Capital Account with Stephen Leeb

Jun 12, 2012 by CapitalAccount

Nigel Farage - The genius of mutual indebtedness

Jun 13, 2012 by europarl

SBSS 36. There Will Be Blood

Jun 11, 2012 by TruthNeverTold

Gary Gensler on the Commodity Futures Trading Commission oversight of commodity futures

Notice that when Gary G mentions Gold and Silver in the one sentence, which he did several times, he says "Silver and Gold" in that order. That is very odd, the natural, learned way to say the names of both metals in the one thought is "Gold and Silver". Gee even me the massive silver bug can't automatically reverse the order when speaking in a conversation. The clients I speak to at ABC Bullion 99 times out 100 say "Gold and Silver", it is so rare to hear the order reverse I remark on it if I ever hear it. It is like saying "Cheese and Chalk" instead of "Chalk and Cheese". So for Gary G to say "Silver and Gold" makes me think that SILVER is giving him nightmares - what we fear is always front of mind, even if don't consciously think about those fears.

I suspect he also has a fear of CDSs as well as he mentions them excessively in the interview.

Game On! - EU floats worst-case plans for Greek euro exit

Original source

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European finance officials have discussed as a worst-case scenario limiting the size of withdrawals from ATM machines, imposing border checks and introducing capital controls in at least Greece should Athens decide to leave the euro.

EU officials have told Reuters the ideas are part of a range of contingency plans. They emphasized that the discussions were merely about being prepared for any eventuality rather than planning for something they expect to happen - no one Reuters has spoken to expects Greece to leave the single currency area.

Belgium's finance minister, Steve Vanackere, said at the end of May that it was a basic function of each euro zone member state to be prepared for problems. These discussions appear to be in that vein.

But with increased political uncertainty in Greece following the inconclusive election on May 6 and ahead of a second election on June 17, there is now an increased need to have contingencies in place, the EU sources said.

The discussions have taken place in conference calls over the past six weeks, as concerns have grown that a radical-left coalition, SYRIZA, may win the second election, increasing the risk that Greece could renege on its EU/IMF bailout and therefore move closer to abandoning the currency.

No decisions have been taken on the calls, but members of the Eurogroup Working Group, which consists of euro zone deputy finance ministers and heads of treasury departments, have discussed the options in some detail, the sources said.

As well as limiting cash withdrawals and imposing capital controls, they have discussed the possibility of suspending the Schengen agreement, which allows for visa-free travel among 26 countries, including most of the European Union.

"Contingency planning is underway for a scenario under which Greece leaves," one of the sources, who has been involved in the conference calls, said. "Limited cash withdrawals from ATMs and limited movement of capital have been considered and analyzed."

Another source confirmed the discussions, including that the suspension of Schengen was among the options raised.

CrossTalk: Depegging Dollar

Jun 11, 2012 by RussiaToday

Will the dollar be able to maintain its supremacy in the long term? Will the BRICS undermine its influence? With China and Japan now trading in their own currencies, what are the consequences for the dollar? Could we see a new Asian currency competing with the dollar? Or is such an experiment very unlikely given the eurozone status quo? CrossTalking with Mark Calabria, Martin Hennecke and Derek Scissors.

Inside Story - Spain bailout: A painkiller or cure?

Jun 11, 2012 by AlJazeeraEnglish
 

Spain has received $125bn to rescue its banks, a loan with no strings attached. Mariano Rajoy, the Spanish prime minister, calls the eurozone decision a victory for the euro. The eurozone's fourth largest economy has now joined Greece, Ireland and Portugal in asking for outside help to survive Europe's debt crisis. So is it a bailout package under a different name, a temporary pain killer, or a long term solution? Guests: Raoul Ruparel, Daniel Lacalle, Cristina Manzano.

Euronews Life : Thailand's spiritual soul

Jun 12, 2012 by Euronews

Nouriel Roubini - 'Grexit not disaster'

Jun 12, 2012 by RussiaToday

Greeks face stark choice at ballot box

Jun 12, 2012 by AlJazeeraEnglish

Greek voters return to the polls on Sunday, after a previous election in May failed to produce a government.

Capital Account with Yanis Varoufakis on Europe's "Dickensian Workhouse"

Jun 11, 2012 by CapitalAccount