth 28.3 billion euros, representing a higher proportion of total loans than the average for other Italian lenders.

Safe as Barings and the Bank of England I reckon. I wonder which bank he deposits his seven figure bonus in?

[Malcolm Robinson]

RBS has just been fined for its part in the LIBOR rates scandal.

Wonder where they think that fine is going to be paid out of? They have said the bonus pool but in reality the tax payers have just been hit for another £400M+ .

Who gets the fine.............HMG?

So essentially apart from semantics nowts happened, no one has been locked up just a couple of bods in Barleys have taken early retirement.

[Maggie/915]

Malcolm you need to be in parliament.

Malcolm Robinson MP

[Malcolm Robinson]

Sun headlines for Sym and GGG!

"George says the lights will go out in Europe again......."

http://english.capital.gr/News.asp?id=1726055

[Malcolm Robinson]

Picture is worth a thousand words........

Sorry about the poor editing!

[threegee]

Sun headlines for Sym and GGG!

"George says the lights will go out in Europe again......."

http://english.capit....asp?id=1726055

For once I agree 100% with Soros - it has to happen, but it will happen over the dead bodies of the politicos, and after they've made the situation immeasurably worse.

We need to lead by getting out right away and negotiating free trade agreements - keeping the best aspects and ditching the empire building. Cameron's timetable is just kicking the can down the road and playing into the hands of those who accuse the Euro-realists of creating uncertainty for business'.

Vote UKIP and let's aim to get our notice on Rumpy Pumpy's desk at the earliest possible moment. It will still take until 2016 to extract us from the mess, even if we were to start negotiating today! History shows you can't trust Cameron anway - even if he were to win the next election. And if Labour were to win we be totally up the creek without a paddle because Milliband and Balls are the most clueless twits ever to lead any party! It's clarity of purpose, or political infighting and back-room deals going on for years.

[Malcolm Robinson]

Price of gold is crashing..............possible sequestration?

Who will be the first to break ranks?

[threegee]

A drop of $100/oz or so doesn't look like a crash. More like some of the heat being taken out of the extreme speculation. I think we'd have to see sub $1000/oz for it to be called a crash - not entirely impossible once reality dawns on some. There's no doubt that gold production is increasing to meet the demand at today's heady prices. Not terribly useful stuff nowadays anyway; one minor point that GB was right on.

[Malcolm Robinson]

GB was right on................you on something GGG? Disastrous chancellor and completely out of his depth PM.

Looks like the stock markets are being held up with the likes of QE so gold has to be depressed or there wouldn't be ANY trade.

If one of the EU countries with problems but gold reserves (Italy say) pulled out and backed a new currency with gold, leveraging against it, the Fed would have to try and depress the price even further or everyone would be back on the gold standard and how much physical stuff is there in Fort Knox? The brave new world of virtual banking would need something physical behind it and that's already scarred everyone witless once.

The market is out of syc with fundamentals, the likes of gold should be rocketing?

We are making nowt, buying Chinese rubbish with built-in obsolescence, actually listening to the politicos selling us on green power technology because that's all they can come up with as a growth area but its completely artificial, we are chasing our tails deluding ourselves we can get back to where we seemingly had some disposable income even if that was fleeced off us.

Very hard to see the rocks for the quicksand.

[Malcolm Robinson]

What a great idea, impose a special tax on everyone who has a bank deposit and give the resulting cash back to the banks? That what is going on in Cyprus and has already resulted in a slide in the Euro and stocks.

Greece is about to sell its bad loan stock, anyone hazard a guess what fraction of a euro to a euro of debt they will get for it? Might as well use it to heat the empty Tavernas.

Who is going to jump the Euro ship first………. (I would still have an each way on Italy and Germany!)

[threegee]

What a great idea, impose a special tax on everyone who has a bank deposit and give the resulting cash back to the banks? That what is going on in Cyprus and has already resulted in a slide in the Euro and stocks.

Improved the pound a bit though! Nothing at all new in this in Italy, it's happened before and the ex-pats there are very wary of a grab - believe me!

A big boost in regional aid coming next week. The clock is ticking and Dave is in for a drubbing, esp at the hands of about 60% of his own supporters, and that's not including the ones that have already defected. As "a moderniser" trying to attract people who'd likely never dream of voting for him anyway, he's pulled off the amazing trick of alienating hordes of loyal supporters, just at the very time they can see a real alternative. Eaton educayshuns ain't what they used to be!

[Malcolm Robinson]

Listen to the Germans saying they didn't have anything to do with the Cyprus raid.............

This is a litmus test! Beware Spain, Portugal.....

If the EU implodes will Farage and UKIP disappear?

[Malcolm Robinson]

Fact of the matter is that Cyprus wasn't bust until the ECB made them so with their Greek debt holdings.

This looks to be a geopolitical play involving recently found Cypriot gas reserves. They either back a plan involving leveraging Cypriot gas futures or come out of the Euro.

With their parliamentary vote on a knife edge and the banks closed until whatever is decided on is in place the plan is now to leave deposits under 100K untaxed.

This is how they do things in the great democracy that is the EU!

BTW, anyone seen Mario?

[Symptoms]

Beeb website today reports that the MoD have flown 1 million euros out to Cyprus as emergency loans to our military stationed there.

[threegee]

GB was right on................you on something GGG? Disastrous chancellor and completely out of his depth PM.

Sorry, just spotted this. All I meant was that it has few industrial uses these days, and they get less and less. It's like modern celebs - valuable because it's valuable. It's no anchor for anything, and just as susceptible to "tulipmania" as anything else. Land would be the obvious best anchor of value on our little Earth, but the so-called planners and politicos have screwed that one too. Who's arguing about GB's total incompetence? But, even a stopped clock...

Fact of the matter is that Cyprus wasn't bust until the ECB made them so with their Greek debt holdings.

This looks to be a geopolitical play involving recently found Cypriot gas reserves. They either back a plan involving leveraging Cypriot gas futures or come out of the Euro....

It's the old contagion thing again. You never know where it's going to break out next. You can scheme and plot, but it will get you in the end, and where you don't expect!

Do you honestly think the bankers can see so far as to be scheming about oil at this point? They are flailing around looking for a way to preserve their own empires and hides.

Beeb website today reports that the MoD have flown 1 million euros out to Cyprus as emergency loans to our military stationed there.

Bet the Cypriots would prefer £GB! Looks like the MoD are going to need to set up a flight timetable.

It's now a game of who will blink first. Cyprus thinks they have the EU by the proverbials as they threaten the EU's stability, and the amounts involved are a tiny fraction of EU gross GDP. Others have got much bigger handouts without any of the political pain, and so it's grossly unfair. The extent of their naivety is illustrated by the trip to Russia to ask for improved terms and extended repayment on a Russian loan, at the very time they are attempting to rob Putin's rich buddies and he's seriously considering calling it in.

On the other hand Germany reckons they are holding all the cards. If an example of why all in the EU must act like good Germans has to be set, then tiny Cyprus seems like the ideal place to send the bailiffs in. Applying the appropriate mindset they are both right, and so it's the mindsets that are wrong, not their reasoning. Interesting times!

[Malcolm Robinson]

Do you honestly think the bankers can see so far as to be scheming about oil at this point? They are flailing around looking for a way to preserve their own empires and hides.

No I don't I think its far bigger than just bankers!

[Malcolm Robinson]

"We regret the lack of transparency and democratic accountability in the original solution proposed by the Commission, IMF and the ECB for Cyprus,” said European Parliament President Martin Schulz

"Eurozone finance ministers also must take responsibility for this original solution for the Cyprus banking sector. The proposed solution was taken behind closed doors in the early hours of the morning without proper reflection on the consequences for ordinary people. Yet the 'blame-game' on whose proposal this was only serves to undermine confidence in the EU.”

[Symptoms]

Buried in the news on Buggerit Day was a report that Barclays had, yet again bunged whopper bonuses. Some guy called Rich Ricci trousered a brown envelope for 17 million. Photos showed him as being a well-scrubbed tubby bloke, a bit like Cameroonie, with a smirking snear on his face ... the image just seemed to fit somehow!

Edited March 21, 2013 by Symptoms

[Malcolm Robinson]

Ricci............

http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/markets/article-2296469/Barclays-hands-Rich-Ricci-17-6m-share-awards.html

[Malcolm Robinson]

Seems GGG's pin up Gal might have been up to some naughtiness......

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/mar/20/christine-lagarde-flat-raided-police

[threegee]

Seems GGG's pin up Gal might have been up to some naughtiness......

http://www.guardian....t-raided-police

...and Sarky too! Why would they go into politics if they couldn't exercise a little influence on behalf of those that might "show their gratitude"? At least it's not the usual sex scandal.

It's a 25% bank deposit grab now! More or less ensures that Cypriot banks are out of international monetary musical chairs for good!

[Malcolm Robinson]

EC FinMins document.....

'Member States may introduce restrictions on capital movement, including capital controls, in certain circumstances and under strict conditions on grounds of public policy or public security. In accordance with the case law of the European Court of Justice, measures may also be introduced for overriding reasons of general public interest.'

Might as well say.......

We will control everything and smash and grab whenever needed!

[threegee]

Do the crime then patch the law as needed - a perk of the power game, isn't that right Silvio?

All the get-out-of-jail cards are there: general public interest; public security; etc. Says who? Certainly not the general public in who's name all the jiggery pokery is performed in!

Might as well say.......

We will control everything and smash and grab whenever needed!

I think with the EU we've already passed over the edge there, but - like an off-the-cliff cartoon character - it's taking a while to notice the void below.

[Malcolm Robinson]

Could be an interesting weekend, well a more interesting next week.

I wonder if the timing of the Cyprus smash and grab had anything to do with this 4 day weekend?

What better time for the EU to announce financial controls and more account plundering when normal punters can't do anything about it.