International Monetary Fund To Replace US Dollar With “New Reserve Currency” Within 90+ Days

The International Monetary Fund is one of the most secretive and powerful organizations in the world. They monitor the financial health of more than 185 countries… they establish global money rules… and provide “bail-out” assistance to bankrupt nations. And on Oct 20th of this year, the IMF is expected to announce a reserve currency alternative to the U.S. dollar, which will send hundreds of billions of dollars moving around the world, literally overnight. According to Juan Zarate, who helped implement financial sanctions while serving in George W. Bush’s Treasury department, “Once the [other currency] becomes an alternative to the dollar, rules of the game begin to change.” And Leong Sing Chiong, Assistant Managing Director at a major central bank, said this dollar alternative “is likely to transform the financial landscape in the next 5-10 years.”

Credit to Skywatchtv.com

Israel Not Answering When US Calls to Update on Iran Nuke Talks

As Iranian negotiations continue with the P5+1 nations, Israeli officials have complained that they’re being left in the dark. In response, US negotiator Wendy Sherman said she attempted to contact Tel Aviv, but was rebuffed. On three separate occasions.

Perhaps the fiercest opposition to any nuclear deal with Iran has always been the administration of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. As negotiations aimed at allowing Tehran to develop nuclear energy for peaceful purposes continue, Israel is concerned that it will be the target nuclear-equipped Iran.

To allay the country’s fears, Israeli National Security Advisor Joseph Cohen is supposed to receive regular briefings from either US Under Secretary for Political Affairs Wendy Sherman, or her counterpart in the European Union.

According to Israeli officials speaking to Haaretz, those updates have been less than forthcoming. Senior officials in the prime minister’s office say the last time they were contacted was 12 days ago, just before the renewed talks began in Vienna.

It also doesn’t help matters that the Obama administration isn’t on the best of terms with Netanyahu. That strained relationship has kept Secretary of State John Kerry from contacting the Israeli prime minister personally.

All in all, during the last ten days, Israeli officials say they have not been updated at all.

But that’s not for lack of trying. Senior US officials with Sherman’s office say multiple efforts have been made to contact Cohen to update him on the progress of negotiations. In the last ten days, three separate attempts were made, but all failed because of scheduling conflicts.

Credit to Sputnik

Read more: http://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20150707/1024340610.html#ixzz3fFXXh1dJ

China Bans Use Of Terms “Equity Disaster” And “Rescue The Market"

Although it’s not possible to know exactly what the mood is among Party officials in China regarding the inexorable slide in stock prices that’s unfolded over the course of the last three weeks, it’s reasonable to assume that at least some officials in Beijing are in the throes of Politburo panic after watching some $3 trillion in market value disappear into thin (and probably polluted) air. 

Amid the turmoil, China has resorted to an eye-watering array of policy maneuvers, pronouncements, and plunge protection schemes aimed at arresting the slide. 

Nothing has worked. 

Not suspending compulsory liquidation for unmet margin calls, not billions in committed market support from brokerages, not a PBoC backstop for the CFSC, and not even a ban on selling by the Social Security Council. 

For reference, here (courtesy of Bloomberg) is an annotated chart of the wild ride Chinese stocks have had in 2015:

And so, with every attempt to manipulate the market higher falling flat in the face of selling pressure from the hairdresser/ farmer/ banana vendor day trading crowd (which has now thrown in the towel on the whole “it’s easier than farm work” theory and now just wants to break even and head for the hills) the only thing left for China to do is “fix” the narrative. 

In other words, when banning selling doesn’t work, the logical next step is to ban talking about selling. Here’s FT with more:  

Shares have shed some 30 per cent of their value since mid-June, punishing small investors, some of whom have borrowed heavily to jump on board what had been a spectacular bull run.

“There is a panic but no matter how they [the authorities] jump in, this thing just doesn’t stop falling,” said Dong Tao, regional economist at Credit Suisse in Hong Kong.

Analysts said the more Beijing does the more it risks creating a perception of desperation, particularly if its efforts have no discernible effect.

“All this activity has supported a view that policy makers are in a state of panic,” wrote Mark Williams at Capital Economics. 

“The financial system is about trust and transparency, but we’re not getting either from the government,” said Dee Sum, a 35-year-old banker in Hong Kong, whose family has sustained heavy losses on the stock market in recent weeks.

One domestic journalist, who did not want to be named, said the government had banned local media from using the terms “equity disaster” and “rescue the market” in their reports on the stock market.

So apparently, Beijing will now prevent journalists from accidentally jawboning the market lower so that Party mouthpiece media outlets are free to jawbone the market higher. 

Needless to say, we doubt if this hail mary attempt to rescue the market will do anything at all to save China from its homemade equity disaster.

Credit to Zero Hedge

Pope Francis to be Tried by Sanhedrin

 

“And you shall discern from among the entire people men of accomplishment, God-fearing people, men of truth, people who despise money and you shall appoint them leaders of thousands, leaders of hundreds, leaders of fifties, and leaders of tens. so they shall judge the people at all times.” (Exodus 18:21)

image: http://www.breakingisraelnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/pope-francis-western-wall-.jpg

Pope Francis seen touching the stones of the Western Wall, Judaism’s holiest site, in Jerusalem’s Old City, on May 26, 2014. (Photo: Nati SHohat/FLASH90) 

A re-established and self declared Israeli Sanhedrin, the religious High Court composed of 71 sages, has declared that it is putting Pope Francis on trial unless he retracts his statement that the Jews have no right to the land of Israel or to Jerusalem.

In February 2013, the Vatican officially recognized the “State of Palestine” but more significantly, the Vatican signed a treaty in June with “Palestine” in which the Holy See switched its diplomatic relations from the Palestinian Liberation Organization to the “State of Palestine”. This treaty is the first legal document negotiated between the Holy See and the Palestinian state and as such, constitutes an official recognition.

The trial and judgment will be on September 20th, 2015. If Pope Francis chooses to ignore the summons, he will be judged in absentia.

The Sanhedrin sent a letter to Pope Francis in reaction to the Vatican’s recent support of the Palestinian Authority’s unilateral moves to declare themselves a nation, reported the Hebrew magazine Matzav Haruach on June 24.

The letter stated:

“Because the Vatican recognized the organization known as the Palestinian Authority as a nation, and has begun to refer to it as a nation in its documents. His honor has named the head of said authority as an ‘Angel of Peace’, as was explained by a spokesman for the Vatican, that his intention was to encourage Abu Mazen to advance towards peace. These actions, to our great dismay, are consistent with a long series of actions and stances that are as in the days of the Roman Catholic Religion, that swore to persecute Israel because we refused to accept their Messiah as the Messiah of Israel, and to renounce our faith. The recent announcements and actions of the Vatican are a rebuke to the Jewish Nation and to the Bible, which you use to interpret the prophecies, as if God has abandoned his original Nation of Israel. Reality has proven the opposite to be true.”

“We require from you an apology for your recognizing as a nation those who stole the land, those who are known as the Palestinian Authority, and we are informing the Vatican that the sole God given right to the land of Israel is to the Nation of Israel. If His Honor the Pope, and the Vatican, do not apologize within two weeks of receiving this letter, and if he does not change his ways, we shall judge these actions in the Court of Mount Zion, in a court of 71 Jewish elders of Zion, and enact the prophecy of ‘The liberators will rise up upon Mount Zion, to judge the Mountain of Esau and the kingdom shall be God’s’ (Obadiah 1:21). The court shall judge the Vatican in its presence or in absentia, and it is possible that the Vatican will be found guilty of anti-Semitism, as has been known to be done several times throughout history, and to place responsibility upon the Vatican for all of the outcomes of its actions.”

The letter was signed, “The Secretariat of the Court of Mount Zion”. The authorized representatives of the High Court are Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz, Rabbi Yoel Schwartz, Rabbi Dov Levanoni, Rabbi Israel Ariel, Rabbi Daniel Stavsky, Rabbi Yehuda Edri, and Rabbi Dov Meir Shtein.

The Sanhedrin has no political or legal status, and clearly has no authority over the Vatican. However, it is comprised of some of the greatest rabbis of the modern Jewish nation, men who have dedicated themselves to Torah, serving God and Israel. One of the main leaders behind the revival of the Sanhedrin is Rabbi Yoel Schwartz, well known for his advocacy in strengthening non-Jewish support for Israel.

The court’s rulings have the highest spiritual significance. The commandment to appoint judges is learned directly from the Bible (Exodus 18:13) and the present Sanhedrin is an effort to reestablish a tradition dating back to Moses.

Pope Francis’ recent visit to Israel and many of his actions caused disturbing waves in the difficult situation in the region.

image: http://www.breakingisraelnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/shimon-peres-mahmoud-abbas-pope-francis-vatican-2.jpg

Former Israeli President Shimon Peres, Pope Francis and PA President Mahmoud Abbas in the Vatican Gardens during a prayer summit for peace in 2014. (Photo: Chaim Tzach/ GPO)

His controversial description of Abbas as an “angel of peace” led to the Vatican backtracking and attempts to placate Israel. The Pope’s much-publicized meditation at a section of the security barrier prominently displaying pro-boycott graffiti was used by the Palestinians in an appeal to remove the much-needed security measure. That section of the wall also showed graffiti comparing the wall around Bethlehem to the Warsaw Ghetto. Pictures of the Pope’s visit to the wall went viral and became a symbol for anti-Israel sentiment.

While in Israel, Pope Francis attended Sunday mass at the Church of the Nativity. In his sermon, Latin Patriarch Fuoad Twal accused Israelis of being the present-day version of Christ killers by referring to the Palestinians as walking “in the footsteps of the Divine Child,” and likening the Israelis to King Herod. Shockingly, Pope Francis echoed his remarks in a later speech.

Pope Francis embraced the Palestinian mufti of Jerusalem, Sheikh Muhammed Hussein calling him “dear brother” in a show of great affection. In 2012, Hussein said it was the destiny of Muslims to kill Jews, who he claims are “subhuman beasts and the enemies of Allah.” Sheikh Hussein has also praised suicide bombers and said their souls “tell us to follow in their path,” remarks the Pope has never condemned.

Most significant, perhaps was a story of the Pope’s visit Caroline Glick told The Jerusalem Post. In a conversation with the Pope, Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu mentioned that Jesus spoke Hebrew. Pope Francis corrected him, saying that Jesus spoke Aramaic. A flustered Netanyahu agreed that educated Jews at the time spoke Aramaic, but the language of the common people and the language Jesus preached in was Hebrew.

Reuters wrote of the exchange, noting that, “Modern-day discourse about Jesus is complicated and often political.” The report went on to explain, “Palestinians sometimes describe Jesus as a Palestinian. Israelis object to that.”

Pope Francis embraced Arab leaders, but more significantly, he accepted Palestinian national status, precluding any negotiated peace process, and voiding the validity of Israel’s claim to their God-given homeland.

Credit to Breaking Israel News
Read more at http://www.breakingisraelnews.com/44759/pope-francis-tried-sanhedrin-jewish-world/#VOCQZaLCYRbXIFWt.99

Greece and The EU House Of Cards

Iran’s Rafsanjani Reiterates ‘Israel Will Be Wiped Off The Map’

Once again, a top Iranian leader is speaking out and vowing the Jewish State will be obliterated. However, in the meantime the West makes a lot of money by taking advantage of its existence, he says.

“The presence of the Israeli regime is temporary,” Iranian Ayatollah Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani assured the Hezbollah-linked Al Ahdnews website in an interview on Monday.

“Eventually one day this alien forged existence that has been forced into the body of an ancient nation and an historical region will be wiped off the map.”

Rafsanjani is a former ‘centrist’ Iranian president and is the current head of the country’s Expediency Discernment Council, the advisory body to Iran’s Supreme Leader. He is known to be a longtime friend of current President Hassan Rouhani.

Rafsanjani said he believes that one day “the forged and temporary Israeli entity, which is an alien existence forged into the body of a nation and region,” will be “wiped off the map.

“Now when, and how that will happen, depends on the conditions which are rapidly changing. Those conditions can be provided very soon if the usefulness period of Israel will expire,” he said. “It might as well take very long, as both Israel and its supporters are trying their best to extend its existence period till a very remote future.”

He also said, however, that because Israel is a “multipurpose stronghold” those who protect Israel can benefit greatly.

“Of course they spend a lot for protecting Israel, but they are still gaining greater benefits from its existence. One way to be benefited from Israel is that the West is selling arms to the Arab world on that pretext very easily, and pretending it is doing them a great favor,” he said.

Credit to JewishPress.com

The German Siege Of Greece Begins

Did you notice that Greece’s creditors are not rushing to offer the Greeks a new deal in the wake of the stunning referendum result on Sunday?  In fact, it is being reported that the initial reaction to the “no” vote from top European politicians was “a thunderous silence“.  Needless to say, the European elite were not pleased by how the Greek people voted, but they still have all of the leverage.  In particular, it is the Germans that are holding all of the cards.  If the Germans want to cave in and give the Greeks the kind of deal that they desire, everyone else would follow suit.  And if the Germans want to maintain a hard line with Greece, they can block any deal from happening all by themselves.  So in the final analysis, this is really an economic test of wills between Germany and Greece, and time is on Germany’s side.  Germany doesn’t have to offer anything new.  The Germans can just sit back and wait for the Greek government to default on their debts, for Greek banks to totally run out of cash and for civil unrest to erupt in Greek cities as the economy grinds to a standstill.

In ancient times, if a conquering army came up against a walled city that was quite formidable, often a decision would be made to conduct a siege.  Instead of attacking a heavily defended city directly and taking heavy casualties, it was often much more cost effective to simply surround the city from a safe distance and starve the inhabitants into submission.

In a sense, that is exactly what the Germans appear to want to do to the Greeks.  Without more cash, the Greek government cannot pay their bills.  Without more cash, Greek banks are going to start collapsing left and right.  Without more cash, the Greek economy is going to completely and utterly collapse.

So yes, the Greeks voted for change, but the Germans still hold the purse strings.

And right now the Germans do not sound like they are in any mood to compromise.  The following comes from a Reuters report that was published on Monday…

German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s deputy said Athens had wrecked any hope of compromise with its euro zone partners by overwhelmingly rejecting further austerity.

Merkel and French President Francois Hollande conferred by telephone and will meet in Paris on Monday afternoon to seek a joint response. Responding to their call, European Council President Donald Tusk announced that euro zone leaders would meet in Brussels on Tuesday evening (1600 GMT).

German Vice-Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel, leader of Merkel’s centre-left Social Democratic junior coalition partner, said it was hard to conceive of fresh negotiations on lending more billions to Athens after Greeks voted against more austerity.

Leftist Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras had “torn down the last bridges on which Greece and Europe could have moved towards a compromise,” Gabriel told the Tagesspiegel daily.

In addition, Angela Merkel’s office released a statement on Monday that placed the onus on making a new proposal to end this crisis on the Greek government…

“It is up to Greece to make something of this. We are waiting to see which proposals the Greek government makes to its European partners,” the office of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Europe’s leading austerity advocate, said in a statement.

Just because the Greek people want the Germans to give them a very favorable deal does not mean that the Germans will be inclined to do so.  The Germans know that whatever they do with the Greeks will set a precedent for the rest of the financially-troubled nations all across Europe.  If Greece gets a free lunch, then Italy, Spain, Portugal, Ireland and France will expect the same kind of treatment…

Angelos Chryssogelos, an expert on Greek politics at the London-based think tank Chatham House, said the strength of Sunday’s mandate handed to Tsipras means it will be almost impossible for the prime minister’s leftist Syriza party to make a deal with European creditors.

“The Europeans made it pretty clear where they stand, and they have been consistent,” Chryssogelos said, adding that the creditors also are unlikely to back down. “Right now, voters across the eurozone largely support the tough stance taken by the eurozone.”

Chryssogelos said Greek voters may have underestimated the resolve of the creditors to reach an accord on their terms. “If someone is seen getting preferential treatment, then someone else will want that treatment,” he said, referring to other eurozone debtors such as Ireland and Portugal.

And remember, there is a very important Spanish election coming up in December.

If Syriza comes out as the big winner in this crisis, it will empower similar movements in Spain and all over the rest of the continent.

So look for Greece’s creditors to tighten the screws over the coming days.  In fact, we already saw a bit of screw tightening on Monday when the ECB announced that Greek banks would not be receiving additional emergency assistance…

In a move sure to increase pressure on Greece’s flailing banks, the European Central Bank on Monday decided not to expand an emergency assistance program, raising fears that Greece could soon go completely bankrupt.

The move put a swift crimp on Greek leaders’ jubilation after winning a landslide endorsement from their citizens to reject Europe’s austerity demands and seek a new bailout bargain. Now they must seek a bargain before the money runs out within days, which would likely force them off the euro.

Basically we are watching a very high stakes game of chicken play out.  And as the cash dwindles, economic activity in Greece is slowly grinding to a halt.  The following comes from the Washington Post…

The dwindling cash is sucking the life out of everything from coffee shops to taxis, as anxious Greeks economize amid fears for the future. Greek leaders also banned transfers of money abroad, meaning that very little can now be imported into the country.

Printing plants are warning that they may run out of paper to print newspapers by the end of the week. Butchers say that stocks of imported meat are dwindling.

Some are even projecting that we could see civil unrest erupt in Greece in about “48 hours” once the ATM machines  run out of cash…

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras probably has 48 hours to resolve a standoff with creditors before civil unrest breaks out and ATMs run out of cash, hedge fund Balyasny Asset Management said.

Yes, the Greek people exhibited great resolve in voting against the demands of the creditors on Sunday.

But how long can they endure this economic siege?

It is inevitable that a breaking point will come.  Either the Greek government will give in, or the Greeks will leave the euro and start to transition back to the drachma.

If we do see a “Grexit”, and many analysts believe that one is coming, it could set off a chain of events that could cause immense financial pain all over the planet.  There are tens of trillions of dollars of derivatives that are tied to European bond yields, European interest rates, etc.  The following is an excerpt from a piece authored by Phoenix Capital Research that explains what kind of jeopardy we could potentially be facing…

The global derivatives market is roughly $700 trillion in size.That’s over TEN TIMES the world’s GDP. And sovereign bonds… including even bonds from bankrupt countries such as Greece… are one of, if not the primary collateral underlying all of these trades.

Greece is not the real issue for Europe. The entire Greek debt market is about €345 billion in size. So we’re not talking about a massive amount of collateral… though the turmoil this country has caused in the last three years gives a sense of the importance of the issue.

Spain, by comparison has over €1.0 trillion in debt outstanding… and Italy has €2.6 trillion. These bonds are backstopping tens of trillions of Euros’ worth of derivatives trades. A haircut on them would trigger systemic failure in Europe.

If Greece gets a “haircut” on their debt, other European nations would want the same and that would cause massive chaos in the derivatives markets.

But if Greece does not get a deal and ends up leaving the eurozone, that will cause bond yields to go crazy all over Europe and that would also cause tremendous chaos in the derivatives markets.

So much depends on keeping this system of legalized gambling that we call “derivatives trading” stable.  We have allowed the global derivatives bubble to become many times larger than the GDP of the entire planet, and in the end we will pay a great price for this foolishness.

Every pyramid scheme eventually collapses, and this one will too.

But the difference with this pyramid scheme is that it is going to take the entire global financial system down with it.

Credit to Economic Collapse