UK Sends Planeload Of Cash To Its Cyprus Troops As A ‘Contingency Measure’ – UK Military Personnel And Civil Servants Protected From Levy

UK Sends Planeload Of Cash To Its Cyprus Troops As A “Contingency Measure” (ZeroHedge, March 19, 2013):

We are presenting this Reuters story without any comment. None is necessary.

Britain said on Tuesday it had sent one million euros ($1.30 million) in cash to Cyprus aboard a military plane for its troops on the island in case cash machines and debit cards stop working.

An RAF flight left for Cyprus this afternoon with €1M on board as a contingency measure to provide military personnel and their families with emergency loans in the event that cash machines and debit cards stop working completely,” the Ministry of Defence said in a statement.

“We will keep this under review and consider further shipments if required.”

British troops in Cyprus will be given the choice of having their monthly wages paid into British bank accounts rather than Cypriot ones in future, the statement added.

And some more from Sky:

Read moreUK Sends Planeload Of Cash To Its Cyprus Troops As A ‘Contingency Measure’ – UK Military Personnel And Civil Servants Protected From Levy

Is Bitcoin the New Safe-Haven Currency? Bitcoins Surge After Cyprus Bank Raid

Is Bitcoin the New Safe-Haven Currency? Bitcoins Surge After Cyprus Bank Raid (Activist Post, March 19, 2013):

Is Bitcoin now a safe haven currency?  It wasn’t long ago when it was considered merely an interesting crypto-currency to buy illegal drugs on Silk Road. Now, citizens all over Europe appear to be flocking to Bitcoin as the European finance vultures circle above.

Read moreIs Bitcoin the New Safe-Haven Currency? Bitcoins Surge After Cyprus Bank Raid

JPMorgan Cleared Of Conspiracy ‘To Drive Down Silver Prices’

JP Morgan Cleared Of Conspiracy “To Drive Down Silver Prices” (ZeroHedge, March 19, 2013):

JP Morgan Chase & Co won their case of a nationwide investors’ lawsuit accusing them of conspiring to drive down silver prices.

U.S. District Judge Robert Patterson in Manhattan said the investors, who bought and sold COMEX silver futures and options contracts, failed to show that JPMorgan manipulated prices, by creating long short positions that were not in synch with market events at the time period.

The judge acknowledged that the firm could influence prices, but said that it was not proven that the bank “intended to cause artificial prices to exist” and acted accordingly.

The plaintiffs had nearly 43 complaints filed from 2010-2011, which accused banks of profiteering in over $100,000,000 by illegally manipulating silver prices.

Read moreJPMorgan Cleared Of Conspiracy ‘To Drive Down Silver Prices’

Former Cyprus Central Bank Head Anthanasios Orphanides: ‘EU Is Blackmailing Cyprus Government’ (Bloomberg Video)

MUST-SEE!


EU Is Blackmailing Cyprus Government: Orphanides (Bloomberg, March 19, 2013):

March 19 (Bloomberg) — Anthanasios Orphanides, former Central Bank of Cyprus Governor, considers the proposed Cyprus bank depositor tax a form of blackmail against the government of Cyprus. He speaks on Bloomberg Television’s “Bloomberg Surveillance.”

Cyprus Now Set To Vote Against Bailout, Ruling Party To Abstain Guaranteeing Failure To Ratify ‘Bail-In’

Cyprus Now Set To Vote Against Bailout, Ruling Party To Abstain Guaranteeing Failure To Ratify “Bail-In” (ZeroHedge, March 19, 2013):

It appears that Cyprus is now ready to escalate, following news now coming fast and furious, that the Parliament will go ahead and vote after all, but not in a good way as even the Cypriot ruling party, formerly the only party willing to vote Yes on the Bail-In, would abstain according to Dow Jones, which means there is no support at all in the Cypriot parliament for the deposit haircut proposal.

We can only pray that Bob Pisani explains what happens next because neither we, nor anyone else, has any idea what comes now.

Cyprus Finance Minister Resigns, President Refuses To Accept Resignation

Cyprus Finance Minister Resigns, President Refuses To Accept Resignation (ZeroHedge, March 19, 2013):

Update: President Anastasiades rejects FinMin Sarris’ resignation. Unclear what happens next.Things just took a turn for the much worse following this news from Market News:

  • CYPRUS FINANCE MINISTER SUBMITS RESIGNATION – SOURCES
  • MARKET NEWS CITES SOURCES ON CYPRUS FINANCE MINISTER

Unclear if German FinMin Schauble will promptly step in to fill this latest sovereign vacancy.

Desperation time for the NY Fed to preserve the market green and give the impression that all is under control, when the rats are now actively leaving the Titanic.

Cyprus Vote Delayed Once More As Latest Haircut Proposal Proves Insufficient For Parliament Support

Cyprus Vote Delayed Once More As Latest Haircut Proposal Proves Insufficient For Parliament Support (ZeroHedge, March 19, 2013):

As we suggested, the ongoing wranglings in Cypriot political quarters has resulted in more changes. The President just proposed the ‘levy’ on deposits begin at EUR 20,000 just hours ahead of today’s planned vote.

  • CYPRUS REVISED BILL SEES NO LEVY ON DEPOSITS UP TO EU20,000

However, it is still theft of private property which appears to be the philosophical stumbling block for the parties involved and therefore today’s vote appears to be delayed:

  • ANASTASIADES TO MEET PARTY LEADERS 9 AM TOMORROW: SPOKESPERSON
  • CYPRUS PARLIAMENT BANK-LEVY VOTE MAY HAPPEN TOMORROW, CYBC SAYS

We patiently await news that the stock exchange and banks will be closed the whole week…

Cyprus President Says Parliament Will Still Reject Bailout Plan, ‘Making Other Plans’

Cyprus President Says Parliament Will Still Reject Bailout Plan, “Making Other Plans” (ZeroHedge, March 19, 2013):

So much for the credibility of Reuters’ Greek FinMin “unnamed” source. After the newswire presented the latest Eurogroup statement as if it was one where all deposits under €100,000 will be tax exempt, which was not the case, CNA reported a little while ago that the government has submitted a revised bill according to which only deposits under €20,000 would be exempt, and everything between €20K and €100K would still see the previous 6.75% levy. The parliamentary economic committee would discuss the bill ahead of plenary a debate scheduled for 6 p.m. Cyprus time. However, now as MarketNews reports, that is likely moot.

  • CYPRUS PRESIDENT: PARLIAMENT BELIEVES BAILOUT PLAN UNJUST, GOVERNMENT MAKING OTHER PLANS.
  • CYPRUS PRESIDENT: PARLIAMENT WILL REJECT BAILOUT PLAN –MNI

Amusingly enough, this echoes what Russia’s former FinMin Alexei Kudrin just said, who added fuel to the fire:

  • KUDRIN SAYS CYPRIOT TAX WON’T PASS, GOVT COALITION IS CRUMBLING

Of course, as we said nearly a day ago, if there is no consensus on the term of the bail-in, it is assured that there will be no vote today either, and possibly none tomorrow, and so on, which means that with both banks and stock markets closed through Friday, Cyprus may end up in permanent stasis indefinitely.

Alternatively, parliament may just vote, reject the bailout, tipping the country into bankruptcy, forcing it to exit the Eurozone, and finally pushing Europe beyond the Rubicon. From a somewhat more credible Reuters:

Read moreCyprus President Says Parliament Will Still Reject Bailout Plan, ‘Making Other Plans’

Eurogroup Folds: Tells Cyprus To ‘Safeguard’ Depositors Under €100,000 Euros; Angry Russians To Get Even Angrier

Eurogroup Folds: Tells Cyprus To “Safeguard” Depositors Under €100,000 Euros; Angry Russians To Get Even Angrier (ZeroHedge, March 18, 2013):

Reuters headlines crossing the closing tape, supposedly out of a (very credible) Greek source, according to whom the Eurogroup will give Cyprus more flexibility on bank levy, and that Cyprus should safeguard depositors under €100,000. Well, at least they were not kidding with the whole plan. This was not unexpected – as we tweeted last night:

And while after all this, it is perfectly obvious that ordinary Cypriots just can’t wait to start depositing money again with their local friendly bank, there are two very key questions which remain woefully unanswered:

Read moreEurogroup Folds: Tells Cyprus To ‘Safeguard’ Depositors Under €100,000 Euros; Angry Russians To Get Even Angrier

Barack Obama’s 25 Israeli COLUMBIA Classmates Don’t Remember Him!

25 Shared Undergraduate Class of 1983 With Future President


No Memory: Barack Obama burst onto the national political scene 20 years after graduating from Columbia College in 1983. None of the 25 Israelis who graduated with him that year remembers the future president.

Barack Obama’s Israeli Classmates Don’t Remember Him From Columbia (The Jewish Daily FORWARD, March 16, 2013)


U.S. President Barack Obama, due here for his first official visit next week, graduated college in 1983; yet, none of the 25 or so alumni of his class who are now living in Israel remember laying eyes on him.


Barack Obama during his law school years. His two years as at Columbia, says classmate Len Rosen, was a ‘bleak time.’

Obama’s Israeli Columbia classmates don’t recall the young president (Haaretz, March 18, 2013):

Among those Israelis vying for the attention of Barack Obama as he prepares for his visit here next week, one fairly large, yet little-known group can claim a special long-standing connection to the U.S. president: We were his classmates in the Columbia University undergraduate class of 1983.

As of the latest count, there are close to 25 of us living here in Israel, some making the move close to 30 years ago, right after graduation, others pretty fresh off the boat. But on average, most have been here 15-20 years.

Read moreBarack Obama’s 25 Israeli COLUMBIA Classmates Don’t Remember Him!

Iraq War Costs U.S. More Than $2 TRILLION, Could Grow To More Than $6 TRILLION

Iraq war costs U.S. more than $2 trillion: study (Reuters, March 14, 2013):

The U.S. war in Iraq has cost $1.7 trillion with an additional $490 billion in benefits owed to war veterans, expenses that could grow to more than $6 trillion over the next four decades counting interest, a study released on Thursday said.

The war has killed at least 134,000 Iraqi civilians and may have contributed to the deaths of as many as four times that number, according to the Costs of War Project by the Watson Institute for International Studies at Brown University.

When security forces, insurgents, journalists and humanitarian workers were included, the war’s death toll rose to an estimated 176,000 to 189,000, the study said.

The report, the work of about 30 academics and experts, was published in advance of the 10th anniversary of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq on March 19, 2003.

Read moreIraq War Costs U.S. More Than $2 TRILLION, Could Grow To More Than $6 TRILLION

Cyprus Bank Robbery Shows That No Bank Account, No Retirement Fund And No Stock Portfolio Is Safe

The Great Cyprus Bank Robbery Shows That No Bank Account, No Retirement Fund And No Stock Portfolio Is Safe (Economic Collapse, March 18, 2013):

The global elite have now proven that when the chips are down they are going to go after any big pile of money that they think they can get their hands on.  That means that no bank account, no retirement fund and no stock portfolio on earth is safe.  Up until now, most people assumed that private bank accounts were untouchable and that deposit insurance actually meant something.  Now we see that there is no pile of money that is considered “off limits” by the global elite and deposit insurance means absolutely nothing.  The number one thing that any financial system depends on is faith.  If people do not have faith in the safety and stability of a financial system, it will not work.  Well, the people that rule the world have just taken a sledgehammer to the trust that we all had in the global financial system.  They have broken the unwritten social contract that global banking depends on.  So now we will see a run on the banks, and this will not just be limited to a few countries in southern Europe.  Rather, this will be worldwide in scope.  Yoda may have put it this way: “Begun, the global bank run has.”  All over the world, frightened people are going to start pulling money out of the banks.  A lot of that money will go into gold, silver and other hard assets.  And as money starts coming out of the banks, this could cause many of the large banks that have been teetering on the edge of disaster to finally collapse.

Many of you may not believe that they would ever come after bank accounts, retirement funds or stock portfolios in the United States.

Many of you may be entirely convinced that the Great Cyprus Bank Robbery could never happen in America.

Well, where do you think this whole plan was dreamed up?

Read moreCyprus Bank Robbery Shows That No Bank Account, No Retirement Fund And No Stock Portfolio Is Safe

28 States To Feds: Hands Off Our Guns (The Hill)

States to feds: Hands off our guns (The Hill, March 17, 2013):

A growing number of states are moving forward with legislation to exempt them from new federal gun controls and, in some cases, brand as criminals anyone who tries to enforce them.

While many of the bills are considered symbolic or appear doomed to fail, the legislative explosion reflects a backlash against legislative and regulatory efforts in Washington to tamp down on gun violence.

As of this week, at least 28 states had taken up consideration of gun bills this year, according to new data compiled by the National Conference of State Legislatures. More than 70 bills have been put forward in all.

The burst of activity comes as the Obama administration and Congress pursue a series of gun control measures in the wake of December’s shooting massacre in Connecticut, which left 20 schoolchildren and six adults dead.

Read more28 States To Feds: Hands Off Our Guns (The Hill)

Dr. Paul Craig Roberts: US Financial System To Collapse

Former US Treasury Official – US Financial System To Collapse (King World News, March 16, 2013):

Today a former Assistant Secretary of the US Treasury warned King World News, “This type of situation is extremely dangerous.  The world has never seen it before.”  Former Assistant of the US Treasury, Dr. Paul Craig Roberts, also told King World News that JP Morgan now threatens the stability of the entire global financial system.  And if the Fed loses control and we collapse, “Nothing and no one would be safe anywhere.”

 

Cyprus ‘Bank Holiday’ Gets Another Extension, Bank Reopening Now Set For Thursday

First Cyprus has to make sure Putin’s ‘KGB Money’ has left the country, so that only the sheeple get screwed and not the Russian bear …

.. or have they finally realized what will happen AFTER the ‘haircut’?:

Will Russia Kill The Cyprus Bailout?


Cyprus “Bank Holiday” Gets Another Extension, Bank Reopening Now Set For Thursday (ZeroHedge, March 18, 2013):

What was initially a single-day Bank Holiday has now morphed into three days as the farce that is the wealth tax in Cyprus will now keep the citizenry from their money until Thursday according to the latest from the Central Bank…

  • *CYPRUS CENTRAL BANK SAYS BANKS TO BE CLOSED UNTIL THURSDAY: AP

Which begs the question “Which Thursday?”

Via AP,

Cypriot central bank: Banks will remain closed until Thursday amid talks on savings seizure.

Will Russia Kill The Cyprus Bailout?

Will Russia Kill The Cyprus Bailout? (ZeroHedge, March 18, 2013):

While hope appears to still be alive that the Cypriot government will hand over their natural resources to wealthy Russia (or Gazpromia) and all depositors (Russians and Cypriots alike will be saved), we suspect there is a much bigger threat from Russia that has not been discussed. As Monument Securities’ Marc Ostwald notes “there’s a 50/50 chance Cypriot bailout fails because of the ‘massive danger’ a large amount of Russian cash flees Cyprus following deposit tax plans.” Russia has ~$60 billion exposure to Cyprus, including loans to companies registered in the country and after the haircut 90% of Russian deposits will still be free to leave the country if the levy is approved.The critical point is that, should this occur (such a large outflow of Russian cash – dwarfing in fact the size of the bailout package itself) it is hard to see how the Cypriot banking system could survive (even with the assistance of the ECB’s ELA). Russia’s Finance Minister Siluanov expressed disappointment that Russia was not involved in the deal and it is clear that should those outflows leave Cyprus, they are unlikely to end up in other European nation banks.

It seems the pre-emptive contagion and anxiety of this ‘levy’ have only just begun.

China Building One Of The World’s Largest Drone Fleets, Challenging US Power

China’s Drone Swarms Rise to Challenge US Power (Yahoo News/TechNewsDaily, March 13, 2013):

China is building one of the world’s largest drone fleets aimed at expanding its military reach in the Pacific and swarming U.S. Navy carriers in the unlikely event of a war, according to a new report.

The Chinese military — known as the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) — envisions its drone swarms scouting out battlefields, guiding missile strikes and overwhelming opponents through sheer numbers. China’s military-industrial complex has created a wide array of homegrown drones to accomplish those goals over the past decade, according to the report released by the Project 2049 Institute on March 11.

“The PLA now fields one of the world’s most expansive UAV [unmanned aerial vehicle] fleets,” said Ian Easton and L.C. Russell Hsiao, researchers at the Project 2049 Institute and authors of the new report.

U.S. military forces still operate the largest drone fleet, with at least 679 drones in 2012, according to data from the International Institute for Strategic Studies reported by the Guardian. But the new Project 2049 Institute report estimates that China had 280 military drones as of mid-2011 — a number that has likely grown since then.

Read moreChina Building One Of The World’s Largest Drone Fleets, Challenging US Power

‘All The Conditions For A Total Disaster Are In Place’ In Eurozone

By Charles Wyplos
Professor of International Economics, Graduate Institute, Geneva; Director, International Centre for Money and Banking Studies; CEPR Research Fellow

Cyprus: The next blunder (VOX, March 18, 2013):

The Cyprus bailout package contains a tax on bank deposits. This column argues that the tax is a deeply dangerous policy that creates a new situation, more perilous than ever. It is a radical change that potentially undermines a perfectly reasonable deposit guarantee and the euro itself. Historians will one day explore the dark political motives behind this move. Meanwhile, we can only hope that the bad equilibrium that has just been created will not be chosen by anguished depositors in Spain and Italy.

The decision to tax all Cypriot bank deposits has attracted massive attention (Spiegel 2013) – and rightly so. It is a huge blunder:

Read more‘All The Conditions For A Total Disaster Are In Place’ In Eurozone

Sprott: China’s Gold Reserves: Watch What They Do, Not What They Say

Sprott had its origins in Sprott Securities Ltd., a brokerage firm founded in 1981 by Eric Sprott. Today, Sprott manages approximately $10 billion in assets and operates through four businesses:

  • Asset Management
  • Physical Bullion
  • Private Equity and Debt
  • Wealth Management

China’s Gold Reserves: Watch What They Do, Not What They Say (ZeroHedge, March 18, 2013):

Yi Gang, Vice Governor of the People’s Bank of China (PBOC), recently made the headlines with his comments on Chinese gold reserves. On Wednesday, Mr. Yi stated that China’s gold reserves remain static at 1,054 tonnes, and suggested that a sizeable increase in those reserves would be unlikely in the future. “We need to take into account both the stability of the market and gold prices,” Mr. Yi stated, adding that as the world’s largest gold producer and importer, China produces about 400 tonnes of gold annually, and imports an additional 500 to 600 tonnes of gold every year. “Compared with China’s 3.3-trillion-U.S.-dollar foreign exchange reserves, the size of the gold market is too small,” Yi said, rejecting speculation that China would further diversify its foreign reserve investments into the precious metal. “If the Chinese government were to buy too much gold, gold prices would surge, a scenario that will hurt Chinese consumers … We can only invest about 1-2 percent of the foreign exchange reserves into gold because the market is too small,” Yi stated.

If Yi’s comments are to be believed, he is implying that the Chinese government has not added a single gold bar to its reserves since 2009 – which was the year the Chinese government officially announced its gold reserve increase to 1,054 tonnes. Given the production and import numbers stated above, we find that extremely hard to believe.

Mr. Yi’s comments stand in stark contrast to earlier comments made by Chinese government officials regarding the need to increase China’s gold reserves to ensure economic and financial safety, promote yuan globalization and act as a hedge against foreign-reserve depreciation. In 2009, a State Council advisor known as “Ji” said that a team of experts from Shanghai and Beijing had set up a task force to consider expanding China’s gold reserves. Ji was quoted as saying “we suggested that China’s gold reserves should reach 6,000 tons in the next 3-5 years and perhaps 10,000 tons in 8-10 years”.

Read moreSprott: China’s Gold Reserves: Watch What They Do, Not What They Say

Virginia Government Prosecutes Homeowner With Criminal Charges For Backyard Chickens That Produce Organic Eggs

Virginia government prosecutes homeowner with criminal charges for backyard chickens that produce organic eggs (Natural News, March 18, 2013):

An ongoing debate over the rights of homeowners to raise and keep their own chickens may soon gain an audience in the Virgina Supreme Court. Attorneys at the Rutherford Institute have filed a Petition for Appeal on behalf of Virginia Beach resident Tracy Gugal-Okroy, who faces criminal charges related to zoning ordinance violations for keeping chickens in her backyard. The organization, a nationally active group which is dedicated to upholding constitutional and property rights, is urging the court to protect local residents against what it referred to in a statement posted online as “onerous regulations that render otherwise law-abiding individuals as criminals simply for attempting to grow or raise their own food in a sustainable manner.”

Read moreVirginia Government Prosecutes Homeowner With Criminal Charges For Backyard Chickens That Produce Organic Eggs

Cyprus Government Raids Private Checking And Savings Accounts As Citizens Panic … Now It’s Clear Why DHS Needs 1.6 Billion Bullets And Armored Assault Vehicles

Cyprus government raids private checking and savings accounts as citizens panic (Natural News, March 17, 2013):

The day is coming when the U.S. government will claim it “owns” a portion of all our bank accounts, and it will electronically drain our accounts of money in a grand theft scheme designed to pay off the banksters while decimating private savings.

Don’t believe it? That day has already arrived in the European nation of Cyprus, where the government made a secret deal with the IMF to loot private bank accounts of up to 10% of current deposits. Banks went along with the theft, sealing off the funds from account holders. The government now plans to initiate millions of funds transfers as early as Tuesday, draining private accounts of the money the government now claims it owns.

Read moreCyprus Government Raids Private Checking And Savings Accounts As Citizens Panic … Now It’s Clear Why DHS Needs 1.6 Billion Bullets And Armored Assault Vehicles