5 Dec 2011

60 Minutes "Prosecuting Wall Street"

Two high-ranking financial whistleblowers say they tried to warn their superiors about defective and even fraudulent mortgages. So why haven't the companies or their executives been prosecuted? Steve Kroft reports. Source

"The euro needs to assert itself against gold and silver"


Debate on debt crisis

Should we abandon the euro?

"The euro needs to assert itself against gold and silver"


With so-called rescue packages or a fiscal union can not resolve the euro crisis. Because it is essentially a crisis of paper currency: the euro - as did every major currency in the world - is state-owned monopoly money that is brought out of nothing by lending into circulation. Such a currency design has been tried in the past again and again - and always has taken a disappointing end. It leads not only to economic and financial crises, but is especially dangerous in an indebtedness to lead, from which states and central banks will try to deliver with inflation.

It would therefore be better to allow a competitive currency, as proposed by the economist and Nobel laureate economist Friedrich August von Hayek decades ago, the euro must then compete with other money market players are free to choose, say. These states must first remove the laws that suppress the free currency competition so far. Market players were then free to choose the one to use money that suits their needs best. As part of a free currency competition gold and silver, but of course all other currencies would rise against the euro as an alternative.

Digitized precious metal standard
Gold could serve as a unit of account - which is not to be confused with the requirement that all money must be backed by gold. Using modern technology could create a "digitized precious metal standard." To start the currency competition, it does not even require a decision unit for all governments in the euro area. It would probably be enough if the Federal Republic of Germany put him in motion.
At the end of the currency competition would bring good money. It would increase the disciplinary pressure on the European Central Bank (ECB) to maintain the purchasing power of the euro stable. For an inflationary policy would devalue the Euro visible for all to compete against other currencies. The states are in debt in euros would be in trouble. A competition of currencies would increase the incentive to over-indebtedness to a debt and not to resort to inflationary policies that would be associated with anticipated high economic costs. Source

Italian Welfare Minister Elsa Fornero breaks down in tears during austerity measures announcement

Italian Welfare Minister Elsa Fornero broke down in tears as she announced an end to inflation indexing on all but the lowest pension bands, a move that will mean an effective income cut for many pensioners. Source

Claim: Clinton and Blair Collected $50K Per Month From MF Global


A former MF Global employee accused former president William J. Clinton of collecting $50,000 per month through his Teneo advisory firm in the months before the brokerage careened towards its Halloween filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

Teneo was hired by MF Global’s former CEO Jon S. Corzine to improve his image and to enhance his connections with Clinton’s political family, said the employee, who asked that his name be withheld because he feared retribution. 

They were supposed to be helping Corzine improve his image as a CEO—I guess you can tell how that went,” he said. Corzine resigned as CEO and chairman November 4.

Before Corzine joined MF Global in May 2010, the firm was a smart and well-run commodities broker, a culture that was turned upside-down by his leadership style, he said.

“The traders would be shaking their heads,” he said. “They would come back to their desk and say, ‘Well, I thought we were going to do this—but Corzine would come by and do something else all by himself,’” he said.

The Teneo contract with MF Global lasted at least five months, he said. “The board cancelled it after Corzine resigned.”

The source, who is no longer associated with MF Global, said Teneo is a dual-track company with one side devoted to merchant and investment banking and the other side set up to provide image and strategy consulting services. 

Clinton is the chairman of the company’s advisory board. His duties and compensation have not been released. The other member of the board is former British prime ministerTony Blair.

Two of the three founding partners are very close to the former president and his wife, Secretary of State Hillary R. Clinton. They are Douglas J. Band, who is the former president’s counselor and has served on his personal staff since 1995 and Declan Kelly, who earned the “Hillraiser” status in the secretary’s 2008 run for president for bundling more than $100,000 for the campaign.

Another prominent member of the Clinton political family is Tom Shea. Shea is a senior vice president for Teneo Strategy and served as Corzine’s chief of staff, when Corzine was the governor of New Jersey.

Kelly sold his public relations firm Financial Dynamics in 2006 to FTI for $340 million, and stayed with that company until July 2009, when he joined the State Department as the Economic Envoy to Northern Ireland.

The source said, “Kelly was given a job they created out our whole cloth.” The job did not exist previously.

“He basically got to ride around developing a book of business, while he waited for his non-compete clause to run out,” he said.

Kelley and the former president traveled together networking and making introductions at international conferences and events, he said. 

The Secretary of State also traveled with Kelly, including the October 2010 U.S. – Northern Ireland Economics Conference, which Kelly organized and at which the secretary was the featured speaker.

The secretary announced that she accepted Kelly’s resignation May 11. 

Teneo landed its first major client June 1, when the Rockefeller Foundation gave Teneo a $3,447,150, six-month contract to help plan the foundation’s 2013 centennial. 

The foundation is another member of the Clinton’s extended family. It gave Clinton its Lifetime Innovation Achievement Award July 27 and the foundation is listed as a between $1 to $5 million contributor to the William J. Clinton Foundation, along with several members of the Rockefeller family who are listed as individual contributors.

[In the preparation of this story, several emails and phone calls were placed to Teneo, MF Global and the State Department for comment. In each case, there was no response.] Source

Manning wants Obama and Clinton as witnesses


Days before a preliminary hearing for suspected WikiLeaks aide and US Army PFC Bradley Manning are set to begin, the attorney for the accused whistleblower is asking for two big names to take the stand.
In a request made Friday, Manning’s attorney provided a 20-page list of defense witnesses that they are asking to appear at the hearing — among them US President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. After taking his plea to the courtroom, attorney David Coombs made the list publically available on the Internet over the weekend.
The Article 32 hearing, scheduled to begin on December 16, serves as the military’s own version of a grand jury hearing and will determine if the case against Manning needs to be referred to a full-scale court martial. The US military alleges that Manning passed along top-secret documents detrimental to the country’s security to Julian Assange’s WikIleaks website, though his attorneys feel like they have a strong case in support of their client. Despite this, Manning has been held under inhumane conditions for over a year-and-a-half since being detained by American officials.
Should President Obama be subpoenaed to stand trial, Manning’s attorney is expected to question the commander-in-chief over comments that he made earlier this year against Manning. Speaking during a fundraiser in April, the president insisted that the soldier “broke the law,” which the defense says represented “unlawful command influence.”
superior officer in the chain of command is prohibited from saying or doing anything that could influence any decision by a subordinate in how to handle a military justice matter,” Coombs writes in the court filing.
The redacted version of the paper posted online has removed Obama’s name, although the exact quote from Obama is still available, making it clear that they hope to have the president stand trial.
“We’re a nation of laws. We don’t let individuals make their own decisions about how the laws operate. [Manning] broke the law,” Obama said at the time.
DC-based news outlet Politico reports that Coombs also indicates that he wishes to quiz Obama over his own stance on transparency in government, something the president has in the past said he encourages. Given that case, it is unusual that the US wants to crackdown on Manning, potentially putting him in prison for life, for exposing the truth of the country’s operation.
Earlier, Coombs said that Obama administration officials said the leaked documents that have landed Manning in prison are of “rather benign nature” and are not “of any real damage to national security.”
Coombs added that a congressional official was told by State Department sources that his client’s alleged disclosure of documents caused embarrassment but not damage, and Wired.com writes that "One assessment conducted by the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) concluded that all of the information allegedly leaked was dated, represented low-level opinions or was already commonly known due to previous public disclosures."
Coombs intends on bringing up those claims with Secretary Clinton. According to the lawyer, Clinton “will testify that she has raised the issue of the disclosure of diplomatic cables with foreign leaders ‘in order to assure our colleagues that it will not in any way interfere with American diplomacy or our commitment to continuing important work that is ongoing.’ ”
Coombs adds, Clinton will “testify that although the leaks were embarrassing for the administration … she concurs with … opinion that they did not represent significant consequences to foreign policy.”
Last month, 50 members of European parliament sent a letter to administration officials and the Pentagon pleading with them to allow Juan Méndez, United Nation’s special rapporteur on torture, access to Manning. Since being detained by American officials in May 2010, reports have continued to develop that Manning is being subjected to inhumane conditions, though the UN has been denied access time and time again to investigate such allegations. Source

UK pay gap rises faster than any rich nation - OECD


The pay gap between the highest and lowest earners in the UK has grown more quickly than in any other high-income country since 1975, an OECD report said today.



Research by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development found the sharp increase in income inequality, which began in 2005, leaves Britain well above the group's average.

The study - Divided We Stand: Why Inequality Keeps Rising - published by the forum of 34 countries that earn the most, said the annual average income of the top 10pc was almost £55,000 in 2008, nearly 12 times higher than that of the bottom 10pc, who earned an average of £4,700.

This is up from a ratio of 8 to 1 in 1985, the OECD said.
OECD data showed the money earned by the country's top 1pc of earners doubled from 7.1pc of the total UK income in 1970 to 14.3pc in 2005.
Just prior to the global recession, the top 0.1pc of top earners accounted for 5pc of total pre-tax income. At the same time, the top marginal income tax rate saw a marked decline, dropping from 60pc in the 1980s to 40pc in the 2000s, before its recent increase to 50pc.
In order to combat the problem, the OECD said: "Work is the most promising way of tackling inequality. The biggest challenge is creating more and better jobs that offer good career prospects and a real chance to people to escape poverty."
It said investing in "human capital" is vital.
"This must begin from early childhood and be sustained through compulsory education," it concluded.
"Once the transition from school to work has been accomplished, there must be sufficient incentives for workers and employers to invest in skills throughout the working life."
A Government spokesman said: "The OECD recognises that the causes of inequality are complex. As we have seen, just putting billions of pounds into the tax and benefit system cannot alleviate poverty on its own and has the perverse effect of trapping thousands of families in a life on benefits.
"The OECD rightly points out that governments need to facilitate and encourage employment of low income groups - something we are directly focusing on through the Work Programme and Universal Credit.
"Our wide-ranging reforms will have a dramatic impact on the poorest families, improving the life chances of children at an early age and lifting almost a million people out of poverty through the Universal Credit."
Rail Maritime and Transport union leader Bob Crow said: "Far from all being in it together, the rich are getting richer while working families are taking the biggest hit on their standards of living since wartime rationing.
"This Government continues to pedal the lie that we are all sharing the pain while the boardrooms are awash with cash and those whose rampant greed created the crisis are laughing all the way to the bank." Source

All Take No Give: UK/US post 9-11 extradition injustice

Dozens of British MPs are calling for a review of what they see as a one-sided extradition policy with the US. Drawn up in the post-9/11 panic, it decrees that Washington can demand anyone's extradition without proof, and London is obliged to obey.

All take and no give – that is the growing feeling in Britain’s parliament against America’s controversial extradition treaty. It was signed in 2003 and makes it far easier for the US to take people from the UK than the other way around.
Now, 45 members of British parliament from three main parties have crossed the political divide and joined forces. They have finally forced a debate and parliamentary vote on what they call an injustice.
“I think [signing the treaty] was a mistake,” says Keith Vaz, an MP and chair of the Home Affairs Select Committee. “It's not a level playing field. Even with a partner like America, we need to make sure that we are being equal and we are being fair to our citizens, and that is not the case at the moment.” Full story/Source

Assange Granted Appeal in Supreme Court

Julian Assange has been granted an appeal to the UK Supreme Court to halt his extradition to Sweden over sex crimes allegations. If the appeal had been denied the WikiLeaks founder would have been en route to Stockholm within 10 days.

Assange himself says he is thankful for this opportunity, and “the long struggle for justice for him and others continues.”
The issue of extradition safeguards is a concern to many people. There are many aggrieved families in the UK and in other countries in Europe that are struggling for justice,” Julian Assange said. This afternoon the parliament of the United Kingdom is considering in depth the matters that arise from various extradition cases in the UK, including my own. Today the High Court has decided that an issue that arises from my own case is of general public importance and may be of assistance to other cases and should be heard by the Supreme Court. I think that is a correct decision and I am thankful.”
As for now, the team of his lawyers has 14 days to petition the Supreme Court for appeal, RT’s Laura Smith reports from London. Should it be unsuccessful, they can still turn to the European Court of Human Rights.
One of Assange's lawyers, Gareth Pierce, says the judges have accepted his argument that police and prosecutors may not have the power to issue extradition requests under European law as they are not judicial authorities.
For Assange, the latest developments mean that his stay in Britain — where he lives under house arrest at an affluent supporter's rural mansion — is likely to last for many more months.
The 40-year-old Australian whistleblower has spent almost a year on bail in Britain fighting extradition and previously both courts he has appeared in have ruled against him.
In order for his case to be forwarded to the Supreme Court of Britain, Assange’s lawyers had to persuade two High Court judges that the case raises a question of “general public importance”.
His lawyers have argued that he cannot be extradited as the European arrest warrant is invalid, having been issued by the incorrect authority, and because he has not been charged with any crime.
Assange's hearing on Monday came on the same day as a parliamentary debate on Britain's extradition rules. The House of Commons debate will be based upon demands to change controversial extradition agreements.
Earlier on Sunday, Assange told AP that he was heartened that lawmakers are tackling the issue of extraditions, saying that all people ask for is “the right to not be shipped off to foreign lands without formal charges or the presentation of even the most basic evidence."
Assange had been accused by two women he was involved with during a visit to Sweden in August 2010. One of them accused him of coercion and molestation, the other alleged that he had sex with her as she slept. This happened shortly after WikiLeaks released secret US files regarding the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Although Assange has not been charged by Swedish prosecutors with any crime, they demand that he return to Scandinavia for questioning. Assange denies all accusations, saying the sex was consensual and the investigation is politically-motivated by US officials and other governments angry about their secrets being leaked. Source

CrossTalk: Afghan Backlash

As Bonn conference on Afghanistan convenes, what is the future of this country after 10 years of Western military intervention? The main issues for the meeting are the upsurge in violence; the transition of security forces as international forces begin to withdraw from Afghanistan; and potential negotiations to seek a peace agreement with the Taliban. What has the West, particularly the US, achieved in Afghanistan over the last decade? How will Afghanistan be governed once international troops withdraw? Will the US military ever completely leave? And was the war worth all the lives lost and billions spent? Source

Russia breaks Qatar strings after envoy attack scandal

Russia has down-scaled the level of diplomatic relations with Qatar following an incident with the Russian ambassador to the country, who was physically attacked by Qatari customs and security officers.

Ambassador Vladimir Titorenko suffered an assault at Doha Airport on November 29, on his return from a mission to Jordan. While passing through customs control he was attacked by customs security, who made an attempt to confiscate his diplomatic pouch. Titorenko resisted and was beaten, together with two other Russian diplomats who were there to welcome the ambassador.
The next day Russian Foreign Ministry filed a note of protest to Qatar, demanding that official Doha apologize, but no such apology followed. Source/full story

Joe Biden "Jokes" About Bringing Hundreds Of Millions Of US Taxpayer Dollars To Bailout Greece

Tyler Durden's pictureSubmitted by Tyler Durden 
Vice President Joe Biden, now best known for being the man who relies primarily on Jon Corzine for financial advice, continued his recent roll of epic linguistic blunders this morning. As Reuters reports, the VP, "joked during a visit to debt-choked Athens on Monday about bringing money to help Greece out of its deepest financial crisis in decades. Introducing a member of his delegation during a meeting with Greek President Karolos Papoulias, Biden said: "This man represents the Treasury department. He's brought hundreds of millions of dollars." His comments drew laughs from both the Greek and U.S. delegations." It is unclear if the Greeks laughed because the noted number was orders of magnitude less than what would be needed to actually put a dent in the Greek fast-motion train wreck, or because everyone was waiting to see what the American taxpayer's response would be to learn that while America is hopelessly locked in gridlock of releasing more cash to that country's middle class, the US Treasury is quite happy to disburse taxpayer funding to Greece. We are holding out breath to find out.

From Reuters:
Euro zone ministers will meet on Friday for a summit billed key to finding a way out of a growing debt crisis and may turn to the International Monetary Fund for more aid.

A senior U.S. Treasury official said last week that the United States was not planning to make such loans to the Fund and said the lender's resources were adequate.

Asked what his message to Europe was, Biden said: "Hang in there."
Oddly enough, hanging may indeed be the only option for a whole lot of Europeans soon enough.

Banksters Own You! - Stefan Molyneux

$7.7 Trillion to Wall Street - Anything to Keep the Banksters Happy!

Do you know who Elizabeth Duke is? How about Donald Kohn or Kevin Warsh? No? Well - you should. Because while Congress was debating back in 2008 whether or not to bailout banksters with a $700 billion blank check - these guys and girls were just doing it. They were funneling $7.7 trillion to Wall Street under the table - without one constituent phone call - without worrying about one election - without having to give one explanation.

They were able to do that because they're members of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors - a group of people who are not voted into office, but have the power to completely dictate monetary policy in America. They are not politicians - they're technocrats - they're bankers and financial experts. Technocrats aren't interested in democracy - it takes too long, and often the interests of the majority of voters don't quite line up with the interests of the minority of bankers and foreign investors. Or - to put it in today's terms - the interests of the 99 percent rarely line up with the interests of the 1 percent. That's why - back in 2008 - the technocrats at the Fed weren't interested in waiting for Congress - with all of its open debate and constituent services - to bail out the banks - they just went ahead and did it themselves. According to documents obtained by Bloomberg News - in 2009 - the Fed dished out $7.7 trillion in no-strings-attached, super-low interest loans to Wall Street's biggest players.

That's $7.7 trillion!That's more than half of the total value of EVERYTHING - every single thing produced in America - that same year. $7.7 TRILLION out the door - with no one bothering to inform the electorate about it until now.... Source

Water fluoride exposure damages brain

A new study conducted by scientists in India has proved that chronic high fluoride exposure in drinking water can damage the brain.


Researchers focused on the intelligent development that is diminished by high levels of fluoride in drinking water, Infowars reported. The study, which was performed on rats for a period of 60 days, showed that fluoride caused neurodegenerative and morphological alterations in the neocortex, hippocampus and cerebellum areas of the brain, and in the spinal cord and sciatic nerve. 

High levels of fluoride in drinking water (1-12 ppm) affect central nervous system directly without first causing the physical deformities of skeletal fluorosis,” K. Pratap Reddy of the University College of sciences at Osmania University in Hyderabad wrote in the Journal of Medical and Allied Sciences

According to the Fluoride Action Network (FAN), there are now 25 studies showing that fluoride is associated with IQ reduction, even at fluoride levels as low as 0.3 to 3 parts per million, which overlaps the range in many American communities (0.7 to 1.2 ppm). 

A previous rat study conducted by Dr. Phyllis Mullenix and her colleagues in 1995 showed that fluoride “can be indicative of a potential for motor dysfunction, IQ deficits and/or learning disabilities in humans.” 

Numerous studies conducted in different countries such as the US, Mexico, China and India have determined that fluoride exposure is associated with IQ deficits in childrenSource

Speaker's wife Sally does it again: Cameron an 'arrogant toff'


The British Prime Minister David Cameron is an "arrogant toff ... who is out of touch", says the wife of the Speaker of the House of Commons.
John Bercow's wife Sally, 42, who is known for speaking her mind, told The Sunday Times yesterday: "I've always thought Cameron's a t---."
She then clarified: "No, I don't mean that. You put those words in my mouth. I've always thought David Cameron was not a particularly nice guy. He's a toff who is out of touch. An arrogant toff."
The Speaker is supposed to be non-partisan, meaning he or she takes no sides in any political debate.
But Mr Bercow's wife has not shied away from talking about other politicians, once calling the leader of Britain's Independence Party Nigel Farage a "great man" and Louise Mensch - a Conservative Party MP - "gorgeous", the Metro newspaper reported.
In February, Mrs Bercow appeared in London's Evening Standard newspaper wrapped only in a white sheet and standing before a window overlooking Parliament.
She said then she was a "complete idiot", but was less circumspect in the Times interview.
"Big deal. It was a nice photograph. I just turned up; they said, 'Will you wear a sheet?' and I thought, 'Why not?"' she said.
"I showed less flesh than I would in an evening dress. It was a laugh for Valentine's Day. John thought it was a nice photograph but once all the media furore started he was, 'Oh, why did you do that?'"
In another interview, Mrs Bercow had named a vibrator as her favourite toy, but said her husband did not mind.
"John thought it was funny. He really did. He said, 'You know that's going to go everywhere.' I said, 'I know, I'm sorry.' He said, 'It doesn't matter.'"
Mr Bercow is from the governing Conservative Party but his wife has stood for the opposition Labour Party.
Once he was elected Speaker, Mr Bercow set out a new style, ditching the traditional breeches and wig.
Instead of saying "Order! Order!" during rowdy exchanges, he would give politicians a lecture about how the public views such behaviour. Source

The Deaf Bookkeeper

On a gloomy Monday, a Mafia Godfather found out that his bookkeeper, Enzo, had cheated him out of $10 million dollars.
His bookkeeper was deaf. That was the reason he got the job in the first place. It was assumed that Enzo would hear nothing that he might have to testify about in court.
When the Godfather went to confront Enzo about his missing $10 million, he took along his lawyer who knows sign language. The Godfather told the lawyer;
“Ask him where the 10 million bucks is that he embezzled from me.”
The lawyer, using sign language, asked Enzo where the money is.
Enzo signed back; “I don’t now what you are talking about.”
The lawyer told the Godfather; “He says he doesn’t know what you are talking about.”
The Godfather pulled out a big black pistol, puts it to Enzo’s temple and said; “Ask him again!”
The lawyer signed to Enzo; “He’ll kill you if you don’t tell him.”
Enzo signed back; “OK. You win!  The money is in a brown briefcase, buried behind the shed in my cousin Bruno’s backyard in Woodbridge!”
The Godfather barked at the lawyer; “What did he say?”
The lawyer replied; “He says you don’t have the balls to pull the trigger.”

Chris Martenson and James Turk talk about Europe and the global economy

In this video Chris Martenson - economic analyst at http://chrismartenson.com and author of The Crash Course and James Turk, Director of the GoldMoney Foundation talk about the problems facing the eurozone as well as the global economy. Chris Martenson points out that the whole world simply has too much debt. This is why he believes that there won't be a real solution to the euro crisis. The big question will rather be who will take losses on the debt, which can't possibly be repaid. The lack of political leadership and unwillingness to accept reality is contributing to this crisis. Additionally, the monetary tools central banks have traditionally used to revive economies are starting to show less and less effect. In Martenson's view, the financial sector has become way to large and interlinked across borders, so that a default by one country could bring down the whole financial systems, because credit default swaps would get triggered and could bring down the writers of those derivatives.
James Turk mentions that today, commercial banks as well as central banks are leveraged at unsustainable levels. While both agree that it makes sense to get back to less risky traditional banking and a sound money system, Martenson raises the question of how it will be possible to bring the leverage down to prudent levels again and how to get rid of the huge amount of complex derivatives. That said, Martenson argues that the gold standard has been proven to be a working monetary system with automatic leveling functions. As a result of the coming structural changes to our monetary system, both men recommend owning tangible assets. They point out, that those who act first have a great advantage.Martenson talks about the misallocation of capital, which occurs when money is being mispriced. The debt bubble was allowed to grow over the last 40 years and is now starting to burst. Due to cheap money, speculation and leverage have grown enormously. The tech stock and housing bubbles were the latest examples of that. He hopes that we will get rid of the unrestrained money systems with all its imbalances and return to some sort of gold standard system. The accumulation of gold by central banks hints to the fact that gold will play a bigger monetary role in the future.Talking about European Central bank policy, Martenson speculates that the ECB could be revealed as a "paper tiger", that is unable to stop speculation against European bonds. This could lead to an escalation of the euro crisis if the ECB does not follow the unprecedented example of the Fed in buying up massive amounts of sovereign debt, even though this violates its rules. He wishes more people took the time to understand basic economics; the illusion that government can pay for something without having to collect taxes in the same amount has been created by the constant accumulation of debt. But since debts can't be grown forever we are now in the early stages of finding that the idea that we can always expand and that debt doesn't matter is wrong. Martenson is afraid, that our society as a whole is not prepared for this paradigm shift yet. He believes that resource efficiency and access to resources will be much more important in the future.Therefore Martenson believes that it's important to become more self-sufficient and less reliant on liquid fuels. Financially he believes in true diversification out of paper assets and into tangible assets such as farmland, woodland, solid businesses and precious metals. Those who can afford to diversify globally should do so to mitigate risks. Most importantly though, Martenson recommends that we see the coming changes as opportunities rather than insurmountable challenges.This video was recorded on November 16 at the Gold & Silver Meeting 2011 in Madrid. Source

'Financial terrorists behind EU crisis' Max Keiser on Press TV

Powerful banks such as Wall St. banks, Germany's Deutsche Bank and the Bank of England are committing acts of 'financial terrorism' which have caused the Euro crisis, an analyst tells Press TV.