A CEO Explains Why He Sold A German Soul To the Chinese

By Wolf Richter: Putzmeister was a paragon of the German Mittelstand—family-owned companies with innovative technologies and high-quality manufacturing that become worldwide players in niche markets that they dominate. They’re at the core of the German export economy. But in early 2012, like so many other Mittelstand companies, it was acquired by a Chinese giant. And now, a year later, Putzmeister CEO Norbert Scheuch reveals just how impossible integration is, and how pessimistic he has become not only about Europe, but the rest of the world, particularly China.

The company was founded by Karl Schlecht in 1958. First product: an automated mortar machine, ideal for the post-World War II construction boom. Soon Putzmeister expanded into concrete pumps—truck-mounted equipment with articulated masts that can pump liquid concrete. Over time, it developed larger pumps with unique technologies and record setting performances. In the 1970s, it expanded into the rest of Europe; in the 1980s, into the US; in the 1990s, into Japan, China, Russia.... It had become a worldwide player. In 2012, it had about 3,000 employees, but only 1,100 in Germany.

German Central Bank Warns Of "Incendiary" Monetary Policy + Paying With A Hundred Dollar Bill? Prepare To Fill Out A Form

Submitted by Tyler Durden: "The euro crisis is certainly not over yet," is how the Bundesbank's Jens Weidmann begins this intriguingly honest interview, adding that, resolution "will take some time." Perhaps his most telling statement comes early on when he explains that "believing that everything is okay now simply because the situation on the financial markets has eased is an illusion and does not help matters," as imbalances remain unresolved. From French un-competitiveness to Italy's potential about-turn on reforms, the outspoken German then goes on to address a critical point: "There are indeed some who see a solution to the crisis in the shape of higher inflation. I would regard such an approach as potentially incendiary. Once you allow inflation, it becomes very difficult to tame. In the short term, our projections show no excessive increase in prices. However, I would caution against underestimating the medium to long-term risks to stability. There must be no doubt that, when the time is right, we will tighten monetary policy."

Via Bundesbank,

Interview with Jens Weidmann, President of the Deutsche Bundesbank
The interview was conducted by U. Dönch, J. Quoos und A. Wendt.
Translation: Deutsche Bundesbank

Mr Weidmann, the Bundesbank increased its risk provisioning to €14 billion this week because of the euro crisis. Does that mean you expect the worst is yet to come?
We have been engaged in a three-year process of building up provisions. These reflect the risks of monetary policy and of central bank crisis measures. The euro crisis is certainly not yet over. Resolving the crisis in lasting fashion will still take quite some time.

The Financial System Is Collapsing Before Our Eyes - Celente

Currency war, trade war, world war.  When all else fails they lead you to war.  The systems are breaking down.  The whole thing is collapsing.” Full story at KWN  

Eric King:  “Gerald, I have to start off talking here about the bank holiday we’re seeing in Cyprus.  You had called for bank holidays, your thoughts here?”

Celente:  “First we thought they were going to happen in the United States, but we didn’t know they were going to be dumping quantitative easing unlimited into the economy.  This is unprecedented.  So we knew there was going to be a bank holiday, and in 2012 we started warning about bank holidays in Europe.  I’ve been saying it for the last 14 months, there are going to be bank holidays....

Right now we are almost to the point of nothing left.  Cyprus is the one that everyone should look at.  We believe it’s a test case.  So with Greece already down, Spain out, Italy on the edge, and Portugal gone, Ireland barely floating, to us Cyprus was the test case to see what they can do to steal the money from the people one more time.”

All Cyprus is, it’s (similar to) a division of the Grand Cayman Island, it’s just a different group of people washing and money laundering.  But this is about much more than Cyprus, bank runs, and stealing money from the depositors.  What we are looking at, Eric, on another level is an alliance, an alliance leading to wars.

CYPRUS: MOSCOW WALKS AWAY FROM NICOSIA

The lunatics’ intentions are clear: if ever a nation deserved our support, then Cyprus is that nation.

Signs of global looting build up as the MoUs become ever more overt

The Slog: Medvedev and Barroso finished a news conference within the last ninety minutes, at which it seemed clear to most observers that Cyprus is now alone. To protect us all, Nicosia must leave the eurozone – and stop the madness in its tracks – or we will all wind up penniless.
Here’s yet another reason why: I’m reliably informed that tomorrow (Saturday) the Greek newspaper RealNews has an interview wth one of Wolfgang Schäuble’s top advisers, who said during this interview: “The decision on Cyprus is disastrous for the credibility of the eurozone…..We cannot exclude a haircut for depositors in other European countries”. Yes folks, it took just 48 hours for Olli Rehn’s “unique one-off” to be revealed as utter bollocks.
If Nicosia bows to Berlin pressure – and as you’ll read below, over 90% of it is now coming from Berlin – then the Schäuble test-market will be seen to have worked: his acolytes will say, “Look Wolfie – we stole the entire tax revenue of Cyprus off their citizens, and they caved in. The Herrenvolk is reborn!”
Is it an exaggeration to call this ‘theft’ when Cyprus was hopelessly in debt? No – here’s why in simple language: the Cyprus banking system got into appalling trouble by showing faith in the Greeks’ ability to survive a double-dose of EU bailout at usurious interest rates, followed by insane scorched-earth austerity dictated by Berlin. That is why ClubMed and the eurozone is in the poo, and that is why the previously sound Cypriot banking system is now a basket-case. Yet Berlin has the temerity to come out and invent a complete fabrication about Cyprus having ‘an unsustainable economic model’. Oh right, and the eurozone does then?

60 Billion Reasons the War on Iraq was a Rotten Idea + Now You NATO

LAUGHTONOTCRY: In 2011 the Commission on Wartime Contracting found that between 31 and 60 billion dollars was lost in Iraq to waste, bribery, or fraud. FUN! But if that doesn't convince you of the war's distastefulness, let me count the other 60 billion reasons that this was a neconservative hatched plot to make crazy money.

DISCLAIMER: THERE MAY BE SOME FACTS IN THIS VIDEO. THEY HAVE ALL BEEN RESEARCHED. I APOLOGIZE IN ADVANCE.

IMF & EU Conspired with Insider to Loot Cyprus Banks + Robin Hood Chavez

AJ: New York Times-bestselling author and investigative journalist Greg Palast talks about the banker heist in Cyprus. Palast is the author of The Best Democracy Money Can Buy and Billionaires and Ballot Bandits: How to Steal an Election in 9 Easy Steps. Source

Cypriots Avoid Troika Like Plague, Merkel Vents Anger At Rejection As Her Deadline Looms

By Brian Parkin & Tom Stoukas: German lawmakers from Chancellor Angela Merkel’s coalition criticized the handling of Cyprus bailout proposals before the parliament in Nicosia began to debate them, deepening a standoff days before the deadline for a cut in European Central Bank funding.
As Russia spurned the island nation’s bid for a loan, Merkel told a closed-door meeting of legislators in Berlin today that she’s annoyed the Cypriot government hasn’t been in touch with the so-called troika of international creditors for days, according to a party official who spoke on condition of anonymity because the briefing was private. Cyprus’s decision to test Europe is unacceptable, she told them.

“We’re not ready to accept solutions that are full of wind,” Michael Fuchs, deputy parliamentary leader of Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union, said after the meeting. “I don’t think it’s appropriate to play poker in this matter, especially when you think that there’s a risk that two banks will become insolvent next Monday.”
European patience with Cyprus is running out as Cypriot lawmakers consider proposals to unlock bailout funds and prevent a financial collapse. They rejected a plan to tax bank deposits hammered out last weekend by the 17 euro-area finance ministers. The ECB will cut off emergency funding to Cypriot banks at the end of Monday, March 25 unless there is a deal.
Finance ministers for the 17 euro countries are also considering a plan to shutter the two biggest banks in Cyprus and freeze the assets of uninsured depositors, said four European officials yesterday.

Europe, Russia Reject Latest Cyprus Bailout Plan Before It Is Even Voted By Parliament

Submitted by Tyler Durden: Yesterday, when we described the latest Cyprus bailout proposal being (belatedly) debated by the Cyprus parliament and soon to be voted, we wondered how long before the Troika rejects it outright.  After all the "Solidarity Bailout" Plan C (or whatever it is) did not do what Germany more than anything wanted to accomplish - punish Russian depositors as this entire farce has been nothing but a political gambit dictated by Germany from the onset. And so while GETCO's entire army of algos awaits the flashing red headline with a touch of optimism to unleash robotic buying of ES and EURUSD, we fast forward to the inevitable denouement, which is, not surprisingly, bad news for Cyprus, because as the FT reports, confirming our initial skepticism, "European officials rejected Cyprus’ plans for an alternative package to save its banking sector and remain in the euro, starting a fresh round of talks with the island nation’s government on Friday."

Publicly-owned Banks or A Safe and a Shotgun? Battle of Marathon for Cyprus

If these worries become really serious, . . . [s]mall savers will take their money out of banks and resort to household safes and a shotgun.
– Martin Hutchinson on the attempted EU raid on deposits in Cyprus banks

By Ellen Brown : The deposit confiscation scheme has long been in the making.  US depositors could be next . . . .

On Tuesday, March 19, the national legislature of Cyprus overwhelmingly rejected a proposed levy on bank deposits as a condition for a European bailout.  Reuters called it “a stunning setback for the 17-nation currency bloc,” but it was a stunning victory for democracy. As Reuters quoted one 65-year-old pensioner, “The voice of the people was heard.”
The EU had warned that it would withhold €10 billion in bailout loans, and the European Central Bank (ECB) had threatened to end emergency lending assistance for distressed Cypriot banks, unless depositors – including small savers – shared the cost of the rescue. In the deal rejected by the legislature, a one-time levy on depositors would be required in return for a bailout of the banking system.

Let's reflate the Housing Bubble...

RenegadeEconomist: Neo-liberal politicians want to re-inflate the housing bubble... is that wise?

10 Lessons Cyprus Is Teaching The World About Money & Gold

Gold Silver Worlds: The tragedy in Cyprus continues. Reuters reports today that the island is in an impasse as the initial proposal of past weekend was killed by the Parliament with 100% of the votes. Several alternative plans are being discussed behind the scenes. One of the potential scenario’s is the Russians buying up one of the ailing Cypriot banks. Meantime it appears “EU officials voiced frustration but little sympathy for an ambitious but now bust banking system.” (via Reuters).

We wrote over the weekend our conclusion about the Cypriot case: Wakeup Call From Cyprus To The Rest Of The World. It was meant to help people SEE with their own eyes the truths and fundamentals behind the facts. Our article reached tens of thousands of readers.
The Cypriot case is all over the place, in all types of media. However, it is amazing how the following simple facts remain underexposed. It is one thing to look at the news, it is another thing to look at the learnings that come out of the news. For those who are willing to see, here is what Cyprus is teaching the whole world about money, the debt crisis and gold:
(1) The counterparty risk has never been that high in history. Keeping your money in your savings account not only has no yields, but also has a risk of losing it to the bank itself.

Why Is The World Economy Doomed? The Global Financial Pyramid Scheme By The Numbers

Michael Snyder: Why is the global economy in so much trouble?  How can so many people be so absolutely certain that the world financial system is going to crash?  Well, the truth is that when you take a look at the cold, hard numbers it is not difficult to see why the global financial pyramid scheme is destined to fail.  In the United States today, there is approximately 56 trillion dollars of total debt in our financial system, but there is only about 9 trillion dollars in our bank accounts.  So you could take every single penny out of the banks, multiply it by six, and you still would not have enough money to pay off all of our debts.  Overall, there is about 190 trillion dollars of total debt on the planet.  But global GDP is only about 70 trillion dollars.  And the total notional value of all derivatives around the globe is somewhere between 600 trillion and 1500 trillion dollars.  So we have a gigantic problem on our hands.  The global financial system is a very shaky house of cards that has been constructed on a foundation of debt, leverage and incredibly risky derivatives.  We are living in the greatest financial bubble in world history, and it isn't going to take much to topple the entire thing.  And when it falls, it is going to be the largest financial disaster in the history of the planet.