"My Lord I will personally travel to Tattooine and put an end to it"
The boy who dearly wanted to be a Jedi, but found he was just a bullshit dispensing total fucking idiot.
Geithner Warns Europe About "Loose Talk" and Infighting
US Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner flew to Europe and chastised European leaders on "loose talk" and infighting.
Speaking at a closed meeting of eurozone finance ministers in Poland, he is reported to have told them that the divisions were "very damaging".
Some eurozone ministers seemed unhappy with Mr Geithner's comments.
They have also delayed a decision over Greece's next bailout loan [Until October when Greece runs out of money!]
Mr Geithner reportedly said: "What's very damaging is not just seeing the divisiveness in the debate over strategy in Europe but the ongoing conflict between countries and the [European] central bank."
He said that "governments and central banks need to take out the catastrophic risk to markets".
His presence at the meeting was measure of how concerned the US is about the danger of economic contagion from Europe's government debt and banking crisis.
Here is the kicker from Austria's Finance Minister Maria Feckter (Mrs ObiWan Kenobi?).
"I found it peculiar that even though the Americans have significantly worse fundamental [economic] data than the eurozone, that they tell us what we should do."
The quote of the day goes to Jamie Robertson of BBC World News:
"There may be a few people who still believe Greece will not default on its debt, but my suspicion is most of them also believe elephants can fly and the woods are populated by pixies."
In a sense, Geithner is correct. Infighting should stop. However, needs to with the bus in a logical spot, not in woods populated by Geithner loving Pixies. The logical spot is default, with further talk of a Eurozone breakup, not with everyone bowing to Geithner and Pixies.
The "Yes Minister" Indicator. Eurozone Breakup Logistics (Never Believe Anything Until It's Officially Denied).
Angela Merkel, German chancellor, declared on Wednesday that “the euro will not fail” after the country’s powerful constitutional court rejected a series of challenges to the multibillion-euro rescue packages agreed last year for Greece and other debt-strapped members of the eurozone.
In a passionate restatement of Germany’s determination to defend the common currency, the chancellor welcomed the court’s judgment as “absolutely confirming” her government’s policy of “solidarity with individual responsibility”
Decoded:
First Rule of Politics
No, I didn’t misread the article. I just have a very different understanding of the logistics of a denial. Last year, for example, I wrote on my blog about ferocious denials by both Spain and Portugal that they would need any official help in funding themselves. But according to one of my favorite British television comedies, Yes, Minister, an official denial means something very different from what is intended.
“The first rule of politics,” Sir Humphrey, the wily civil servant in the show, insists is: “never believe anything until it is officially denied.”
I don’t want to sound too glib or too jokey, but I wonder if there has ever been a forced devaluation that wasn’t preceded by ringing assertions from presidents and central bank governors that under no circumstance would the currency ever devalue.
What is all the more interesting is that I recently discovered that the quote “never believe anything until it is officially denied” doesn’t originate with the writers of the British TV comedy. Apparently it can be traced to at least as far back as Otto von Bismarck, who was born not too far from where Angela Merkel grew up. Never believe anything until it is officially denied, the Iron Chancellor warned us.
Back on the Debtstar, Lord BerWanke can feel ructions in The Force which he thinks is caused by the growing number of soiled bottoms across the Debtstar and is under orders from his faceless master, as he continues to confuse the aromatic tang of decay that permeates the ship with that of faeces...
With this in mind on Tuesday and Wednesday he convenes his monthly meeting of fellow Sith Lords to decide exactly how much Toilet Paper is needed to be printed for the few months to keep the Empire's bottoms squeakly clean. He is well aware that Ponzi Participants need a clean arse.
Calendar Of Sith Lord Toilet Paper Supply Meetings
But what can we expect to happen and how this will effect the Rebel Alliance's hordes of the Precious Matter AU-79 much despised and hated by Lord BerWanke and his Masters?
Forget Operation Twist: Rosenberg Says Bernanke Will Shock Everyone With What Is About To Come
"The consensus view that the Fed is going to stop at 'Operation Twist' may be in for a surprise. It may end up doing much, much more." Rosie continues: "Look, we are talking about the same man who, on October 2, 2003, delivered a speech titled Monetary Policy and the Stock Market: Some Empirical Results. I kid you not. This is someone who clearly sees the stock market as a transmission mechanism from Fed policy to the rest of the economy. In other words, if Bernanke wants to juice the stock market, then he must do something to surprise the market. 'Operation Twist' is already baked in, which means he has to do that and a lot more to generate the positive surprise he clearly desires (this is exactly what he did on August 9th with the mid-2013 on- hold commitment). It seems that Bernanke, if he wants the market to rally, is going to have to come out with a surprise next Wednesday." In other words, stocks are now pricing in not just OT 2, and a reduction in the IOER, but also an LSAP of a few hundred billion. There is, however, naturally a flipside, to Bernanke's priced in announcement: "If he doesn't, then expect a big selloff." In everything, mind you, stocks, bonds, and certainly precious metals. And, of course, vice versa.
Hang on to your hats Wednesday night.
- The Fed would like to be out of the picture during the election campaign (especially if Richard Perry ends up winning the GOP nomination).
- The Fed has cut its GDP forecasts at each of the past three meetings.
- The stock market is actually little changed from where it was at the last meeting and we know based on that Washington Post op-ed, that it is equity valuation (specifically the Russell 2000) that Ben wants to see rally. Sanctioning lower bond yields is just a means to that end.
- There is no fiscal stimulus to bolster the economy, with the odds very high that the Obama jobs plan — some in his own party object to the package as per yesterday's New York Times — will be dead-on-arrival on the House floor. The Fed is the only game in town.
- Financial conditions have tightened nearly 100 basis points since the spring and deserve a policy response.
- Bernanke announced at Jackson Hole that this coming meeting was going to be a two-day affair, not one day. The last time he did this was back in December 2008 and that was when he invoked QE1. There has to be a reason why it is two days, and it must be because he wants to build the case for three dissenters. The Board is being sequestered for a reason!
You may even get to see the Emperor's favourite toy.
PS If you want see just how bad things are on Tattooine, play around with this...
Eurobanks are Toast.
Rota, you're hilarious!
ReplyDeleteAgree with Intertubenet!
ReplyDeleteHey Rota, I reckon you'd be as a great Weekly Round-up type post over at MB (in addition to here), perhaps you should put it to them. You know, all the key economic/political events acerbically spun together along with your remarkable pool of cartoons and pics.
cf
Sad old thing is every week is the same shit recycled. Hence the markets are up and down like a yo yo.
ReplyDelete