Cyprus

UKIP’s Godfrey Bloom – EU Parliament: Central Bankers Should Be Arraigned As ‘War Criminals’ (Video)

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– Godfrey Bloom of UKIP: Central Bankers Should be Arraigned as “War Criminals” (Liberty Blitzkrieg, May 7, 2013):

Coming off the heels of a fantastic performance in recent local elections, the UKIP under the leadership of Nigel Farage continues to make waves in both the UK and the Continent itself. In this case, I refer to a recent powerful performance at the European Parliament courtesy of Godfrey Bloom (UKIP), member of the European Parliament.

For many years, I have stated that Ben Bernanke was and is committing crimes against humanity, and would one day stand trial much like the war criminals at Nuremberg. It appears I am no longer alone in echoing such sentiments, as Mr. Bloom has just done so before the European Parliament.

I once said that Nigel Farage is Category 5 political hurricane.  That hurricane has landed.

‘My Savings Account Was Confiscated And All I Got Was This Cyprus Passport’

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– “My Savings Account Was Confiscated And All I Got Was This Cyprus Passport” (ZeroHedge, April 14, 2013):

While the supposedly-coercive decision to hand over most of the nation’s gold to the European Union was surprising to some, the latest policy decision from Cyprus’ President Anastasiades looks set to dilute the nation’s sovereignty also. Foreign depositors who lost at least EUR3 million will be given EU passports (and Cypriot citizenship), “in an effort to ‘mitigate’ to some extent the damage the Russian business community has suffered.” As France24 reports, these measures are expected to be enacted Monday “in a fast-track manner,” as Anastasiades readies himself for a ‘begging’ trip to meet Putin in Russia. Coincidentally, Cyprus issued the 8th decree on capital controls today (for seven more days) increasing the monthly transfer cap (for companies) to EUR50,000 and raising transfer caps outside the Republic to a huge EUR2,000. We suspect the ‘been there, got the passport’ messaging will do little to stave off the Russian retaliation.

Just a week or two back, Putin enacted his ‘amnesty’ that wealthy tax-evading Russians bring their money back from overseas within three months (or else) and we wonder if this move by Cyprus, however well intentioned from the outside, has a ‘catch’ in that if citizenship is applied for, are the applicants legally obligated to disclose all tax accounts. Yet another attempt at trapping wealth?

Via France24,

President Nicos Anastasiades said Sunday that foreigners with bank deposits in Cyprus who lost at least 3 million euros ($3.9 million) under an EU bailout for the island would be given passports.

“Non-resident investors who held deposits prior” to the bailout and lost “at least 3 million euros will be eligible to apply for Cypriot citizenship,” he told a Russian business conference in the coastal resort of Limassol.

“We believe that a number of measures to be adopted could on the one hand mitigate to some extent the damage the Russian business community has endured,” Anastasiades said.

Read more‘My Savings Account Was Confiscated And All I Got Was This Cyprus Passport’

Federal Reserve And Bank Of Japan Caused Gold Crash (Telegraph, Ambrose Evans-Pritchard)

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Compare Ambrose Evans-Pritchard’s article to …

– Former Assistant Secretary of the Treasury Dr. Paul Craig Roberts: The Assault On Gold – Assault On Gold UPDATE

– Fed and Bank of Japan caused gold crash (Telegraph, Ambrose Evans-Pritchard April 17, 2013):

Commodity prices have been falling since September, culminating in a rout over the past two weeks. That is a classic warning for the global economy.

It is becoming ever clearer that the roaring boom in global equities since last summer has priced in an economic recovery that does not in fact exist. The International Monetary Fund has had to nurse down its global growth forecasts yet again. We are still stuck in an old-fashioned trade depression, with pervasive over-capacity in manufacturing plant and a record global savings rate of 25pc of GDP.

German car sales fell 17pc in March. That should puncture the last illusions that Germany is about to pull Europe out of a self-inflicted slump.

As you can see from the chart below, the divergence between stock markets and the Deutsche Bank index of raw materials is astonishing to behold, so like the pattern in early 1929.

Read moreFederal Reserve And Bank Of Japan Caused Gold Crash (Telegraph, Ambrose Evans-Pritchard)

Nigel Farage – EU Parliament, April 17, 2013: ‘You Are Common Criminals’ (Video)

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– Farage Unleashed: “You Are Common Criminals” (ZeroHedge, April 17, 2013):

“Years ago, Mrs Thatcher recognized the truth behind the European Project,” UKIP’s Nigel Farage reminds his European Parliament ‘colleagues’, “she saw that it was about taking away democracy from nation states and handing that power to largely unaccountable people.” In one of his most wonderfully vitriolic remonstrations, the fiery Farage blasts Europe’s leadership, “this European Union is the new communism.” Slamming Olli Rehn and his Troika cohorts for “resorting to the level of common criminals and stealing people’s money”, Farage warns, rather chillingly, that, “it is power without limits. It is creating a tide of human misery and the sooner it is swept away the better.” Simply put, he concludes, the European Parliament is living out a federal fantasy which is no longer sustainable.

Full Transcript:

Years ago, Mrs Thatcher recognised the truth behind the European Project. She saw that it was about taking away democracy from nation states and handing that power to largely unaccountable people.

Knowing as she did that the euro would not work she saw that this was a very dangerous design. Now we in UKIP take that same view and I tried over the years in this parliament to predict what the next moves would be as the euro disaster unfolded.

But not even me, in my most pessimistic of speeches would have imagined, Mr Rehn, that you and others in the Troika would resort to the level of common criminals and steal money from peoples’ bank accounts in order to keep propped up this total failure that is the euro.

Read moreNigel Farage – EU Parliament, April 17, 2013: ‘You Are Common Criminals’ (Video)

Cyprus: Government Plans To Sell Part Of Its Gold Reserves Within The Next Months (Bloomberg)

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“Cyprus’ Bottom”

Flashback: “Brown’s Bottom”

– Cyprus Finance Minister Sees Gold Sale Within Next Months (Bloomberg, April 17, 2013):

The Cypriot government plans to sell part of its gold reserves within the next months, a decision that needs to be approved by the country’s central bank, Finance Minister Haris Georgiades said.“The exact details of it will be formulated in due course primarily by the board of the central bank,” Georgiades, 41, told Bloomberg TV’s Ryan Chilcote in an interview in Nicosia. “Obviously it’s a big decision.”

Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades is trying to unlock 10 billion euros ($13.2 billion) of loans from the euro area and the International Monetary Fund. To do so, he must come up with a further 11 billion euros through measures including a tax on bank deposits of more than 100,000 euros at the country’s two biggest banks, the sale of assets and gold and other tax measures.

Read moreCyprus: Government Plans To Sell Part Of Its Gold Reserves Within The Next Months (Bloomberg)

Which Country Will Be Forced To Sell Its Gold Holdings Next ?

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– Which Country’s Gold Will Be Sold Next? (ZeroHedge, April 15, 2013):

The first time the Status Quo/Troika tried to force a (not so) stealthy gold confiscation on an insolvent European country was back in early 2012, when as part of the most recent Greek bailout MOU, it was disclosed that “Greece’s lenders will have the right to seize the gold reserves in the Bank of Greece under the terms of the new deal.” However, the public outcry was so loud that the Troika had no choice but to shelve its plans and proceed with a full scale bondholder restructuring instead. Fast forward to last week, when Europe’s appetite for physical gold came back with a bang, this time as part of the Cyprus “Debt Sustainability Analysis“, and subsequent comments from Mario Draghi, demanding that tiny Cyprus, whose opposition, already weakened by the confiscation of uninsured deposits would be far less vocal than Greece’s, sell off €400MM, or virtually all of its sovereign gold, over 10 of its 13.9 total tons, to cover the excess costs of its ever ballooning sovereign bailout.

Read moreWhich Country Will Be Forced To Sell Its Gold Holdings Next ?

Peter Schiff: ‘When People Realize Where All This Gold Is Going – There Will Be A Scramble To Buy It Back’

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Flashback:

Peter Schiff Was Right 2006 – 2007 (2nd Edition):

– Peter Schiff: “When People Realize Where All This Gold Is Going—There Will Be A Scramble To Buy It Back” (Bull Market Thinking, April 12, 2013):

had the opportunity this afternoon to connect with Peter Schiff, CEO and Chief Global Strategist of Euro Pacific Capital. It was a fascinating conversation, which took place while gold was absolutely collapsing.During the interview, Peter explained that today’s sell-off, triggered by a Goldman Sachs sell recommendation was based on the “false idea” of European Central Bank gold sales hitting the market. Instead he explained, gold is preparing its move “from weak hands to strong hands”, before heading to new all-time highs. 

When asked his thoughts on the complete panic in the market this afternoon, Peter commented that, ”Gold had [previously] sold-off on false anticipation of [economic] recovery bringing an early end to QE. But when Goldman Sachs came out with the sell recommendation…sentiment was already negative…so I think there’s a lot of stops being hit [right now]…[However], the lower prices will create an opportunity for buyers…wanting to accumulate large positions without moving the market. The only way to do that, is to have a lot of selling...Goldman Sachs certainly could have done a lot of favors for people interested in accumulating gold, because now you’ve got the selling that makes [it] possible.”

Read morePeter Schiff: ‘When People Realize Where All This Gold Is Going – There Will Be A Scramble To Buy It Back’

Cyprus Central Bank In Shambles Following Third Board Member Resignation

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– Cyprus Central Bank In Shambles Following Third Board Member Resignation (ZeroHedge, April 12, 2013):

Perhaps the most underfollowed story of the day is the blatant takeover of the Cypriot Central bank by the ECB, which as we reported earlier, has been ordered to sell their gold by the ECB’s Mario Draghi, even though the disposition decision of the “independent” central bank of the now insolvent nation is supposedly theirs. First it was this:

  • PANICOS DEMETRIADES SAYS CYPRUS CENTRAL BANK INDEPENDENCE UNDER ATTACK,
  • DEMETRIADES SAYS GOVT WANTS TO SELL GOLD WITHOUT CONSULTATION.

And now we learn that not one, not two, but three board members of the central bank have called it a day:

  • THIRD BOARD MEMBER OF THE CYPRUS CENTRAL BANK RESIGNS – CYBC

We are sure there are at least a few more board members who can resign topped off by Panicos himself bailing, before the entire central bank implodes, and there is nobody left in charge of the now obsolete monetary policy apparatus. What happens then: will Goldman appoint a new “technocratic” Board and governor, or will the country finally confirm that all European lies about member bank Independence is just one big lie?

EMU Plot Curdles As Creditors Seize Cyprus Gold Reserves

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– EMU plot curdles as creditors seize Cyprus gold reserves (Telegraph, April 11, 2013):

First they purloin the savings and bank deposits in Laiki and the Bank of Cyprus, including the working funds of the University of Cyprus, and thousands of small firms hanging on by their fingertips.

Then they seize three quarters of the country’s gold reserves, making it ever harder for Cyprus to extricate itself from EMU at a later date.

The people of Cyprus first learned about this from a Reuters leak of the working documents for the Eurogroup meeting on Friday.

It is tucked away in clause 29. “Sale of excess gold reserves: The Cypriot authorities have committed to sell the excess amount of gold reserves owned by the Republic. This is estimated to generate one-off revenues to the state of €400m via an extraordinary payout of central bank profits.”

This seemed to catch the central bank by surprise. Officials said they knew nothing about it. So who in fact made this decision?

Read moreEMU Plot Curdles As Creditors Seize Cyprus Gold Reserves

Why Are The Banksters Telling Us To Sell Our Gold When They Are Hoarding Gold Like Crazy?

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Today:

And so it begins …

Related info:

– DHS Insider: ‘There Won’t Be Any Meaningful Deal About The Fiscal Crisis. This Is Planned … The Coming Collapse Of The U.S. Dollar Is A Done Deal.’

DH: How soon do you see things taking place?

RB: They already are in motion. If you’re looking for a date I can’t tell you. Remember, the objectives are the same, but plans, well, they adapt. They exploit. Watch how this fiscal cliff thing plays out. This is the run-up to the next big economic event.

I can’t give you a date. I can tell you to watch things this spring. Start with the inauguration and go from there. Watch the metals, when they dip. It will be a good indication that things are about to happen. I got that little tidbit from my friend at [REDACTED].

– Hedge Fund Manager Kyle Bass: Senior Obama Administration Official Said: ‘We’re Just Going To Kill The Dollar’ (Video)

– Goldman Sachs Buying Gold, Selling Treasurys To Muppets Whom It Advises To Do Opposite (April 10, 2013):

– Why Are The Banksters Telling Us To Sell Our Gold When They Are Hoarding Gold Like Crazy? (Economic Collapse, April 10, 2013):

The big banks are breathlessly proclaiming that now is the time to sell your gold.  They are warning that we have now entered a “bear market” for gold and that the price of gold will continue to decline for the rest of the year.  So should we believe them?  Well, their warnings might be more credible if the central banks of the world were not hoarding gold like crazy.  During 2012, central bank gold buying was at the highest level that we have seen in almost 50 years.  Meanwhile, insider buying of gold stocks has now reached multi-year highs and the U.S. Mint cannot even keep up with the insatiable demand for silver eagle coins.  So what in the world is actually going on here?  Right now, the central banks of the world are indulging in a money printing binge that reminds many of what happened during the early days of the Weimar Republic.  When you flood the financial system with paper money, that is eventually going to cause the prices for hard assets to go up dramatically.  Could it be possible that the banksters are trying to drive down the price of both gold and silver so that they can gobble it up cheaply?  Do they want to be the ones sitting on all of the “real money” once the paper money bubble that we are living in finally bursts?

Over the past few weeks, nearly every major newspaper in the world has run at least one story telling people that it is time to sell their gold.  For example, the following is from a recent Wall Street Journal article entitled “Goldman Sachs Turns Bearish on Gold“…

Read moreWhy Are The Banksters Telling Us To Sell Our Gold When They Are Hoarding Gold Like Crazy?

ECB’s Mario Draghi Orders Cyprus To Sell Gold To Cover Bailout ‘Shortfall’

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– Mario Draghi Orders Cyprus To Sell Gold To Cover Bailout “Shortfall” (ZeroHedge, April 11, 2013):

Update, and sure enough:

  • PANICOS DEMETRIADES SAYS CYPRUS CENTRAL BANK INDEPENDENCE UNDER ATTACK,
  • DEMETRIADES SAYS GOVT WANTS TO SELL GOLD WITHOUT CONSULTATION.
  • CYPRUS CENTRAL BANK GOV DEMETRIADES SAYS HE AND HIS FAMILY RECEIVED DEATH THREATS

As a reminder, Panicos holds the now obsolete position of head of the Cyprus Central Bank.

* * *

As was noted two days ago (so certainly not the news catalyst for today’s gold sell off as some are trying to make it appear) as part of its bailout expansion by 35%, Cyprus announced, then refuted, then re-admitted, it would need to fund a portion of the incremental €7 billion in cash demands by selling €400 million, or nearly all 13.9 tons, of its central bank gold. Today, we learn that this demand came from none other than the head of the ECB Mario Draghi. Bloomberg reports: “European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said the profits of any gold sales by the Cypriot central bank must be used to cover losses it may sustain from emergency loans to Cypriot commercial banks.”

Of course, to make it seem that the Cyprus central bank is “independent”, the “European creditors today left a possible gold sale in the hands of the Cypriot central bank, which manages 13.9 metric tons of the metal, according to the World Gold Council.” Naturally, it would not be very politically correct to give the impression that it is none other than the collateral and asset-starved European central bank that is effectively running local monetary policy of its member states, and certainly would not make Cypriots, already devoid of their uninsured bank deposits, happy that the next demand by the ECB for the privilege of staying in the EUR is for them to hand over the only real asset their country has.

More from Bloomberg:

“The decision is going to be taken by the central bank,” Draghi said after a meeting of euro-area finance officials in Dublin. “What’s important, however, is that what is being transferred to the government budget out of the profits made out of the sales of gold should cover first and foremost any potential loss that the central bank might have from its ELA.”

Read moreECB’s Mario Draghi Orders Cyprus To Sell Gold To Cover Bailout ‘Shortfall’

Cyprus Bailout Size Increases By 35% In One Month To €23 Billion, 120% Of GDP

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– Cyprus Bailout Size Increases By 35% In One Month To €23 Billion, 120% Of GDP (ZeroHedge, April 11, 2013):

As was reported in the previously presented Cypriot Debt Sustainability Analysis, which among other things had this stunner inside of it, things in Cyprus have gone from bad to worse in the brief span of a month. 35% worse to be exact, because this is how much the total bailout of Cyprus has grown by in a few shorts weeks, from €17 to €23 billion, which happened because just as we predicted the stealth outflow from banks was much worse (read bigger) than previously reported, leaving banks with a far bigger hole to plug. This is problematic because at least previously the bailout as a percentage of GDP was in the double digits. No longer so, as the latest (and soon to be re-revised higher) bailout figure now stands at over 120% of the country’s €18.8 billion GDP (which itself is about to tumble following the collapse of the economy).

From the Guardian:

Crisis-hit Cyprus will be forced to find an extra €6bn (£5.1bn) to contribute to its own bailout under leaked updated plans for the rescue.

In total, the bill for the bailout has risen to €23bn, from an original estimate of €17bn, less than a month after the deal was agreed – and the entire extra cost will be imposed on Nicosia.

Read moreCyprus Bailout Size Increases By 35% In One Month To €23 Billion, 120% Of GDP

The Central Bank Of Cyprus Denies Gold Sale

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Before:

– Here We Go: Cyprus To Sell €400 Million In Gold, About 75% Of Its Total Holdings, To Finance Part Of Its Bailout

– Cyprus Denies Gold Sale (ZeroHedge, April 11, 2013):

…The Central Bank of Cyprus (CBC) said last night however that selling the island’s gold had not been on the table.

“Such an issue has not been raised, has not been discussed and is not being discussed at the moment,” CBC spokeswoman Aliki Stylianou said.

Stylianou added that sale of the gold was a matter handled exclusively by the CBC board.

A spokesperson for the Central Bank of Cyprus told the Cyprus News Agency (CNA) that reports of the $523 million gold sale have not been, “raised, discussed or debated,” with the bank’s board of directors.

The Central Bank of Cyprus denied the gold sale after reports on Reuters said that Cyprus officials had agreed to sell around 400 million euros in excess gold reserves to contribute to the country’s bailout. Stylianou, the spokesperson for the Central Bank of Cyprus said that the gold sale was, “never discussed nor are there current or future plans to do so on the board’s agenda.” Reuters based its story on a draft report from the European Commission which assessed the nation’s financing needs.

Read moreThe Central Bank Of Cyprus Denies Gold Sale

Here We Go: Cyprus To Sell €400 Million In Gold, About 75% Of Its Total Holdings, To Finance Part Of Its Bailout

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– Here We Go: Cyprus To Sell €400 Million In Gold, About 75% Of Its Total Holdings, To Finance Part Of Its Bailout (ZeroHedge, April 10, 2013):

Curious why every bank and their grandmother, and most recently Goldman today, has been lining up to push the price of gold as low as possible? Here’s why:

  • CYPRUS TO SELL 400 MLN EUROS WORTH OF GOLD RESERVES TO FINANCE PART OF ITS BAILOUT – TROIKA DOCUMENTS – RTRS

Or about 10 tons of gold. But… the bailout was prefunded and there was no need to provide any additional cash? What happened: was the deposit outflow discovered to have been even greater than the worst case scenario and thus Cyprus needed even more cash? As for the buyers? We will venture a guess: central banks buying at the lows.

Finally: congratulations Cypriots. You are now handing over your gold for the one time, unbeatable opportunity to remain a vassal state to the Eurozone. But at least you have your €.

The good news: Cyprus will have at least another 4 or so tons after selling the 10 demanded now, before the Troika kindly requests that Cypriot citizens sell a kidney or two to pay for the ongoing deposit outflow from its insolvent banks, and indirectly, the endless bailout of the Euro.

Cyprus: Laiki Bank Staff Hit Worst Of All

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Realted info

– Cyprus: Why Big Depositors Are Facing A Complete Wipe Out

– Another Non-Russian, Non-Oligarch, Non-Billionaire, Non-Tax Evader Speaks Up: ‘I Went To Sleep Friday A Rich Man, I Woke Up Poor’

– TOTAL ECONOMIC COLLAPSE AWAITS CYPRUS – Caught In The Cyprus Crossfire: Small Businesses Suddenly With Zero Cash:

Because if the locals thought the deposit haircut is the worst of it, just wait until the full brunt of what a -20% depressionary collapse in the economy hits them head on.

– Laiki Bank: The Cyprus bank staff hit worst of all (BBC News, April 5, 2013):

Cypriot savers are furious with their banks, but staff at the now-defunct Laiki Bank have been affected worse than most. Many borrowed money to buy shares in the bank – now worthless – and fear losing both their jobs and their pensions.

“You wouldn’t wish this to happen to your worst enemy,” says Andreas Chrysafis. “All this anxiety, seeing your staff desperate, your kids not understanding what is happening.”

Read moreCyprus: Laiki Bank Staff Hit Worst Of All

Investigators Hit Brick Wall: Bank Of Cyprus CEO Hard Drives Wiped

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– Investigators Hit Brick Wall; Bank Of Cyprus CEO Hard Drives Wiped (ZeroHedge, April 5, 2013):

As the investigation into unusual loan write-downs and the ‘premature’ movement of capital away from Cyprus by the elites of that nation progresses, Cyprus Mail reports that the investigators – Alvarez and Marsal (A&M) – have found that the information provided by Bank of Cyprus (BoC) was incomplete and data deleting software were found on the computers of two senior executives. “Our computer forensic technologists have found that the computers of two employees, (former CEO) Mr. (Andreas) Eliades and (senior manager group treasury and private banking) Christakis Patsalides, have had wiping software loaded, which is not part of the standard software installations at the BoC.” Investigators found no e-mail files, mailboxes or user documents on Eliades’ desktop computer – “we had significant gaps in the e-mail data received from BoC for the period 2007 to 2010, a key period for our scope of investigation,” and no email backups were performed. A&M is looking into how BoC accumulated €2.4bn worth of Greek government bonds (GGBs), later suffering huge losses because of that, and into BoC’s expansion to Romania and Russia. We are sure this is all above board and normal IT protocol for the bank… or not.Via Cyprus Mail,

Deletion of data allegedly took place on computers belonging to senior Bank of Cyprus (BoC) executives, according to the leaked findings of a probe into the circumstances that forced the island’s biggest lenders to seek state assistance.

Alvarez and Marsal, the firm tasked with investigating why Bank of Cyprus and Laiki sought state assistance, said the information provided by BoC was incomplete and data deleting software were found on the computers of two senior executives.

“Our computer forensic technologists have found that the computers of two employees, (former CEO) Mr. (Andreas) Eliades and (senior manager group treasury and private banking) Christakis Patsalides, have had wiping software loaded, which is not part of the standard software installations at the BoC,” A&M said. “Mass deletion of data appears to have been undertaken on the Patsalides computer on October 18, 2012.”

A&M’s findings were handed over to parliament on Wednesday.

…

Investigators found no e-mail files, mailboxes or user documents on Eliades’ desktop computer.

Read moreInvestigators Hit Brick Wall: Bank Of Cyprus CEO Hard Drives Wiped

ECB’s Mario Draghi Responds To Zero Hedge: ‘THERE IS NO PLAN B’

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– Mario Draghi Responds To Zero Hedge: “There Is No Plan B” (ZeroHedge, April 4, 2013):

This happened earlier today, at the ECB press conference:Scott Solano, DPA: Mr Draghi, I’ve got a couple of question from the viewers at Zero Hedge, and one of them goes like this: say the situation in Greece or Spain deteriorates even further, and they want to or are forced to step out of the Eurozone, is there a plan in place so that the markets don’t basically collapse? Is there some kind of structural system, structural safety net, especially in the area of derivatives? And the second questions is: you spoke earlier about the Emergency Liquidity Assistance, and what would have happened to the ELA in Cyprus, the approximately €10 billion, if the country had decided to leave the Eurozone?

Mario Draghi, ECB: Well you really are asking questions that are so hypothetical that I don’t have an answer to them. Well, I may have a partial answer. These questions are formulated by people who vastly underestimate what the Euro means for the Europeans, for the Euro area. They vastly underestimate the amount of political capital that has been invested in the Euro. And so they keep on asking questions like: “If the Euro breaks down, and if a country leaves the Euro, it’s not like a sliding door. It’s a very important thing. It’s a project in the European Union. That’s why you have a very hard time asking people like me “what would happened if.” No Plan B.

Secondly, I think the ECB has shown its determination to fight any redenomination risk. And OMT with its precise rules and acting within its mandate, is there to this purpose. So that’s the answer to the first question.

The second question was about the ELA, but again it’s related to “if Cyprus leaves”  and again we don’t have that in mind, so…. No Plan B.

Informative. We do have three follow up questions:

Read moreECB’s Mario Draghi Responds To Zero Hedge: ‘THERE IS NO PLAN B’

Russia: Last Capitalist (Pig) Standing

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– Russia: Last Capitalist (Pig) Standing (Zero Hedge, April 1, 2013):

While most of the western developed economies become more and more centrally planned and creative destruction is avoided at all costs (for fear it will be the straw that breaks the fractionally-reserved, rehypothecated camel’s back of the financial system – and therefore sovereign financing); it appears ironic that Russia is playing capitalist hardball with the losers from the Cyprus ‘solution’. Russia’s First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov, announced this weekend, that “if someone gets stuck and loses money in those two biggest banks, that’s really too bad, but the Russian government isn’t planning to do anything in this case.”

As Bloomberg reports, Shuvalov told reporters last month that Russia may ultimately benefit from Europe’s decision to target deposit holders. By setting that precedent, Europe has cast doubt on the reliability of its banks and makes Russia’s financial system look comparatively more attractive – but is “closely monitoring”  the situation around Russian Commercial Bank, a Cypriot unit of state-run lender VTB Group, adding that VTB’s exposure in Cyprus is “absolutely manageable.

So, in the new normal, the USA socializes losses but the ex-USSR sticks to its new capitalist roots?

Read moreRussia: Last Capitalist (Pig) Standing

The Banksters Are Recklessly Gambling With Our Money, Causing The Global Financial System To Collapse

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– The Big Banks Are Recklessly Gambling With Our Money, And It Will Cause The Global Financial System To Collapse (Economic Collapse, April 2, 2013):

Have you ever wondered how the big banks make such enormous mountains of money?  Well, the truth is that much of it is made by gambling recklessly.  If they win on their bets, they become fabulously wealthy.  If they lose on their bets, they know that the government will come in and arrange for the banks to be bailed out because they are “too big to fail”.  Either they will be bailed out by the government using our tax dollars, or as we just witnessed in Cyprus, they will be allowed to “recapitalize” themselves by stealing money directly from our bank accounts.  So if they win, they win big.  If they lose, someone else will come in and clean up the mess.  This creates a tremendous incentive for the bankers to “go for it”, because there is simply not enough pain in this equation for those that are taking the risks.  If the big Wall Street banks had been allowed to collapse back in 2008, that would have caused a massive change of behavior on Wall Street.  But instead, the big banks are still recklessly gambling with our money as if the last financial crisis never even happened.  In the end, the reckless behavior of these big banks is going to cause the entire global financial system to collapse.

Have you noticed how most news reports about Cyprus don’t even get into the reasons why the big banks in Cyprus collapsed?

Well, the truth is that they collapsed because they were making incredibly reckless bets with the money that had been entrusted to them.  In a recent article, Ron Paul explained how the situation played out once the bets started to go bad…

Read moreThe Banksters Are Recklessly Gambling With Our Money, Causing The Global Financial System To Collapse

Visualizing The Cypriot Deposit Confiscation

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– Visualizing The Cypriot Deposit Confiscation (ZeroHedge, April 2, 2013):

From ‘why Cyprus could not bail out its banks’ to its failed financing needs and the road to confiscation, Demonocracy provides the ‘everything you wanted to know about Cyprus’ infograph ‘but were afraid to read’.

Via Demonocracy,

The big depositors will get hit harder than expected, because a lot of money left the banks right before the banks went into lock-down.

Cyprus’ Banks are the first during the last 147 banking crises that will not get a single Euro from EU to bail out the banks. Greek branches of Cyprus banks had €15 Billion in deposits, they were sold last minute to another bank, by so they will not be included in sharing the losses- obviously suspicious. Some people are offering depositors to get their money out of Cyprus for a 20% fee. Cyprus officials are throwing around slogans such as “time for responsibility‘ (to pay up) just to turn around a week later and oppose it.

With the lack of backbone, the next political move is rather unpredictable. EU officials say Cyprus is a unique case, but EU has many countries with over-sized banking sectors.

The crash of Cyprus financial sector and government bailout sentences Cyprus to a long period of recession and debt. The list of demands by EU to Cyprus for accepting the €10 billion bailout includes things such as freeze on pensions, massive tax increase on just about everything and more taxes.

For America: Bernanke Fails to Answer Concerns about a Cyprus-Style Seizure of American Bank Deposits

Cyprus Finance Minister Sarris Resigns

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– Cyprus Finance Minister Resigns (ZeroHedge, April 2, 2013):

As per rumors first reported in the overnight summary article, the Cypriot finance minister has joined the other rats dumping the sinking island:

  • CYPRUS FINANCE MINISTER SARRIS SAYS HE RESIGNS
  • SARRIS SAYS RESIGNS DUE TO ONGOING INVESTIGATION IN CYPRUS
  • SARRIS SAYS CYPRUS PRESIDENT ACCEPTED RESIGNATION

Investigation? Did he also funnel cash into London ahead of Confiscation Day? But fear not, all shall be well, the now ex-finmin promises:

  • SARRIS SAYS CAPITAL CONTROLS WILL BE EASED GRADUALLY

Surely, if this great news doesn’t send the S&P to new all time highs, nothing will.

From Sigma Live:

His resignation, submitted by the Minister of Finance Michalis Sarris and agreed the President, confirmed by the Government Spokesman Christos Stylianides.

“I took over the Ministry of Finance to help the Cyprus agreement with the Troika on the memorandum, which was achieved,” said Mr. Sarris in his statements.

Read moreCyprus Finance Minister Sarris Resigns

For Cyprus, The Pain Is Only Just Starting

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Related info:

– List Released With 132 Names Who Pulled Cyprus Deposits Ahead Of ‘Confiscation Day’

– Cyprus Parliament President Says ‘No Future’ Under Troika, Calls For ‘Iceland’ Solution

– Cyprus: Why Big Depositors Are Facing A Complete Wipe Out

– Another Non-Russian, Non-Oligarch, Non-Billionaire, Non-Tax Evader Speaks Up: ‘I Went To Sleep Friday A Rich Man, I Woke Up Poor’

– TOTAL ECONOMIC COLLAPSE AWAITS CYPRUS – Caught In The Cyprus Crossfire: Small Businesses Suddenly With Zero Cash:

Because if the locals thought the deposit haircut is the worst of it, just wait until the full brunt of what a -20% depressionary collapse in the economy hits them head on.

– Have The Russians Already Quietly Withdrawn All Their Cash From Cyprus? … YES!!!

Why the f*** have the people sheeple not been calling for the ‘Iceland’ solution?

Do they have to much FLUORIDE and/or LITHIUM in their drinking water, or what?

( TV ‘programs’ in Cyprus are probably not better in ‘programming’ than in Iceland, so that shouldn’t be an excuse.)

– For Cyprus, The Pain Is Only Just Starting (ZeroHedge, April 1, 2013):

If the suffering, yet docile, Cypriot serfs thought deposit confiscation would be the end of their problems under the European feudal system, they are about to be shocked. Because as part of their banking sector bailout, the country is set to get a “loan” from the Troika, a loan which comes with a Memorandum of Understanding, aka a “blueprint for austerity”, with dictates terms for government revenue increases and spending cuts (of the variety that nearly caused America’s leader to blow a gasket when he was describing the untold devastation that would result if the rate of acceleration in US budget spending dared to be slowed down even by a tiny bit). Today, a draft of the revised Cypriot MOU being prepared by the head of the IMF mission to the island nation, Delia Velculescu, leaked and can be found in its 24 page entirety here. However, for the benefit of our Cypriot readers, here is the important part: the listing of the anticipated austerity tsunami coming, not to mention healthcare system, “pension reform” changes and other proposals the ECB and the IMF are imposing on Cyprus as part of their generosity to keep the recently insolvent country as a well-behaving serf in the Eurozone.

Key highlights:

Read moreFor Cyprus, The Pain Is Only Just Starting

List Released With 132 Names Who Pulled Cyprus Deposits Ahead Of ‘Confiscation Day’

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– List Released With 132 Names Who Pulled Cyprus Deposits Ahead Of “Confiscation Day” (ZeroHedge, April 1, 2013):

With every passing day, it becomes clearer and clearer the Cyprus deposit confiscation “news” was the most unsurprising outcome for the nation’s financial system and was known by virtually everyone on the ground days and weeks in advance: first it was disclosed that Russians had been pulling their  money, then it was suggested the president himself had made sure some €21 million of his family’s money was parked safely in London, then we showed a massive surge in Cyprus deposit outflows in February, and now the latest news is that a list of 132 companies and individuals has emerged who withdrew their €-denominated deposits in the two weeks from March 1 to March 15, among which the previously noted company Loutsios & Sons which is alleged to have ties with the current Cypriot president Anastasiadis.

From Sigma:

Money transfers made within 15 days, namely from 1 until March 15. On Friday, March 15, had met the Eurogroup, which officially decided to impose a tax on deposits by companies and individuals in all financial institutions in Cyprus.

These 132 companies and individuals have withdrawn all deposits in euros, dollars and rubles, which were transferred to other banks outside Cyprus.

Read moreList Released With 132 Names Who Pulled Cyprus Deposits Ahead Of ‘Confiscation Day’

How Cyprus Exposed The Fundamental Flaw Of Fractional Reserve Banking

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– How Cyprus Exposed The Fundamental Flaw Of Fractional Reserve Banking (ZeroHedge, March 31, 2013):

In the past week much has been written about the emerging distinction between the Cypriot Euro and the currency of the Eurozone proper, even though the two are (or were) identical. The argument goes that all €’s are equal, but those that are found elsewhere than on the doomed island in the eastern Mediterranean are more equal than the Cypriot euros, or something along those lines. This of course, while superficially right, is woefully inaccurate as it misses the core of the problem, which is a distinction between electronic currency and hard, tangible banknotes. Which is why the capital controls imposed in Cyprus do little to limit the distribution and dissemination of electronic payments within the confines of the island (when it comes to payments leaving the island to other jurisdictions it is a different matter entirely), and are focused exclusively at limiting the procurement and allowance of paper banknotes in the hands of Cypriots (hence the limits on ATM and bank branch withdrawals, as well as the hard limit on currency exiting the island).

Read moreHow Cyprus Exposed The Fundamental Flaw Of Fractional Reserve Banking