1206 days ago
Analyst Martin Armstrong uses AI to generate hios reports but despite that seems to talk some sort of sense. He warns of the failing European politics and economics and why their global agendas are becoming an enormous burden on the world. The critical issue today is faith in government and the consequences when this collapses. People in Europe are hoarding cash, which is driving the ECB to implement a digital currency.
2965 days ago
Once again if you are listening on itunes please give this podcast a 5* rating and feel free to write a glowing review. Meanwhile I discuss who has been talking bigger bollocks in the past 48 hours: Richard Chase of Nyota (NYO), Mario Draghi of the ECB or those "inners" who believe in Mario. It is a close run contest.
3217 days ago
Who said capitalism is dead in Greece? The stalls selling Greek and Oxi flags were doing a roaring trade. In fact everyone who could was draping themselves in the blue and white of Greece. Patriotism is the last refuge of the scoundrel. And in a referendum both sides have to claim the patriotic high ground.
One can make a case for both Oxi and Nai being the patriotic side. One stands up to the banksters and evil ECB and Germans. The other saves Greece from bankruptcy. Well sort of. But both camps claim to be the patriots.
3224 days ago
The German Fuhrer Frau Merkel last night told Greek PM Alex Tsipras to “shut up.” Monsieur Trichet of the ECB accuses mighty Hellas of “blackmail”. And worst of all, leaders of the three main Greek opposition parties have been invited to Brussels for talks – a coup is being planned in the birthpace of democracy.
I would not have voted for Syriza, the flaky lefty coalition party headed by Tsipras but Greeks did. They rejected the two “old parties” of corruption and deceit, New Democracy and Pasok, the latter almost being entirely wiped out. The other party invited to take part in the coup is a flaky bunch of wishy washy non-entities, Potami.
It now seems very clear that if Greece defaults
3748 days ago
With the European Central Bank (ECB) the comedy never stops. You and I know that a material number of European banks and financial institutions are bust. Even a total Euro loon like Michael Heseltine does not, I suspect, stash any of his millions with Greek, Spanish, or Italian banks these days. But the ECB wants us all to think differently and with its 2014 stress tests is going to prove it. Oh yes.
Let me first take you back to October 23rd of last year when the ECB tried to reassure those of us who have our doubts about some of the banks in the PIIGS nations by saying that it in 2014 it would use “stricter” rules than before when testing the balance sheets of the Eurozone banks. There was a firm pledge to insist that all banks could show a capital ratio of 8%. How very prudent Mr Draghi.
Now wind forward to this week and the ECB is now saying (according to Bloomberg) that the Capital Requirement when it runs the balance sheets through a recession stress test will be 6%, i.e. the same as in 2013. Stricter? Er... perhaps not after all. But it means that the ECB will be able to show that nearly every bank is solvent even in a recession scenario and so we can all sleep safely in our beds. Stop worrying little people everything is okay.
And it gets better.
4310 days ago
I am not sure which is more hapless and hopeless, the ECB or the Bank of England. It is a close run thing and today’s actions by the pair did nothing to clarify the situation.
The Bank of England announced £50 billion more Quantitative Easing. Ok, so QE has not worked to date so let’s try it again but only a small dose. If you think that QE is the answer to the UK’s ills (and for what it is worth I do not) then force the patient to drink gallons of medicine. The strategy seems to be a big gulp, then another big gulp and because that has not worked another sip or two. This latest QE will be regarded as either: another dollop of the wrong medicine (by sceptics like myself) or too little medicine to make a change and thus a counterproductive confidence destroyer (that is the “believer’s view). Either way this is another day in which the Old lady of Threadneedle Street achieves nothing much.
