Europe

Well Educated Young Spaniards Move Back In With Parents

"Nationwide, more than half of people under 25 can't find jobs, while in Andalusia the figure is higher than 62 percent. Those who are a little older -- around 30 and well educated -- are seeing their lifelong dreams turn into failures. Many are forced to do what García and Vivar have done. The two grown men gave up their apartments and moved back into their parents' homes, because they were no longer making enough money. According to figures by the European Union statistics agency Eurostat, 37.8 percent of Spaniards under 35 are now living with their parents." Continue reading →

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Nigel Farage: West Headed Into Orwellian Nightmare & Bankruptcy

"I tell you what, with every day that goes by it begins to look more real. It’s almost as if there is this massive attempt to make us all give up our freedom. To make us all surrender our liberty. To make us all sign up to a system where they (central planners) can monitor our emails. Where they can, effectively, monitor and censor what we say, what we’re allowed to read, and what we’re allowed to hear. They are leading much of the Western world towards bankruptcy. I just think there must be people sitting there in Singapore, India, in China, and they must be laughing their socks off." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNigel Farage: West Headed Into Orwellian Nightmare & Bankruptcy

Greek Finance Minister Gets Bullet In The Mail

"Greece's finance minister was sent a bullet and a death threat from a group protesting home foreclosures, police officials said on Monday, in the latest incident to raise fears of growing political violence. The package was sent by a little-known group called 'Cretan Revolution', which warned the minister against any efforts to seize homes and evict homeowners, police sources said. The group sent similar letters to tax offices in Crete last week." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGreek Finance Minister Gets Bullet In The Mail

Extraordinary rendition report claims 54 countries ‘offered covert support’ of CIA torture operation

"The full extent of the CIA’s extraordinary rendition programme has been laid bare with the publication of a report showing there is evidence that more than a quarter of the world’s governments covertly offered support. A 213-page report compiled by the Open Society Justice Initiative (OSJI), a New York-based human rights organisation, says that at least 54 countries co-operated with the global kidnap, detention and torture operation that was mounted after 9/11, many of them in Europe. So widespread and extensive was the participation of governments across the world that it is now clear the CIA could not have operated its programme without their support, according to the OSJI." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingExtraordinary rendition report claims 54 countries ‘offered covert support’ of CIA torture operation

Pepe Escobar: The Real Currency, Gold and Energy War in Mali

"Have you heard lately of the meme of a currency war that’s going on? Well, Pepe Escobar, the 'roving eye' correspondent of Asia Times, tells you about the real currency, gold and energy war that is now raging in Mali, as the overall Global War on Terror needs new battlefields to perpetuate itself as 'The Long War.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPepe Escobar: The Real Currency, Gold and Energy War in Mali

Court: Iceland doesn’t need to repay UK and Dutch depositors

"Iceland was entitled to refuse to pay immediate deposit guarantees to savers with failed online bank Icesave in Britain and the Netherlands, a European court said Monday. The ruling is the latest twist in a bitter dispute which has clouded negotiations on Iceland’s ambitions to become a member of the European Union. Deals to use tax-payer money to refund the Icesave debt have been twice rejected in referendums so the assets of failed parent Landsbanki are the only way Iceland can settle the row." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCourt: Iceland doesn’t need to repay UK and Dutch depositors

Peter Schiff: The Biggest Loser

"For the past few generations Switzerland has enjoyed some of the strongest economic fundamentals in the world. The country boasts a high savings rate, low taxes, strong exports, low debt-to-GDP, balanced government budgets, and prior to a few years ago one of the most responsible monetary policies in the world. These attributes made the Swiss franc one of the world's 'safe haven' currencies. Despite the fact that Switzerland was an island of economic health amidst a sea of problems, the reigning economic orthodoxy convinced Swiss leaders that their strong currency was a burden rather than a blessing." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPeter Schiff: The Biggest Loser

Italy’s Berlusconi vows to refund money from unpopular tax

"Former premier Silvio Berlusconi vowed Sunday to refund the money Italians have had to fork out for an unpopular property tax if his coalition wins this month’s elections. Speaking at a rally in Milan, Berlusconi vowed to scrap the levy and refund the taxes paid on primary residences in 2012 'as compensation for an erroneous decision by the state' — to the tune of some four billion euros ($5.5 billion). 'One should never touch the primary residence, which is the pillar on which families build,' he said, asserting that the reintroduction of the tax had caused property values to plummet 'by five to 20 percent', and had led to a drop in home sales and construction." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingItaly’s Berlusconi vows to refund money from unpopular tax

Italy risks political crisis as MPS bank scandal turns ‘explosive’

"Monte dei Paschi (MPS), the world’s oldest bank dating back to 1472, is under investigation for covering up losses on derivatives and paying over the odds for its €9bn (£7.8bn) purchase of Banca AntonVeneta in 2007. Italy’s press alleges that the inquiry has unearthed a network of bribes and kickbacks, a claim denied by the bank. The lender has lost €6.4bn since early 2011 and the damage is mounting. What makes the case so delicate are the bank’s close ties to the Italian political Left. MPS is 35pc-owned by a foundation that answers to the PD-controlled Tuscan province of Siena and was run by ex-Communist Giuseppe Mussari until his abrupt exit this month." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingItaly risks political crisis as MPS bank scandal turns ‘explosive’

Dutch SNS Bank Fails On Real Estate Losses: First “Too Big To Fail” Nationalization In Five Years

"The move, aimed 'at stabilizing the SNS Reaal group,' will cost taxpayers 3.7 billion euros ($5 billion), the Dutch Finance Ministry said in a statement today. SNS’s property- finance unit will be separated from the company. 'I scrutinized all alternative solutions involving market parties,' Finance Minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem said. 'Yesterday night I found myself compelled to conclude no acceptable total solution was offered. I therefore had to use the instrument of last resort, which is nationalization. Nationalization would safeguard financial stability and prevent serious damage to the economy. I want the private sector to contribute as much as possible.” Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDutch SNS Bank Fails On Real Estate Losses: First “Too Big To Fail” Nationalization In Five Years