Europe

Irish ‘rage’ after bank cheated on multi-billion bailout

"The taped conversations, obtained by the Irish Independent newspaper, between John Bowe and Peter Fitzgerald, who led Anglo-Irish's capital markets and retail banking arms, respectively, indicate the Irish government was duped into pumping €7 billion of emergency cash into the bank on the assumption that it would plug the lender's funding crisis. But the €7 billion figure was just a ruse to get the government to put 'some skin in the game,' with the bankers assuming that politicians would have no choice but to provide further emergency funding once they had been 'pulled in'." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIrish ‘rage’ after bank cheated on multi-billion bailout

Italy Confronts Germany, Adding Additional Euro Pressure

"Greece has been relegated to the status of a Third World country, the complicity of German leaders with the ever-inflating ECB is due for a judicial hearing, British leaders are committed to a referendum on whether Britain should pull out of the EU entirely, Spain is broke, Portugal is busted ... and Italian leaders are getting ready to square off with German bankers over 'austerity.' That the euro has not always suffered some breakdown is testimony to the power of its globalist backers. It has, however, bankrupted half of Europe and even the healthier northern half is not happy with what Europe has become and is continuing to become." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingItaly Confronts Germany, Adding Additional Euro Pressure

Italy Denies Risk to Public Finances From Debt Derivative Deals

"Italy's treasury denied on Wednesday its use of derivatives as a hedge on its huge debt pile posed any risk to public finances, following reports the country faced billions of euros in potential losses from one set of contracts. The Financial Times and La Repubblica said the eight contracts, restructured at the height of the euro zone crisis in 2012, could result in combined losses of around 8 billion euros ($10.5 billion) based on market prices on June 20. The newspapers, which quoted a report from the treasury, said the contracts had been taken out in the 1990s, some while European Central Bank president Mario Draghi was director general of the Italian treasury." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingItaly Denies Risk to Public Finances From Debt Derivative Deals

Greek Stocks Fall After Failed Gas Company Sale

"Greek stocks fell sharply after the country failed to attract a single bid for Depa, a natural-gas company it is selling, a significant setback to its effort to raise billions of euros from the sale of state assets this year. A failure by Greece to meet its privatization targets would limit Athens's ability to meet its debt targets and could require the government to take additional austerity measures that would hurt the economy. Greece's bailout agreement requires the government to use additional spending cuts to cover 50% of any shortfall in raising funds via privatizations." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGreek Stocks Fall After Failed Gas Company Sale

All Eyes on Europe This Summer

"Nothing, and I mean nothing, has been solved in Europe. The crisis will soon escalate with a vengeance. When, not if, Europe’s economy roils again, likely later this summer: First, you’re going to see trillions of euros stampede for the exits. Second, that will likely send global interest rates rocketing higher. Third, it’s going to send the U.S. dollar into rally mode, right along with gold. Fourth, it’s also going to send our stock markets roaring higher. Fifth, it’s going to give you many profit opportunities to potentially make more money that you ever dreamed of. In stocks. In commodities. In the dollar. And in gold and silver." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAll Eyes on Europe This Summer

Italian mayor turns into Mr. Fix-It to save money in town budget

"An Italian mayor and his council members have decided to fight the economic crisis proactively, picking up paintbrushes and re-painting the walls of their offices themselves to spare the town budget. They worked overtime and even chipped in for the material themselves. 'In a time of economic hardship, we managed to save 10,000 euros ($13,000). My colleagues, mayor Giovanni di Panegrazio and myself paid for the 470 euros of material necessary for the work,' he said. Families of the council employees and other local residents have contributed with food and drink to reward the town managers for their sense of civic duty." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingItalian mayor turns into Mr. Fix-It to save money in town budget

Families occupy unfinished homes in Spain

"On the edge of a green field where horses graze, Juana and her neighbours found this mini estate of more than 70 elegantly painted three-bedroom houses, empty and partly plundered. She says about 70 families have moved into the estate in the past three weeks, into houses that are all but finished but lack water and electricity. Like countless projects across Spain, the site was abandoned by property developers when the bank loans dried up in the 2008 financial crisis. Local authorities have remained silent on the status of the site. Unlike many of Spain’s so-called 'ghost towns', life has returned to this one, in the form of local families ruined by the crisis." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFamilies occupy unfinished homes in Spain

Glenn Greenwald: The NSA’s mass and indiscriminate spying on Brazilians

"The NSA has, for years, systematically tapped into the Brazilian telecommunication network and indiscriminately intercepted, collected and stored the email and telephone records of millions of Brazilians. All of this bulk, indiscriminate surveillance aimed at populations of friendly foreign nations is part of the NSA's 'FAIRVIEW' program. Under that program, the NSA partners with a large US telecommunications company, and that US company then partners with telecoms in the foreign countries. Those partnerships allow the US company access to those countries' telecommunications systems, and that access is then exploited to direct traffic to the NSA's repositories." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGlenn Greenwald: The NSA’s mass and indiscriminate spying on Brazilians

Polish PM laments opinion impasse keeping Poland out of Eurozone

"Because opposition conservatives reject the European single currency, the government lacks the two-thirds parliamentary majority needed to push through necessary constitutional changes. Central Europe’s largest economy, Poland has maintained growth each year since it shed communism two decades ago. It is the only EU member to have done so through the 2007-2009 financial meltdown and the ongoing eurozone crisis, thanks in part to the zloty easing in value against the euro. Opinion polls show most Poles are opposed to adopting the euro." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPolish PM laments opinion impasse keeping Poland out of Eurozone

Edward Snowden: NSA ‘in bed together with’ other Western states

"Fugitive intelligence leaker Edward Snowden said the US National Security Agency operates broad secret spying partnerships with other Western governments now complaining about its programmes, in an interview published Sunday. In remarks published in German, Snowden said an NSA department known as the Foreign Affairs Directorate coordinated work with foreign secret services. The partnerships are organised so that authorities in other countries can 'insulate their political leaders from the backlash' if it becomes public 'how grievously they’re violating global privacy,' he said." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingEdward Snowden: NSA ‘in bed together with’ other Western states