Europe

US Military Starts Airlifting French Troops To Mali

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Related info:

– The War On Terror Spreads To Africa: U.S. Sending Troops To 35 African Nations

– US Deploying Troops To 35 African Countries

– US starts airlifting French troops to Mali (RT, Jan 22, 2013):

The United States has begun airlifting French soldiers and equipment to Mali with its C-17 transport planes, in an attempt to push back Islamist militants that have taken over the northern half of the country.

The airlifting will continue for several days as the US aids the French government in its initiative to fight Islamists. The Malian authorities, fearing a terrorist takeover, has long requested help from neighboring countries to regain control of the north.

“The missions will operate over the next several days,” Tom Saunders, a spokesman for US military’s Africa Command, told the Associated Press.

Read moreUS Military Starts Airlifting French Troops To Mali

France Imposes Media Blackout On Mali War

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Photo shows French army soldiers standing on armored vehicles as they leave Bamako and start their deployment to the north of Mali.

– France imposes media blackout on Mali war (PressTV, Jan 22, 2013):

France has reportedly imposed a media blackout on its invasion of Mali amid a growing war that rages on in the West African nation.

On January 11, France launched the war under the pretext of halting the advance of fighters in Mali. However, as Paris has stepped up its ground offensive and aerial strikes in Mali few images of the conflict have come out of the African country.

French networks TF1 and France Televisions have also sent several teams to Bamako, but a media blackout on images of the clashes has confined all journalists to the city.

This comes as French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian has said the number of French troops on the ground in the West African country could top the initially-planned number of 2,500.

“Two thousand five hundred is what was initially announced, maybe that will be exceeded,” Le Drian said in a Saturday television interview.

Also on Sunday, Le Drian announced that Paris’ goal in the African country “is the total reconquest of Mali,” adding, “We will not leave any pockets” of resistance.

Meanwhile, the United Nations refugee agency, UNHCR, said it was preparing for around 700,000 people to flee the violence in Mali.

The United States, Canada, Britain, Belgium, Germany, and Denmark have already said they would support the French war against Mali.

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has also pledged to support the French war by sending 5,800 soldiers to Mali.

Some analysts believe that Malian abandoned natural resources, including gold and uranium reserves, could be one of the reasons behind French war on the country.

The Latest Evader Of The French Millionaire Tax: Former President Nicolas Sarkozy!

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– The Latest Evader Of The French Millionaire Tax: The Former French President (ZeroHedge, Jan 23, 2013):

That even former French president Nicolas Sarkozy plans to start a £1 billion private equity fund in London is not news: courtesy of ZIRP and the ongoing global reliquifiication of markets by every central bank as currency warfare goes ballistic, one would have to be seriously unlucky to chase the central planner inflated beta rally and not succeed (one would also have to be very unaware of the difference between nominal and real returns, but since that is most people these days, let’s ignore that). What is news, is that as part of said transfer to the “asset management business” it is none other than the former French president who is next in line to evade Hollande’s millionaire tax by crossing the Channel, and “redomiciling” himself in London.

From The Mail:

Nicolas Sarkozy is preparing to move to London to set up a billion pounds plus investment fund, it was claimed today.

If the move goes ahead, the controversial Frenchman will become the latest to escape a potential top tax rate of 75 per cent in his home country.

Read moreThe Latest Evader Of The French Millionaire Tax: Former President Nicolas Sarkozy!

Berlin Protests Focus On Farming And Food Safety

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– Berlin protests focus on farming and food safety (CBC News, jan 21, 2013):

Thousands of people braved the cold and demonstrated in the streets of Berlin as politicians and policymakers met to discuss changes to global agricultural policies.

Under the slogan, “We are fed up,” the protesters called for an end to food scandals, genetic engineering and animal cruelty in industrial livestock farming.

Read moreBerlin Protests Focus On Farming And Food Safety

The Sovereign Debt Bubble Will Continue To Expand Until – BANG – The System Implodes

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– The Sovereign Debt Bubble Will Continue To Expand Until – BANG – The System Implodes (Economic Collapse, Jan 20, 2013):

Why are so many politicians around the world declaring that the debt crisis is “over” when debt to GDP ratios all over the planet continue to skyrocket?  The global economy has never seen anything like the sovereign debt bubble that we are experiencing today.  The United States, Japan, and nearly every major nation in Europe are absolutely drowning in debt.  We have heard a lot about “austerity” over in Europe in recent years, but debt to GDP ratios continue to rise in Greece, Spain, Italy, Ireland and Portugal.  In general, most economists consider a debt to GDP ratio of 100% to be a “danger level”, and most of the economies of the western world have either already surpassed that level or are rapidly approaching it.  Of course the biggest debt offender of all in many ways is the United States.  The U.S. debt to GDP ratio has risen from 66.6 percent to 103 percent since 2007, and the U.S. government accumulated more new debt during Barack Obama’s first term than it did under the first 42 U.S. presidents combined.  This insane sovereign debt bubble will continue to expand until a day of reckoning arrives and the system implodes.  Nobody knows exactly when that moment will be reached, but without a doubt it is coming.

Read moreThe Sovereign Debt Bubble Will Continue To Expand Until – BANG – The System Implodes

The Germans Don’t Trust Obama With Their Gold – And Can You Blame Them?

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Precioussss

– The Germans don’t trust Obama with their gold – and can you blame them? (Telegraph, Jan 18, 2013):

Back in the mid-1920s, the head of the German Central Bank, Herr Hjalmar Schacht, went to New York to see Germany’s gold. However the NY Fed officials were unable to find the palette of Germany’s gold bullion. The Chairman of the Federal Reserve, Benjamin Strong was mortified, but to put him at ease Herr Schacht turned to him and said ‘Never mind, I believe you when you when you say the gold is there. Even if it weren’t you are good for its replacement.’ (H/T The Real Asset Company)

But that was then and this is now. In the eyes of the Germans – and who can blame them? – America has lost its mojo to such a degree that it can no longer be trusted honour its debts, even in the unlikely event that it were financially capable of doing so. Which is why, following in the footsteps of Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez (who may be an idiot but is definitely no fool), Germany is repatriatriating its gold from the US federal reserve. It will now be stored in Frankfurt.

This is an important story. One of the most spectacular con tricks of the last twelve months, pulled off by our political class with the connivance of much of the media, is that we’ve escaped the global economic armageddon which looked till quite recently as if it was going to engulf us. The Euro didn’t collapse; Europe isn’t in flames; QE hasn’t led to Weimar-style hyperinflation; the fiscal cliff has been dodged; Britain hasn’t yet lost its triple A credit rating; the bond markets haven’t gone postal…

Well it may look calm on the surface, but this latest move by the Bundesbank gives us a pretty good indication that beneath the surface that serene-seeming swan is paddling for dear life.

If you want a full analysis I recommend this excellent summary by Jan Skoyles. The scary part is this bit:

Read moreThe Germans Don’t Trust Obama With Their Gold – And Can You Blame Them?

Mali Fighters Tougher Than France Anticipated

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– Mali Islamists tougher than France anticipated: envoys (Reuters, Jan 18, 2013)

French troops’ initial clashes with Islamist militants in Mali have shown that the desert fighters are better trained and equipped than France had anticipated before last week’s military intervention, French and other U.N. diplomats said.

The realization that the fighting could be bloodier than anticipated in the weeks — or months — ahead might make Western countries even more reluctant to get involved alongside France. French officials, however, hope it will rally their allies behind them, diplomats say.

“The cost of failure in Mali would be high for everyone, not just the people of Mali,” an African diplomat said on Thursday. Like the other diplomats, he spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military and diplomatic issues.

Read moreMali Fighters Tougher Than France Anticipated

Malgeria Crisis Update

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– Malgeria Crisis Update (ZeroHedge, Jan 17, 2013):

The situation in MalgeriaTM continues to remain uncertain but the following updates should provide some color as to where they stand currently (and a primer on the initial French intervention). Critically, Stratfor warns that the escalation in Algeria will possibly lead to further militants crossing the Mali border, further endangering Westerners and energy infrastructure (which is important as Algeria is one of the largest exports of light, sweet crude oil in the world and a significant natural gas exporter to Europe).

Stratfor 3-minute Primer:


YouTube

Update:

1) In general there is chaos as FranceTV put it “it is very confusing, with no official confirmation of any of the actions being reported on”
2) Up to 35 (of the 44) Hostages have apparently been killed in the Algerian rescue (retake) operation, with hostages freed (one Irishman);
2a) All 8 of the hostage-takers have apparently been killed

Who is Mokhtar Belmokhtar?


YouTube

3) A US Drone is now on site to take a look for the first time;

Read moreMalgeria Crisis Update

50 Shocking Questions That You Should Ask To Anyone That Is Not A Prepper Yet

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– 50 Shocking Questions That You Should Ask To Anyone That Is Not A Prepper Yet (Economic Collapse, Jan 16, 2013):

Share this list of shocking questions with everyone you know that needs to wake up.  Sometimes asking good questions is the best way to get someone that you care about to understand something.  When I attended law school, I became very familiar with something called “the Socratic method”.  It is a method that has been traditionally used in law schools all over the United States.  Law professors will bombard their students with questions, and the goal is to stimulate critical thinking and allow students to discover the answers for themselves.  Many times those of us that can see what is happening to this country get frustrated when we try to get others to see what is so apparent to us.  But instead of preaching to them, perhaps asking questions would be more helpful.  When you ask someone a question, they are almost forced to think about what you just said and come up with a response.  And without a doubt, the fact that America is in decline is undeniable.  Those that would choose to blindly have faith in the system are foolish, because it is glaringly obvious that the system is failing.  Our economy is heading for collapse and the world around us is becoming more unstable with each passing day.  So it shouldn’t be a surprise that the number of preppers in the United States is absolutely exploding.  Some estimates put the number of preppers in the U.S. as high as 3 million, and the movement continues to explode.

So exactly what is a “prepper”?  Well, the truth is that there is a tremendous amount of diversity among the people that fall under that label.

Read more50 Shocking Questions That You Should Ask To Anyone That Is Not A Prepper Yet

It Will Take The Fed SEVEN YEARS To Deliver 300 Tons Of German Gold

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– It Will Take The Fed Seven Years To Deliver 300 Tons Of German Gold (ZeroHedge, Jan  16, 2013):

With the market yet another algo-controlled snoozer, programmed to close the S&P just green (as otherwise confidence in central planning may fail), the key things we learned today are as follows:

Obama proposed 23 “gun controling” executive actions, which do little to actually control guns – that part falls to Congress, where the proposal will be promptly killed – but which will add some $4.5 billion to US spending, and which will “push for further action on his health care law, including insisting on the kind of mental health coverage states must provide under their Medicaid programs.”

The breakdown of the spending is as follows, per Weekly Standard:

  • $4 billion for the president’s proposal “to help keep 15,000 cops on the streets in cities and towns across the country.” (That is roughly $266,000 per police officer.)
  • $20 million to “give states stronger incentives to make [relevant] data available [for background checks] … “$50 million for this purpose in FY2014”
  • “$14 million to help train 14,000 more police officers and other public and private personnel to respond to active shooter situations.”
  • “$10 million for the Centers for Disease Control to conduct further research, including investigating the relationship between video games, media images, and violence.”
  • $20 million to expand the National Violent Death Reporting System.
  • $150 million to “put up to 1,000 new school resource officers and school counselors on the job.”

What can one say: politics, fully, theatrically and embarrassingly “endorsed” by the children sitting behind the president.

* * *

But the biggest news of the day comes from the official Buba announcement that, in its official capacity as a prudent central bank, it – as first of many – is looking to repatriate some 300 tons of gold from the New York Fed. That, however, is not today’s news – that was Monday’s news.

What is news is that courtesy of the supplied calendar of events in the Buba statement, it will take the Fed some seven years to procure Germany’s 300 tons of gold. This is the same Fed that, in its own words, holds some “216 million troy ounces of gold” or some 6720 tons, in its vault 80 feet below ground level.

Putting the above in perspective, the amount of gold that Germany will have to wait 7 years for is shown in red. The amount of gold the Fed supposedly holds, is shown in yellow with a shade of tungsten. Why it will take the Fed 7 years to part with an amount of gold that is less than 5% of its total holdings is anyone’s guess…

unless of course, the bulk of the gold in the column on the right has been rehypothecated numerous times to serve as collateral for countless counterparties, and it is no longer clear just who own what to anyone.

Read moreIt Will Take The Fed SEVEN YEARS To Deliver 300 Tons Of German Gold

What Do German Central Bankers Know That We Don’t?

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– What Do German Central Bankers Know That We Don’t? (Phoenix Capital Research, Jan 16, 2013):

Ben Bernanke and the rest of the US Federal Reserve bet the farm that they could engage in countless monetary interventions, keep interest rates at zero, and print over $2 trillion in new money without damaging the US’s credibility.

They were wrong. Indeed, Germany just fired a major warning shot to the US Federal Reserve.

Read moreWhat Do German Central Bankers Know That We Don’t?

Bundesbank Official Statement On Gold Repatriation

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– Bundesbank Official Statement On Gold Repatriation (ZeroHedge, Jan 16, 2013):

When we first heard about it, we thought Handelsblatt had gotten something very wrong. The implications were just so staggering. Turns out the news was spot on. Here is the official announcement from the Bundesbank, which roundly refutes all the spin the Frankfurt bank spoon-fed the people in October and November when it repeated time after time that there is nothing wrong with keeping German gold in NY and Paris, and on the contrary, it was better for everyone involved.

From the Bundesbank:

By 2020, the Bundesbank intends to store half of Germany’s gold reserves in its own vaults in Germany. The other half will remain in storage at its partner central banks in New York and London. With this new storage plan, the Bundesbank is focusing on the two primary functions of the gold reserves: to build trust and confidence domestically, and the ability to exchange gold for foreign currencies at gold trading centres abroad within a short space of time.

The following table shows the current and the envisaged future allocation of Germany’s gold reserves across the various storage locations:

Read moreBundesbank Official Statement On Gold Repatriation

France Steps Up Mali Operation, Africans Try To Catch Up

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Related info:

– French Military Embarrassments Continue As Insurgents Grab More Territory In Mali

– France Launches Major Military Campaign In Mali, Bungles Hostage Rescue Attempt

– France steps up Mali operation, Africans try to catch up (Reuters, Jan 15, 2013):

France hit Islamist rebels in Mali with fresh air strikes and deployed armored cars on Tuesday, stepping up its intervention in the West African state as regional allies struggled to accelerate their plans to send in troops.

Paris has poured hundreds of soldiers into Mali and carried out air raids since Friday in the northern half of the country, which was seized last year by an Islamist alliance combining al Qaeda’s north African wing AQIM with Mali’s home-grown MUJWA and Ansar Dine rebel groups.

Read moreFrance Steps Up Mali Operation, Africans Try To Catch Up

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

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– 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

France Launches Major Military Campaign In Mali, Bungles Hostage Rescue Attempt

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– France Launches Major Military Campaign In Mali, Bungles Hostage Rescue Attempt (ZeroHedge, Jan 13, 2013):

Whether it is to serve as a diversion from the ongoing deterioration in the French economy (purchases of French sovereign bonds by the SNB implying “all is well” notwithstanding), to distract public attention from the recent humiliation (and backfire) of the socialist government’s “tax the rich” campaign or for whatever other reason, is unclear for now, but what is clear is that over the past two days France has launched a major airstrike and military campaign against Islamist rebels in northern Mali, the pretext being that control of northern Mali by the rebels posed a security threat to Europe.

What is also clear is that even as France is protecting “European interests” deep in the heart of African darkness, elsewhere in Africa, the socialist country, whose military “expertise” is best known for building impassable fortifications all around perfectly crossable forests, suffered yet another offensive humiliation when not only was a hostage held by Somalian insurgents, al Shabaab, killed during an attempted rescue operation, but a commando from the “rescuing” team was allegedly left behind during the bungled operation. The cherry on top in president Hollande’s first major foreign policy excursion is that the same insurgents subsequently released a statement that the hostage was perfectly safe, even as a French pilot was killed in the Mali airstrikes early on in the campaign, all of which probably makes France wish it had just stayed home.

From Reuters on what is set to be another major humiliation for the French “military machine”:

French fighter jets bombed Islamist rebels in Mali for a third day on Sunday as Paris poured more troops into the capital Bamako, awaiting the arrival of a West African force to dislodge al Qaeda-linked insurgents from the country’s north.

Read moreFrance Launches Major Military Campaign In Mali, Bungles Hostage Rescue Attempt

Greece Is The US, Following Vote To Hike Taxes On The Rich

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– Greece Is The US, Following Vote To Hike Taxes On The Rich (ZeroHedge, Jan 12, 2013):

It’s been a while since the Syntagma square riotcam was broadcasting live from Athens. After all, despite the ongoing collapse in its economy, where only 3.7 million people have jobs compared to 4.7 million who are unemployed or inactive, the general sentiment was that “austerity” measures have been put on hiatus, and no more tax, pension, or benefits cuts are on the table. That changed last night when Greece was the latest country to become the US, following a tax hike on its highest earners. However, unlike the US, this increase in “rich” taxes is being offset by at least some spending cuts such as tighter control of the budgets of ministries and state utilities, and the reduction of parliamentary employees’ wages in line with cuts to the wages of other civil servants. In other words, it is almost time for the Syntagma square daily pay-per-view daily webcast. The good news, at least for Greece, is that it does not have a debt ceiling to worry about. Then again, when all your debt is zero coupon perpetuals in the hands of the ECB and other “official” institutions, the balance sheet is the last thing you have to worry about. It’s the income statement, one where not even all the one-time charges or loan loss reserve releases in the world will do any difference, that suddenly matters far more.

From the NYT:

Greek lawmakers voted late Friday to increase taxes on middle- to high-income earners, self-employed professionals and businesses despite vehement objections by the political opposition and several ruling coalition deputies who said austerity-weary citizens should not be subjected to further pain.

Read moreGreece Is The US, Following Vote To Hike Taxes On The Rich

Spain Jobless Rate Hits New Record High Of 26.6 Percent

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– Spain jobless rate hits new record high of 26.6% (PressTV, Jan 9, 2013):

New data shows Spain’s jobless rate hit a new record high of 26.6 percent for the month of November 2012, amounting to 6.157 million Spaniards.

The European Union’s statistics office, Eurostat, released the new data on Tuesday, which showed an increase of 0.4 percent from October’s reading of 26.2 percent.

The EU’s Employment Commissioner Laszlo Andor urged Spain’s government to find a political strategy to decrease the number of people without work

Read moreSpain Jobless Rate Hits New Record High Of 26.6 Percent

US Surveillance Act ‘Grave Threat’ To EU Sovereignty

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– Cloud surfing: US surveilance act ‘grave threat’ to EU sovereignty (RT, Jan 9, 2013):

An intelligence bill has put the frighteners on EU citizens as it allows the US access to their personal data stored in internet clouds like those used on Facebook and Google. The law is a ‘grave risk’ to the rights of EU citizens, says an EU report.

­The amendments to Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) was signed into law by President Barack Obama on Monday.

Read moreUS Surveillance Act ‘Grave Threat’ To EU Sovereignty

EU Demands Access To Details Of All UK Drivers: ‘Orwellian’ Move To Hand Out Personal Information To Foreign Police Forces

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– EU demands access to details of all UK drivers: ‘Orwellian’ move to hand out personal information to foreign police forces (Daily Mail, Jan 9, 2013):

Brussels is demanding that 26 police forces across the EU should have access to the personal details of every motorist in Britain.

The Government is being threatened with fines totalling millions of pounds unless it obeys the ‘Orwellian’ edict.

Foreign police also want open access to the UK’s national DNA database and fingerprint records so they can check them against crime scenes and camera footage.

Read moreEU Demands Access To Details Of All UK Drivers: ‘Orwellian’ Move To Hand Out Personal Information To Foreign Police Forces

Greece: Unemployment Soars To New Record, 56.6% Of 15-24 Year Olds Without Job

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– Greek Unemployment Soars To New Record, 56.6% Of 15-24 Year Olds Without Job (ZeroHedge, Jan 10, 2012):

Judging by ongoing momentum moves in various European stock and bond market indicators, one could be left with the impression that something in the continent is actually improving. And while hope of improvement is certainly be high, the reality is vastly different as confirmed by the just released Greek unemployment data, which saw the broad unemployment rate soar to a fresh record high of 26.8% in October (24.1% males, 30.4% females – that’s nearly one in three), up from a pre-revision 26.0% in September, and up from 19.7% a year ago, the youth (15-24 age group) unemployment rising again to a new all time high of 56.6% (up from 56.4%), and the ratio of those employed (3.68MM) to unemployed (1.34MM) plunging to a record low 2.75x. At this rate it may well hit 1.00x quite soon. But even sooner, perhaps in a few months, the total number of inactive workers (3.34MM) will surpass all those who are working. In short, the Greek collapse is just getting worse and worse.

…

20 Facts About The Collapse Of Europe That Everyone Should Know

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– By The Numbers: 20 Facts About The Collapse Of Europe That Everyone Should Know (Economic Collapse, Jan 8, 2013):

The economic implosion of Europe is accelerating.  Even while the mainstream media continues to proclaim that the financial crisis in Europe has been “averted”, the economic statistics that are coming out of Europe just continue to get worse.  Manufacturing activity in Europe has been contracting month after month, the unemployment rate in the eurozone has hit yet another brand new record high, and the official unemployment rates in both Greece and Spain are now much higher than the peak unemployment rate in the United States during the Great Depression of the 1930s.  The economic situation in Europe is far worse than it was a year ago, and it is going to continue to get worse as austerity continues to take a huge toll on the economies of the eurozone.  It would be hard to understate how bad things have gotten – particularly in southern Europe.  The truth is that most of southern Europe is experiencing a full-blown economic depression right now.  Sadly, most Americans are paying very little attention to what is going on across the Atlantic.  But they should be watching, because this is what happens when nations accumulate too much debt.  The United States has the biggest debt burden of all, and eventually what is happening over in Spain, France, Italy, Portugal and Greece is going to happen over here as well.

The following are 20 facts about the collapse of Europe that everyone should know…

Read more20 Facts About The Collapse Of Europe That Everyone Should Know

José Manuel Barroso: The Euro Crisis Is Over

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Oh, sure!

Flashback:

– Quotes from the Great Depression

– The euro crisis is over, declares José Manuel Barroso (Guardian, Jan 7, 2013):

The euro has been saved and the euro crisis is a thing of the past, European commission president José Manuel Barroso has declared.

But his optimistic comments and the prospect of looser rules for banks failed to lift markets, which ended a strong run of recent gains.

“I think we can say that the existential threat against the euro has essentially been overcome,” Barroso said in Lisbon. “In 2013 the question won’t be if the euro will, or will not, implode,” he said.

Read moreJosé Manuel Barroso: The Euro Crisis Is Over

Japan To Buy ESM Bonds Using FX Reserves To Help Weaken Yen (Bloomberg)

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So Japan will ‘stabilize’ itself by monetizing European debt.

Now that makes perfect sense …

… if one belongs to those Keynesian lunatics.

You can’t make this stuff up!

Related info:

– Japan: Presenting Shinzo Abe’s ‘Super-Secret’ Devaluation Plan – Double-Down

– Japanese Ministry of Finance To Japanese Bondholders: YOU’RE SCREWED!!!

– Bank Of Japan Increases Asset Purchases By Y10 Trillion, Total Program Now Y80 Trillion, Total Debt Still Y1 Quadrillion

– Japan to Buy ESM Bonds Using FX Reserves to Help Weaken Yen (Bloomberg, Jan 8, 2013):

Japan will buy bonds issued by the European Stability Mechanism and euro-denominated sovereign debt, a strategy that Finance Minister Taro Aso said will help weaken the yen and support Europe.

The transactions will be funded by Japan’s foreign exchange reserves, Aso told reporters today at a briefing in Tokyo. The purchase amount is undecided, he said.

“The financial stability of Europe will help the stability of foreign exchange rates, including the yen,” Aso said. “From this perspective, Japan plans to buy ESM bonds.”

Read moreJapan To Buy ESM Bonds Using FX Reserves To Help Weaken Yen (Bloomberg)

Greek Banks To Merkel: ‘Please Ma’am, Can We Have Some Moar’, Or Here Comes Bailout #4

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– Greek Banks To Merkel: “Please Ma’am, Can We Have Some Moar”, Or Here Comes Bailout #4 (ZeroHedge, Jan 7, 2013):

As loathed as we are to say “we told you so,” but we did and sure enough eKathimerini is reporting this evening that: thanks to the ‘voluntary’ haircuts the Greek banks were force-fed via the latest buyback scheme and the political uncertainty causing non-performing loans (NPLs) to rise (in a magically unknowable way), they will need significantly more ‘capital’ to plug their increasingly leaky boats. The original Blackrock report from a year did not foresee a rise in NPLs (which Ernst & Young now estimates stands at 24% of all loans) and the buyback dramatically reduces the expected profitability of the banks as it removes critical interest payments that would have been due. Whocouldanode? Well, plenty of people who did not just buy-in blindly to the promise of future hockey-stick returns to growth. Expectations are now for the Greek bank recap to be over EUR30bn.
Via eKathimerini,

The country’s main banks are considering requesting additional funds for their recapitalization.

Read moreGreek Banks To Merkel: ‘Please Ma’am, Can We Have Some Moar’, Or Here Comes Bailout #4