Europe – Page 319 – Infinite Unknown

Greece Faces Bond Rout as Budget Deficit Worsens, Greek Workers Strike

April 22, 2010 by Infinite

– CDS Traders Are Betting That France Is Next Up For A Sovereign Shakedown (As Are Spain And Portugal) (ZeroHedge)

– Q&A With Billionaire Jim Chanos Part I: ‘Greece Is A Prelude’ (Business Insider)

Protestors stand in front of the Greek Parliament in Athens, on April 22, 2010. (Bloomberg)

April 22 (Bloomberg) — The European Union said Greece’s budget deficit last year was worse than previously forecast and may top 14 percent of gross domestic product, fueling investor concern about a default and sending its bond yields soaring.

The EU’s statistics office said Greece’s deficit was 13.6 percent of GDP last year, topping the government’s two-week-old forecast of 12.9 percent and the EU’s November prediction of 12.7 percent. “Uncertainties” about the quality of the Greek data may lead to a further revision of as much of 0.5 percentage point, Luxembourg-based Eurostat said.

Greece’s benchmark 10-year bond yield rose to 8.49 percent, the highest since 1998 and more than twice the comparable German rate. The cost of insuring government debt against default climbed to a record today.

Greece’s widening deficit and questions about the accuracy of its economic data have undermined the credibility and enforcement of the EU’s budget rules and contributed to the 6.9 percent slide in the euro this year. The EU and the International Monetary Fund offered Greece as much as 45 billion euros ($60 billion) in emergency loans to assure investors the country can make its debt payments and shore up the euro.

Breaking the Rules

“They have played against the rules and now they’re getting the bill,” said Sylvain Broyer, chief European economist at Natixis in Frankfurt. “It’s a very uncomfortable situation for the Greek government. Greece has very much benefited from the currency region, but ignored the rules.”

Portugal, Not Greece, Poses The Greater Existential Threat To Europe’s Monetary Union

April 19, 2010 by Infinite

Must Germany bail out Portugal too?

The historic part of Lisbon, the Portugeuse capital, recreated after an earthquake devastated the City in 1755

The long-drawn saga in Athens can perhaps be deemed a case apart. Greece lied. Its budget deficit was egregious at 16pc of GDP last year on a cash basis. It wasted its EMU windfall, the final chance to bring public debt back from the brink of a compound spiral.

You cannot blame the euro for this, although EMU undoubtedly created a risk-free illusion that lured both Athens and creditors deeper into the trap – and now prevents a solution. Nor would an orderly default under IMF guidance along Uruguayan lines necessarily imperil Europe’s banks. The Bundesbank hints that letting Greece go would prove a healthier outcome for EMU in the long run, upholding discipline.

However, Portugal did not cheat (much) and did not start as an arch-debtor. It did mishandle the run-up to EMU in the 1990s, failing to offset a fall in interest rates from 16pc to 3pc with fiscal tightening. Boom-bust ensued. But that was a long time ago. Portugal has since settled down to a decade of sobriety. The reward never came.

Brussels admitted last week that Portugal’s external accounts have switched from credit in the mid-1990s to a deficit of 109pc of GDP. This has been caused by the incentive structures of EMU itself. “The more broadened access to credit induced a significant reduction in the saving rate, while consumption kept growing faster than GDP. This development led to an increase in Portuguese indebtedness,” it said.

The IMF’s January report – worth examining for its horrifying charts – said “The large fiscal and external imbalances that arose from the boom in the run-up to adoption of the euro have not been unwound, resulting in the economy becoming heavily indebted and growing banking system vulnerabilities. The longer the imbalance persists, the greater the risk the adjustment will be sudden and disruptive.” The IMF noted the “heavy reliance” of banks on foreign wholesale funding, equal to 40pc of total assets.

CDS Traders Are Betting That France Is Next Up For A Sovereign Shakedown (As Are Spain And Portugal)

April 18, 2010 by Infinite

CDS traders were prescient in snapping up Greek and Dubai CDS long before anyone else realized the risk these countries are in (well, more like Goldman selling CDS to some very close clients, wink wink).

In exchange for figuring out what it took cash bond holders months to understand, these ‘speculators’ made a lot of money and in the process got branded as quasi-sovereign terrorists.

Well, Greece can sleep well: according to the latest DTCC CDS data (for the week ended April 9), CDS specs have completely deserted Greece, which saw the single biggest amount of Net Notional CDS decrease, to just over $8 billion, a reduction of $367 million in the prior week (which means all the widening in Greek spreads is now, and has been, just cash bond sales, precisely what Zero Hedge has claimed all along).

CDS traders are now focusing their attention on the one country which has so far slipped under everyone’s radar, yet which we disclosed is more on the hook in terms of Southern European exposure than even Germany: France, with $781 billion in total claims.

Should Greece topple the PIIGS dominoes, France will implode. And this is precisely what CDS traders are betting on now, taking advantage of absurdly tight France CDS levels.

Also, just in case they are wrong on France, Spain and Portugal, not surprisingly, round out the top three names in which Net Notional saw the largest increase. Also not surprisingly, Japan rounds out the top 5 deriskers.

Top 10 deriskers:

(Click on images to enlarge.)

Rep. Ron Paul Grills Bernanke On The Massive Expansion To The IMF’s New Arrangement To Borrow

April 15, 2010 by Infinite

Added: 14. April 2010

As we reported a few days ago, the IMF massively expanded its last resort bailout facility (NAB) by half a trillion dollars, in which the US was given the lead role in bailing out every country that has recourse to IMF funding.

Yesterday, Ron Paul grilled Bernanke precisely on the nature of the expansion of the US role to the NAB:

“The IMF has announced that they are going to open up the NAB which coincides with the crisis in Greece and Europe and how they are going to bailed out.

The irony of this promise is that in the new arrangement Greece is going to put in $2.5 billion in. I think only a fiat monetary system worldwide can come up and have Greece help bail out Greece and be prepared to bail out even other countries.

But we are going from $10 to $105 billion… We are committing $105 billion to bailing out the various countries of the world, this does two thing I want to get your comments on one why does it coincide with Greece, what are they anticipating, why do they need $560 billion, do we have a lot more trouble, and when it comes to that time when we have to make this commitment, who pays for this, where does it come from?

Will this all come out of the printing press once again, as we are expected to bail out the world? Are you in favor of this increase in the IMF funding and our additional commitment to $105 billion?”

Read moreRep. Ron Paul Grills Bernanke On The Massive Expansion To The IMF’s New Arrangement To Borrow

Q&A With Billionaire Jim Chanos Part I: ‘Greece Is A Prelude’

April 13, 2010 by Infinite

Last week had the opportunity to visit Kynikos Associates in Manhattan and speak with its President, famed short-seller James S. Chanos.

The billionaire hedge funder is the stuff of legend. He made a killing shorting companies like Tyco, Worldcom, and of course, Enron. Chanos spoke with us at length on everything from how he discovered Enron’s problems to the issues at hand with Greece to the ongoing problems in China.

We’ll be running several posts on our Q&A sessions with Chanos throughout the week.

Today we talk about Dubai, Greece, and the role of derivatives in these markets.

———————–

Business Insider: Let’s talk about Dubai and Greece. Dubai – was it just a case of a nation that saw too much growth and excessive debt?

Jim Chanos: No, no. Dubai was a property bubble. Plain and simple. Go to Dubai and see what happened. It was…what I call it the “Ediffice complex” – it’s just, we can grow by putting up lots and lots of buildings and trying to attract people to come here, stay here, and put up offices here and sooner or later, you put up too many. And whether it’s the Palm Island project or the indoor ski resort or, you know, take your pick because everyone has lots of Dubai stories. At first it seemed plausible and economic and by the end of the boom, they were putting on drawing boards all kinds of crazy projects. So it didn’t take a rocket scientist to see the excesses. They were pretty visible to the naked eye.

Greece is a different issue. We’re not involved. We don’t trade sovereign debt, we don’t trade CDSes. You know I feel bad for my mother country in that they’re going through a lot of austerity now and I actually think that the Prime Minister and his team are doing the right thing. I met with them recently, actually, in Washington [DC] and they gave a pretty rational response to a problem that they, quite frankly, inherited.

You know they came in and discovered the hole in the budget deficit and discovered a lot of the off balance sheet stuff that was not of their doing. And he’s taking the politically unpopular step of extending the retirement age and cutting government wages not knowing if it’s going to be enough and so far the market is pretty skeptical, but I think the Greek government is being more courageous than some of the other western-European governments who aren’t addressing these issues and are going to be facing these same problems like Greece down the road. So Greece is a prelude to the problems that a lot of other countries will face that have made promises to their people without the ability to pay for them.

Greece Bailout: EU Governments Offer 45 Billion Euro Rescue Package

April 11, 2010 by Infinite

Not one day to early:

– GAME OVER – Greek Curve Goes Apeshit: Bloomberg Reports 3 Month Bid At 21.3%

– Greece: They’re Done

The next candidates are Portugal, Spain, Ireland and Italy.

And then the euro and the entire EU will fail.

April 11 (Bloomberg) — European governments offered debt-burdened Greece a rescue package worth as much as 45 billion euros ($61 billion) at below-market interest rates as they try to end its fiscal crisis and restore confidence in the euro.

Forced into action by a surge in Greek borrowing costs to an 11-year high, euro-region finance ministers said they would offer as much as 30 billion euros in three-year loans in 2010 at around 5 percent. That’s less than the current three-year Greek bond yield of 6.98 percent. Another 15 billion euros would come from the International Monetary Fund.

“This is a step of clarification that markets are waiting for — it shows there is money behind this,” Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker told reporters in Brussels today after chairing the ministers’ conference call. “The initiative for activating the mechanism rests with the Greek government.”

With the euro facing the sternest test since its debut in 1999, the 16-nation bloc maneuvered around rules barring the bailout of debt-stricken countries, aiming to prevent Greece’s financial plight from spreading and to mute concerns about the currency’s viability. Germany also abandoned an earlier demand that Greece pay market rates.

Greek Debt Crisis Deepens; Investors Rush to Sell Greek Bonds

April 9, 2010 by Infinite

– The Solution For Greece (Max Keiser, Matt Taibbi and Catherine Austin Fitts)

Market Turmoil Hits The Euro And Adds to Fears of Economic Collapse in Greece

Some European leaders, including Angela Merkel of Germany, have said that Greece should have to borrow money at market rates. (Photo: EPA)

The Greek debt crisis deepened today, despite reassurances from European Union officials that the country was not on the brink of default.

Financial markets ignored European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet’s comments that “a default is not an issue for Greece,” and continued their bond sell-off for a third day.

The yield on Greek bonds – which the country needs to pay to fund its schools, hospitals and other public spending – rose to 7.35%, almost twice as much as Britain’s. This puts more pressure on Greece, making its financing practically unsustainable. Investors want more details about a potential bailout package, something that the EU has so far failed to provide, dragging the crisis into its fourth month.

“It’s like game theory,” said Michael Krautzberger, head of European fixed-income at Blackrock, whose team manages $50bn (£33bn) in bond funds. “At the beginning of the crisis, the EU didn’t want to give help too quickly because they wanted to pressure Greece to cut their budget, but now we have reached a point where it’s clear they need the help. For a few weeks, we thought maybe they don’t need the help, now we have passed that point, the yields are now too high to stay too long.”

The premium that investors demand to buy Greek bonds soared to 440 basis points over German bunds, the highest since the euro was created a decade ago. The cost of insuring $10m of Greek debt leapt to a record $470,000, from $410,000 on Wednesday, before settling back at about $435,000, according to Markit data. That is more than four times the price paid for Britain’s debt protection.

The turmoil sent the euro and European equity markets lower, as a collapse of the Greek economy could have a domino effect on other southern European countries, such as Portugal. The euro weakened to $1.328, although it recovered slightly after Trichet’s comments, trading near $1.334. All major European stock indexes lost about 1%.

“Greece continues to look like a slow-motion train crash,” Steve Barrow, analyst at Standard Bank, said. “The crash has not occurred yet but it is coming. Efforts to avoid a crash seem doomed to failure, whether it is emergency loans or some other initiative. As the crisis plays out, so bond spreads are likely to widen much further and the euro fall much more.”

Greece Credit Default Swaps Trade Higher Than Iceland’s for First Time

April 7, 2010April 7, 2010 by Infinite

April 7 (Bloomberg) — Credit-default swaps linked to Greece sovereign debt rose higher than those tied to Iceland for the first time, helping propel a benchmark indicator of U.S. corporate credit risk to its biggest jump in two weeks.

The Markit CDX North America Investment Grade Index Series 14 rose 2.4 basis points to a mid-price of 86.4 basis points as of 2:14 p.m. in New York, according to Markit Group Ltd. The index typically increases as investor confidence deteriorates and falls as it improves.

Swaps tied to Greece rose to 415 basis points today while those on Iceland traded at about 400 basis points, according to Markit data. The North American Markit index climbed the most since March 22 amid investor concern that contagion from a Greece default could spread to other assets, said Gavan Nolan, an analyst at Markit Group in London.

“The whole EU response to Greece has been quite fragmented,” Nolan said in a telephone interview.

Greece may default on its debt as early as this year without “extraordinary” financial assistance from the European Union and International Monetary Fund, said Stephen Jen at BlueGold Capital Management LLP.

The challenges facing Greece are similar to those that confronted Argentina, which defaulted on $95 billion of debt in 2001, said Jen, managing director at the hedge fund, in an interview today in London. Greece’s austerity measures to narrow the European Union’s biggest budget deficit by gross domestic product may drive the Mediterranean nation into a recession, he said.

“A default may be ultimately unavoidable,” he said.

EUROPOL: New EU Gestapo Spies on Britons

March 30, 2010 by Infinite

… and and all other EU citizens.

Europol: Millions of Britons face being snooped on by a new European agency

MILLIONS of Britons face being snooped on by a new European intelligence agency which has been handed frightening powers to pry into our lives.

Europol can access personal information on anyone – including their political opinions and sexual preferences – if it suspects, rightly or wrongly, that they may be involved in any “preparatory act” which could lead to criminal activity.

The vagueness of the Hague-based force’s remit sparked furious protests yesterday with critics warning that the EU snoopers threaten our right to free speech.

It is understood the agency will concentrate on anyone thought “xenophobic” or likely to commit a crime involving the environment, computers or motor vehicles.

This could include covert monitoring of people who deny the existence of climate change or speak out on controversial issues.

Paul Nuttall, chairman of the UK Independence Party, said: “I am horrified. We thought Gordon Brown’s Big Brother state was bad enough but at least we are going to kick him out in May. These guys we cannot sack until we leave the EU.”

James Welch, legal director of campaign group Liberty, said: “We have huge concerns that Europol appears to have been given powers to hold very sensitive information and to investigate matters that aren’t even crimes in this country. Any extension of police powers at any level needs to be properly debated and scrutinised.”

Until January 1, Europol was a police office funded by various states to help tackle international organised crime. But it has been reborn as the official criminal intelligence-gathering arm of the EU and Brussels has vastly increased its powers.

EU Draws Up Plans For Single ‘Economic Government’

March 30, 2010March 30, 2010 by Infinite

– Lisbon Treaty: Now EU Takes Charge Of Britain

– EU President Herman Van Rompuy Announces 2009 as ‘First Year of Global Governance’

– Climategate: Hacked emails include calls for ‘Earth Government’ as foundation of new world order, splitting of America

The EU President has NOT been elected. Herman Van Rompuy was appointed by the heads of the 27 EU member states.

Germany and France have tabled controversial plans to create an “economic government of the European Union” to police financial policy across the continent.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel with French President Nicolas Sarkozy at the summit of European Union leaders in Brussels

They have put Herman Van Rompuy, the EU President, in charge of a special task force to examine “all options possible” to prevent another crisis like the one caused by the Greek meltdown.

His mission will be to draw up a master-plan for the best way to oversee and enforce economic targets set in Brussels as a key part of a bail-out package for Greece.

The options he will consider include the creation of an “economic government” by the by the end of the year.

How the European Parliament is spending your taxes

March 30, 2010March 30, 2010 by Infinite

There are highlights of the draft budget proposed by the European Parliament for its own building programme:

€40 million for new office space in Brussels to accommodate the 150 new staff members and 66 contract staff
€586 million to renovate and extend the European Parliament building in Luxembourg (you didn’t know that the European Parliament had a building in Luxembourg as well as Brussels and Strasbourg, did you?)
€80 million to provide an additional office for each MEP for the accommodation of a third or fourth assistant
€10 million for a second creche in Brussels
€20 million for a “House of European History”

Although the member states are working to constrain their expenditure, one item in their national budgets keeps rising: contributions to the EU budget. Recession? What recession?

Papandreou Gives EU One Week to Seal Aid Plan as Germany Pushes IMF Option

March 18, 2010March 18, 2010 by Infinite

– Greek Debt Crisis: How Goldman Sachs Helped Greece to Mask its True Debt

– Greece: 2009 Budget Deficit Was Just Revised From 12.2% To 16% Of GDP!

– The CDS Puppetmaster Behind It All And The Ever Increasing Parallels Between AIG And Greece

The people will have to pay the bill …

… and the elite that controls the banksters, the governments, the media and the central banks always gains more money, power and control.

George Papandreou, Greece’s prime minister, gestures during a press briefing at the European Union Parliament headquarters in Brussels, on March 18, 2010. Photographer: Jock Fistick/Bloomberg

March 18 (Bloomberg) — Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou set a one-week deadline for the European Union to craft a financial aid mechanism for Greece, challenging Germany to give up its doubts about a rescue package.

Papandreou said he may turn to the International Monetary Fund to overcome Greece’s debt crisis unless leaders agree to set up a lending facility at a summit March 25-26. The IMF option has already been dismissed by European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet and French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who say it would show the EU can’t solve its own crises.

“It’s an opportunity to make a decision next week at the summit,’’ Papandreou told reporters in Brussels today. “This is an opportunity we should not miss. When you have that instrument in place, that could be enough to tell the markets hands off, no speculation, let this country do what it’s doing.”

When The Gun Is In YOUR Mouth…. (CDS / Merkel)

March 11, 2010 by Infinite

… suddenly politicians “get religion” about making damn sure it has no bullets in it:

“We’re of the opinion that a quick implementation of actions in the area of CDS has to happen,” Merkel said. Citing “ongoing speculation against euro-region countries,” she called for the “fastest possible” implementation of new rules. Europe must “do everything to avoid unhealthy speculation,” said Juncker, who heads the euro-area finance ministers group.

Where ‘ya been Angie?

Oh, and you too Papandreou:

“Europe and America must say ‘enough is enough’ to those speculators who only place value on immediate returns, with utter disregard for the consequences on the larger economic system,” Papandreou said yesterday in a speech in Washington.

And, of course, Sarkozy.

Note that I’ve been calling for these things to be either exchange-traded with central counterparty “blinding” (on purpose) as is the case with the regulated option and futures markets or be torn up since The Ticker began publication.

Why? Because it is my position and remains so that unless you have this sort of market these contracts are all a scam.

They are a scam because:

EU Chief Vows To Run The Economies Of All EU Members From Brussels

March 6, 2010 by Infinite

– EU President Herman Van Rompuy Announces 2009 as ‘First Year of Global Governance’

And here comes the New World Order.

EU CHIEF VOWS TO RUN OUR ECONOMY FROM BRUSSELS

Barroso plans to grab power

EUROPE’S chief bureaucrat last night provoked fury after threatening to use the “full force” of the Lisbon Treaty to impose economic control over every EU nation.

European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso claimed that financial stability was so critical that sweeping new powers were needed for Eurocrats in Brussels to meddle in the economies of all EU members.

But his threat sparked an angry backlash from critics of an ever- growing Brussels bureaucracy.

It raised fears that the EU – under unelected (!) new President Herman van Rompuy – is planning a power grab.

Timothy Kirkhope, the leader of Tory Euro MPs, said: “The idea of compulsory economic policies is deeply disturbing. It reflects a very old fashioned ‘command and control’ approach which does not solve problems of the 21st century.” Mats Persson, director of think-tank Open Europe, said: “Economic growth cannot be forced from the centre.

“The unelected Commission is seeking to gain power over one of the corefeatures of democratic politics, deciding how a country’s economy is run. This has no public support and runs the risk of being hijacked by narrow political interests.”

Greek Workers Shut Down Transport And Tried To Storm Parliament As Lawmakers Passed 4.8 Billion Euros Budget Cuts

March 6, 2010 by Infinite

Empty rail tracks are seen at at the entrance to the Thision underground railway in Athens on March 5, 2010. (Bloomberg)

March 5 (Bloomberg) — Striking Greek workers shut down transport and tried to storm parliament as lawmakers passed 4.8 billion euros ($6.5 billion) in budget cuts, including wage reductions, needed to trim the region’s biggest budget deficit.

Police with riot shields fired tear gas as demonstrators wearing biker helmets and ski masks pelted them with stones outside parliament in Athens where lawmakers approved the measures. Finance Minister George Papaconstantinou told parliament the cuts will show European Union allies and investors that Greece is making good on its deficit pledges.

“We didn’t create this crisis but now we have to pay for it,” said Manthos Adamakis, who was protesting with other catering workers outside the five-star Grande Bretagne Hotel on Syntagma Square in downtown Athens.

Germany Snubs Greek Aid Plea As Protesters Seize Finance Ministry in Athens

March 4, 2010 by Infinite

See also:
– Greece passes new deficit cuts to avert ‘catastrophe’ (Telegraph)

George Papandreou, Greece’s prime minister, pauses during a conference organized by The Economist in Athens, on Feb. 2, 2010. (Bloomberg)

March 4 (Bloomberg) — Greece’s pledge to deepen planned budget-deficit cuts failed to yield an offer of assistance from Germany, Europe’s biggest economy, as protesters in Athens seized the finance ministry building and blocked roads in the city center.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said a meeting tomorrow with Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou won’t be “about aid commitments.” Her finance minister, Wolfgang Schaeuble, said the third round of deficit-reduction measures this year were probably enough to convince investors to buy Greek debt.

While Papandreou is risking a backlash at home to meet European Union demands for more deficit cuts before allies even consider providing aid, Merkel is facing domestic opposition to tapping taxpayers to extend a financial lifeline to Greece.

“There would be no understanding in Germany for bailing out Greece,” Henrik Enderlein, a political economist at the Hertie School of Governance in Berlin, said by phone. “It’s a bit of catch-22 situation: if you give in to Greece and you put 5 billion or perhaps even 10 billion into some kind of rescue package or into some guarantees, then the German government would look irresponsible. However, if it doesn’t, then European Union leaders might put a lot of pressure on Merkel and say, look, we have to bail out Greece.”

Europe: Quantifying The Donors And Moochers – Without Germany, The EU Would Not Exist

February 27, 2010 by Infinite

With the dramatic emergence of intra-EU bickering between various “banana-eating countries” and “tax cheats”, it is easy to lose sight of the forest for the banana trees. While it is subjective to say who owes whom what, one thing that is very objective, is whose money is critical to sustaining the European Union.

And here there is no doubt: without Germany, the EU would not exist. The country, which receives €78 billion from the EU annually, pays out more than double that, or €164 billion, for a net impact of (€1,045) per capita.

Surely the Germans would be just as happy to see this money retained by their economy instead of going to assorted hangers-on. And speaking of the latter, one of the biggest recipients, with a net benefit of €2,284 per person, is Greece, which pays just €15 billion a year to the EU but receives nearly triple, or €40 billion.

We wonder just how Greece will plug that particular hole should the EU dissolve after the recent escalation in rhetoric threatens to royally piss off the Germans.

(Click on image to enlarge.)

Graphic via FSTeurope.com

Leading Scientist Warns of Ice Age: ‘Most of Europe Will Be Under Ice’

February 14, 2010 by Infinite

Professor Vladimir Paar

A leading scientist has revealed that Europe could be just five years away from the start of a new Ice Age.

While climate change campaigners say global warming is the planet’s biggest danger, renowned physicist Vladimir Paar says most of central Europe will soon be covered in ice.

The freeze will be so complete that people will be able to walk from England to Ireland or across the North Sea from Scotland to northern Europe.

Professor Paar, from Croatia’s Zagreb University, has spent decades analysing previous ice ages in Europe and what caused them.

“Most of Europe will be under ice, including Germany, Poland, France, Austria, Slovakia and a part of Slovenia,” said the professor in an interview with the Index.hr.

“Previous ice ages lasted about 70,000 years. That’s a fact and the new ice age can’t be avoided.

“The big question is what will happen to the people of the Central European countries which will be under ice?

“They might migrate to the south, or might stay, but with a huge increase in energy use,” he warned.

“This could happen in five, 10, 50 or 100 years, or even later. We can’t predict it precisely, but it will come,” he added.

And the professor said that scientists think global warming is simply a natural part of the planet.

“What I mean is that global warming is natural. Some 130,000 years ago the earth’s temperature was the same as now, the level of CO2 was almost the same and the level of the sea was four metres higher.

“They keep warning people about global warming, but half of America no longer believes it as they keep freezing,” he said.

And he added: “The reality is that mankind needs to start preparing for the ice age. We are at the end of the global warming period. The ice age is to follow. The global warming period should have ended a few thousands of years ago, we should have already been in the ice age. Therefore we do not know precisely when it could start – but soon.”

Marc Faber on Coming Sovereign Debt Crisis: Next Countries to Default are the US, Japan and the ‘PIIGS’

January 14, 2010January 14, 2010 by Infinite

Listen to what Marc Faber exactly says in the beginning of the video.

Winter Chaos Around The World

January 8, 2010January 7, 2010 by Infinite

A train stranded in Shangdu, Inner Mongolia

World:

– Now that really IS the wrong type of snow on the line! Winter brings travel chaos around the world (Daily Mail)

US:

– Midwest bracing for heavy snow, wind chills of -50; South freezes too (AP)

– Colorado Becomes Country’s Cold Spot (ABC News)

– South struggles with record-setting freeze (USA Today)

Europe:

– Airport chaos as icy weather grips northern Europe (BBC News)

– Temperatures across Europe plunge to near record lows (CNN)

– Europe shivers as Britain braces for brutal winter (AFP)

With the UK being hit hard:

The death toll from Britain’s biggest freeze for decades reached 22 today as the country prepared for its coldest night so far, bringing the promise of even more treacherous conditions.

– UK gas supply dwindles as country experiences sub-zero weather (Electric):

The UK faces the possibility of gas supply crisis as the worst cold season in 30 years hit the country.

– UK’s only got enough gas to last eight days, say Tories (Daily Mail)

– U.K. Gas Market No Laughing Matter (Wall Street Journal)

– UK’s only got enough gas to last eight days, say Tories (Daily Mail)

– Some parts of the country have just ONE day’s supply of grit left (Daily Mail)

– Panic buying at supermarkets as Britain braces itself for the big freeze (Daily Mail)

As a sidenote: Met Office chief receives 25 pc pay rise (Telegraph):

The head of the Met Office, the national weather service which has been heavily criticised for getting its forecasts wrong, is now paid more than the Prime Minister, after receiving a 25 per cent pay rise.

China:

– China freeze to continue as power use, food prices rise (AFP)

– Chinese cities not ready for harsh winter (Xinhua)

– China tells factories to cut power use amid cold (BusinessWeek)

– Central China power supply in jeopardy on coal,weather (Reuters)

Cold wave in India:

– Cold waves in northern India claim 195 lives (Indian Express)

Army rescues 1,000 drivers stranded in cars for 12 HOURS as UK is paralysed by heavy snow

winter-chaos
Going nowhere: The A3 in Horndean, Hampshire was closed this morning after 1,000 motorists were stuck in their cars overnight and hundreds of vehicles were abandoned

Up to 1,000 stranded motorists had to be rescued by the Army today after some of the heaviest snowfalls in 20 years left drivers trapped in their cars overnight.
Among those stranded without food and water on the A3 in Hampshire was a heavily-pregnant woman and her baby daughter.

Millions of people across Britain were unable to get to work this morning as snowstorms caused massive disruptions on the roads and railways.

Thousands of schools remain closed, while major airports have been forced to ground flights as snow ploughs try desperately to clear runways of snow and ice.

More than 16 inches (40cm) of snow has fallen in the hills of north east England and the Scottish borders, while 12 inches (30.5cm) was recorded in Berkshire. Parts of the Northern Highlands recorded 18.5 inches (47cm).

The Met Office said southern England could see another six inches (15cm) this afternoon, with the ‘treacherous’ weather lasting for up to ten more days.

The Army, drafted in to save 1,000 drivers stranded on the A3, used military trucks and Land Rovers to rescue those trapped in a ten-mile jam on the trunk road at Waterlooville.

But some of the trapped motorists claimed they received no help at all and that ‘no one knew what was going on’.

Carla Holt said she and her 13-month-old daughter Lily-May were stuck for 12 hours in the freezing conditions. She said she received no support from the police overnight and was only able to leave the road when it was partially cleared at 6.30am today.

The 23-year-old said: ‘We went through hell. I am eight months pregnant, I couldn’t go to the toilet all night, I couldn’t warm the bottle up for my baby daughter. It was very frightening.

New World Order Gordon Brown wants to police the entire world – how controlling can a freak get?

December 25, 2009 by Infinite

Related information:

Barack Obama, Silvio Berlusconi and Dmitri Medvedev celebrate after agreeing a set of measures designed to haul the world out of recession. Gordon Brown, who hosted the summit, said the deal heralded a “new world order”.
Source: The First Post

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown himself announced that the G20 heralded the creation of a “new world order” which would involve increased global regulation of economic markets.

Still think that the ‘New World Order’ is a conspiracy theory?

Now here is an interesting article from the Telegraph.

Quasimodo in Number 10, hunched, scowling over his desk, has devised yet another plan to police, to increase surveillance, to indulge his obsession with extending his short-lived control over as many people as possible. Gordon Brown, who now seems to have lost his last tenuous grip on reality, wants the European Union to police the carbon emissions of the whole world. That is the leitmotif of New Labour – and, by extension, all Westminster – government: control, bans, observation, intrusion, diktat.

Balked of a legal agreement on imaginary manmade global warming at Copenhagen, Quasimodo and Nicolas Sarkozy are working on plans to create a “European monitoring organisation” to oversee different countries’ actions on carbon emissions. Barack Obama – the leading control freak in the liberal pantheon – has suggested spy satellites could be used.

Quasimodo told reporters: “We’re in favour of transparency; we’re in favour of looking at what’s happening not just in our country and our own continent, but around the world.” That isn’t transparency: that is snooping. “We’re in favour of transparency” – from a New Labour Prime Minister! Goebbels, who always favoured the Big Lie, would have loved it.

Were Quasimodo and his colleagues in favour of transparency about weapons of mass destruction? Even now, are they in favour of transparency at the Iraq inquiry, where Tony Blair will give evidence in secret? Were they in favour of transparency when they voted to keep MPs’ expenses under wraps, until the courts overruled them?

The one fear the enforcers entertain is that their spy-in-the-sky snooping on carbon emissions might antagonise China, which resists surveillance (all those covert coal mines and other eco-naughties). When Red China begins to seem like an apostle of laissez-faire, relaxed freedom, we know that the lunatics have taken over the asylum.

Blizzard Blasts Eastern US: Hundreds of Thousands of Homes Without Power

December 20, 2009 by Infinite

And how about Europe?

– Cold snap strands thousands of European travellers (AFP):
PARIS — Tens of thousands of European travellers were stranded Sunday in rail stations, traffic jams and airports as heavy snow and ice caused massive disruption at the start of the Christmas holiday season.

– Arctic-like cold snap wreaks havoc across parts of Europe (Deutsche Welle):
Temperatures in parts of Germany fell to below minus 33 degrees Celsius overnight, as parts of Western and Northern Europe from Portugal in the south to Poland in the east were hit by heavy snowfall.

In Eastern Europe, snow as deep as 2.5 meters has been reported, while temperatures in Mediterranean regions such as Spain dropped to around minus 20 degrees overnight.

– Poland reports 29 deaths in deep-freeze weather – Summary (DPA)

– Cold snap death toll rises to eight in Czech Republic (Roundup (DPA)

– Eurostar Suspends Service Indefinitely (New York Times):
LONDON — Eurostar suspended all its rail links between London, Paris and Brussels on Sunday as cold weather caused chaos on the high-speed passenger line for a third day, with no relief in sight.

A man makes his way towards the White House. Americans pining for a white Christmas got more than they bargained for as a record-breaking snowstorm closed airports and roadways across the northeastern United States, putting a damper on the holiday’s biggest shopping weekend. (AFP)

WASHINGTON (AFP) – A ferocious snow storm blanketed much of the eastern United States Sunday, cutting power to hundreds of thousands of homes, paralyzing air traffic and stranding motorists.

The governors of Virginia, Maryland, West Virginia and Delaware declared states of emergency in advance of the storm, the worst to hit the region in decades.

Three people died on Virginia roads Saturday as some 3,000 accidents shut down interstates for several hours, according to the state’s department of emergency management. The Virginia Department of Health confirmed one other weather-related death.

Hundreds of thousands of customers lost power in West Virginia, Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia and North Carolina.

The worst of the storm was over for Washington as it swept northeastward, but a lot of roads were still unplowed in the city unused to so much snow so early in the year.

Only scattered flurries remained after snowfall shattered a 1932 December snowfall record, with 16 inches (40 centimeters) covering streets and homes. It was also one of the biggest snowstorms to hit the capital since records began in 1885.

Europe overtakes US as the world’s wealthiest region

September 16, 2009 by Infinite

LONDON (MarketWatch) — A year after the Lehman Bros. collapse and subsequent credit crisis comes new confirmation that America is falling behind.

A report by the Boston Consulting Group finds that the U.S. is no longer home to the greatest chunk of the world’s wealth. That honor now belongs to Europe. See related story.

Of course, it’s not like anybody is really getting ahead. Global wealth fell nearly 12% in the past year to $92.4 trillion. It’s just that America’s share is falling faster than Europe’s, where total wealth declined a mere 5.8%.

Russia may arm Baltic fleet with nuclear warheads, says report

August 19, 2008 by Infinite

New Russian threat comes in response to war in Caucasus, US-Poland deal for missile defense shield in Europe. According to Sunday Times, nuclear warheads could be supplied to submarines, cruisers and fighter bombers of Russia’s Baltic fleet based between Poland and Lithuania

Cold War warming up? Russia is considering arming its Baltic fleet with nuclear warheads for the first time since the cold war, the London-based Sunday Times has reported, quoting senior military sources.

Iran dumps U.S. dollars in oil transactions

May 1, 2008 by Infinite

TEHRAN – Iran had totally removed U.S. dollars in the country’s oil transactions, an Oil Ministry official said on Wednesday.

“The dollar has completely been removed from our oil trade….Crude oil customers have agreed with us to use other currencies (in the trade),” Oil Ministry official Hojjatollah Ghanimifard was quoted as saying by the state television.

“We make our transactions with euros in Europe, but yen in Asia,” he added.

Due to the tensions with Washington in the past years over the nuclear disputes and the latest depreciation of dollars, Iran has vowed to decrease the greenback in its foreign trade. Iran central bank also has reduced dollars in the country’s foreign reserves. In last November’s summit of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in Saudi Arabia, Iran proposed that it was necessary to replace the U.S. dollar with other major hard currencies in oil trading.

(In the past such actions were enough for the U.S. to start a war. – The Infinite Unknown)