Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis

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• 10-Year Treasury Yield Lowest Level in 60-Years; Spain 10-Year at 6.66%, Italy 10-Year 5.93%
• Good News in Wisconsin: Governor Walker Leads Barrett 52%-45% in Recall Poll; Union-Busting is a "Godsend"
• EU Throws Spain Two Deathlines; Spanish 10-Year Yield Tops 6.7%; ECB Rejects Madrid Ponzi Refinancing Scheme
• Spexit Before Grexit? Six Reasons Spain Will Leave the Euro First

10-Year Treasury Yield Lowest Level in 60-Years; Spain 10-Year at 6.66%, Italy 10-Year 5.93% Posted: 30 May 2012 03:48 PM PDT Curve Watchers Anonymous is noting a record low yield on 10-Year US Treasury Notes. click on chart for sharper image The above chart shows the monthly close except for the current month.  $IRX 3-month discount rate : Brown $FVX 5-year treasury yield : Blue $TNX 10-year treasury yield : Orange $TYX 30-year treasury yield : Green CNBC reports US 10-Year Treasury Yield Hits Record Low of 1.62% The benchmark U.S. Treasury yield fell to its lowest level in at least 60 years on Wednesday as worries of contagion from Spain's ailing banks raised bids for low-risk investments. Yields on 10-year notes sank to a record low of 1.62 percent, down sharply from 1.73 percent in late U.S trading on Tuesday. The 30-year bond yield fell to 2.71 percent, its lowest level since October, and down from a yield of 2.84 percent in late U.S. trade on Tuesday. Spain Record High Spread to Germany Spain 10-year bond yield hit 6.7%, a record spread vs. Germany, before settling at 6.66%. Italy 10-year bond yield hit 6.01% then settled at 5.93%. Yield on the 10-year German bond hit a record low of 1.27%.  Mike "Mish" Shedlock http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com Click Here To Scroll Thru My Recent Post List Mike "Mish" Shedlock is a registered investment advisor representative for SitkaPacific Capital Management. Sitka Pacific is an asset management firm whose goal is strong performance and low volatility, regardless of market direction. Visit http://www.sitkapacific.com/account_management.html to learn more about wealth management and capital preservation strategies of Sitka Pacific.

Good News in Wisconsin: Governor Walker Leads Barrett 52%-45% in Recall Poll; Union-Busting is a "Godsend" Posted: 30 May 2012 01:25 PM PDT I have good news to report in Wisconsin.  The recall election for Republican governor Scott Walker will take place on June 7. Polls show Walker Leads Barrett 52%-45%. Wisconsin Republican Governor Scott Walker leads Democratic Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett by 7 percentage points in the state's June 5 recall election. Walker widened his edge over Barrett, 52 percent to 45 percent, in a replay of the 2010 governor's race, according to the poll released today by Milwaukee's Marquette Law School. The school's May 16 survey had Walker up 50 percent to 44 percent. Walker, whose curbs on public-employee collective bargaining last year provoked the recall campaign, received a 51 percent approval rating while 46 percent disapproved. Next week's vote is only the third ouster election of a state chief executive in U.S. history. Union-Busting is a "Godsend" I commend governor Walker for killing collective bargaining of some public union workers in Wisconsin. Here are the results of Walker's efforts: Taxpayers are better off. School kids are better off Class sizes are down Struggling school districts now have a budget surplus For details, please see Union-Busting is a "Godsend"; Elimination of Collective Bargaining is the Single Best Thing one Can do for School Kids Mike "Mish" Shedlock http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com Click Here To Scroll Thru My Recent Post List Mike "Mish" Shedlock is a registered investment advisor representative for SitkaPacific Capital Management. Sitka Pacific is an asset management firm whose goal is strong performance and low volatility, regardless of market direction. Visit http://www.sitkapacific.com/account_management.html to learn more about wealth management and capital preservation strategies of Sitka Pacific.

EU Throws Spain Two Deathlines; Spanish 10-Year Yield Tops 6.7%; ECB Rejects Madrid Ponzi Refinancing Scheme Posted: 30 May 2012 10:57 AM PDT ECB Rejects Madrid Ponzi Refinancing Scheme The markets are reeling in the wake of rejection of Spain's Ponzi Recapitalization Scheme by the ECB according to the Financial Times. A Spanish plan to recapitalise Bankia, the troubled lender, by indirectly tapping the European Central Bank for cash, was bluntly rejected as unacceptable by the ECB, European officials said. Madrid had floated the unorthodox idea over the weekend of recapitalising Bankia by injecting €19bn of sovereign bonds into its parent company, which could then be swapped for cash at the ECB's three-month refinancing window, avoiding the need to raise the money on bond markets. The ECB told Madrid that a proper capital injection was needed for Bankia and its plans were in danger of breaching an EU ban on "monetary financing," or central bank funding of governments, according to two European officials. The ECB's rebuff appeared to toughen Madrid's insistence that the only solution to a crisis that is pushing its borrowing costs close to unsustainable levels is for the ECB to become a government lender of last resort. Senior government officials in Madrid argue that bailouts in Portugal, Greece and Ireland have been catastrophic and Spain will not compromise on its refusal to accept a similar form of intervention. Lifeline or Deathline? Reuters reports EU throws Spain two potential lifelines The European Commission threw Spain, the latest frontline in Europe's debt war, two potential lifelines on Wednesday, offering more time to reduce its budget deficit and direct aid from a euro zone rescue fund to recapitalize distressed banks. EU Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn said Brussels was ready to give Spain an extra year until 2014 to bring its deficit down to the EU limit of 3 percent of gross domestic product if Madrid presents a solid two-year budget plan for 2013-14, something it has committed to do. Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said tighter euro zone integration could include a joint bank deposit guarantee scheme to prevent a bank run and euro area financial supervision, saying the mood had changed since member states unanimously rejected a joint deposit guarantee fund only months ago. "In the same vein, to sever the link between banks and the sovereigns, direct recapitalization by the ESM (European Stability Mechanism) might be envisaged," the report said. Permitting the ESM to lend directly to banks would require a change to a treaty in the midst of ratification by member states that might come too late for Spain's needs. Spanish premier Mariano Rajoy backs the idea but Rehn appeared cool to it. "Direct disbursements to banks are not foreseen as such in the treaty, and therefore this is not an available option ... in terms of direct recapitalization," Rehn told reporters. I have no clue how Reuters came up with the title of lifelines. One proposal is impossible because it involves treaty changes. The other proposal, higher taxes and more austerity measures, looks like a deathline. Spanish unemployment is at 24.1% and rising and youth unemployment is 51%. Spain's Revised Budget Deficit is 8.9% and rising not shrinking. To go from 9% to 3% how many more jobs will have to go? What will happen to tax receipts? What will happen to prime minister Rajoy if he puts such a program in place? Rajoy knows he cannot implement such an offer, and the ECB cannot or will not do what Spain wants. The bond market reflects this shift. Yield on the 10-year Spanish government bond is up 21 basis points today to 6.65%, having touched the record high of 6.7%. The only solution to this mess is Spain leaving the Eurozone. Please see Spexit Before Grexit? Six Reasons Spain Will Leave the Euro First for further discussion. Mike "Mish" Shedlock http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com Click Here To Scroll Thru My Recent Post List Mike "Mish" Shedlock is a registered investment advisor representative for SitkaPacific Capital Management. Sitka Pacific is an asset management firm whose goal is strong performance and low volatility, regardless of market direction. Visit http://www.sitkapacific.com/account_management.html to learn more about wealth management and capital preservation strategies of Sitka Pacific.

Spexit Before Grexit? Six Reasons Spain Will Leave the Euro First Posted: 30 May 2012 08:15 AM PDT Interest rates on the 10-Year Spanish bond touched 6.7% today after the ECB shot down prime Minister Mariano Rajoy's Ponzi plan to recapitalize banks. The Spanish banking condition is in such precarious shape that Matthew Lynn of Strategy Economics proposed 'Spexit' Will Come Before a 'Grexit'. "The euro debt crisis, like any really spectacular geo-economic event, is spawning its own special vocabulary" said Matthew Lynn of Strategy Economics on Wednesday. We can now add Spexit to a list which includes Merkozy and Grexit, and Lynn believes the chances of Spain leaving the euro are now higher than those of Greece leaving. "The Spanish are a lot more likely to pull out of the euro than the Greeks, or indeed any of the peripheral countries" said Lynn. "They are too big to rescue, they have no political hang-ups about rupturing their relations with the European Union, they are already fed up with austerity, and there is a bigger Spanish-speaking world for them to grow into," said Lynn. "One in four Spanish households now have no bread-winner. Retail sales are falling 10 percent year-on-year. Yet the prescription from Brussels and Berlin is precisely the same as it has been for every other country struggling with the euro. Endure a deep recession. Let unemployment rise. Allow wages to fall until you claw back competitiveness," he said. 6 Reasons Spain Will Leave the Euro First On MarketWatch Matthew Lynn gives 6 Reasons Spain Will Leave the Euro First. The Grexit, short for Greece finally giving up on the single currency, has been trending for the last few weeks. And coming up next: the Spexit. In Greece, people have just about put up with it — until now. So have the Irish, the Portuguese, and the Italians. The Spanish won't. Here's why. One: Spain is too big to rescue. Two: Spain has tired of austerity already. Remember, the protests against cuts began in Madrid a year ago with the "indignados" movement, which started sit-ins across major cities in 2011. The protests spread from there to Greece, and other euro-zone countries. The austerity had hardly even begun, yet already it has provoked strong opposition. Three: Spain has a real economy. The Greeks understandably feel nervous about life outside the euro zone. They don't really make anything. Spain is a successful economy with a perfectly respectable industrial base – its export to GDP ratio is 26%, similar to the U.K., France or Italy. Only last week the Japanese car-maker Nissan announced a major new investment there. Four: Spain is politically secure. For many countries, euro membership is more about politics than economics. The Greeks stay in because it locks them into Europe (rather than being part of the Turkish sphere of influence). Latvia wanted in because it made it part of the EU rather than being dominated by Russia. For the Irish, it is about separating themselves from Britain. The Germans stick with the euro because the EU still represents a break with its troubled past. Five: Spain has bigger horizons. The Spanish economy looks partly to Europe. But it looks just as much to the booming Spanish-speaking economies of Latin America (and indeed the huge Hispanic market in the U.S.). Rather like the U.K., Spanish business has always looked to the global rather than the European market. Why tie yourself to a failing project when there are much bigger opportunities out there? Six: The debate has already started. There is already a serious discussion underway in Spain about the future of the currency. Plenty of mainstream economists and pundits are arguing that the real problem is the euro, and Spain will only recover once it gets the peseta back. The taboo has been broken. That isn't true in Greece, where even the far-left Syriza party still clings to the idea that it should stay in the euro. Debate in Spain Proving point number six above, El Economista picked up on the story in Comes Spexit: Spain's Euro exit before Greece? If prime minister Rajoy refuses a bailout by the Troika, what other options does Spain have? Is another puppet government like we saw in Greece and Italy coming up? The sooner Spain sees the light and gets out of the euro that is strangling it, the better off Spain will be. Mike "Mish" Shedlock http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com Click Here To Scroll Thru My Recent Post List Mike "Mish" Shedlock is a registered investment advisor representative for SitkaPacific Capital Management. Sitka Pacific is an asset management firm whose goal is strong performance and low volatility, regardless of market direction. Visit http://www.sitkapacific.com/account_management.html to learn more about wealth management and capital preservation strategies of Sitka Pacific.

Moratorium

Just commented on @thejournal_ie: "Broadcast moratorium on referendum coverage starts at 2pm" -

http://jrnl.ie/467526

Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis

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• Stubborn Stupidity, Fantasyland Thinking, Hopeless Bluffs
• Bailout Scam: Collecting Non-Interest on Non-Loans; "Because We're Europe"
• Competition for McJobs Hits Teens: High-School Students with Jobs Hits 20-Year Low

Stubborn Stupidity, Fantasyland Thinking, Hopeless Bluffs Posted: 29 May 2012 10:33 PM PDT The Financial Times says Madrid in 'game of chicken' with EU. I disagree. I think Spain's prime minister Mariano Rajoy is a stubborn fool engaged in Fantasyland thinking, unable to think straight. The issue regards a proposed Ponzi financing scheme to recapitalize Spanish banks. For details of the scheme, please see Spain's Plans to Recapitalize Bankia Will Put Germany, ECB at Risk; When Does the Ponzi Scheme Collapse? Fantasyland Thinking or Failed Bluff? If Spain was playing a game of chicken, the ECB just ended it by rejecting the Ponzi financing scheme of Rajoy. Please consider ECB rejects Madrid plan to boost Bankia A Spanish plan to recapitalise Bankia, the troubled lender, by indirectly tapping the European Central Bank for cash, was bluntly rejected as unacceptable by the ECB, European officials said. News of the rejection came as Spain faces elevated borrowing costs in the bond markets, tries to persuade investors it can contain problems in a banking sector weighed down by €180bn of bad property loans and, on Tuesday, saw its central bank governor stand down early. Madrid had floated the unorthodox idea over the weekend of recapitalising Bankia by injecting €19bn of sovereign bonds into its parent company, which could then be swapped for cash at the ECB's three-month refinancing window, avoiding the need to raise the money on bond markets. The ECB told Madrid that a proper capital injection was needed for Bankia and its plans were in danger of breaching an EU ban on "monetary financing," or central bank funding of governments, according to two European officials. Senior government officials in Madrid argue that bailouts in Portugal, Greece and Ireland have been catastrophic and Spain will not compromise on its refusal to accept a similar form of intervention. They said the country had implemented reforms requested by Brussels and must now be granted relief by the ECB, or the future of the single currency will be threatened. The government would like to see the ECB restart its government bond-buying programme and wants the nascent European Stability Mechanism to be retooled as a bank bailout fund. "This is like a game of poker now," one government adviser said, "and I don't think Spain is bluffing". ECB Had No Choice If this was a bluff by Rajoy, it was a very poorly conceived one. The ECB had no choice but to call it, given its disastrous position of Greek garbage on its balance sheet. The ECB simply cannot afford to load up on Spanish garbage for fear Spain will do as Greece threatens to do: default. Irish Turn The Financial Times says Spain must avoid an Irish turn "We are not going to let . . . any bank fall . . . if that happens the country will fall," Mr Rajoy said on Monday. That is the message Ireland's government insisted on as it piled private banks' debts on to its puny sovereign shoulders. By the end of 2010 markets had lost faith in Dublin's ability to repay and it was strong-armed into a eurozone rescue loan. Ireland's folly made clear that the interdependence of sovereigns and national banks is at the heart of the monetary union's present dysfunction. But to judge from Mr Rajoy's words, Madrid will tighten this deadly embrace instead of loosening it – even as its sovereign bond spreads hit euro-era records. Losses at Bankia – spawned of a shotgun marriage between savings banks – has made Madrid promise a bailout of €19bn on top of what the state has already provided. It may reportedly place sovereign bonds directly with Bankia so as to give the bank collateral for European Central Bank liquidity while avoiding market borrowing at current punishing yields. This trick would not change the key fact of Spain increasing a debt burden it already struggles to refinance. Promising that no bank will fall is what truly brings a country down. Can someone please explain the absurd line of thinking that says banks and bondholders cannot take losses? Mike "Mish" Shedlock http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com Click Here To Scroll Thru My Recent Post List Mike "Mish" Shedlock is a registered investment advisor representative for SitkaPacific Capital Management. Sitka Pacific is an asset management firm whose goal is strong performance and low volatility, regardless of market direction. Visit http://www.sitkapacific.com/account_management.html to learn more about wealth management and capital preservation strategies of Sitka Pacific.

Bailout Scam: Collecting Non-Interest on Non-Loans; "Because We're Europe" Posted: 29 May 2012 02:00 PM PDT The absurdity of the Greek "bailout" setup is in the news once again. The New York Times reports Athens No Longer Sees Most of Its Bailout Aid In an elaborate payment system that began after the May 6 election that brought down the Greek government, and is meant to ensure that the Greeks do not touch the cash, the big three creditors are now wiring bailout payments to an escrow account in Greece. There the money sits for two or three days — before much of it is sent back to the troika as interest payment on the Greek bonds that Europe accepted under terms of the bailout deal struck in February. "Greece will not default on the troika because the troika is paying themselves," said Thomas Mayer, a senior advisor at Deutsche Bank in Frankfurt. "Why are we doing it like this?" Mr. Mayer said. "Because we're Europe." A Greek government advisor who spoke anonymously, for fear of alienating the European lenders, said of the troika: "They made sure that the sum for domestic spending is kept small enough to force Greece to dramatically raise its own revenues." On its face, the situation seems absurd. The European authorities are effectively lending Greece money so Greece can repay the money it borrowed from them. "You send the money, you call it a 'loan' — you get it back and call it an 'interest rate,"' said Stephane Deo, global head of asset allocation in London for UBS. Since May 2010, Greece has been sent €141.7 billion in European taxpayer money to keep the country afloat and ward off a bigger meltdown that might threaten the entire currency union. Of that amount, a full two-thirds has gone to pay off bondholders and the troika. Only a third has been earmarked to finance government operations, with only a tiny sliver spent on stimulus projects for the anemic economy. Greek bonds are a profitable investment for the E.C.B. as long as Greece continues to make interest payments. The E.C.B. exempted itself from the debt restructuring deal. And Greek bonds were already trading at a big discount when the E.C.B. started buying them. As a result, the central bank is earning an effective interest rate of 10 percent or so. Non-Interest on Non-Loans If the money never gets to the borrower, then it's not a loan. Scam is a more appropriate word. Of the €141.7 billion bailout, only €47.2 can be construed as a loan all of which nearly all went to government operations, none to the average Greek citizen. As for Mayer's statement "Greece will not default on the troika" we will see about that.  Nearly three-quarters of Greece's debt, or €182 billion, is now effectively owned by the EU the ECB or the IMF, according to estimates by the investment bank UBS. If Syriza party leader Alexis Tsipras wins the June 17 election, the Troika is going to take a big hit. The ECB's share is estimated to be between €35 billion to €55 billion. Mike "Mish" Shedlock http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com Click Here To Scroll Thru My Recent Post List Mike "Mish" Shedlock is a registered investment advisor representative for SitkaPacific Capital Management. Sitka Pacific is an asset management firm whose goal is strong performance and low volatility, regardless of market direction. Visit http://www.sitkapacific.com/account_management.html to learn more about wealth management and capital preservation strategies of Sitka Pacific.

Competition for McJobs Hits Teens: High-School Students with Jobs Hits 20-Year Low Posted: 29 May 2012 09:26 AM PDT High school and college kids typically get the jobs that are left over, that no one else really wants, such as working at McDonalds. However, competition for any job is now so intense, that teens cannot find any job that no one else wants. As a result of that increased competition, Number of high-school students with jobs hits 20-year low The American job market is no place for students as the number of employed high schoolers has hit its lowest level in more than 20 years, according to new figures from the National Center for Education Statistics. In 1990, 32 percent of high school students held jobs, versus just 16 percent now. Blame their elders. "By definition, teenage workers get the jobs that are left over," said Charles Hirschman, a sociology professor at the University of Washington who has studied and written about student employment. "When you can't find someone else to bag your groceries or work construction, often teenagers are the labor force you can count on to pick up that slack for a low wage. But now, with the recession, everybody has moved down. Those jobs aren't going to teenagers." Local McDonald's managers, for example, are no longer forced to accept young workers who can show up after class. They now have the option to hire older employees with more experience and, in many cases, much more education. "They think, 'I can hire this old guy instead. He already knows how to work, so we don't need to teach him,' " said Andrew Sum, director of Northeastern University's Center for Labor Market Studies. The crunch is also hitting college students. In 2000, 52 percent of full-time college students worked. That number has now fallen to 40 percent, the National Center for Education Statistics reports. Job Demographics Please consider these thoughts I penned on May 1, 2008 (emphasis in italics added) Demographics of Jobless Claims Structural Demographics Poor Structural demographic effects imply that prospects in the full-time labor market will be poor for those over age 50-55 and workers under age 30. Teen and college-age employment could suffer a great deal from (1) a dramatic slowdown in discretionary spending and (2) part-time Boomer reentrants into the low-paying service sector; workers who will be competing with younger workers. Ironically, older part-time workers remaining in or reentering the labor force will be cheaper to hire in many cases than younger workers. The reason is Boomers 65 and older will be covered by Medicare (as long as it lasts) and will not require as many benefits as will younger workers, especially those with families. In effect, Boomers will be competing with their children and grandchildren for jobs that in many cases do not pay living wages. Very few are considering demographics, a change in attitudes by consumers towards spending, a change in attitudes of banks to lend, and the ability of capital impaired banks to lend even if they want to. A structural shift in consumption to savings or at least reduced consumption, is in store for boomers. Meanwhile job prospects are looking pretty grim for some time to come across the entire economic spectrum. And so it is. Unfortunately it will stay that way for many years to come. Economists missed the boat on this one and still do even as it plays out as I suggested. Because of student debt and low paying jobs, kids out of college are putting off raising families and buying homes. Headwinds on home prices are enormous. Rather than buy cars they cannot afford, many kids tweet and send text messages. Demographics, student debt, debt in general, and changing attitudes of youth about what is really important are huge deflationary forces that Bernanke is fighting. Those expecting hyperinflation or even strong inflation out of this mess are simply not thinking clearly. Mike "Mish" Shedlock http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com Click Here To Scroll Thru My Recent Post List Mike "Mish" Shedlock is a registered investment advisor representative for SitkaPacific Capital Management. Sitka Pacific is an asset management firm whose goal is strong performance and low volatility, regardless of market direction. Visit http://www.sitkapacific.com/account_management.html to learn more about wealth management and capital preservation strategies of Sitka Pacific.

Crazy World!!

Bilderberg

Vote No!!

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Alex Jones Banned From Bilderberg Hotel, Calls For Press Mob

Alex Jones Banned From Bilderberg Hotel, Calls For Press Mob

Article:... http://fb.me/ZiQGVTO5

Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis

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Ponzi Financing in Greece Continues; Greek Banks Receive €18bn Transfer Posted: 28 May 2012 06:41 PM PDT Greek banks have been shut off from regular ECB liquidity operations due to lack of sufficient collateral. Today the Banks have that collateral thanks to a disbursement of funds from the EFSF which in turn will be used as collateral for more loans from the ECB. If this makes little sense to you it is because it should not make any sense to anyone. It is another act of desperation in a long line of desperate acts. Please consider Greek banks receive €18bn transfer Greece's four largest banks received a €18bn transfer on Monday as the first instalment of a recapitalisation plan agreed as part of the country's second bailout by the EU and the International Monetary Fund. The funding, in bonds issued by the European Financial Stability Facility, will help banks reduce their dependence on emergency liquidity assistance, a temporary lifeline provided by the Greek central bank after they were excluded from European Central Bank liquidity operations this month. The four banks are now expected to regain access to the ECB's liquidity operations, using the bonds as collateral for funding at cheaper rates than under the emergency liquidity arrangement. Bankers said they hoped the funding would help stem a continuing outflow of deposits since an inconclusive general election on May 6 triggered fears that Greece would soon be forced to leave the eurozone. Anyone who thinks this will stop outflows has holes in the head. As I see it, it will allow a means of additional outflows. Mike "Mish" Shedlock http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com Click Here To Scroll Thru My Recent Post List Mike "Mish" Shedlock is a registered investment advisor representative for SitkaPacific Capital Management. Sitka Pacific is an asset management firm whose goal is strong performance and low volatility, regardless of market direction. Visit http://www.sitkapacific.com/account_management.html to learn more about wealth management and capital preservation strategies of Sitka Pacific.

Spanish 10-Year Bond Yield Hits 6.5%, Spread to Germany Hits Record; Prime Minister Repeats Lie "Spain Does Not Need Bailout"; Backdoor Bailout or Ponzi Scheme? More Questions Than Answers Posted: 28 May 2012 10:54 AM PDT In the wake of Bankia bailouts to the tune of €19 billion, the second bailout in two weeks, yields of Spanish debt are soaring. Spread to German Bonds Hits 5.05 Percentage Points At this rate I expect it will take less than a week before Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy changes his mind about not needing a bailout, but for now please consider another candidate for understatement of the month: Spain funding situation 'very difficult', PM Rajoy says Spain's prime minister has said it is "very difficult" for the country to get funds. The premium investors demanded for holding Spain's 10-year bonds over its German equivalent rose to a record 5.05 percentage points. But Mr Rajoy said the banking system did not need an international bailout. "There will not be any [European] rescue for the Spanish banking system," he said, but he backed calls for the European rescue fund to be able to lend to banks directly. Last week Bankia, which was formed from the merger of several struggling regional lenders, requested a 19bn-euro bailout, which was a much bigger amount of help than had been expected. "We took the bull by the horns because the alternative was collapse," said Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, adding that Bankia customers' savings were now safer than ever. Rather than borrowing money on the open markets, potentially at high cost, there are reports that Madrid is considering giving Bankia government bonds. The bank would then use them as collateral for loans from the European Central Bank. One analyst said this would amount to "an ECB bailout through the back door". Some are concerned that by doing this, the government is not tackling the problem of the huge amount of bad property loans, estimated at 32bn euros, that Bankia is holding. "It is not dealing with the problem of bad loans, it is just keeping them going," said Kathleen Brooks, research director at Forex.com. "It risks becoming a zombie bank," she told BBC News. Backdoor Bailout or Ponzi Scheme? Is Rajoy's proposal a backdoor bailout or a Ponzi Scheme? I proposed the latter yesterday morning in Spain's Plans to Recapitalize Bankia Will Put Germany, ECB at Risk; When Does the Ponzi Scheme Collapse? More Questions Than Answers   One thing that will change Rajoy's tune in a hurry is if the ECB says no to the preposterous plan. Then what? What kind of interest rate can Spain get on the open market for bonds? Doesn't the idea of recapitalization with junk bonds seem absurd enough in the first place? I asked the key question yesterday: When does Germany say it has had enough of these preposterous schemes? Mike "Mish" Shedlock http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com Click Here To Scroll Thru My Recent Post List Mike "Mish" Shedlock is a registered investment advisor representative for SitkaPacific Capital Management. Sitka Pacific is an asset management firm whose goal is strong performance and low volatility, regardless of market direction. Visit http://www.sitkapacific.com/account_management.html to learn more about wealth management and capital preservation strategies of Sitka Pacific.

TheJournal.ie: In full: Speech by Gerry Adams at the Sinn Féin Ard Fheis

In full: Speech by Gerry Adams at the Sinn Féin Ard Fheis

The full text of the Sinn Féin's president's speech to his party conference in Killarney this evening.

http://www.thejournal.ie/in-full-gerry-adams-speech-at-the-sinn-fein-ard-fheis-464505-May2012/

JoePlummer.com News 05-28-2012

StopTheLie.com News update 05-28-2012

Countering GMO Propaganda
Source: Mercola.com
  "Monsanto is one of the most powerful, arrogant and destructive companies in the world. For decades, they have controlled the world's food supply by buying off politicians and regulatory agencies, intimidating small farmers, manipulating the outcome of scientific studies, lying to consumers - and threatening to sue states like Vermont if they dare to pass a GMO labeling law.

   ... Despite Monsanto's claims to the contrary, scientists are clear: genetically engineered food has been linked to a wide range of health hazards, including kidney and liver damage, infertility, auto-immune disorders, allergies and autism, accelerated aging, and birth defects... We have the right to know if the food we buy has been genetically engineered.... It's time to take back our food. Our farms. Our power. It's time to show Monsanto what ordinary people like us can do when we come together."
Read full article at:http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2012/05/26/monsanto-gmo-allies.aspx?e_cid=20120526_DNL_art_1

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Low-Tech Solutions To High-Tech Tyranny (Recommended)
Source: Alt-Market.com
Imagine, if you will, a fantastic near future in which the United States is facing an unmitigated economic implosion.  Not just a mere market crash, or a stint of high unemployment, but a full spectrum collapse driven by unsustainable debt spending and hyperinflationary printing.  The American people witness multiple credit downgrades of U.S. Treasury mechanisms, the dollar loses its reserve status, devaluation of the currency runs rampant, and the prices of commodities and imported goods immediately skyrocket. 

In the background of this disaster, a group of financial elite with dreams of a new centralized economic and political system use the chaos to encourage a removal of long held civil liberties; displacing Constitutional protections they deem �outdated� and no longer �practical� in the midst of our modern day troubles.  This group then institutes draconian policies through the executive orders of a puppet president, including indefinite detention, assassination, and even martial law against citizens.  For now, let�s just refer to them as �The Swedes��.

The Swedes have an extraordinary array of technological tools at their disposal.  The kind of equipment dictators like Stalin and Hitler would have killed for�literally.  This technology is so pervasive and so unprecedented in the history of tyrannical governments that average people shiver at the very thought of resistance.  The Swedes seem to be invincible...
Read full article at: http://www.alt-market.com/articles/799-low-tech-solutions-to-high-tech-tyranny

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Graphic Illustration of TSA Waste (Image)
Source:OnlineCriminalJusticeDegree.com
.
Read full article at:http://www.onlinecriminaljusticedegree.com/tsa-waste/

COMMENT: I haven't gone over the references...that said, it wouldn't surprise me if the figures are WORSE than what's presented in the image above. 

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Other sources for alternative news: 

http://www.PrisonPlanet.com/
http://www.RealityZone.com/currentperiod.html
http://www.FreedomsPhoenix.com/Front-Page.htm
http://ByeByeMissPie.info 


Previous Week's News 05-21-2012

9/11: Explosive Evidence � Experts Speak Out (Video)
Source: 911expertsspeakout.org
�Discover Why 43 Technical & Building Professionals are Calling for a New Investigation into the Events of 9/11! Watch 9/11, Explosive Evidence � Experts Speak Out and Learn Why You Should Too!�

--The World Premiere USA Tour with AE911Truth�s Richard Gage, AIA, in person, will visit at least 2 dozen cities across the USA from May to June 2012 � beginning with San Diego and Los Angeles / Beverly Hills with Ed Asner live � introducing AE911Truth in a milestone press conference. Find the World Premiere stop nearest you and order tickets now:

It�s not conspiracy. It�s forensic evidence. And you owe to yourself, your children and their children to open your mind, your eyes and your ears and review this information dispassionately.
Watch video at:http://911expertsspeakout.org/911-explosive-evidence-experts-speak-version-12/

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Hardens Your Arteries - Odds Are 6 in 10 You're Consuming This Poison Ingredient Daily
Source: Mercola.com
--Prior to 1945 when communal water fluoridation took effect, fluoride was a known toxin. For example, a 1936 issue of the Journal of the American Dental Association stated that fluoride at the 1 ppm (part per million) concentration is as toxic as arsenic and lead. The Journal of the American Medical Association stated in their September 18, 1943 issue, that fluorides are general protoplasmic poisons that change the permeability of the cell membrane by certain enzymes.xiii And, an editorial published in the Journal of the American Dental Association, October 1, 1944, stated:

   "Drinking water containing as little as 1.2 ppm fluoride will cause developmental disturbances. We cannot run the risk of producing such serious systemic disturbances. The potentialities for harm outweigh those for good."

How community water fluoridation ended up being so widely implemented, and eventually even became heralded as one of the 10 great public health achievements of the 20th century, is explained in-depth in Christopher Bryson's book The Fluoride Deception.xiv In it, he describes the intertwined interests that existed in the 1940's and 50's between the aluminum industry, the U.S. nuclear weapons program, and the dental industry, which resulted in fluoride being declared not only safe, but beneficial to human health. Once you understand the historical context, it becomes easier to grasp why anyone would ever promote water fluoridation as "a good idea."

Due to the massive amounts of fluoride required to produce bomb-grade uranium and plutonium for nuclear weapons, the Manhattan Project conducted various experiments to determine its toxic effects in 1946.

There were already several instances on record of fluoride being toxic to crops, livestock and people living downwind from the polluters, so the public concern over fluoride emissions needed to be quelled in order to avoid potentially crippling lawsuits.  
Read full article at:http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2012/05/21/fluoride-health-hazards.aspx?e_cid=20120521_DNL_art_1

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Sibel Edmonds: Criminals Rule Over America (Video)
Source: PrisonPlanet.com
On the Thursday, May 17, 2012 edition of the Alex Jones Show, Alex talks with former FBI translator and founder of the National Security Whistleblowers Coalition, Sibel Edmonds. Her allegations of misconduct within the FBI following the attacks of September 11, 2001, came to the attention of the Senate Judiciary Committee and led to a call for an independent audit of the FBI's translation unit. She subsequently gave sworn testimony accusing current and former members of the government of treasonous activity. Edmonds is the subject of a documentary, Kill the Messenger, and she hosts a website, Boiling Frogs. The FBI has attempted to prevent the publication of her book, Classified Woman: The Sibel Edmonds Story.
Watch video at:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gj_8qxIO0Bc

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Man Loses $22,000 In New 'Policing For Profit' Case (w/ Video)
Source: NewsChannel5.com
MONTEREY, Tenn. -- "If somebody told me this happened to them, I absolutely would not believe this could happen in America."

That was the reaction of a New Jersey man who found out just how risky it can be to carry cash through Tennessee.

For more than a year, NewsChannel 5 Investigates has been shining a light on a practice that some call "policing for profit."

In this latest case, a Monterey police officer took $22,000 off the driver -- even though he had committed no crime.

"You live in the United States, you think you have rights -- and apparently you don't," said George Reby.
Read full article at:http://www.newschannel5.com/story/18241221/man-loses-22000-in-new-policing-for-profit-case

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Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis

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• Spain's Plans to Recapitalize Bankia Will Put Germany, ECB at Risk; When Does the Ponzi Scheme Collapse?
• Greece Public Finances Face Collapse as Money Stuffed in Mattresses; Swiss Eye Capital Controls as Money Pours into Switzerland; Understatement of the Month
• April New Home Sales: The Hype vs. The Reality

Spain's Plans to Recapitalize Bankia Will Put Germany, ECB at Risk; When Does the Ponzi Scheme Collapse? Posted: 27 May 2012 08:17 PM PDT Inquiring minds are interested in the recapitalization plans for the Bankia. Please consider this chain of posts. ABC News reports Spain's Bankia set for massive bailout. Spain's fourth-biggest bank Bankia says it is certain of securing the 19 billion euros ($24 billion) in state aid it is seeking in the largest bank bailout in the country's history. Bankia is considered key to the country's financial system, and a failure would contaminate the entire banking sector. The plight of Bankia - which holds some 10 per cent of the nation's bank deposits - has added to the concerns over the massive debt crisis gripping Spain and the rest of the eurozone. Bankia president Jose Ignacio Goirigolzarri has sought to reassure investors and the public about the future of the struggling bank at a press conference called the day after it announced huge losses, and asked for a government rescue. "I am certain that the Spanish state will obtain the financing so we will receive the 19 billion euros. That's the commitment," said Mr Goirigolzarri, adding that he expected to get the funds in July. Devil in the Details Inquiring minds just may be asking "Just where is this money coming from?" That's a good question. Reuters reports Spain may recapitalize Bankia with government debt. Spain may recapitalize Bankia with Spanish government bonds in return for shares in the bank which last week asked for rescue funding of 19 billion euros ($24 billion), a government source said on Sunday. Bankia could use the sovereign paper as collateral to get cash from the European Central Bank, forcing the ECB to get involved with restructuring Spain's banking sector, laid low by lending to property developers in a boom that ended in 2008. ECB policymakers, who have pumped over 1 trillion euros into Europe's financial system in recent months, are resisting pressure to do more to shore up the euro zone. "The biggest problem here is that the ECB could object. That's a legal issue, but technically it is possible," said Jose Carlos Diez, economist at Intermoney Valores. Ponzi Financing Got That? A Spanish government source says the plan is float what amounts to junk bonds, pawn them off to the ECB and use the proceeds to "recapitalize" Bankia. Of course the ECB (bankrolled by Germany) is at enormous risk were this preposterous scheme to actually happen. This is what I want to know: When does Germany say it has had enough of these preposterous schemes? Mike "Mish" Shedlock http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com Click Here To Scroll Thru My Recent Post List Mike "Mish" Shedlock is a registered investment advisor representative for SitkaPacific Capital Management. Sitka Pacific is an asset management firm whose goal is strong performance and low volatility, regardless of market direction. Visit http://www.sitkapacific.com/account_management.html to learn more about wealth management and capital preservation strategies of Sitka Pacific.

Greece Public Finances Face Collapse as Money Stuffed in Mattresses; Swiss Eye Capital Controls as Money Pours into Switzerland; Understatement of the Month Posted: 27 May 2012 02:56 PM PDT Lucas Papademos, the ex-technocrat prime minister of Greece says public finances face collapse. Greece's public finances could collapse as early as next month, leaving salaries and pensions unpaid unless a stable government emerges from the June 17 election, according to Lucas Papademos, the technocrat prime minister who left office after this month's inconclusive vote. Mr Papademos warned that conditions were deteriorating faster than expected with cash flow likely to turn negative in early June amid a sharp fall in tax revenues and a loosening of spending controls during two back-to-back election campaigns. Mounting anxiety that Greece is headed for further political instability and a possible exit from the euro has prompted many Greeks to postpone making tax payments, and has also accelerated outflows of deposits from local banks. Athens bankers estimate that more than €3bn of cash withdrawn since the May 6 election has been stashed in safe-deposit boxes and under mattresses in case the country is forced to readopt the drachma. The finance ministry has halted repayment of value-added tax to Greek exporters, and slashed public investment spending by more than 20 per cent in the first four months. Transfers to the health ministry to pay debts owed to hospital suppliers and pharmacies have been temporarily suspended, obliging patients to pay the full cost of prescription drugs for the first time. The struggling state electricity utility PPC has received a €250m special payment from the budget to help cover a widening deficit. The utility has been hit by a sharp rise in non-payments of household electricity bills after the finance ministry imposed an extra "solidarity tax" last year that was added to the bills. Understatement of the Month "The situation is getting out of hand," said a private sector economist. Really? It seems to me things got out of hand long ago. Swiss Eye Capital Controls as Money Pours into Switzerland While some stuff money in mattresses, others pour money into Swiss Francs. In response Swiss eye capital controls. The Swiss National Bank is considering imposing capital controls on foreign deposits if Greece leaves the euro, as the franc comes under heavy demand from investors seeking a haven in Europe. The Swiss franc has come under increasing pressure since the Greek elections at the start of the month. Currency traders have reported unusually high levels of franc buying in response to the problems in the eurozone, which has seen the euro slide to its lowest level in nearly two years. "We're preparing ourselves for turbulent times," Mr Thomas Jordan [head of the Swiss central bank] said in an interview with SonntagsZeitung, a Swiss newspaper. "The situation has become worse in the past few weeks and the outlook has become much more uncertain. We're seeing a clear upward pressure on the franc," he told the newspaper. "Investors are looking for a safe haven. For many, that includes the franc." I have said this before numerous times but it is worth repeating: If you have money in Greek, Spanish, or Portuguese banks, get it out now. Mike "Mish" Shedlock http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com Click Here To Scroll Thru My Recent Post List Mike "Mish" Shedlock is a registered investment advisor representative for SitkaPacific Capital Management. Sitka Pacific is an asset management firm whose goal is strong performance and low volatility, regardless of market direction. Visit http://www.sitkapacific.com/account_management.html to learn more about wealth management and capital preservation strategies of Sitka Pacific.

April New Home Sales: The Hype vs. The Reality Posted: 27 May 2012 07:51 AM PDT Check out some of the headlines a few day ago following new home sales reports. Detroit Free Press: April new-home sales increase 3.3%, pointing to recovery "Americans bought more new homes last month, the latest evidence that the U.S. housing market could be starting to recover." Fox Business News: US New-Home Sales Up 3.3% In April; Prices Rise In March "Sales of newly built homes in the U.S. grew faster than expected in April and home prices posted a solid gain the prior month, adding to the increasing momentum for the long-struggling sector." New York Times: New-Home Sales Climbed in April, Building Optimism "The spring home-selling season got off to a strong start in April, the Commerce Department said Wednesday, with rising sales and prices providing evidence that a housing market recovery was gaining some traction." San Francisco Chronicle: New-home sales rise in April "Americans bought more new homes last month, the latest evidence that the U.S. housing market could be starting to recover." The Hype vs. The Reality After all that hype, let's take a look at the reality. To eliminate seasonal fluctuations, the best comparison is the current month vs. the same month in previous years. Here is a chart from reader Tim Wallace that shows what I mean. click on chart for sharper image Being the ever-optimist, I happen to believe that home sales are in a bottoming process. However, a bottoming process and a "recovery" are not the same thing. A claim that a recovery is underway needs to be backed up with facts, not hype. There is little evidence of a recovery. We have heard similar recovery stories (all false), dozens if not hundreds of times. All were based on wishful thinking, gimmicks, temporary fluctuations, and shoddy reporting similar to what you see above. Supposedly the "recovery gains traction". Pray tell what "recovery" is that? Mike "Mish" Shedlock http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com Click Here To Scroll Thru My Recent Post List Mike "Mish" Shedlock is a registered investment advisor representative for SitkaPacific Capital Management. Sitka Pacific is an asset management firm whose goal is strong performance and low volatility, regardless of market direction. Visit http://www.sitkapacific.com/account_management.html to learn more about wealth management and capital preservation strategies of Sitka Pacific.