The financial system established in England after 1688, based on usurious lending to the state by private bankers, is reaching its final blowout in the form of a series of devastating bubbles and a massive bailout of the financiers with public money. But the issuance of money doesn’t have to be in the hands of a private consortium: another credit system is possible.
Posted by seumasach on January 8, 2012
27th November, 2011
NEW YORK—The world’s bond buyers have turned on Europe’s deeply indebted governments and fled to another deeply indebted government across the Atlantic — the U.S. As a result, U.S borrowing costs have plunged to historic lows while rising rates in Europe have many worried about a catastrophic financial crisis.
Posted in Battle for Europe, Currency Wars, Financial crisis | Tagged: dollar collapse | Leave a Comment »
Posted by seumasach on January 8, 2012
8th January, 2012
Finland’s Finance Minister Jutta Urpilainen hopes a tax aimed at curbing currency speculation will be adopted widely across the EU. She added Finland was one of the keenest promoters of such a financial transaction tax within the union. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Battle for Europe, Financial crisis | Tagged: Jutta Urpilainen, robin hood tax, tobin tax | Leave a Comment »
Posted by seumasach on December 26, 2011
Olivier Berruyer
23rd October, 2011
J’ai publié cet article sur le site Les Echos.
Les autorités morales des sociétés ont toujours combattu la notion d’intérêt. Ironiquement, il n’aura fallu que deux décennies après la totale dérégulation du secteur financier pour assister à son écroulement, comme l’avaient prévu les plus grands économistes français… Il nous reste très peu de temps pour des actions drastiques – sauront-nous l’utiliser ?
« Tu ne prêteras point à ton frère ton argent à intérêt. » [Bible, Ancien testament, Lévitique, 25.37]
Durant plus de deux millénaires, de Platon au Pape Léon XIII, en passant par Charlemagne et Saint Louis, les autorités morales des sociétés ont lutté drastiquement contre le prêt à intérêt : l’usure, qui a même valu excommunication au Moyen-Âge. Cette notion existe d’ailleurs toujours dans notre législation contemporaine : il y a une limite au taux d’intérêt exigible.
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Posted by seumasach on December 18, 2011
Posted in Financial crisis | Tagged: MF Global | Leave a Comment »
Posted by seumasach on December 12, 2011
Global systemic crisis: 30,000 billion US dollars in ghost assets will disappear by early 2013 / The crisis enters a phase of widespread discounting of Western public debt
16th November, 2011
As we come to the end of the second half of 2011, it is evident that 15,000 billion in ghost assets have gone up in smoke since last July, just as was anticipated by LEAP/E2020 (GEAB N°56 ). And, according to our team, this process figures to continue at the same rate throughout the year to come. Indeed we estimate that, with the introduction of a 50% discount on Greek government debt, the global systemic crisis has entered a new phase: that of the generalized discount on Western public debt and its corollary, the fragmentation of the global financial markets. Our team believes that 2012 will bring an average discount of 30% of total Western public debt (1), plus an equivalent amount in loss of assets from the balance sheets of worldwide financial institutions. Specifically, LEAP/E2020 anticipates the loss of 30,000 billion ghost assets by early 2013 (2), with an acceleration in 2012 of the partitioning process of the global financial market (3) into three increasingly disconnected currency areas: Dollar, Euro, and Yuan. These two phenomena feed into each other. They will also be the cause of a sharp decline of 30% on the part of US currency in 2012 (4), as we announced last April (GEAB N°54 ), which will occur amidst a sharp reduction in demand for the US dollar and the worsening of the US governmental debt crisis. The end of 2011 will therefore see, as anticipated, the trigger of the European debt crisis detonating a US bomb.
Posted in Battle for Europe, Financial crisis, UK economy | Tagged: Laboratoire européen d’anticipation politique LEAP | Leave a Comment »
Posted by seumasach on December 7, 2011
Les Leopold
6th December, 2011
We now have concrete evidence that Wall Street and Washington are running a secret government far removed from the democratic process. Through a freedom of information request by Bloomberg News, the public now has access to over 29,000 pages of Fed documents and 21,000 additional Fed transactions that were deliberately hidden, and for good reason. [1]
Posted in Financial crisis | Tagged: dollar collapse, End of empire | Leave a Comment »
Posted by seumasach on November 24, 2011
Bank of England warns risk of calamitous outcome to eurozone debt crisis is rising
The risk of a calamitous outcome to the eurozone debt crisis is rising, according to a stark warning from the Bank of England.
Minutes from this month’s meeting of the monetary policy committee, published yesterday, showed growing concern about the impact on the UK of the financial storm.
‘Concerns over the sustainability of the debt positions of some euro area countries had led to increases in the cost of borrowing for those countries and widespread falls in confidence,’ the report said.
While the worst risks had not so far crystallised, the threat of their doing so had increased, exacerbating the already severe strains in bank funding markets and financial markets more generally.’
The minutes showed the MPC voted unanimously in favour of leaving interest rates at a rock bottom 0.5 per cent and continuing with its programme of quantitative easing.
The Bank launched so-called QE2 last month when it agreed to pump another £75bn of newly created money into the economy, on top of the £200bn already printed.
The minutes suggested another round of QE will follow – but not until early next year once the latest £75bn has been exhausted.
The report showed some members of the nine-strong MPC thought another round ‘might well become warranted in due course’ to support the faltering recovery.
It warned the economy was likely to stagnate in the current fourth quarter of the year – leaving it perilously close to recession – having grown by 0.5 per cent in the third quarter.
Nida Ali, economic advisor to the Ernst & Young Item Club, said more QE was ‘practically a foregone conclusion’.
Posted in UK economy | Tagged: QE2 | Leave a Comment »
Posted by seumasach on November 19, 2011
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Posted by seumasach on November 19, 2011
Britain continues to provide sterling service to the motherland by selflessly purchasing potentially worthless US government bonds. Meanwhile China goes cold on holding more worthless paper. With the “supercommittee” certain to fail the temporary respite provided by the great euroscare looks set to end and reality will kick in for the superbankrupt US economy.
20th October, 2011
China has reduced its holdings of US debt to their lowest level in a year.
China sold $US36.5 billion in US Treasuries or bonds to cut its holding to $US1137 billion in August, according to data from the US Treasury department.
Posted in Currency Wars, Financial crisis | Tagged: dollar collapse, End of empire | Leave a Comment »
Posted by seumasach on November 13, 2011
9th November, 2011
Third-world America: Michigan city cuts power, removes street lights due to inability to pay electric bill
In response to financial problems, some US cities are choosing to cut basic public services like trash collection, fire and police forces, and road repair just to stay afloat. But one city in Michigan has decided to cut its power instead, which has left more than 11,000 local residents without street lights.
Posted in Financial crisis | Tagged: End of empire | Leave a Comment »
In These New Times 