Breaking News: Bundesbank To Commence Repatriating Gold From New York Fed

It Begins: Bundesbank To Commence Repatriating Gold From New York Fed (ZeroHedge, Jan 14, 2013):

In what could be a watershed moment for the price, provenance, and future of physical gold, not to mention the “stability” of the entire monetary regime based on rock solid, undisputed “faith and credit” in paper money, German Handelsblatt reports in an exclusive that the long suffering German gold, all official 3,396 tons of it, is about to be moved. Specifically, it is about to be partially moved out of the New York Fed, where the majority, or 45% of it is currently stored, as well as the entirety of the 11% of German gold held with the Banque de France, and repatriated back home to Buba in Frankfurt, where just 31% of it is held as of this moment. And while it is one thing for a “crazy, lunatic” dictator such as Hugo Chavez to pull his gold out of the Bank of England, it is something entirely different, and far less dismissible, when the bank with the second most official gold reserves in the world proceeds to formally pull some of its gold from the bank with the most. In brief: this is a momentous development, one which may signify that the regime of mutual assured and very much telegraphed – because if the central banks don’t have faith in one another, why should anyone else? – trust in central banks by other central banks is ending.

Much more importantly, it is being telegraphed as such, with Buba fully aware of just what the consequences of this (first partial, and then full; and certainly full vis-a-vis the nouveau socialist regime of Francois Hollande which will soon hold zero German gold) repatriation will be in a global monetary arena, which is already scraping by on the last traces of faith in a monetary system that is slowly but surely dying but first diluting itself to oblivion. And in simple game theory terms, the first party to defect from the prisoner’s dilemma of all the bulk of global gold being held by the Fed, defects best. Then the second. Then the third. Until, in this particular case, the last central bank to pull its gold from the NY Fed and the other 2 primary depositories of developed world gold, London and Paris, just happens to discover their gold was never there to begin with, and instead served as collateral to paper gold subsequently rehypothecated several hundred times, and whose ultimate ownership deed is long gone.

It would be very ironic, if the Bundesbank, which many had assumed had bent over backwards to accommodate Mario Draghi’s Goldmanesque demands to allow implicit monetization of peripheral nations’ debts has just “returned the favor” by launching the greatest physical gold scramble of all time.

Read moreBreaking News: Bundesbank To Commence Repatriating Gold From New York Fed

The Federal Reserve Cartel: Part III: The Roundtable & the Illuminati

FYI.


The Federal Reserve Cartel: Part III: The Roundtable & the Illuminati (Veterans Today, Dec 10, 2012):

According to former British intelligence agent John Coleman’s book, The Committee of 300, the Rothschilds exert political control through the secretive Business Roundtable, which they created in 1909 with the help of Lord Alfred Milner and South African industrialist Cecil Rhodes.  The Rhodes Scholarship is granted by Oxford University, while oil industry propagandist Cambridge Energy Research Associates operates out of the Rhodes-supported Cambridge University.

Rhodes founded De Beers and Standard Chartered Bank.  According to Gary Allen’s expose, The Rockefeller Files, Milner financed the Russian Bolsheviks on Rothschild’s behalf, with help from Jacob Schiff and Max Warburg.

Read moreThe Federal Reserve Cartel: Part III: The Roundtable & the Illuminati

Bank Of England To The Fed: ‘No Indication Should, Of Course, Be Given To The Bundesbank …’

Exclusive: Bank Of England To The Fed: “No Indication Should, Of Course, Be Given To The Bundesbank…” (ZeroHedge, Nov 9, 2012):

Over the past several years, the German people, for a variety of credible reasons, have expressed a pressing desire to have their central bank perform a test, verification, validation or any other assay, of the official German gold inventory, which at 3,395 tonnes is the second highest in the world, second only to the US. We have italicized the word official because this representation is merely on paper: the problem arises because no member of the general population, or even elected individuals, have been given access to observe this gold. The problem is exacerbated when one considers that a majority of the German gold is held offshore, primarily in the vaults of the New York Fed, and at the Bank of England – the two historic centers of central banking activity in the post World War 2 world.

Recently, the topic of German gold resurfaced following the disclosure that early on in the Eurozone creation process, the Bundesbank secretly withdrew two-thirds of its gold, or 940 tons, from London in 2000, leaving just 500 tons with the Bank of England. As we made it very clear, what was most odd about this event, is that the Bundesbank did something it had every right to do fully in the open: i.e., repatriate what belongs to it for any number of its own reasons – after all the German central bank is only accountable to its people (or so the myth goes), in deep secrecy. The question was why it opted for this stealthy transfer.

Read moreBank Of England To The Fed: ‘No Indication Should, Of Course, Be Given To The Bundesbank …’

Germany: Bundesbank’s Official Statment On Where It’s Gold Is (And Isn’t)

Bundesbank’s Official Statment On Where It’s Gold Is (And Isn’t) (ZeroHedge, Oct 27, 2012):

Three days ago, as a result of recent discoveries relating to Germany’s official sovereign gold inventory, we asked a rhetorical question: “Why Did The Bundesbank Secretly Withdraw Two-Thirds Of Its London Gold?” There we presented the chonology of official disclosure regarding the whereabouts of German gold over the past decade, with an emphasis on its reclamation from London-based official vaults to the safety of the motherland, and left off with another open-ended statement that: “what is left unsaid in all of the above is that Germany has done nothing wrong! It simply demanded a reclamation of what is rightfully Germany’s to demand.” Nonetheless, the fact that Germany did this has opened a Pandora’s box of unanswered questions, and even demands that Germany promptly demand delivery all of its gold – the second largest such hoard in the world only after the US – held abroad. Below is the official response by the Bundesbank.

Here is the gist::

We do not have the slightest doubt that our holdings in New York and Paris are also made up of the purest fine gold. We have at our disposal fully documented lists of the bars, and our partner central banks send us every year confirmation not only of the bars’ existence but also of their quality.

We had nothing but the best of experiences with our partners in New York, London and Paris. There was never any doubt about the security of Germany’s gold. In future, we wish to continue to keep gold at international gold trading centres so that, when push comes to shove, we can have it available as a reserve asset as soon as possible. Gold stored in your home safe is not immediately available as collateral in case you need foreign currency.

How about if you need collateral in your own currency, such as the de facto reserve currency of Europe, the DEM? Crickets?

The punchline:

Take, for instance, the key role that the US dollar plays as a reserve currency in the global financial system. The gold held with the New York Fed can, in a crisis, be pledged with the Federal Reserve Bank as collateral against US dollar-denominated liquidity. Similar pound sterling liquidity could be obtained by pledging the gold that is held with the Bank of England.

And what otherwise would pass as Saturday Humor:

Read moreGermany: Bundesbank’s Official Statment On Where It’s Gold Is (And Isn’t)

Is Draghi’s Bond-Buying Dream Circling The Drain As ECB/Bundesbank Lawyer Up?

Is Draghi’s Bond-Buying Dream Circling The Drain As ECB/Bundesbank Lawyer Up? (ZeroHedge, Sep 24, 2012):

Following closely on the heels of our recent (now must read) discussion of the potential illegality of Draghi’s OMT, Reuters is reporting the somewhat stunning news that the ECB and Bundesbank are getting lawyers to check the legality of the new bond-buying program. Germany’s Bild newspaper – via the now ubiquitous unnamed sources – said in-house lawyers were checking both what proportions the program would have to take on and how long it would have to last for it to breach EU treaties (that specifically ban direct financing of state deficits).While Draghi – full of bravado – likely said whatever he felt was necessary at the time to stop the inversion in the Spanish yield curve, it is becoming clearer that, as usual, the premature euphoria (in the complacent belief that central banks can solve every problem with a wave of the magic CTRL-P wand) was misplaced.

Bild goes on to note that this matter could be referred to the European Court of Justice – and the ECB/Buba were preparing for such an event. Of course, since every other rumor in recent months, most of which have originated in credible media, has proven to be a lie, it is likely this is also merely leaked disinformation to push the German case, i.e. anti-Europe.

Via Reuters:

BERLIN, Sept 25 (Reuters) – The European  Central Bank and Germany’s Bundesbank central bank are getting lawyers  to check the legality of the ECB’s new bond-buying programme, a German  newspaper said on Tuesday.

German tabloid Bild, which did not name  its sources, said ECB and Bundesbank in-house lawyers were checking  both what proportions the programme would have to take on and how long  it would have to last for it to breach EU treaties.

Read moreIs Draghi’s Bond-Buying Dream Circling The Drain As ECB/Bundesbank Lawyer Up?

The Truth From Germany’s Bundesbank: Jens Weidmann Likens Mario Draghi’s OMT To ‘Devil’s Work’

Bundesbank’s Weidmann Likens Draghi’s OMT To “Devil’s Work” (ZeroHedge, Sep 18, 2012):

Ongoing grand plans to flood the economy market with money have reminded Bundesbank’s Jens Weidmann of the scene in the play Faust – when the devil (Mephistopheles) ‘disguised as a fool’, convinces an emperor to issue large amounts of paper money – which solves the kingdom’s financial problems in the short-term but ends rather badly in rampant inflation.

As The Telegraph notes, without specifically mentioning Mario Draghi’s bond-buying programme, he said: “If a central bank can potentially create unlimited money from nothing, how can it ensure that money is sufficiently scarce to retain its value?” He added: “Yes, this temptation certainly exists, and many in monetary history have succumbed to it,” Mr Weidmann warned.

Although the remarks were in context – Frankfurt is currently marking the 180th anniversary of the death of Goethe – they defy calls by leaders for Mr Weidmann to tone down his criticism of the ECB, particularly at a febrile moment in the crisis.

Read moreThe Truth From Germany’s Bundesbank: Jens Weidmann Likens Mario Draghi’s OMT To ‘Devil’s Work’

Financial Markets Cheer The Death Of The Bundesbank (Welt, Sep 6, 2012) – Bundesbank Text: Weidmann Reiterated Bond-Buy Criticism

Bundesbank Text: Weidmann Reiterated Bond-Buy Criticism (Financial Market News, Sep 6, 2012):

FRANKFURT (MNI) – The following is a statement issued by the Bundesbank on Thursday:

“In the most recent discussions, as before, Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann reiterated his frequently substantiated critical stance towards the purchase of government bonds by the Eurosystem.

He regards such purchases as being tantamount to financing governments by printing banknotes. Monetary policy risks being subjugated to fiscal policy. The intervention purchases must not be permitted to jeopardise the capability of monetary policy to safeguard price stability in the euro area.

If the adopted bond-purchasing programme leads to member states postponing the necessary reforms, this will further undermine confidence in the political leaders’ crisis-resolution capability. This underscores the crucial importance of ensuring both credibility in the promised conditionality and the resolute determination to immediately terminate intervention purchases if the underlying conditionality is no longer assured.

The announced interventions in the government bond market carry the additional danger that the central bank may ultimately redistribute considerable risks among various countries’ taxpayers. Such risk-sharing, however, can be legitimately authorised solely by democratically elected parliaments and governments.”

ECB (and Federal Reserve) banksters are totally in love with the weapon of last resort, the so-called ‘Nuclear Option’ or ‘Quantitative Easing’ (QE).

Quantitative easing = printing money = creating money out of thin air = increasing the money supply = inflation = hidden tax on monetary assets = theft!

One man – Jens Weidman – opposing the thieves:

“By a continuing process of inflation, governments can confiscate, secretly and unobserved, an important part of the wealth of their citizens. There is no subtler, no surer means of overturning the existing basis of society than to debauch the currency. The process engages all the hidden forces of economic law on the side of destruction, and does it in a manner which not one man in a million is able to diagnose.”
– John Maynard Keynes

And now the irresponsible deficit spending and (unlimited) bankster bailouts can go on and on. Who will benefit and who will lose?

“When a country embarks on deficit financing and inflationism you wipe out the middle class and wealth is transferred from the middle class and the poor to the rich.”
– Ron Paul

“In the absence of the gold standard, there is no way to protect savings from confiscation through inflation. … This is the shabby secret of the welfare statists’ tirades against gold. Deficit spending is simply a scheme for the confiscation of wealth. Gold stands in the way of this insidious process. It stands as a protector of property rights. If one grasps this, one has no difficulty in understanding the statists’ antagonism toward the gold standard.”
– Alan Greenspan

And the ECB’s ‘Hyper Mario’ will have to monetize TRILLIONS in bad debt!!!

Weimar (hyperinflation) all over again?

In less than one year the Eurozone will be much worse off than before.

Only the stock markets will be happy (for a while).



Bundesbank chief Weidmann: He’s obviously in the Governing Council voted against the bond purchase.
Bundesbank-Chef Weidmann: Er hat im EZB-Rat offenbar gegen den Anleihenkauf gestimmt. Geholfen hat es nichts

Google translation: Financial markets cheer the death of the Bundesbank (Welt, Sep 6, 2012):

ECB President Draghi breaks with brazen principles of German monetary policy. The central bank is pumping unlimited money in the bond markets. Stock markets cheer – for Germany begins the nightmare

As it was, the word that everyone had been waiting indefinitely. Which it was used, Mario Draghi, President of the European Central Bank (ECB). Unlimited wants the ECB to buy in the future decision of the Central Council of Euro-bonds with countries to stabilize the ailing financial markets in the monetary union.

Polleit holding gold for the investment of the hour, because unlike central bank liquidity, do not let any physical precious metals increase.

Full original article: Finanzmärkte bejubeln den Tod der Bundesbank (Welt, Sep 6, 2012):

EZB-Präsident Draghi bricht mit ehernen Prinzipien der deutschen Geldpolitik. Die Zentralbank pumpt unbegrenzt Geld in die Bondmärkte. Die Börsen jubeln – für Deutschland beginnt der Albtraum.

Da war es, das Wort, auf das alle gewartet hatten: unbegrenzt. Der es benutzte, war Mario Draghi, der Präsident der Europäischen Zentralbank (EZB). Unbegrenzt will die EZB nach Beschluss des Zentralbank-Rats künftig Staatsanleihen von Euro-Problemländern kaufen, um die schwer angeschlagenen Finanzmärkte der Währungsunion zu stabilisieren.

Read moreFinancial Markets Cheer The Death Of The Bundesbank (Welt, Sep 6, 2012) – Bundesbank Text: Weidmann Reiterated Bond-Buy Criticism

Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann Warns: Debt Monetization Is An Addictive Drug

Bundesbank’s Weidmann Warns: Debt Monetization Is An Addictive Drug (ZeroHedge Aug 25, 2012):

It is one thing for various anti-Central Planning (and thus central bank) outlets to warn, over 3 years ago, that easy monetary policy is merely an enabling substance, and is addictive as any drug to a dysfunctional political establishment which is more than happy to avoid fiscal prudence if monetary policy is readily available to delay the inevitable day of reckoning when monetizing the debt will no longer work. It is a different matter entirely when the head of the world’s only solvent central bank –  the German Bundesbank, which happens to be the biggest guarantor of that other mega hedge funds the ECB, and which of all developed economies also happens to have had the closest recent encounter with hyperinflation (unlike all the “other” theoretical experts who enjoy talking extensively about matters they have zero experience with). In an interview with German Spiegel magazine, Buba head Jens Weidmann, once again has loudly warned what as recently as 2009 very few dared to even think: namely that rampant and gratuitous deficit plugging using central bank debt issuance, and thus explicitly monetizing the debt, “can be addictive as a drug.” Obviously, like any drug overdose, the aftereffects are always fatal.

From Spiegel:

Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann has strongly criticized of the plans of the European Central Bank to launch a new program to purchase government bonds. “Such a policy is for me too reminiscent of public funding via printing,” Weidmann warns in an interview with SPIEGEL. “In democracies it is parliaments that should decide on such an extensive pooling of risks, and not central banks.

If you buy the Euro-banks government bonds of individual countries, “the papers end up in the balance sheet of the Eurosystem,” Weidmann warns: “Ultimately, the taxpayers of all other countries pay.” The basic problems are not solved in this way, the Bundesbank president – on the contrary: “The blessing of the central banks would raise persistent monetization demands,” said Weidmann in SPIEGEL. “We should not underestimate the risk that central bank financing can be addictive like a drug.”

Read moreBundesbank President Jens Weidmann Warns: Debt Monetization Is An Addictive Drug

What Happened After Europe’s Last Three Currency ‘Unions’ Collapsed

What Happened After Europe’s Last Three Currency “Unions” Collapsed (Zerohedge, Aug 21, 2012):

It may come as a surprise to some of our younger readers, that the Eurozone, and its associated currency, is merely the latest in a long series of failed attempts to create a European currency union and a common currency. Three of the most notable predecessors to the EUR include the Hapsburg Empire, the Soviet Union, and Yugoslavia. Obviously, these no longer exist. Just as obvious, all of these unions, having spent time, energy, money, and effort to change the culture and traditions of member countries and to perpetuate said unions, had no desire, just like Brussels nowadays, to see these unions implode. The question then is: what happened after these multi-nation currency unions fails. VOX kindly answers: they all ended with disastrous hyperinflation.Just in case anyone missed it, here it is again from VOX:

In the last century, Europe saw the collapse of three multi-nation currency zones, the Habsburg Empire, the Soviet Union, and Yugoslavia. They all ended in major disasters with hyperinflation. In the Habsburg Empire, Austria and Hungary faced hyperinflation. Yugoslavia experienced hyperinflation twice. In the former Soviet Union, ten out of 15 republics had hyperinflation (e.g. Pasvolsky 1928, Dornbusch 1992, Pleskovic and Sachs 1994, and Åslund 1995).

So… trying to pull infinite demand from the future to the present once the ability to fund said present deferred demand ends, has consequences? Oh yes, Virginia. It does indeed:

Read moreWhat Happened After Europe’s Last Three Currency ‘Unions’ Collapsed

The European Headlines Are Back: ‘The Euro Crisis May Last 20 Years’

“The Euro Crisis May Last 20 Years” – The European Headlines Are Back (ZeroHedge, Aug 18, 2012):

In Europe, the “no news” vacation for the past month was great news. The news is back… As is Merkel.

  • “The Euro Crisis May Last 20 Years” – Welt

The first five years of the global crisis are over, investors flee from complex financial products and into gold, silver and commodities. Experts warn against a false sense of security. “We should not give us the illusion that the crisis will soon be over,” says Patrick Artus of the French bank Natixis. Years of negative developments such as the growing debt, or the de-industrialization of specific sectors should now be reversed. “Such a process takes time.” Arthur looks to get politically and economically unstable savers years. “Investors have to live with depressed markets and considerable fluctuations learn.” In his view, it must not remain in a lost decade. “The euro crisis may also last 20 years,” says Arthur.

  • German finmin: no new aid programme for Greece – Reuters

German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said on Saturday that there were limits to the aid that could be granted to Greece and said the crisis-stricken country should not expect to be granted another programme.”It is not responsible to throw money into a bottomless pit,” Schaeuble said at a government open day in Berlin. “We cannot create yet another new programme.”

  • Euro Countries Plan Strategies to Prevent Break-Up: Sueddeutsche (via Bloomberg)

Euro-currency area countries are evaluating a multitude of reform options, Sueddeutsche Zeitung reports, citing unidentified people with knowledge of the plans.

These are to be whittled down into a coherent strategy in the “coming weeks”. If Greece exits, members will boost plans to support other vulnerable countries. Options include increasing aid to Ireland and Portugal. ECB would consider supporting Italy and Spain through bond purchases. Greece’s new start would be supported by EU funding. These questions will be discussed “in the autumn”.

  • Deutsche Bank Among Four Said to Be in U.S. Laundering Probe – Bloomberg

Deutsche Bank AG (DBK) is among four European banks being investigated by U.S. regulators for alleged money-laundering violations, according to an attorney with knowledge of the matter. Federal regulators, including the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, the Federal Reserve, the Justice Department and the New York District Attorney’s office are all involved in the probe of Deutsche Bank and three other European banks, said the attorney, who asked not to be identified because the investigations are confidential.

  • German Industry Group Head says No Place for Greece in Eurozone: WiWo (via Bloomberg)

If Greece doesn’t meet IMF and EU requirements, it must leave the euro, Hans-Peter Keitel, president of Germany’s BDI industry federation, says in an interview with Wirtschaftswoche magazine. Keitel previously said Greece must stay in the euro at all costs: WiWo

Keitel says clear progress is being made in combating the euro crisis. The German federal government is not ambitious enough in its savings program, Keitel says.

  • German Taxpayer Association Head Criticises ESM: Euro am Sonntag (via Bloomberg)

Rainer Holznagel, head of German taxpayer association, says payment of Spanish bank debt would require 3% VAT increase in Germany, Euro am Sonntag reports, citing interview.

ESM reduces the rights of the German parliament and the independence of nation states, Holznagel says: Euro am Sonntag

  • Bundesbank Vice-Head Opposes Schaeuble’s Banking Proposal: WiWo (via Bloomberg)

German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble’s proposal to separate traditional banks from their investment banking units isn’t possible, Bundesbank Vice- President Sabine Lautenschlaeger tells Wirtschaftswoche magazine.

Both types of banks would still be dependent on market confidence, Lautenschlaeger says. Lautenschlaeger favors an investigation into the relationship between lenders and those banks which trade in unregulated financial products.

  • Westerwelle Opposes Relaxing Greek Aid Terms: Tagesspiegel

Relaxation of the agreed on terms for Greek assistance would be misunderstood by countries such as Spain, German Foreign Minister and FDP member Guido Westerwelle told Tagesspiegel am Sonntag in interview.

Spanish prime minister would have difficulty passing reforms in parliament if terms were eased for Greece, Westerwelle says. Westerwelle gives his “solidarity” to the people of Greece. Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras to visit Berlin on Friday

And just to prove that Europe’s beggars continue to refuse to get the memo…

  • Spain says there must be no limit set on ECB bond buying – RTRS

The European Central Bank must take forceful and unlimited steps to buy sovereign debt to help Spain reduce its refinancing costs and eliminate doubts over the euro zone’s future, Spain’s economy minister said in comments published on Saturday. “There can be no limit set or at least (the ECB) can’t say how much they will use or for how long,” when it buys bonds in the secondary markets, Luis de Guindos told Spanish news agency EFE.

and:

  • France Favors Greece Rescue Package, Opposing Germany: Welt (via Bloomberg)

France and southern European nations are in favor of a third rescue package for Greece should it prove necessary, Welt reports, without saying where it got the information. Germany rejects a new rescue package. Germany opposes giving Greece more time to enact cost cuts. Preparations underway for Greece possibly leaving the euro. Main consideration is how to protect other euro crisis countries from the fallout.

Greece Now Prints It’s Own Euros, The ECB Approves, The Bundesbank Nods: No One Wants To Get Blamed For Kicking Greece Out

Greece Prints Euros To Stay Afloat, The ECB Approves, The Bundesbank Nods: No One Wants To Get Blamed For Kicking Greece Out (ZeroHedge, Aug 8, 2012):

A lot of politicians in Germany, but also in other countries, issue zingers about a Greek exit from the Eurozone and the end of their patience. But those with decision-making power play for time. They want someone else to do the job. Suddenly Greece is out of money again. It would default on everything, from bonds held by central banks to internal obligations. On August 20. The day a €3.2 billion bond that had landed on the balance sheet of the European Central Bank would mature. Europe would be on vacation. It would be mayhem. And somebody would get blamed.

Read moreGreece Now Prints It’s Own Euros, The ECB Approves, The Bundesbank Nods: No One Wants To Get Blamed For Kicking Greece Out

Hyper Mario And Germany On Verge Of All Out Warfare

Hyper Mario And Germany On Verge Of All Out Warfare (ZeroHedge, Aug 2, 2012):

Back in March we wrote “Mario Draghi Is Becoming Germany’s Most Hated Man” for one reason: a few months after the former Goldman appartchik was sworn in to replace Trichet with promises he would not “print” Draghi did just that in a covert way via $1.3 trillion in LTROs, that immediately hit the economy and sent inflation across Europe soaring. We said that: “Slowly but surely the realization is dawning on Germany that while it was sleeping, perfectly confused by lies spoken in a soothing Italian accent that the ECB will not print, not only did Draghi reflate the ECB’s balance sheet by an unprecedented amount in a very short time, in the process not only sending Brent in Euros to all time highs (wink, wink, inflation, as today’s European CPI confirmed coming in at 2.7% or higher than estimated) but also putting the BUBA in jeopardy with nearly half a trillion in Eurosystem”receivables” which it will most likely never collect.”

Read moreHyper Mario And Germany On Verge Of All Out Warfare

German 30 Year Bund Auction ‘Unsubscribed’

German 30 Year Bund Auction “Unsubscribed” (ZeroHedge, April 25, 2012):

Earlier today, the Bundesbank tried to sneak through some EUR3 billion in long-dated (30Y) paper. It didn’t quite succeed, because if one excludes the retention by the German bank which already has its hands full with TARGET2, the auction was technically a failure. As Newedge points out, without Buba retention, the launch of new 30-yr bund would have been undersubscribed which is just a polite way of saying the above. What happened is that the German debt agency sold EUR2.405b of new 2.5% 30Y Jul-44 Bund, at an average Price 101.93 and average yield of 2.41%. Of this, the Bundesbank retained 595 million as the total target was for EUR3 billion in issuance; Total non-Buba based bids were a “weak” EUR 2.747 billion. The bid/cover was modest 1.142x; with the auction tail 18 cents “further underpinning the weakness of demand.” Finally, per Newedge, the new paper looked rich vs previous rolls ahead of today’s auction, “explains the sluggishness of today’s demand.” Of course, with the now daily bipolar market, had this auction taken place on Monday when Europe was again imploding, it would have been a stunning success. Instead, today is one of those risk on days. But for anyone who bought into the “safety” of German paper 48 hours ago, today they are being carted out legs first. Until, of course, the attention shifts to the disaster that is the PIIGS, and as of earlier today, the UK once more.

Keiser Report: Selective Amnesia For Brokers & Murderers – 9/11 Insider Trading – Most Of Germany’s Gold Reserves Stored In New York (Video, Mar 24, 2012)


YouTube Added: 24.03.2012

Dear Germans: Bring Out Ze Checkbooks – Something Funny Happened On The Road To A ‘Fixed Europe

Dear Germans: Bring Out Ze Checkbooks (ZeroHedge, Mar 14, 2012):

Something funny happened on the road to a “fixed” Europe.

A week ago we presented the €2.5 trillion closed liquidity loop at the heart of Europe’s (solvency and mercantilist) problems: the cumulative capital account deficits of Europe’s import countries (virtually all of them except for Germany and Holland), and the under the table funding mechanism, in the form of Germany’s subsidizing of said countries via the ECB TARGET2 cash settlement process. In simple terms, in order for the PIIGS to import German “stuff”, Germany had to fund their economies in a very roundabout, yet unmistakable fashion (see chart). Well, as the latest update from TARGET2 shows (courtesy of Sean Corrigan of Diapason), the fact that this now accepted enabling mode of existence continues, as nothing has changed in Europe except for Greece going bankrupt, and all the PIIGS still pretending they have fixed their economies when in reality all that has happened is a $1.3 trillion cash injection providing some very brief dry powder to drive bonds to lower yields temporarily, Spain and Greece have just posted their biggest draw on TARGET2 bringing the total to just under €400 billion! Congratulations Germany – This is the amount that Jens Weidmann and the German Bundesbank will have to fund to keep the ponzi going. But at least BTPs and Bonos will be at 0.00% as the ECB floods the market with a quadrillion in paper at a point in the very near future to pretend that the system is solvent judging by bond yields.

To all our German readers: sorry. Yes, extend and pretend actually has a price.

To summarize: the bond market, courtesy of the ECB, has signalled the all clear, if only for a brief amount of time (remember what happened with the first LTRO back in 2009). In the meantime, the PIIGS economies are getting worse and worse. But for the time being Germany can keep them afloat. However, Germany, unlike the ECB can not print money. And in fact, largely does not want to.

And here’s the Bundesbank. How does one say exponential in Germano-Grecian?

Just Say Nein – Bundesbank On European QE: ‘Abandon The Idea Once And For All’

Just Say Nein – Bundesbank On European QE: “Abandon The Idea Once And For All”

While it will hardly come as a surprise to many that after making it abundantly clear that Germany is in total disagreement with ECB monetary policies, culminating in the departure of Jurgen Stark from the European central printing authority, Germany will not permit irresponsible, Bernanke-esque monetary policies, it probably should be noted that even following the most recent escalation of adverse developments in Europe, which are now on the verge of unwinding the entire Eurozone and with it the affiliated fake currency, that the German central bank just said that any European QE could only come over its dead body. Today channeling the inscription to the gates of hell from Dante’s inferno is none other than yet another Bundesbank board member, Carl-Ludwig Thiele, who said that “Europe must abandon the idea that printing money, or quantitative easing, can be used to address the euro zone debt crisis…One idea should be brushed aside once and for all – namely the idea of printing the required money. Because that would threaten the most important foundation for a stable currency: the independence of a price stability orientated central bank.”

In other words, the best Europe can hope for is massive liquidity provisioning as has been the case in recent months, when the ECB’s balance sheet has soared by almost $1 trillion in 6 months (perhaps someone should ask the Bundesbank just what they think of that). However, for that to happen, banks have to continue to be on the brink, even more than now one could add, which simply means that the ECB will reactively provide liquidity to insolvent banks (at cheap rates) which will immediately turn around and redeposit the cash back at the ECB, but unlike the US, will not inject the monetary system with unsterilized cash. Which means one thing: Bernanke is and will continue to be stuck as the only source of marginal “Austrian” cash (i.e., market moving) in the world, and once the current episode of EUR-hatred passes, and it will, the revulsion will once again turn to where the next imminent money printing episode will come from – the 3rd subbasement of the Marriner Eccles building.

Reuters explains why the Bundesbank Just Said Nein:

Read moreJust Say Nein – Bundesbank On European QE: ‘Abandon The Idea Once And For All’

German 10-Year Bond Auction A ‘Complete And Utter Disaster’, Would Have FAILED Without Bundesbank Intervention

Prepare for collapse.


German 10-year bond auction a “disaster” (Reuters, Nov. 23, 2011):

LONDON – A “disastrous” sale of German benchmark bonds sparked fears on Wednesday the debt crisis was beginning to threaten even Berlin, with the Bundesbank forced to dig deep into its pockets to ensure the auction did not fail.

In one of the least successful debt sales by Europe’s powerhouse economy since the launch of the single currency, the low returns offered — just 2 percent annually over 10 years — deterred investors made uneasy by the escalating cost of the crisis to Germany.

That meant the central bank had to pick up 39 percent of the 6 billion euros of debt Germany had hoped to sell after commercial banks bought just 3.644 billion euros of the issue.

“It is a complete and utter disaster,” said Marc Ostwald, strategist at Monument Securities in London.

“This does not bode well, it is the worst of uncovered auctions that we’ve had this year and little wonder that the Bund sold off on the back of it.”

Read moreGerman 10-Year Bond Auction A ‘Complete And Utter Disaster’, Would Have FAILED Without Bundesbank Intervention

TOTAL DESPERATION: G20 Asks Germany To Pledge Its Gold For EFSF Rescue Fund – Bundesbank Refuses

In Act of Desperation, G20 Asks Germany to Pledge its Gold for EFSF Rescue Fund, Bundesbank Refuses; Grateful for the Arrogance (Global Economic Analysis, November 06, 2011):

The gall and arrogance of the G20 and Euro-nanny finance minister clowns is staggering.

German newspapers report that the G20 discussed asking Germany to pledge its gold to bail out Greece and the Piigs, and to fund the EFSF.

The Bundesbank, Germany’s central bank said “We know this plan and we reject it.”

One might think that would be enough to stop such idiotic talk, but one would be wrong. In spite of Bundesbank opposition, euro zone finance ministers will discuss the idea next week.

Please consider Bundesbank: central bank reserves will not help fund EFSF

The Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung (FAS) reported that Bundesbank reserves — including foreign currency and gold — would be used to increase Germany’s contribution to the crisis fund, the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) by more than 15 billion euros ($20 billion).

The European Central Bank (ECB) would own the reserves, according to the paper, citing sources at the G20 meeting held in Cannes this week.

Read moreTOTAL DESPERATION: G20 Asks Germany To Pledge Its Gold For EFSF Rescue Fund – Bundesbank Refuses

James Turk on the US Dollar, the Euro, Hyperinflation, Gold And Silver

James Turk’s presentation on the gold price and the US dollar

Added: 05.06.2011

James Turk of the GoldMoney Foundation speaks about currency devaluation and the rising gold price. How the gold price is rising against all major currencies and monetary policy is political, having abandoned all pretence of seeking monetary stability. He warns of the dangers of a hyperinflationary crisis. James also explains why gold should be considered money and not an investment.

He also talks of the coming dollar collapse and the waterfall decline in the dollar, especially since Ben Bernanke’s words on QE. He talks of different examples of hyperinflation from paper money hyperinflation in Weimar Germany to deposit currency hyperinflation in Argentina. The presentation was held on 29 April 2011 in Munich, Germany.

Bundesbank President Weber: Financial Crisis Is Not Over

Weber warns crisis is ongoing as fears mount over Ireland

axel-weber
Axel Weber

Europe’s financial crisis is not yet over, one of the single currency bloc’s most senior policymakers warned yesterday, as he urged further reform of banking regulation.

Axel Weber, the President of Germany’s Bundesbank and a leading member of the council of the European Central Bank, said he was frustrated more had not been done to tackle the risks posed by very large banks.

“The financial crisis is still with us – we are not in year one after the crisis, we are in year four of the crisis,” Mr Weber said. “Moral hazard is in the financial system. I want to get to a situation where the term ‘too big to fail’ does not exist.”

Mr Weber’s warning was echoed by Ewald Nowotny, one of his colleagues on the ECB council, who called for European governments to begin stepping back from the emergency support, in the form of cheap funding, they have been extending to banks for more than two years.

Read moreBundesbank President Weber: Financial Crisis Is Not Over

Moody’s Downgrades Ireland’s Credit Rating

See also:

Anglo Irish Bank losses are the worst in the entire world


• Moody’s cuts Ireland’s sovereign bond rating by one notch

• Move will add to fears over Europe’s debt crisis

• IMF pulled €20bn finance deal for Hungary at the weekend

irish-flag-006
Moody’s cut Ireland’s credit rating this morning, citing weaker growth prospects and the cost of rebuilding the country’s crippled banking system (The Guardian)

Credit ratings agency Moody’s has downgraded Ireland’s debt rating, adding to investor jitters about the state of Europe’s heavily indebted economies.

The agency cut Ireland’s sovereign bond rating by one notch to Aa2 this morning, citing weaker growth prospects and the high cost of rebuilding the country’s crippled banking system. It added that the outlook was stable.

But the downgrade comes after the International Monetary Fund and the European Union pulled a €20bn (£17bn) financing deal for Hungary over the weekend. Talks broke down on Saturday after the European commission voiced concerns over the newly elected Hungarian government’s budget plans.

This means Hungary will not have access to remaining funds of €5.5bn in its €20bn credit line, agreed two years ago, until a review is completed. Hungary’s currency, the forint, plunged more than 2.5% against the euro on the news and bond yields surged by up to 30 basis points.

Ireland’s downgrade came ahead of a bond auction tomorrow.

Read moreMoody’s Downgrades Ireland’s Credit Rating

Elite puppet financier George Soros tells Germany to step up to its responsibilities, or leave EMU

EUROCOLLAPSECOULD DRAG EUROPE INTO CONFLICT (Express):

THE euro is on the verge of a collapse that could drag Europe into conflict, billionaire financier George Soros warned yesterday.

The veteran investor said massive budget cuts proposed by Germany could destabilise the European Union by dragging down its neighbours’ economies.

He said: “German policy is a danger for Europe. Unfortunately, a collapse of the euro and the European project cannot be ruled out.

“That would be tragic because then Europe would be threatened by the sort of conflicts between states that have shaped European history.”

And of course the Germans would be to blame for this!

So step up Germany and follow the plans of the elitists to loot the taxpayers (everywhere) until there is nothing left with unconstitutional bailouts and quantitative easing.


Legendary investor George Soros has called on Germany to leave the euro unless it is willing to embrace a growth strategy, describing Berlin’s austerity doctrine as a threat to democracy and political stability in Europe.

George Soros tells Germany to step up to its responsibilities, or leave EMU
George Soros tells Germany to step up to its responsibilities, or leave EMU

“German policy is becoming a danger that could destroy the European Project. A collapse of the euro cannot be excluded,” he told the German weekly Die Zeit.

“Unless Germany changes policy, its withdrawal from the currency union would be helpful for the rest of Europe. At the moment Germany is pushing its neighbours into deflation: this threatens a long phase of stagnation, leading to nationalism, social unrest, and zenophobia. It endangers democracy,” he said.

Mr Soros saw the political effects of wage cuts first-hand during the Great Depression, and narrowly survived the Holocaust as a Jewish boy in Nazi-controlled Budapest. He has since dedicated much of his wealth to philanthropic works promoting freedom and pluralism (ROFL!) across the globe, mostly through Open Society institutes.

Philanthropic works: Top billionaire club in bid to curb overpopulation (Times)

His comments reflect growing alarm in influential circles on both sides of the Atlantic over the 1930s-style policies of wage cuts and debt-deflation being imposed up the Club Med bloc, Ireland, and parts of Eastern Europe by the EU authorities, at the behest of Berlin.

Read moreElite puppet financier George Soros tells Germany to step up to its responsibilities, or leave EMU

Former Bundesbank Head Karl Otto Pöhl: Bailout Plan Is All About ‘Rescuing Banks and Rich Greeks’

Unconstitutional:

France’s Europe Minister Pierre Lellouche: Eurozone Bailout Violates EU Laws


“Against all its vows, and against an explicit ban within its own constitution, the European Central Bank (ECB) has become involved in financing states.”

Karl Otto Pöhl was head of the German central bank, the Bundesbank, from 1980 to 1991.
Karl Otto Pöhl was head of the German central bank, the Bundesbank, from 1980 to 1991.

Bailout Plan Is All About ‘Rescuing Banks and Rich Greeks’

The 750 billion euro package the European Union passed last week to prop up the common currency has been heavily criticized in Germany. Former Bundesbank head Karl Otto Pöhl told SPIEGEL that Greece may ultimately have to opt out, and that the foundation of the euro has been fundamentally weakened.

SPIEGEL: Mr Pöhl, are you still investing in the euro — or has the European common currency become too unstable of late?

Pöhl: I still have money in euros, but the question is justified. There is still danger that the euro will become a weak currency.

SPIEGEL: The exchange rate with the dollar is still close to $1.25. What’s the problem?

Pöhl: The foundation of the euro has fundamentally changed as a result of the decision by euro-zone governments to transform themselves into a transfer union. That is a violation of every rule. In the treaties governing the functioning of the European Union, it explicitly states that no country is liable for the debts of any other. But what we are doing right now, is exactly that. Added to this is the fact that, against all its vows, and against an explicit ban within its own constitution, the European Central Bank (ECB) has become involved in financing states. Obviously, all of that will have an impact.

SPIEGEL: What do you think will happen?

Pöhl: The euro has already sunk in value against a whole list of other currencies. This trend could continue, because what we have basically done is guarantee a long line of weaker currencies that never should have been allowed to become part of the euro.

SPIEGEL: The German government has said that there was no alternative to the rescue package for Greece, nor to that for other debt-laden countries.

Pöhl: I don’t believe that. Of course there were alternatives. For instance, never having allowed Greece to become part of the euro zone in the first place.

SPIEGEL: That may be true. But that was a mistake made years ago.

Pöhl: All the same, it was a mistake. That much is completely clear. I would also have expected the (European) Commission and the ECB to intervene far earlier. They must have realized that a small, indeed a tiny, country like Greece, one with no industrial base, would never be in a position to pay back €300 billion worth of debt.

SPIEGEL: According to the rescue plan, it’s actually €350 billion …

Pöhl: … which that country has even less chance of paying back. Without a “haircut,” a partial debt waiver, it cannot and will not ever happen. So why not immediately? That would have been one alternative. The European Union should have declared half a year ago — or even earlier — that Greek debt needed restructuring.

SPIEGEL: But according to Chancellor Angela Merkel, that would have led to a domino effect, with repercussions for other European states facing debt crises of their own.

Pöhl: I do not believe that. I think it was about something altogether different.

SPIEGEL: Such as?

Pöhl: It was about protecting German banks, but especially the French banks, from debt write offs. On the day that the rescue package was agreed on, shares of French banks rose by up to 24 percent. Looking at that, you can see what this was really about — namely, rescuing the banks and the rich Greeks.

Read moreFormer Bundesbank Head Karl Otto Pöhl: Bailout Plan Is All About ‘Rescuing Banks and Rich Greeks’

Germany, France May Hurt AAA Ratings in ‘Ponzi Game at The Highest Level’

This bailout is a Ponzi scheme and the people will foot the bill:

Here Is Who Just Got Their A$$ Saved By The Huge Euro Bailout (Business Insider)

Federal Reserve Opens Line Of Credit To Europe (AP)

Stephen Pope of Cantor Fitzgerald on ECB buying government bonds: ‘This is total, undiluted quantitative easing.’ (Forbes)

ECB Resorts to ‘Nuclear Option,’ Intervenes in Bond Market to Fight Euro Crisis (Bloomberg)


the-deutsche-bundesbank
The Deutsche Bundesbank. (Bloomberg)

May 11 (Bloomberg) — Germany and France are among top- rated euro-area states that may compromise their AAA grades by standing behind the debts of weaker members with their 750 billion-euro ($955 billion) stabilization fund.

The package is “making debt profiles deteriorate, potentially damaging the ratings of core sovereigns,” said Stefan Kolek, a strategist at UniCredit SpA in Munich. “It’s a kind of Ponzi game at the highest level.”

The unprecedented loan package was designed by the European Union and the International Monetary Fund to halt a sovereign- debt crisis that threatened to push Greece, Portugal and Spain into default and shatter confidence in the euro. As part of the support plan, Germany’s Bundesbank, the Bank of France and the Bank of Italy started buying government bonds yesterday.

Bonds of Portugal, Spain and other deficit-plagued nations on Europe’s periphery soared yesterday and bunds — the safe haven for holders of European government bonds — weakened as the threat of a Greek default receded. The cost of insuring against sovereign losses using credit-default swaps tumbled yesterday, with contracts on Greece sliding 370 basis points, their biggest one-day decline, to 577, according to CMA DataVision.

Read moreGermany, France May Hurt AAA Ratings in ‘Ponzi Game at The Highest Level’

Germany’s Bundesbank: Greek Rescue as a Threat to Economic Stability and Probably Illegal; Calls IMF ‘Inflation Maximising Fund’

See also:

Greek Debt Crisis Deepens; Investors Rush to Sell Greek Bonds

The Solution For Greece (Max Keiser, Matt Taibbi and Catherine Austin Fitts)


Germany’s Bundesbank has fired a warning shot at Chancellor Angela Merkel, attacking the joint EU-IMF rescue plan for Greece as a threat to economic stability and probably illegal.

axel-weber-bundesbank
The Bundesbank, headed by ultra-hawk Axel Weber, said the decision to bring in the IMF makes matters worse, arguing that the EU would impose tougher budgetary discipline. Photo: Reuters

Leaked extracts from an internal report appeared in the Frankfurter Rundschau and may have contributed to a fresh day of mayhem for Greek bonds. Investors were already digesting reports that Greek residents had shifted €10bn (£8.8bn) abroad over the first two months of the year.

The yield on two-year Greek bonds surged by 136 basis points in early trading to 8.3pc, up from 5.2pc last week. The market stabilised later as Athens announced a 40pc cut in the budget deficit over the first quarter, suggesting that austerity measures are bearing fruit.

The Bundesbank document offers a withering critique of the deal agreed by EU leaders two weeks ago, saying the plan had been cobbled together without consulting central banks and will lead to monetisation of debt. “It brings problems in respect to stability policy that should not be underestimated.”

The joint rescue between the IMF and the EU would turn the Bundesbank into a “money-printing machine” for the purchase of Greek bonds, according to Rundschau. This would breach the EU’s ‘no-bail clause’.

Hans Redeker, currency chief at BNP Paribas, said the report greatly strengthens the hand of EMU critics in Germany. A group of professors is already itching to file a complaint at the constitutional court to block the Greek rescue. “This reduces Merkel’s room for manoeuvre to zero,” he said.

The Bundesbank, headed by ultra-hawk Axel Weber, said the decision to bring in the IMF makes matters worse, arguing that the EU would impose tougher budgetary discipline.

The report mocked the IMF as the “Inflation Maximising Fund”, saying the body had gone soft under Dominique Strauss-Kahn, a French socialist and Keynesian. It has shifted focus from fiscal cleansing to “growth-oriented” financial policies. “Currency reserves from the Bundesbank cannot plausibly be made available for such purposes,” it said.

Read moreGermany’s Bundesbank: Greek Rescue as a Threat to Economic Stability and Probably Illegal; Calls IMF ‘Inflation Maximising Fund’