11 Quotes That Show How Worried The Financial World Is About Europe Right Now

The recent elections in France and in Greece have thrown the global financial system into an uproar.  Fear and worry are everywhere and nobody is quite sure what is going to happen next.  All of the financial deals that Greece has made over the past few years may be null and void.  Nobody is going to know for sure until a new government is formed, and at this point it looks like that is not going to happen and that there will need to be new elections in June.  All of the financial deals that France has made over the past few years may be null and void as well.  New French President Francois Hollande seems determined to take France on a path away from austerity.  But can France really afford to keep spending money that it does not have?  France has already lost its AAA credit rating and French bond yields have started to move up toward dangerous territory.  And Greek politicians are delusional if they think they have any other choice other than austerity.  Without European bailout money (which they won't get if they don't honor their current agreements), nobody is going to want to lend Greece a dime.

And all of this talk about "austerity" is kind of silly anyway.  It isn't as if either France or Greece was going to have a balanced budget any time soon.  Both nations were still running up huge amounts of debt even under the "austerity" budgets.

But the citizens of both nations have sent a clear message that they are not going to tolerate even a slowdown in government spending.  They want to go back to the debt-fueled prosperity of the last several decades, even if it makes their long-term financial problems a lot worse.

Unfortunately, as I mentioned earlier, Greece does not have that option.  Without the bailout money that they are scheduled to get, Greece does not have a prayer of avoiding a disorderly default.  Private investors would have to be insane to lend Greece money if the bailout deal falls apart.  Greece desperately needs the help of the EU, the ECB and the IMF and the only way they are going to get it is if they abide by the terms of the agreements that have already been reached.

The only way that Greece can avoid austerity at this point would be to leave the euro.  Nobody would want to lend money to Greece under that scenario either, but Greece could choose to print huge amounts of their own national currency if they wanted to.

The situation is different in France.  Investors are still willing to lend to France at reasonable interest rates, but if France chooses to run up huge amounts of additional debt at some point they will end up just like Greece.

What is even more important in the short-term is the crumbling of the French/German alliance on European fiscal matters.  Angela Merkel and Nicolas Sarkozy were a united front, but now Merkel and Hollande are likely to have conflict after conflict.

Instead of moving in one clear direction, the eurozone is now fractured and tensions are rising.

So what comes next?

Well, investors are not certain what comes next and that has many of them deeply concerned.

The following are 11 quotes that show how worried the financial world is about Europe right now....

#1 Tres Knippa of Kenai Capital Management: "What is going on in Europe is an absolute disaster…the risk-on trade is not the place to be. I want to be out of equities and very, very defensive because the situation in Europe just got worse after those elections."

#2 Mark McCormick, currency strategist at Brown Brothers Harriman: "We’re going to have higher tensions, more uncertainty and most likely a weaker euro."

#3 Nick Stamenkovic, investment strategist at RIA Capital Markets in Edinburgh: "Investors are questioning whether Greece will be a part of the single currency at the end of this year."

#4 Jörg Asmussen, a European Central Bank executive board member: "Greece needs to be aware that there is no alternative to the agreed reform program if it wants to remain a member of the eurozone"

#5 Tristan Cooper, sovereign debt analyst at Fidelity Worldwide Investment: "A Greek eurozone exit is on the cards although the probability and timing of such an event is uncertain."

#6 Art Cashin: "Here’s the outlook on Greece from Wall Street watering holes. If a coalition government is formed or looks to be formed, global markets may rally. Any coalition is unlikely to make progress on goals, since austerity is political suicide. There will likely be another election around June 10/17. A workable majority/plurality remains unlikely, so back to square one. Therefore, Greece will be unable to attain goals by the deadline (June 30). Lacking aid funds, pensions are suspended and government workers are laid off. Protestors take to the streets and government is forced to revert to drachma to avoid social chaos. Pass the peanuts, please."

#7 John Noonan, Senior Forex Analyst with Thomson Reuters in Sydney: "Sentiment is very bearish, The euro is under a lot of pressure right now. I get the feeling that it’s going to be a nasty move lower for the euro finally"

#8 Kenneth S. Rogoff, a professor of economics at Harvard: "A Greek exit would underscore that there’s no realistic long-term plan for Europe, and it would lead to a chaotic endgame for the rest of the euro zone."

#9 Chris Tinker of Libra Investment Services: "It’s a binary decision. If Greece gets itself to the point where the European administration says, ‘We can’t play this game anymore,’ that starts a domino effect"

#10 Nicolas Véron, a senior fellow at Bruegel: "France has very limited fiscal space and actually has to engage in fiscal consolidation"

#11 80-year-old Greek citizen Panagiota Makri: "I'm confused. I feel numb and confused. Only God can save us now"

All of this comes at a time when much of Europe is already descending into a new recession.  Economies all over Europe are contracting and unemployment rates are skyrocketing.  Until things start improving, there is going to continue to be a lot of civil unrest across Europe.

Meanwhile, things are not so great in the United States either.

JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon claims that the U.S. economy is holding a "royal straight flush", but the only part of that he got right was the "flush" part.

There are 100 million working age Americans that do not have jobs, the middle classcontinues to shrink, the rising cost of food and the rising cost of gas are severely stretching the budgets of millions of American families and the federal government continues to run upgigantic amounts of debt.

When Europe descends into financial chaos, the United States is not going to escape it.  The financial crisis of 2008 deeply affected the entire globe, and so will the next great financial crisis.

Let us hope that we still have a little bit more time before the next great financial crisis strikes, but things in Europe are rapidly unraveling and at some point the dominoes are going to begin to fall.

Economic Collapse

Spanish lender Bankia is partly nationalised

Troubled Spanish lender Bankia is to be partly nationalised, the central bank has confirmed.

Bankia, which holds 32bn euros (£25.7bn) in distressed property assets and whose boss has resigned, will have a 4.47bn-euro loan by the Spanish bailout fund converted into shares.

The state fund will emerge with a stake in the bank of 45%.

Earlier, Spanish stocks fell by 3% and government bond yields rose above 6%, a level seen as unsustainable.

"The new management of Bankia will have to submit, as soon as possible, a fortified clean-up plan that will place it in a position to address its future with every guarantee of success," the Spanish central bank said.

Bankia has the industry's largest exposure to the property market, which burst spectacularly and has saddled its banks with bad debt.

Spain's fourth-biggest bank was only created in 2010 from a merger of seven struggling savings banks.'Controversial'

The BBC's business editor Robert Peston said: "The partial nationalisation will be a controversial operation, because it will lead to huge losses for many thousands of Spanish investors, who bought shares in Bankia and provided it with loan capital when it was listed on the stock market last year."

Many are worried about the level of bad debt that Spanish banks have, and fear that Spain will need a bailout.

The central bank added: "Bankia is a solvent institution that continues to operate on an absolutely normal footing. Its customers and depositors have no cause for concern."

The current Spanish government, elected in December, has so far insisted that no public money would be used to rescue banks.

But Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy conceded on Monday that "if it were necessary to prompt lending", he would do so "as a last resort".

On Monday, the executive chairman of Spain's Bankia resigned.
BBC

Now heading into a Little Ice Age, says astrophysicist

“Little Ice Age (Maunder-Dalton) circulation patterns are emerging and more rapid world cooling is taking over,” says astrophysicist Piers Corbyn.

“The Sun’s magnetic field is getting into a muddle as one half of it changes out of step with the other and this muddled behavior is likely to become very marked in MAY,” says Corbyn, of WeatherAction.com.

“The sun is entering a ‘muddled’ magnetic state. This strange behavior was pointed out by Japanese researchers from the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan and the Riken research foundation* who say this was the sort of behavior which probably took place during low periods of solar activity in the past** and which drove the world into a cold state of longer winters, cold Spring months and lousy summers.

“At the same time independent observers have noticed an increase in Little Ice Age type (Maunder-Dalton type) weather events and circulation patterns around the world such as more extreme hailstorms and cyclonic cold weather in Britain and Ireland with the Jet stream shifted well south***.

“These changes and findings increase our confidence in our forecast made two years ago of general world cooling and our specific forecasts for individual months and regions such as for an exceptionally cold May this year in central and east Britain and West Europe – and which comes with the present very warm weather in East Europe which we predicted 4 weeks ahead.

“Although these developing circulation patterns are generally cold the wide-amplitude swings of the jet stream of which they are part also mean there will be some warm or very warm spots. This happened in March with a generally cold or very cold Northern Hemisphere while the UK and USA were warm and extremely warm respectively.

“May will also see dramatic contrasts and we will have more of a grasp on the boundaries between contrasting parts in our detailed May forecasts for Britain and Ireland, Europe and the USA issued at the end of April.

“CLIMATE CHANGE IS HAPPENING NOW. IT IS DRIVEN BY THE SUN AND NOTHING TO DO WITH CO2!

Marc Faber Interview about Keynesian Clowns, Middle East to Blow Up, and Money Printing

Preparing for massive civil war and Re-Education Camps

By: Devvy
May 8, 2012NewsWithViews.com

“No nation ever did nor ever can retain its liberty after the loss of the sword and the purse.” -- Patrick Henry

The past few days the Internet has been burning up with these stories:

Yes, The Re-Education Camp Manual Does Apply Domestically to U.S. Citizens

"A shocking U.S. Army manual that describes how political activists in prison camps will be indoctrinated by specially assigned psychological operations officers contains numerous clear references to the fact that the policies do apply domestically to U.S. citizens."

Joel Skousen: Army Document Reveals Citizens to be Treated as Enemy Combatants

Why this would shock anyone who has been active in fighting the totalitarian thugs in Washington, DC, is beyond me. Let me once again cite this from many of my past columns that should have been a warning to wake up:

"1987: Then U.S. Attorney General William French Smith blew the whistle on a fairly low ranking Marine officer by the name of Oliver North. According to Smith, Lt. Col. Oliver North directly helped draft a plan in 1984 to impose martial law in the United States in the event of an emergency. This secret plan would suspend the U.S. Constitution and turn over control of the government to the little known agency at that time: FEMA. This plan would appoint military commanders to run state and local governments. Implementation of this plan would have been triggered by violent and wise spread internal dissent, disagreement with government policy or national opposition to any U.S. military invasion abroad. Essentially, it amounted to a complete and total suspension of the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights.

"Investigators who uncovered this plan believe that between 1983 - 1986, North's office was the 'central command center' for this informal secret structure which involved more than the illegal sale of arms to Iran and illegal funding of the underground war in Nicaragua under President Ronald Reagan. "Lifers" in the military were shocked, saying at the time that no Lt. Colonel is ever given the kind of power North was apparently given within this secret structure. So great was his authority, he could have the orbits of sophisticated satellites altered to follow Soviet ships around the world or launch high-flying spy aircraft on secret missions. Some even compared this whole operation as eerily similar to the one portrayed in the movie, Clear and Present Danger, starring Harrison Ford (1994).

"North wasn't alone in this secret structure. Others included Reagan's closest advisers: U.S. Attorney General Edwin Meese, CIA Director William Casey and National Security Adviser William Clark. Congressional investigators at the time were shocked by how far along this secret structure and planning had progressed. Arthur Liman, who was the chief counsel of the Senate's Iran-Contra committee stated in a memo that Oliver North was at the center of what he called a "secret government within a government." Prior to those hearings, Liman wrote that a policy decision made at the highest levels during the Iran Contra scandal "...reveals the whole secret government within a government, operated from the Executive Office Building by a lieutenant colonel with its own army, air force, diplomatic agents, intelligence operatives and appropriations capacity."

Think Ronald Reagan didn't know what North was doing?

Section 1-3 of that Army Training Manual cited in the first link above talks about military and civilian internees. If you read the entire Contents section it appears to be written for overseas operations. The designation CI (civilian internee) is used in the charts. No doubt we'll hear all sorts of protestations by government lackeys this doesn't apply to you and me. Anyone who believes anything coming out of Washington, DC, anymore is either in denial or a damn fool.

Then we have this one:

"We are Preparing for Massive Civil War,” Says DHS Informant

"In a riveting interview on TruNews Radio, Wednesday, private investigator Doug Hagmann said high-level, reliable sources told him the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is preparing for “massive civil war” in America. Folks, we're getting ready for one massive economic collapse,” Hagmann told TruNews host Rick Wiles. “We have problems . . . The federal government is preparing for civil uprising,” he added, “so every time you hear about troop movements, every time you hear about movements of military equipment, the militarization of the police, the buying of the ammunition, all of this is . . . they (DHS) are preparing for a massive uprising. "Hagmann goes on to say that his sources tell him the concerns of the DHS stem from a collapse of the U.S. dollar and the hyperinflation a collapse in the value of the world's primary reserve currency implies to a nation of 311 million Americans, who, for the significant portion of the population, is armed."

Can you believe Hagmann about his "high-level, reliable sources"? Not according to Debbie Schussel:

Northeast “Intelligence” Network or Northeast Plagiarism Network?

"The old adage says that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. But actually, that's not always true. In the world of writing and research, imitation is the most insincere form of armed robbery. But, at least in a real armed robbery, you usually see the guy with his gun and you know he is stealing from you. With plagiarists, they just steal your hard work behind your back. That was the case with the so-called Northeast Intelligence Network a/k/a NEIN a/k/a HomelandSecurityUS.com and its main operator, Douglas J. Hagmann, who on Monday, ripped off something I wrote–passing it off as the work of himself and his site's “investigators,” who apparently don't even exist. If the intelligence and terrorism expertise business is a matter of stealing the work of others and passing it off as your own, then I guess he's good at it."

I don't know those individuals, but what I do know is none of this is new - except the Department of Fatherland Security. A draconian enforcement arm for the traitors working to destroy this republic, kissed and blessed by your incumbent in the Outlaw Congress and mine. When I say not new, the shadow government has been planning for civil unrest for a long time.

As the economy continues to tank, millions more unemployed and millions more Americans see everything they've ever worked for blown away like a puff of smoke, the powers who really control our lives know things could get messy. No one in their right mind wants that, but between the agitators, who I believe are paid by the government, and the jackass fools in the Occupy Movement, very likely could set things off. That would set the government's propaganda machine into overdrive with you and me as the target.

Read this essay I scanned and have linked to over and over trying to get people to see what was/is coming down the pipeline:

'Our civilian-military face-off' (Sacramento Bee, November 30, 1997):

"Bill of Rights No Obstacle for the [Marine] Corps. This piece exposed the mindset way back then that at some point due to: "...the rising potential for civil disobedience within the inner cities it is 'inevitable' the U.S. military will be employed more often within American borders." Read on: "The next real war we fight is likely to be on U.S. soil." That huge essay goes on to talk about military operations against Americans right here at home - in your state, in your town.

In 1999, another report, which I have and scanned, is titled Homegrown Extremists, International Association of Under Cover Officers. That report covers: Know Your Enemy - Who Are They? How did it get this way? Recruiting and evolution of extremists; public meetings, pro-life movement, churches. Conspiracy theories: The New World Order, the Federal Reserve and so forth. You can read it all here; the instructors are listed on page two.

I am fully aware that the Department of Fatherland Security has ordered more than 750 million rounds of ammunition over the past few years as well as other alphabet soup agencies.

I also continue to get the constant barrage of emails about gun grabbing efforts, how the IRS has the right to take away your guns and on and on and on.

Does anyone ever do anything about it? Sure: "Send your donation now to protect your Second Amendment rights!!!" That is the ever constant mantra from organizations that depend on the never ending fight to protect the Second Amendment. It's their paycheck. There's no money in the cure, only the treatment. Remember that.

The solution to all of this is still there and continues to be ignored while everyone keeps on whining.

Aw, gee, Devvy, we're just trying to fight the gun grabbers in Washington. Well, hasn't it occurred to folks by now that all that fighting ain't fixing the problem?

The only solution is the constitutional militia. Not private militias, but the militia as stated in the Second Amendment "...being necessary to the security of a free State..". As I have written before, there are a lot of private militia in this country doing great work. Dedicated Americans training to help law enforcement with natural disasters and things of that sort. However, it has to be your state legislature that writes the statute for your state and gets your governor to sign it into law and if vetoed, override the veto.

I don't care how busy you are, so am I. Like millions of other fellow Americans, I have given up fun and leisure to learn the solutions, not more Band Aids. Reading is time consuming, but it's how we all can learn the truth:

• The Constitutional Militia, Slavery, & Contemporary "Gun Control"
• "The Militia of The Several States" Guarantee the Second Amendment
• True vs False Militia and Why the Difference Matters

To help everyone because of time constraints, I did put some of Dr. Edwin Vieria's columns on the militia on a CD so you can listen in your car during your commute to work or travels. You can download that CD here for free; make copies and hand them out at gun shows, group meetings and to family and friends.

Get Edwin's book, Constitutional "Homeland Security," Volume One, The Nation in Arms. It's not a huge tome, but you will learn as I did the true meaning of the Second Amendment. Cost is $19.95; VA residents add 5% tax. Send to: Edwin Vieira, 52 Stonegate Court, Front Royal, VA 22630.

For those who find a DVD easier for them, order The Purse and The Sword: "This seminar featuring Dr. Edwin Vieira, Jr. is the single greatest presentation regarding the Constitutional remedies and powers available to both the people and the national government to deal with our economy and homeland security challenges. Dr. Vieira presents his "visual Constitution" to make plainly clear what should and must be done for our nation to deal with these present and ever-increasing crisis."

It is one of the most powerful tools I've ever seen and every Tea Party chapter, 9/12 groups and other patriotic groups should view. 4 DVD's, 8 1/2 hours. It's also THE one thing you need to send to your state representative because that is where the constitutional militia will be reconstituted. Not by the NRA. If money is tight, split the cost with like minded patriots, but get it.

SB 1083 was in the hopper out in Arizona this year: "Would establish the Arizona State Guard, a volunteer military force under the control of the Governor, for the purpose of "securing the safety and protection of the lives and property of the citizens of this state." Their legislature has gone out of session; the bill never made it. If you live in Arizona, you might wish to join up with the Arizona Citizens Defense League - they are growing strong and they are active.

The only thing that is going to get state legislators to realize our very survival depends on reconstituting the constitutional militia is boots on the ground. Instead of wasting more time and money "fighting the gun grabbers", every gun owner must understand that only massive heat directed at your state representative and senator is going to get this done. That means opening a dialogue with him/her. Try to get a meeting and sit down with your representative as a group. Even if your state legislature is out of session, go to your state representative's web site. Many of them list their home phone. If not, call their local district office. Invite him/her to a breakfast or lunch or meeting.

Give your representative the CD with Edwin's columns and ask he/she to listen to it and you'll get back to them. Follow up is critical. If you can, order a copy of the Purse and Sword. Hand deliver it to your state representative and make it politely understood that if he/she wants to get reelected in November, this has to be a top priority for the 2013 session and you will hold them accountable.

If you are armed with the facts and present them - not as an attempt to go to war with the General Government because it's not - but from a constitutional perspective, it will go a long way towards erasing propaganda about the word militia.

The Second Amendment:

"A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."

There was a reason the framers of the Constitution worded the Second Amendment as you see above. Until I began reading Dr. Edwin Vieria's scholarly and thoroughly researched columns, I really did not understand the brilliance of that one sentence.

A state cannot be free when the General Government continues to send their thugs inside the state terrorizing citizens over things like raw milk or "laws" that allegedly give them the "right" to arrest and detain citizens under the vile "Patriot" Act and subsequent draconian laws. Nor can the people of any state be free when local law enforcement turn into thugs who use tazers on handicapped folks, the elderly and stomping on your God-given rights just because they wear a badge.

Stress this fact to your state legislator: The legislatures can't keep fighting every "law" that comes out of Washington, DC, further eroding our rights, liberty and freedom. Quit trying to climb a sand dune. The solution is right there.

No more expensive lawsuits to fight off one "law" after another either from the state or the Outlaw Congress from taking away your guns.I'm sick to death of my email box filing up with emails that Marxist Hillary Clinton and the communist UN are going to grab your guns - always followed by twenty exclamation marks. Treaties cannot over ride the U.S. Constitution. It's up to the states to enforce that legal fact because the states created the General Government. If your state rep and senator doesn't have the courage to stand up for your rights and your state, boot them out of office in November.

At least some senators in Arizona's legislature understand the problem, but it's not enough. Time is not on our side. Are you one of the warrior class or just someone who keeps forwarding emails about the problem?

Are we going for the only solution or is everyone just going to continue wringing their hands?

U.S. to Continue Pressing for Assad’s Resignation

The United States will continue its efforts to make Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to step down, the country’s envoy to the UN, Susan Rice, said.

"The United States remains focused on increasing the pressure on the al-Assad regime and on al-Assad himself to step down," she said, adding that it was a legitimate aspiration of all Syrian people.

She said al-Assad’s resignation will be in line with the six-point plan by UN and Arab League special envoy Kofi Annan, because the plan envisages democratization of the country’s political system, which should eventually result in the incumbent government’s resignation.

"It is plain that the Syrian regime has not implemented fully any of the six points," Rice added.

According to western media reports, Annan was pessimistic during the video linkup with the UN Security Council on Tuesday night, saying the Syrian authorities were not complying with the ceasefire terms, mass arrests continue and the Syrian army fires heavy artillery at civilians.

A diplomatic source told AFP that Annan is set to visit Syria in the next few days. The exact date of his visit was not disclosed.


RIA Novosti

Eruption Update for May 7, 2012: Popocatépetl, Iliamna, Lokon-Empung and a Pair of Japanese Volcanoes

Popocatépetl: The Mexican volcano is still churning away (see above). Thus far, most of the activity has been subplinian plumes from the crater area as the new magma rises and fragments, but Mexican officials are not taking any chances. They will be distributing almost half a million dust masks to people living near the volcano if/when a larger explosive eruption occurs that could drop significant ash across much of the area. You can see what is going on at Popocatépetl on the CENAPRED webcams for the volcano.

Iliamna: We haven’t heard much from Iliamna in the past month or so after the volcano was downgraded to Yellow Alert status by AVO after a period of increased seismicity and degassing. The seismicity was reported to be back on the upswing at the end of last week according to the Alaska Dispatch (who looks to be getting into the game of webicorder watching). However, this blip (if real) didn’t cause AVO to change the status of Iliamna as the latest update just mentions seismicity at the volcano is “slightly above background”. Iliamna has a webcam as well as a webicorder so you can follow along at home.

Lokon-Empung: Another volcano that has been quite active is Lokon-Empung in Indonesia. Thevolcano had an explosive eruption earlier last week, producing a 2.5 km / 8,200 foot plume. Although evacuations have not been called yet, the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) has begun to set up evacuation centers in case the activity increases. Seismicity has been increasing at Lokon-Empung since last week’s eruption, but the alert status (Level III) is unchanged.

Iwo Jima (Ioto): I haven’t been able to find too much in the news about the activity at Japan’s Iwo Jima (Ioto), however Eruptions reader Sherine did find some images of the activity at Iwo Jima, along with images of potential submarine activity at Fukutoku-Okanoba (see below or the top two rows of images on the previous link). As for descriptions, last week’s Global Volcanism Program Weekly Volcanic Activity Report mentions that a new fumarole has opened at Iwo Jima as well.


Wired