23 Dec 2011
G. Edward Griffin: The Collectivist Conspiracy
War Woe: Suicide kills more US soldiers than combat
Sir Mervyn King: debt crisis is causing a dangerous 'dependence on central banks'
Sir Mervyn King has used his position as vice-chairman of Europe's "early warning watchdog" to warn that the developing debt crisis is causing a dangerous "dependence on central banks".
Just a day after the European Central Bank (ECB) provided a record €489bn (£407bn) of cheap loans to banks, the Governor of the Bank of England said the crisis had been made worse by “negative interlinkages”. He added: “Dependence on central banks has risen and signs are intensifying that stressed financial conditions are passing through to the real economy.” Sir Mervyn was speaking in Berlin following a meeting of the European System Risk Board.
His comments were taken as a view on the ECB’s radical refinancing operation unleashed on Wednesday. The action, which saw 523 banks borrow nearly half a trillion euros, is known as the “Sarko trade” after French leader Nicolas Sarkozy said the liquidity would allow each state to “turn to its banks” for finance. Economists have warned that making banks buy risky sovereign debt will not help the crisis.
But European markets were buoyed by the liquidity injection. In France the CAC rose 1.36pc and German DAX ended the day 1.05pc higher. In London, the FTSE 100 climbed 1.25pc.
Sir Mervyn said the action would help in the short term but called for longer-term solutions, including getting the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF), the so-called “big bazooka” bail-out fund, up and running.
Mr King’s comments came as Lorenzo Bini Smaghi, an executive board member at the European Central Bank, called for quantitative easing to be used to boost Europe’s economies if deflation risks emerge across the currency bloc. He added that Britain should lend its support since, he argued, “the European Union and ECB would certainly contribute to help Britain if London was in difficulty”.
In Rome, Mario Monti won a crucial vote of confidence for his €33bn austerity package which includes overhauling the country’s tax, pension and retirement systems. In a speech to the parliament, the Italian prime minister called for Italians to buy the country’s debt. He added: “There is still enormous work to be done to free the Italian economy from the brakes that have held back growth for too long.”
The strains were showing elsewhere too. S&P downgraded Hungary to BB+/B on “unpredictable policy framework”. Budapest said it would hold fresh meetings with the International Monetary Fund and EU officials in January.
Moody’s downgraded Slovenia’s foreign currency credit rating from A1 to Aa3, citing growing pressure on the government’s balance sheet from potential support for the country’s banks.
As Greek protests were led by hearse drivers complaining about additional taxes, data from Germany’s statistics office showed Greek and Spanish migration to Germany soared 84pc and 49pc respectively in the first half of 2011.
Meanwhile, Peter Bofinger, a member of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s council of economic advisers, told German reporters the future of the euro will be decided in the next six months and depended on decisive action from Germany. Source
Police Brutality Epidemic: Darrin McBreen Investigates
Infowars Nightly News reporter Darrin McBreen will highlight the dramatic rise of police brutality over the last two decades happening in our country. Whereas the LAPD's beating of Rodney King during the 1992 LA riots seemed so shocking it became an iconic event that outraged many across the country, the police use of undue force has become commonplace today, typically prompting little notice or outrage. From illegal' lemonade stands to little girls blowing bubbles and school violence from offenders as young as five, to peaceful Occupy protesters and more, police have carried out orders to criminalize what was once ordinary American life. How did we get this far? Darrin McBreen investigates. Source
