Europe

The Portuguese Run Out Of Gold To Sell (Bloomberg Video)

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– The Portuguese Run Out Of Gold To Sell (ZeroHedge, Aug 16, 2012):

“Business has gone from great to terrible in a matter of months. The sad truth is that most of my clients have already sold all of their gold rings,” is anecdotal evidence of a growing trend that Bloomberg reports in Portugal. Historically the home of Europe’s biggest relative gold reserves, cash-for-gold shops rose 29% in 2011 (average 2 store openings per day) – but now some are closing. Portugal’s gold exports increased by more than five times to 519.4 million euros last year from 102.1 million euros in 2009, according to data published on the Lisbon-based National Statistics Institute’s website.

Read moreThe Portuguese Run Out Of Gold To Sell (Bloomberg Video)

Nigel Farage Blasts Communist Europe And Leaders ‘Living In Noddy-Land’ (Video)

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– Farage Blasts Communist Europe And Leaders “Living In Noddy-Land” (ZeroHedge, Aug 15, 2012):

Nigel Farage, looking tanned and refreshed, is back and as he tells FOX Business in this brief clip “nothing has changed” from his views of Europe as the Titanic and its unelected officials dragging it down to the depths of the ocean. Citing Mario Monti specifically with his concerns over allowing politicians to ‘decide’ anything he notes the leader’s demeanor is “We must not let democracy interfere with our great Grand Project.” With European GDP negative, and group-hugs all around as Europeans are herded towards a European social state, Farage analogizes that “we are living in Noddyland” where economic reality and day-to-day life are as distant as they could be as he warns that they are becoming part of something that is increasingly resembling Communism. He dismisses the growing belief that “the state and government creates jobs” noting that “it doesn’t, it destroys them!” With two wrongs (Spain ad Italy) not making a right; Farage is clear that breaking up the EU is necessary now and it is critical to recognize that “you don’t get something for nothing” as Europe is increasingly de-industrialized.


YouTube

Financial Decline In Europe Continues As Industrial Production Falls -0.6% And The economy Shrinks -0.2% … Italy’s Industrial Production Is Down -8.2% From A Year Ago And Down -1.4% In The Last Month

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– The Financial Decline In Europe Continues (ZeroHedge, Aug 14, 2012):

Via Mark E. Grant, author of Out of the Box,

As Industrial Production falls -0.6% in Europe and as the economy shrinks -0.2% there is once again a good reason to pause to consider the ramifications for this going forward. As part of the data release this morning Germany and France did somewhat better than expectations but it was fairly marginal while the rest of the EU-17 continues to be mired in difficulties. Overnight LCH increased the margin requirements for both Spain and Italy as the banks of Spain keep increasing their borrowings at the ECB which is now at an all-time record. More troubling perhaps is the recent release of data from Italy which showed that their sovereign debt had ballooned to $2.437 trillion and the trajectory is more than troublesome. In 2010 and 2011 Italy’s debt was expanding by $7.90 billion per month but in 2012 Italian debt has increased by $11.73 billion per month for a projected $141 billion by the end of this year. In fact the Italian economy is shrinking by about   -2.5% while their debt is growing by 5.8% which is the baseline for an unsustainable situation if these trends continue.

To make matters worse Italy’s Industrial Production is down -8.2% from a year ago and down   -1.4% in the last month. I think Italy must be reassessed in light of the recent data and I would project further downgrades for the country and an increase in their bond yields as people recognize the severity of their problems. To me it looks increasingly likely that both Spain and Italy will soon line up at the feeding trough which is going to strain Europe, in my opinion, past the limits of what France and Germany can bear and then all of the superlatives and all of the great hype are going to come face-to-face with a very tough reality I am afraid.

Read moreFinancial Decline In Europe Continues As Industrial Production Falls -0.6% And The economy Shrinks -0.2% … Italy’s Industrial Production Is Down -8.2% From A Year Ago And Down -1.4% In The Last Month

On Europe: ‘It’s A Ponzi Scheme To Be Honest With You’ (CNBC Video)

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– Mark Grant And Rick Santelli On Europe: “It’s A Ponzi Scheme To Be Honest With You” (ZeroHedge, Aug 14, 2012):

As Simon Hobbs noted this morning, Olli Rehn confirmed ahh that err “both the European Union and the ECB are ready to take action” but only conditional upon requests for aid. What is perhaps missed by most observers is what Rick Santelli and Mark Grant discuss in more detail in the short clip below. Greece managed to sell EUR4 billion short-dated bills this morning at remarkably low yields – not exactly the kind of thing that incentivizes political leaders to request aid – but how did they do it? Who bought it? Well, we suspect you know the answer but Mark Grant’s clarifying response to Santelli’s question concluded simply that the ECB-to-Greek-Banks-to-The-Bank-Of Greece-to-ECB circle-jerk is “in a sense, a kind of Ponzi scheme.” Santelli’s response that “it really is a rigged game” and that our reflexive response to the signaling of bond yields is remarkable given the manipulation; Grant agrees adding that “the real money guys are either out of Europe, getting out of Europe, or have cut back as much as they can” since simple math shows you that at some point Europe will have it’s ‘moment’.

Hobbs introduces, discusses Greece at around 3:00 and then Santelli and Grant take over at 3:40…

Are The Government And The Big Banks Quietly Preparing For An Imminent Financial Collapse?

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– Are The Government And The Big Banks Quietly Preparing For An Imminent Financial Collapse? (Economic Collapse, Aug 12, 2012):

Something really strange appears to be happening.  All over the globe, governments and big banks are acting as if they are anticipating an imminent financial collapse.  Unfortunately, we are not privy to the quiet conversations that are taking place in corporate boardrooms and in the halls of power in places such as Washington D.C. and London, so all we can do is try to make sense of all the clues that are all around us.  Of course it is completely possible to misinterpret these clues, but sticking our heads in the sand is not going to do any good either.  Last week, it was revealed that the U.S. government has been secretly directing five of the biggest banks in America “to develop plans for staving off collapse” for the last two years.  By itself, that wouldn’t be that big of a deal.  But when you add that piece to the dozens of other clues of imminent financial collapse, a very troubling picture begins to emerge.  Over the past 12 months, hundreds of banking executives have been resigning, corporate insiders have been selling off enormous amounts of stock, and I have been personally told that a significant number of Wall Street bankers have been shopping for “prepper properties” in rural communities this summer.  Meanwhile, there have been reports that the U.S. government has been stockpiling food and ammunition, and Barack Obama has been signing a whole bunch of executive orders that would potentially be implemented in the event of a major meltdown of society.  So what does all of this mean?  It could mean something or it could mean nothing.  What we do know is that a financial collapse is coming at some point.  Over the past 40 years, the total amount of all debt in the United States has grown from about 2 trillion dollars to nearly 55 trillion dollars.  That is a recipe for financial armageddon, and it is inevitable that this gigantic bubble of debt is going to burst at some point.

Read moreAre The Government And The Big Banks Quietly Preparing For An Imminent Financial Collapse?

On GRExit, SPAilout, And Draghi’s White Knight

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– On GRExit, SPAilout, And Draghi’s White Knight (ZeroHedge, Aug 13, 2012):

Via Mark E. Grant, author of Out of the Box,

“There was a free lunch just once. It was when Eve gave the apple to Adam and we all know how that turned out.”

-The Wizard

As I stare out at the Maginot Line I will endeavor to predict the upcoming events in Europe for the balance of the year. I called Greece, Ireland and Portugal correctly so I have some standing here and while we all are only as good as our last call; I have my own small pin on which to dance. I think first and foremost that Greece falls by the wayside. I think as a matter of political reality, given the German polls, that Berlin will refuse to adequately fund Greece and that they will be forced back to the Drachma as a matter of Ms. Merkel’s desire for re-election. When this happens it will be a quite messy affair with some $1.3 trillion going into default which will also require the re-capitalization of the ECB and there will be a $90 billion hit in derivative contracts which may well affect certain banks past the point of what is currently recognized. The Greek banks, bankrupt now, will train off into the abyss and will be replaced by other European institutions. The honest truth is that the Greek debts have become so large and so impossible to pay that unless there is absolute debt forgiveness, which I think is politically impossible in Germany and a number of other European countries; the country must roll over as a matter of fiscal reality.

Read moreOn GRExit, SPAilout, And Draghi’s White Knight

AUSTERITY In Italy: Record Government Debt Load Now At €1.973 TRILLION – Debt Growth Surges To Record €9.5 Billion Per Month

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– Italy’s Latest Record Debt Load: Bigger, Faster, More

Italy just announced its all-time record high general government debt load at EUR 1.973 trillion. What is perhaps most stunning, given all the talk of austerity, cutting back, reforms, and change is that the size of this debt is growing at an ever-increasing pace that is simply stunning. Pre-Euro (1999), Italy’s debt was growing at a rate of just less than EUR 2 billion per month; in the eight years from then until the crisis in 2008, Italy’s pace of debt growth (fostered we are sure by the convergent cheapness of funding and their immutable belief in invincibility) almost perfectly doubled to EUR 3.8bn per month. Since 2008, and the onset of excess Keynesian ridicule we assume, Italy’s debt load has grown at a stunning pace of EUR 6.4 billion per month and perhaps most incredible; however, the last nine-months (since the peak ‘peak’ of the crisis in September of last year) has seen the pace of debt-load growth surge to EUR 9.5 billion per month. Sustainable levels of exponential debt growth – sure!

Italy’s General Government Debt Load…

Chart: Bloomberg

Germany: New Lawsuit Filed Against ESM Threatens Further Bailout Fund Delay

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– New Lawsuit Filed Against ESM Threatens Further Bailout Fund Delay (ZeroHedge, Aug 13, 2012):

Just as we were complaining about lack of newsflow, here comes Germany, coincidentally just as Merkel comes back from vacation, with an update from Karlsruhe that the Constitutional court, which may reject the ESM as is in its September 12th decision, will likely be delayed even more following the filing of a brand new lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the ESM.

From Handelsblatt, loosely google translated:

The Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe has received a further appeal against the euro rescue package, which could upset the timetable for the euro rescue. According to information from Reuters Online, a group of plaintiffs to the € critic Professor Markus Kerber has filed a constitutional complaint, including an emergency petition. The key message is: Since the last ten days at the European Court in Luxembourg, the complaint is similar to an Irish MPs to decide, the German judges would wait until the spoke on the matter higher court judgment. The original date expected for an announcement, the 12th September, at which they would decide on the fast track in terms of admissibility of ESM and Fiscal Pact was likely untenable.

Read moreGermany: New Lawsuit Filed Against ESM Threatens Further Bailout Fund Delay

Spiegel: ‘Investors Prepare For Euro Collapse’ – ‘Currency’s Days Seen Numbered’

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And now Germany’s Der Spiegel is reporting what we have been saying for years.

And “the dollar’s structure isn’t in doubt”???

What are they smoking?

‘Currency’s Days Seen Numbered’

– Investors Prepare for Euro Collapse (Spiegel, Aug 13, 2012):

Banks, companies and investors are preparing themselves for a collapse of the euro. Cross-border bank lending is falling, asset managers are shunning Europe and money is flowing into German real estate and bonds. The euro remains stable against the dollar because America has debt problems too. But unlike the euro, the dollar’s structure isn’t in doubt.

Otmar Issing is looks a bit tired. The former chief economist at the European Central Bank (ECB) is sitting on a barstool in a room adjoining the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. He resembles a father whose troubled teenager has fallen in with the wrong crowd. Issing is just about to explain again all the things that have gone wrong with the euro, and why the current, as yet unsuccessful efforts to save the European common currency are cause for grave concern.

Read moreSpiegel: ‘Investors Prepare For Euro Collapse’ – ‘Currency’s Days Seen Numbered’

Belgian National Bank Governor Gets It: Bailing Out Spain ‘Makes No Sense’

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– Belgian National Bank Governor Gets It: Bailing Out Spain “Makes No Sense” (ZeroHedge, Aug 11, 2012):

A week ago we explained quite clearly why instead of encouraging self-defeating, short-termist behavior by promising to save Europe’s insolvent countries if and when needed, which does nothing to resolves Europe’s problems and make it worse in exchange for a brief respite from bond selling, the ECB should be doing precisely the opposite: encouraging local governments to understand that there is no magic bazooka from the central banks. Specifically we said that “this Catch 22 of confounding cause and event can continue seemingly indefinitely, although in reality it can’t. Because fundamentally what the bond market does is keep sovereigns “honest” – just as Schauble said a week ago, Spanish yields at 7% are not the end of the world – instead what they are is a signal to the country to get its spending in control in order to reduce its deficit, and fundamentally get its house in order – yes, that means getting government spending to a sustainable level and firing hundreds of thousands of workers, as well as probably raising taxes even more. It also means pain all around, but the pain is inevitable and will only be worse the longer reality is denied.” This logic is so clear that only a lifelong economist, PhD or Goldman apparatchik can not grasp it: sadly that accounts for most of the people “in charge.”

Which is why we were delighted to read that at least one person “gets it” – Belgian national bank governor Luc Coene, the same Belgium that is also the clogged heart of the Burtonian bureaucratic labyrinth known as the EU, who told Belgium’s two largest newspaper that “buying the bonds of these countries would only serve to weaken the ECB and do nothing to resolve underlying issues of competitiveness.  “It makes no sense for the ECB to start financing those countries,” said Mr Coene, “It would only lead to the ECB taking on the whole public debt of Spain and Italy onto its balance sheet.” Bingo. And not a moment too soon – we really were starting to pull a Mogatu here.

Read moreBelgian National Bank Governor Gets It: Bailing Out Spain ‘Makes No Sense’

Germany Has ‘Reached Its Limit’ On Greek Aid

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Sep. 12 (Bundesverfassungsgericht ruling on the ESM) is the date to watch!!!

Let’s see if Germany walks its talk, because that would mean the end of the euro.

Got physical gold and silver?

See also:

– Greece Now Prints It’s Own Euros, The ECB Approves, The Bundesbank Nods: No One Wants To Get Blamed For Kicking Greece Out

– Germany Has “Reached Its Limit” On Greek Aid (ZeroHedge, Aug 11, 2012):

While Frau Merkel remains beach-bound somewhere, hence the lack of ‘Neins’ recently, her deputy chancellor Michael Fuchs made it unequivocally clear this morning in a Handelsblatt interview that Germany had “reached the limit of its capacity” over additional EFSF payments to Greece and reiterated the double-whammy that the ESM should NOT receive a banking license and that the ECB should NOT act as “money printing press in disguise” by extending emergency loans and bypassing EFSF/ESM. A decision about whether Greece should be given the second tranche of its loan will not be made until October, after the Troika finalizes its first review of the second rescue program in September. However, BNP Paribas notes that there have been a couple of developments worth noting over the past week and more are likely in the coming weeks.

Read moreGermany Has ‘Reached Its Limit’ On Greek Aid

Eurozone: Dr. Paul Craig Roberts And Max Keiser: ‘All Big Banks In Europe Are Technically Insolvent’ – ‘Entire Globe Is Now Headed Into Depression’ (Video)

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(No such thing as man made global warming Max.)


YouTube Added: 09.08.2012

Description:

France, back in a recession for the 2nd time in 3 years. Italy’s economy contracting point seven percent in the last quarter: And for the powerhouse, Germany: its Industrial, construction and manufacturing all slumped for June: The euro- zone debt crisis continues to threaten the survival of the 17-nation currency bloc, affecting non-Eurozone members, like the UK, where the Bank of England said it did not expect the UK to grow out of a recession. But the more alarming picture: the lack of growth, whether its for each country, developing countries, or the global economy as a whole.

Gerald Celente On Eurozone Reckoning Day And Dropped Charges For Goldman Sachs! (Video)

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See also:

– Gerald Celente: ‘The Whole Nation Has Been Taken Over. It’s The Biggest Bank Robbery In World History And The Banks Are Doing The Robbing.’ (Video)

– Gerald Celente On Who Really Creates All These Wars And Why (Video)

– On The Edge With Max Keiser And Gerald Celente: LIBOR Manipulation Is ‘The Crime Of The Century’ (Video)


YouTube Added: 10.08.2012

Read moreGerald Celente On Eurozone Reckoning Day And Dropped Charges For Goldman Sachs! (Video)

Spain: ‘Robin Hood’-Style Supermarket Looting

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– Spain police arrest five over ‘Robin Hood’-style supermarket looting (NBC News, Aug 10, 2012

MADRID — Spanish police have arrested five left-wing union activists for their alleged role in a “Robin Hood”-style looting of a supermarket made to highlight the plight of people suffering through the country’s recession, authorities said Friday.

The southern Andalusian Workers’ Union made news Tuesday when a handful of its activists made off with nine trolleys full of food from a supermarket in the southern town of Ecija and left without paying. They later handed the food to poor unemployed people.

Read moreSpain: ‘Robin Hood’-Style Supermarket Looting

11 Things That Can Happen When You Allow Your Country To Become Enslaved To The Bankers

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– 11 Things That Can Happen When You Allow Your Country To Become Enslaved To The Bankers (Economic Collapse, Aug 9, 2012):

Why are Greece, Spain, Italy, Portugal and so many other countries experiencing depression-like conditions right now?  It is because they have too much debt.  Why do they have too much debt?  It is because they allowed themselves to become enslaved to the bankers.  Borrowing money from the bankers can allow a nation to have a higher standard of living in the short-term, but it always results in a lower standard of living in the long-term.  Why is that?  It is because you always have to pay back more money than you borrowed.  And when you get to the point of having a debt to GDP ratio in excess of 100%, you are basically drowning in debt.  Huge amounts of money that could be going to providing essential services and stimulating your economy are now going to service your horrific debt.  Today, citizens in Greece, Spain, Portugal and Italy are experiencing a standard of living far below what they should be because the bankers have trapped them in endless debt spirals.  Sadly, the vast majority of the people living in those countries have absolutely no idea what is at the root cause of their problems.

Read more11 Things That Can Happen When You Allow Your Country To Become Enslaved To The Bankers

US, European Powers Press For Intervention As Syrian Army Retakes Aleppo

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– US, European powers press for intervention as Syrian army retakes Aleppo (WSWS, Aug 10, 2012):

Politicians and the media in the United States and Europe stepped up demands for direct military intervention in Syria yesterday, as the Syrian army fought to expel US-backed forces from the city of Aleppo.

Syrian army forces reportedly captured much of the Salahuddin neighborhood in southwestern Aleppo, a Sunni-majority neighborhood that was a central base for the groups fighting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Some anti-Assad forces retired north towards the Sakkour district, though some reports stated that they continued to hold parts of Salahuddin.

Several hundred anti-Assad fighters were killed, amid reports that they were running low on ammunition and supplies.

Read moreUS, European Powers Press For Intervention As Syrian Army Retakes Aleppo

Why Ireland Scrapped All Their Voting Machines (Video)

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From The Onion:

YouTube

NOT from The Onion:

– And Now: Spanish Company ‘Scytl’ To Count American Votes In November Election

– Diebold voting system sported ‘delete’ button: report


YouTube Added: 03.07.2012

Description:

Ireland decided this week to scrap their voting machines–like the ones here stored in Dublin. They’re selling them for scrap metal, because they found they were too unreliable and too easy to hack. They’d only used them once, back in 2002, but that was enough. Unfortunately, America hasn’t learned as quickly as the Irish. It used to be in America that exit polls were the gold standard to determine if there were shenanigans in an election. For over a century we used them, and we got very, very good at it. They almost never deviated by more than a few tenths of a point from the actual electoral outcome, and when they did, it was a sure sign of fraud.

Read moreWhy Ireland Scrapped All Their Voting Machines (Video)

Greek Parliament Speaker Hires His Daughter During His Only Day On The Job … He Also Approved €2 Million ‘Election Bonus’ For His Staff And Police

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– Greek Parliament Speaker Hires His Daughter During His Only Day On The Job (ZeroHedge, Aug 9, 2012):

There are no hyperbole in this headline. Nepotism is not just alive but it is blatant and thriving in Greek politics. As Athens News reports revelations that Vyron Polydoras, who held the position of speaker for just a single-day during the hung parliament of May 2012, rushed to hire his daughter – Margarita – as an employee of his office. Not only did he hire her on his one and only day in office, despite defending himself by stating he was entitled to hire up to six staff, but he also managed (all in this one day remember) to approve a two million euro ‘election bonus’ for his staff and police. We suspect the TROIKA will be permanently boots-on-the-ground here for a lot longer than anyone believes – and if we hear the word ‘committed’ or the phrase ‘trust us’, we know its all over.

Greece Now Prints It’s Own Euros, The ECB Approves, The Bundesbank Nods: No One Wants To Get Blamed For Kicking Greece Out

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– Greece Prints Euros To Stay Afloat, The ECB Approves, The Bundesbank Nods: No One Wants To Get Blamed For Kicking Greece Out (ZeroHedge, Aug 8, 2012):

A lot of politicians in Germany, but also in other countries, issue zingers about a Greek exit from the Eurozone and the end of their patience. But those with decision-making power play for time. They want someone else to do the job. Suddenly Greece is out of money again. It would default on everything, from bonds held by central banks to internal obligations. On August 20. The day a €3.2 billion bond that had landed on the balance sheet of the European Central Bank would mature. Europe would be on vacation. It would be mayhem. And somebody would get blamed.

Read moreGreece Now Prints It’s Own Euros, The ECB Approves, The Bundesbank Nods: No One Wants To Get Blamed For Kicking Greece Out

French Central Bank Admits The Obvious: France Back in Recession

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– French Central Bank Admits the Obvious: France Back in Recession (Global Economic Analysis, Aug 8, 2012):

For those who who view matters on a practical basis, France has been in recession the entire year. For those who need to see two quarters of negative growth first, France slides back in recession.

France is headed back into recession for the second time in just over three years, the country’s central bank warned on Wednesday.

Read moreFrench Central Bank Admits The Obvious: France Back in Recession

President Francois Hollande Vows To Impose 75 Percent Tax On Income Above €1 Million Per Year (New York Times)

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Flashback:

– Francois Hollande Is Another Bilderberg Stooge (Video)

– French Front-Runner Pledges 75% Tax Bracket (Wall Street Journal):

PARIS—French presidential front-runner François Hollande said taxpayers earning over €1 million ($1.35 million) a year would be subjected to a special 75% tax bracket should he be elected, underscoring heightened interest across Europe in raising taxes on the wealthiest individuals.

– Indigestion for ‘les Riches’ in a Plan for Higher Taxes (New York Times, Aug 7, 2012):

PARIS — The call to Vincent Grandil’s Paris law firm began like many others that have rolled in recently. On the line was the well-paid chief executive of one of France’s most profitable companies, and he was feeling nervous.

Some rich citizens have already left. In recent years, the actress and model Laetitia Casta, the chef Alain Ducasse and the singer and actor Johnny Hallyday all moved away to avoid high taxes.

President François Hollande is vowing to impose a 75 percent tax on the portion of anyone’s income above a million euros ($1.24 million) a year. “Should I be preparing to leave the country?” the executive asked Mr. Grandil.

Read morePresident Francois Hollande Vows To Impose 75 Percent Tax On Income Above €1 Million Per Year (New York Times)

Gerald Celente On Who Really Creates All These Wars And Why (Video)

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See also:

– Former Assistant Secretary of the Treasury Dr. Paul Craig Roberts: ‘War Criminals Run The State Department And The Entire US Government’


YouTube Added: 07.08.2012

If Nostradamus were alive today, he’d have a hard time keeping up with Gerald Celente.
– New York Post

When CNN wants to know about the Top Trends, we ask Gerald Celente.
– CNN Headline News

There’s not a better trend forecaster than Gerald Celente. The man knows what he’s talking about.
– CNBC

Those who take their predictions seriously … consider the Trends Research Institute.
– The Wall Street Journal

A network of 25 experts whose range of specialties would rival many university faculties.
– The Economist

Quarto Reich: Italy Goes ‘There’ Again

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– Quarto Reich: Italy Goes “There” Again (ZeroHedge, Aug 6, 2012):

Just because Italy’s 2 Year bond yield has plunged, bringing its cost of short term funding to manageable levels, if only for a day or two, it is suddenly “obvious” that it will not need Germany’s goodwill ever again. Sure enough…

The Daily Mail explains:

An Italian newspaper owned by former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi has caused controversy by printing a front page headline which said ‘Fourth Reich’ above a picture of German chancellor Angela Merkel.

Read moreQuarto Reich: Italy Goes ‘There’ Again

‘You F—ing Americans. Who Are You To Tell Us, The Rest Of The World, That We’re Not Going To Deal With Iranians’ (Business Insider)

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In other news:

– Standard Chartered Bank accused of scheming with Iran to hide transactions (Guardian, Aug 6, 2012)

– ‘You F—ing Americans. Who Are You To Tell Us, The Rest Of The World, That We’re Not Going To Deal With Iranians’ (Business Insider Aug 6, 2012):

Today the New York State Financial Authority accused UK investment bank Standard Chartered of having facilitated $250 billion worth of transactions on behalf of Iran (you can download the full complaint here).

We identified the most shocking details here, but one line stands out and is probably going to end up being a Wall Street Classic

Read more‘You F—ing Americans. Who Are You To Tell Us, The Rest Of The World, That We’re Not Going To Deal With Iranians’ (Business Insider)

Spain’s Stock Exchange Halted For Over 4 Hours Due To ‘Technical Glitch’

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– Spain’s Stock Exchange Has Been Halted For Over 4 Hours Due To “Technical Glitch” (ZeroHedge, Aug 6, 2012):

Update: IBEX resumes for trade with a nearly 5 hour delay, last seen higher at 1.68%. We can only hope the Knight algo is not to blame for yet another round of headless chicken buying.Last week it was Knight, today it is the Spanish stock market. Following a halt for a “technical glitch” just after 4 am Eastern time, Spain’s stock exchange, the IBEX, is still not trading as of this posting. So how will Spain and the ECB declare victory if they are unable to demonstrate the daily ramp in Spanish stocks (where shorting financials is once again forbidden…. because Europe continues to be “fixed”).

From MarketWatch:

Read moreSpain’s Stock Exchange Halted For Over 4 Hours Due To ‘Technical Glitch’