Obamacare is Total Takeover by Stealth

Markets nervous as Italian government nears collapse

Risk of snap elections in Italy is causing jitters on financial markets, but some say investors have grown accustomed to the chaos.

The value of Italian debt hit a two-week low, while the value of 'safe haven' German bonds ticked upward when markets opened on Monday (30 September), Reuters reports.

"There's a sense things are now spinning out of control, with potentially dangerous consequences for both Italy and the eurozone," Nicholas Spiro, head of Spiro Sovereign Strategy, a London-based consultancy, told the news agency.

Other analysts were less alarmist.

Barclays bank said investors are likely to show "low activity" and "to remain on the sideline, waiting for more clarity on possible political developments."

But it also warned that if Italy holds emergency elections which lead to another hung parliament, it could prompt a "massive liquidation" of Italian bonds.

The jitters were prompted by the collapse of Italy's ruling coalition over the weekend.

Silvio Berlusconi, the leader of the centre-right PdL party, on Saturday pulled five of his ministers from centre-left Prime Minister Enrico Letta's cabinet, citing a dispute on VAT.

Letta himself called the VAT line a "huge lie."

He also called Berlusconi's move a "crazy gesture" designed to stop him being kicked out of the senate following a conviction for tax fraud.

Letta will hold a vote of confidence in parliament on Wednesday to see if he has enough support for minority rule.

But if MPs do not endorse him, he will be forced to hold snap elections, just seven months after the last vote and not long after Italy narrowly avoided an EU bailout.

Some ministers played down the potential fallout from the latest crisis.

Economy minister Fabrizio Saccomanni told Italian daily Il Sole 24 Ore on Sunday that markets have learned to live with Italy's political chaos.

"I think the uncertainty connected to the government's instability has been to a large extent already factored in during the last few weeks," he noted.

Labour minister Enrico Giovannini also said the Italian economy is strong enough to absorb the shock.

"Political instability could threaten not so much the economic recovery we expect before year-end, rather a pick-up in growth in 2014," he told Reuters.

He added, on a note of caution, however: "This crisis is the last thing we needed."

"If instability were to persist and affect the eurozone, then international authorities could put much stronger pressure on [Italian] national authorities," he said.

Credit to Euroobserver

Russian Ground Forces to Receive 750 Units of Military Hardware

MOSCOW, October 1 (RIA Novosti) – The Russian Ground Forces will receive over 750 units of military hardware in 2014, including Iskander-M missile systems and Tornado-G multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS), the Defense Ministry said.

“In 2014, we are planning to purchase more than 750 units of military hardware [for the Ground Forces], mainly – the Iskander-M tactical ballistic missile systems, the Tornado-G MLRS, the Typhoon and Tigr-M armored vehicles,” the ministry said in a statement Monday, ahead of the Ground Forces Day celebrated in Russia on October 1.

According to the ministry, the Ground Forces received about 600 units of military hardware in 2013, including the 152-mm Msta-S self-propelled howitzers and various types of command and communications vehicles.

In addition, about 100 T-72 main battle tanks and over 100 BMP-2 infantry fighting vehicles were overhauled and delivered to the Ground Forces this year, the ministry said.

In line with the recent military reform, the strength of the Russian Ground Forces has been set at about 300,000 personnel, including conscripts and professional soldiers.

Credit to RIA Novosti

Shut Happens

It's 12:01am, do you know where your government is?

• *WHITE HOUSE BUDGET OFFICE DIRECTS AGENCIES TO BEGIN SHUTDOWN
• *U.S. GOVERNMENT SHUTS DOWN FOR FIRST TIME IN 17 YEARS

Full Statement from The White House:

MEMORANDUM FOR THE HEADS OF EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS AND AGENCIES

FROM: Sylvia M. Burwell, Director

SUBJECT: Update on Status of Operations

This memorandum follows the September 17,2013, Memorandum M-13-22, and provides an update on the potential lapse of appropriations.

Appropriations provided under the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2013 (P.L. 113-6) expire at 11:59 pm tonight. Unfortunately, we do not have a clear indication that Congress will act in time for the President to sign a Continuing Resolution before the end of the day tomorrow, October 1, 2013.

Therefore, agencies should now execute plans for an orderly shutdown due to the absence of appropriations. We urge Congress to act quickly to pass a Continuing Resolution to provide a short-term bridge that ensures sufficient time to pass a budget for the remainder of the fiscal year, and to restore the operation of critical public services and programs that will be impacted by a lapse in appropriations.

Agencies should continue to closely monitor developments, and OMB will provide further guidance as appropriate. We greatly appreciate your cooperation and the work you and your agencies do on behalf of the American people.

Now it's getting serious...

Credit to Zero Hedge

WHAT GOVERNMENT CLOSURE MEANS FOR YOU

WASHINGTON – Would most people really see a difference in their daily lives if the government shuts down?

Maybe not, judging by various surveys of services that would be affected.

Social Security checks would still be mailed, Medicare and unemployment benefits would keep coming and food stamps would still be issued.

The military would still be up and running, and Congress passed legislation Monday to ensure pay for the military’s 1.4 million active duty personnel, although the Pentagon could furlough 400,000 civilian workers and delay training and contracts.

The mail would still be delivered because the U.S. Postal Service runs on income from stamps and other postal fees.

Federal meat inspections should continue as usual. The FDA would still issue high-risk recalls but might suspend routine safety inspections.

School lunches and breakfasts would still be served.

Air travel would continue as federal air traffic controllers would remain on the job. Security screening should not take much longer, because “the majority of our officers who screen passengers/luggage will remain on the job,” TSA spokesman Ross Feinstein tweeted. Federal inspectors would still enforce safety rules.

Those who leave the country would still be able to get back home, as most U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers are expected to remain on duty.

Embassies and consulates overseas would stay open to provide services to American citizens. The processing of passport and visa applications are paid for by fees, so they would continue. The State Department warns that consular operations abroad would only remain open as long as “there are sufficient fees to support operations.”

Also unaffected would be services for national security and human safety, border security, coastal protection, law enforcement, counter-terrorism efforts, federal prisons and Amtrak service.

The Justice Department would remain almost fully staffed. Federal courts would stay in session.

IRS audit appointments would be canceled, but taxes would still have to be paid.

The National Weather Service would continue forecasting and issuing warnings and the National Hurricane Center would keep tracking storms.

Veterans would still be able to visit hospitals, get mental health counseling and have prescriptions filled at VA health clinics.

National parks, monuments and museums would close, the Census Bureau would stop collecting data, gun permits would be delayed and applications for small business loans would be suspended.

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said senior nutrition grants, which provide meals for 2.5 million elderly Americans, would not be funded in a shutdown.

Borrowers and first-time home buyers seeking government-backed mortgages could face delays. The Federal Housing Administration would not underwrite or approve new loans during a shutdown.

Processing of government-backed loans to small businesses would be suspended.

Federal occupational safety and health inspectors would probably suspend workplace inspections, except in situations where danger is imminent.

The Environmental Protection Agency would furlough all but 1,069 of its 16,200 workers. The National Labor Relations Board would send home 1,600 of its 1,611 employees, and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission would furlough 652 of its 680 employees.

According to White House numbers, at least 825,000 of the more than two million federal workers would be furloughed.

The government was last shut down in early 1996, and the closure lasted almost four weeks.


Read more at http://www.wnd.com/2013/09/what-government-closure-means-for-you/#GU5cufqi5405qDiG.99

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