The ECB on the Verge of Collapse?

 

The European Central Bank (ECB) will aid Italy with an EU rescue program if the country or its banks are in financial turmoil because they are taking the view that Italy has become an “occupied” country and that Germany has conquered Europe imposing austerity and its view of inflation upon the whole of Europe without firing a shot. While the spin is that the ECB is making Italy a test case to demonstrate that Europe and its mechanisms work, in reality, it is a realization that the ECB cannot save Italy’s financial institutions because austerity has created the greatest economic depression perhaps in economic history.

Schäuble Warns of Coming Economic Crisis

 

In his farewell interview for the Financial Times, Federal Minister of Finance Wolfgang Schäuble warned of a new global financial crisis predicated upon the Quantity of Money theory that the central banks had pumped trillions of dollars into the financial system that is creating a risk of “new bubbles”.  Indeed, many just do not comprehend what is going on and are blaming the new highs in share markets on concerns about the increased risks from the accumulation of more and more liquidity and the growth of public and private debt.

Greece’s pensioners to suffer MORE: Europe demands austerity as debt hits £268 BILLION

Desperate people campaign outside the Hilton hotel as the monied hold talks about their lives

 

GREEK politicians are being told to go after the country’s already squeezed pensioners as it faces yet more austerity measures.

Germany and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have failed to make an agreement over the conditions of a new bail out package.

And while the country’s debt bubble continues to mount, as it tries to cope with the migrant crisis from 2015, its citizens are being penalised.

Germany May Be a Bigger Threat to the European Union than Brexit

Destroy to rebuild and retake Europe is the German plan.

Further detailed information: Germany’s Invisible Crisis – Mauldin Economics (PDF format)

 

Two polls were recently released that call the European Union in question.

A poll in Italy reported that the Five Star Movement (a populist political party that wants to hold a referendum on whether Italy should remain in the European Union) was the most popular political party in the country ahead of local elections scheduled for next month.

On the same day, British researchers who surveyed nine EU countries reported that 45 percent of respondents believed that their country should hold a referendum on whether to remain in the EU.

Eurozone crisis IMMINENT as debt-ridden Italy and Portugal on verge of being new Greece

TROUBLES in the Italian and Portuguese economies could blow up this year to shatter the eurozone, as disastrous Greece almost did last year.

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Investors have become increasingly concerned about the anti-austerity agenda of the Portuguese socialist government, fearing defaults could lie further ahead, which has seen the borrowing costs for the government soar.

Portugal under Supervision

LISBON/BRUSSELS/BERLIN (Own report) – The EU is exerting massive pressure to prevent the new Portuguese government from reversing austerity measures. Last Friday, the EU Commission conditionally accepted – with stipulations – Prime Minister António Costa’s Draft Budget Plan aimed at phasing out the austerity policy. Brussels has already scheduled a budget reassessment for the spring. During her meeting with Costa, the day of the Commission’s decision, Angela Merkel urged Portugal’s prime minister to continue to pursue his predecessor Pedro Passos Coelho’s austerity policy. Powerful financial market actors, notably the Commerzbank, are also opposing the democratically elected Prime Minister. The socialist minority government – supported by smaller leftwing parties – is facing a crucial test.

Greek stocks fall sharply on banking sector meltdown

Athens (AFP) – Greek stocks tumbled on Monday to close nearly eight percent lower, with bank shares losing almost a quarter of their market value amid concerns over the future of government reforms.

The general index on the Athens stock exchange closed down 7.9 percent at 464.23 points — a 25-year-low — while banks suffered a 24.3-percent average drop.

Top companies such as the Public Power Corporation, the Piraeus Port Authority and prominent construction firms lost between four and and 12.5 percent.

Poland will never join a ‘burning’ eurozone, says central bank governor

Marek Belka says country remains reluctant to join the euro, as he warns that world is running out of ammunition to fight the next financial crisis

Poland will not join the euro while the bloc remains in danger of “burning”, its central bank governor said.

Marek Belka, who has also served as the country’s prime minister, said the turmoil in Greece had weakened confidence in the single currency.

Alexis Tsipras prepared to step down as parliament set to pass punishing austerity measures

And there you have it. As mentioned in an earlier post, don’t expect him to stay in power for much longer. The Greek ‘no’ vote couldn’t have been a more clear message to leadership, but they still intentionally went the opposite direction. Self-proclaimed Communists Tsipras and Varoufakis are beginning to look more like a hit team whose assignment was do to a quick hit and run.

 

Greek prime minister hinted his position will no longer remain tenable if he did not get the majority backing of his Leftist Syriza party over a bail-out deal

Greek prime minister Alexis Tsipras was ready to stand down from office on Wednesday night, as a Leftist rebellion erupted within his Syriza party over the punishing austerity measures the country needs to stay in the eurozone.

Greece’s lawmakers gathered for a midnight vote on reforms that would raise VAT, cut pensions spending and reform the country’s statistics body. The measures were passed with the support of Greece’s main opposition parties, with 229 voting “yes” and 64 voting “no”. There were six abstentions.

Outside the parliament, troubled flared briefly as groups of anarchists who were part of an anti-austerity protest threw petrol bombs at police, who barricaded the street leading to the entrance to parliament with several riot vans.

Greece capitulates at EU summit

At the cost of national sovereignty and against the will of the Greek people, who just last week voted no in a referendum, the land where democracy was born capitulates and falls under dictatorship.

In politics, when two parties (or more) with starkly contrasting ideologies (i.e. Republicans and Democrats) agree on a deal, 99.9% of the time it’s the citizens who pay the price.

Don’t expect the Marxist Tsipras government to stay in power long.

 

A Greek exit from the eurozone has been avoided after a weekend of tough talks, but the political cost of arriving at a deal is likely to be felt for years to come.

After 18 hours of negotiations, culimnating six months of wider talks, euro leaders emerged bleary-eyed on Monday morning (13 July) to announce a deal that will, eventually, see Greece get a new bailout if it takes painful reforms and if it agrees to intense scrutiny at every step of the way.

The immediate result was summed up by European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker.

“There will be no Grexit”, he said.

Greek deal in sight as Germany bows to huge global pressure for debt relief

Angela Merkel faces a defining moment in her political career as chorus of voices push for Greek debt relief

Germany is at last bowing to pressure as a chorus of countries and key institutions demand debt relief for Greece, a shift that could break the five-month stalemate and avert a potentially disastrous rupture of monetary union at this Sunday’s last-ditch summit.

In a highly significant move, the European Council has called on both sides to make major concessions, insisting that the creditor powers must do their part as the radical Syriza government puts forward a new raft of proposals on economic reforms before a deadline expires tonight.

Greece debt crisis: Athens accepts harsh austerity as bailout deal nears

Greek cabinet reportedly backs a package of reforms and spending cuts worth €13bn to secure third bailout and modest debt writeoff

The Greek government capitulated on Thursday to demands from its creditors for severe austerity measures in return for a modest debt write-off, raising hopes that a rescue deal could be signed at an emergency meeting of EU leaders on Sunday.

Athens is understood to have put forward a package of reforms and public spending cuts worth €13bn (£9.3bn) to secure a third bailout from creditors that could raise $50bn and allow it to stay inside the currency union.

Merkel Tired and Overwhelmed, Unable to Prevent EU Collapse – German Media

According to the newspaper, the EU consists of numerous imperfect institutions which have proved unable to function in times of the crisis. It has become a hostage to the Troika: the ECB, the IMF and the EU Commission which have totally failed.

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Moreover, the EU member states are pursuing different goals: Southern countries want a different Europe, not a Europe of austerity, but of a growth, Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi said.

IMF admits: we failed to realise the damage austerity would do to Greece

The International Monetary Fund admitted it had failed to realise the damage austerity would do to Greece as the Washington-based organisation catalogued mistakes made during the bailout of the stricken eurozone country.

In an assessment of the rescue conducted jointly with the European Central Bank (ECB) and the European commission, the IMF said it had been forced to override its normal rules for providing financial assistance in order to put money into Greece.

Fund officials had severe doubts about whether Greece’s debt would be sustainable even after the first bailout was provided in May 2010 and only agreed to the plan because of fears of contagion.

Greece Can Stay in Euro Even With ‘No’ Vote, Schaeuble Tells Lawmakers

Need any more hints that Greece isn’t going anywhere? Whether its within the EU or a newly formed United States of Europe, it will be a German vassal state.

Please see the source link for the video.

 

 

German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble told lawmakers in Berlin that Greece would stay in the euro for the time being if Greek voters reject austerity in a referendum scheduled this week, according to three people present.

Schaeuble also said the European Central Bank would do what’s needed to protect the euro if Greeks voted against the bailout terms in the July 5 referendum, according to the people, all of whom participated in the closed-door meeting on Tuesday. They asked not to be identified, citing the private nature of the discussion.