Submitted by Tyler Durden:Early last week we presented something rather shocking:
a note by Goldman Sachs suggested that as a result of the ECB's QE
failure to push the EUR lower and with bond yields having risen instead
of falling since the launch of the ECB's QE in March, and perhaps due to
a perplexing conflict between the ECB and the Bundesbank when it comes
to debt monetization, a Greek default sparking contagion blowout
risk, not to mention a "seven big figure" tumble in the EURUSD, may be
just what the ECB needs.
On one hand, the Goldman assessment was not surprising: after all the
bank's top trade for 2015 has been that the EUR will go much lower from
current levels so in many ways it was self-serving. But, what's far
more stunning is that Goldman, accurately, assessed the ECB's needs in
light of what is increasingly seen by many as a QE program that is
faltering just 4 months after its launch, and the direct implication was
evident: for all the posturing and bluffing from Greece that it won't
be blackmailed, it may have fallen precisely in a trap set by none other than the ECB. The only hurdle was getting the Greeks to accept the blame for the
failure of the negotiations which happened, at least in the perspective
of the Eurozone, when Tsipras announced the referendum after midnight on
Friday. Merkel herself admitted as much earlier:
"I suggest we say 'NO' to these orders that are destroying Europe, I suggest you answer emphatically to this forced solution that we might turn one bright page for democracy and one certain hope for a better agreement!"Prime Minister Tsipras of Greece.
The Greek government remains at the table of negotiations. ...The choice of a people is more powerful than the choice of a government. ...In very important milestones of the European project, the people have helped decisions. This is so in France and in many other countries. This is happening in Ireland where Ireland in the end gained better terms. Unfortunately regarding Greece's situation we have had other measures and stops.
By The Saker:The Saker notes that the disapproving 11% are not pleased because they want Putin to take a more hardline policy toward the West. In other words, the country is unified in standing up to the West. What does Vladimir Putin’s 89% rating mean? Think Russians are tiring of conflict with the West? Not according to President Vladimir Putin’s approval ratings, which hit all-time highs of 89 percent Wednesday (…) Putin’s ratings jumped from 65 percent in January 2014 to 80 percent two months later, and they’ve stayed in the 80s ever since, according to measurements from the Moscow-based Levada Center, the only independent polling organization in Russia. They’ve kept going up: In Putin’s 15 years in office, they’ve never been higher than June’s 89 percent (…) The 89 percent approval rating is also a testimony to the near-unanimity of views about Russia’s current direction. The Washington Post is correct: the Russian people do fully support Putin, especially if you consider that the 11% which are not happy with him are largely composed of Communists who blame Putin for being too sympathetic to capitalist market economy practices, nationalists who think that the Kremlin is too soft or indecisive about supporting Novorussia against the Ukronazis and maybe 1-3% (max!) who generally support the USA & EU. So in terms of the current confrontation with the AngloZionist Empire the real approval rating of Putin would be in the 97-98% range. What does this mean?
By Gilad Atzmon: The following is a compendium of duplicitous and manipulative Judeo centric statements that illustrate precisely what many of us dread to admit - liberal Jews are not the solution; they are the core of the problem. These quotes are taken from a transcript of Rabbi Alissa Wise’s speech to a Christian Pro Palestinian organisation- Friends of Sabeel, North America Conference in Vancouver, BC, April 2015.
Rabbi Alissa Wise is not a Zionist zealot, she is much worse – a supremacist Jew dressed in dove’s clothing. Rabbi Alissa Wise is also JVP's Director of Campaigns.
Max Keiser and Stacy Herbert discuss the idea of “nothing to fear but fear itself” as Greece puts an end to sovereign asset forfeiture as capital controls and bankster holidays are declared after its government called a referendum. In the second half, Max interviews American defense attorney Craig Brand about civil asset forfeiture.
Submitted by Tyler Durden:With capital controls already imposed on
Greece, some have wondered if this is as bad as it gets. Unfortunately,
as the Cyprus "template" has already shown us, for Greece thenightmare on Eurozone streetis just beginning.
As a reminder, over the past few months there have been recurring rumors
that as part of its strong-arming tactics the ECB may eventually move
to raise the haircuts the Bank of Greece is required to apply to assets
pledged by Greek banks as collateral for ELA. The idea is to ensure the
haircuts are representative of both the deteriorating condition of
Greece's banking sector and the decreased likelihood that Athens will
reach a deal with its creditors. Flashback to April when, on the heels of a decree by the Greek
government that mandated the sweep of “excess” cash balances from local
governments to the Bank of Greece’s coffers, Bloomberg reported that the ECB was considering three options for haircuts on ELA collateral posted by Greek banks. “Haircuts
could be returned to the level of late last year, before the ECB eased
its Greek collateral requirements; set at 75 percent; or set at 90
percent,”Bloomberg wrote, adding that“the latter two options could be
applied if Greece is in an ‘orderly default’ under a formal ECB program
or a ‘disorderly default.’”
Submitted by Tyler Durden: Faced with almost impossible choices...
And just as promised earlier in the week, Greece
has now passed the midnight deadline for repayment of the €1.6 billion
bundled loans due to the IMF and in thus in default. Yes we are fully aware that using the pejorative term 'default'
makes us members of the ignorati, but what else do you call it when you
fail to pay back a contracted debt in a timely fashion? (and don't say
'arrears') Anything else is semantics.
*IMF SAYS GREECE FAILED TO MAKE PAYMENT DUE TUESDAY
*IMF TO CONSIDER GREEK REQUEST FOR PAYMENT DELAY IN DUE COURSE
*IMF BOARD INFORMED THAT GREECE IS NOW IN ARREARS
“I can also confirm that the IMF received a request today
from the Greek authorities for an extension of Greece’s repayment
obligation that fell due today, which will go to the IMF’s Executive
Board in due course,” IMF spokesman Gerry Rice says in e-mailed statement. This is the first time an advanced economy has defaulted to The IMF and is by far the largest default The IMF has ever faced.
By Janet Bloomfield (aka JudgyBitch):Women, it is said, are equal to men in every way and all differences are merely the product of socialization. Performance standards are social constructs designed to deliberately impede women from fulfilling their desires to be fire-fighters, officers in the Marine Corps and oil rig workers. Oh wait, never mind about the oil rig workers. That’s icky. Men can have that job. If women can’t meet performance standards, well, lower them dammit! They’re not bona fide occupational qualifications after all. I mean really, why on earth does a firefighter need to be able to run up a ladder wearing 50 pounds of gear carrying a 100 pound hose and then come back down with a 250 weight over her shoulder? What sexist nonsense, amirite? The NYFD intends to lower standards so women can become firefighters, and I propose the following city by-law: all private residences must prominently display a bright red F if anyone in the home identifies as a feminist. That way, the fire department can dispatch these new lady firefighters should a blaze break out. We’ll see how much feminists enjoy the social construction of physical differences then. How curious that when it comes to the subject of professional athletics, the feminists fall dead silent on the construction of social differences.