Gold +2.5% In Euros – EU Considering Deposit Withdrawal Restrictions And Capital Controls

by GoldCore

Today’s AM fix was USD 1,611.50, EUR 1,246.62 and GBP 1,059.99 per ounce.
Yesterday’s AM fix was USD 1,608.75, EUR 1,246.42 and GBP 1,059.43 per ounce.
Silver is trading at $29.05/oz, €22.52/oz and £19.19/oz. Platinum is trading at $1,588.50/oz, palladium at $751.00/oz and rhodium at $1,250/oz.
Gold climbed $8.70 or 0.43% and closed yesterday at $1,614.40/oz. Silver reached $29.31 and finished +1.29%.

Cross Currency Table – (Bloomberg)
Gold is slightly lower in all major currencies this morning but remains near a 4 week high, underpinned by safe haven demand due to concern of a financial meltdown in Cyprus and the risk of contagion in other European countries.
Gold bullion is headed for its second consecutive weekly rise and its biggest weekly rise in four months.
Gold is 1.4% higher in dollar terms and 2.5% higher in euro terms. In British pounds, gold has consolidated after the gains seen in sterling in recent weeks and is 0.8% higher for the week.
The clock is ticking for Cyprus to come up with a solution to clinch an international ‘bailout’, otherwise it could face the collapse of its financial system and exit from the euro zone.
There is a slow but creeping realisation that this crisis will almost certainly escalate. Financial contagion could ensue due to risks to payment systems and bank deposits which are often guaranteed by near insolvent governments.
Events in Cyprus look like that they could precipitate bank runs in Greece, Spain and Italy with obvious negative ramifications for the entire EU banking and financial system.
Senior euro zone officials acknowledged in a confidential conference call yesterday that they were “in a mess” and discussed imposing capital controls to insulate the currency area from a possible collapse of the Cypriot economy.
In Brussels, a senior European Union official told Reuters that an ECB withdrawal would mean forcing Cyprus to abandon the euro.

Gold In EUR, 10 Day – (Bloomberg)
The ECB has warned of the “great danger” of a bank run once banks reopen next week and has said that they may enforce capital controls overriding the government of Cyprus. Other draconian restrictions on people’s private property include an indefinite “freezing” of savings accounts, making bank or wire transfers dependent on central bank approval and lower ATM and bank deposit withdrawal limits.
While, the capital controls will be designed “so that citizens have access to sufficient cash to go about their lives”, they are likely to lead to a further collapse of consumer confidence in Cyprus and the collapse of commerce as businesses are greatly hampered in carrying out every day business activities.
This is not the first time this has happened in the EU and unfortunately, it will not be the last time.
Only last June, the Bank of Italy authorized the suspension of payments by Bank Network Investments Spa (BNI) without communicating anything to depositors. The BNI, a large Italian bank, suspended operations and clients with bank accounts could not write checks, pay bills, make mortgage payments, and use ATMs or debit and credit cards.
At the time, it was reported that not alone was the EU considering imposing a limit on the amount of money that can be withdrawn from ATMs but they were also considering imposing border checks and introducing currency controls to stop a flight of capital out of European countries.
As well as limiting cash withdrawals and imposing capital controls, the EU discussed suspending the Schengen Agreement, which allows for visa-free travel among 26 countries, including most of the EU, though not Britain and Ireland.
While EU officials may again manage to patch things up and not implement such extreme measures in the short term, unfortunately extreme measures seem quite likely in the long term given the scale of the crisis in the EU.  There is also the risk of Japan, the UK and U.S. seeing their various debt crises deepening in the coming months and similar capital controls are more than possible.

These are risks that we have long warned of and it gives us no pleasure to see them come to pass.

Gold In USD, 10 Day – (Bloomberg)
However, people who own physical bullion in their possession and in safe storage internationally remain positioned and prepared for these threats.
These real risks have huge implications and ramifications that most have yet to fully consider and comprehend.
The silly debate as to whether gold is a safe haven or not, or a bubble or not, will be seen for what it is very soon.
Those, such as Paul Krugman, Nouriel Roubini and Warren Buffett, who have suggested gold is a barbaric relic, is a bubble and is not a safe haven, and have dissuaded investors from diversifying some of their wealth into gold, will be shown to have misled investors and savers  and will lose credibility.
They will no doubt engage in some furious back pedalling and claim that “nobody saw this coming” when indeed there have been many financial and economic analysts warning about exactly these risks for years.
Rather than sitting nervously and passively and awaiting the coming financial dislocations and expropriations, investors and savers need to be prepared for the uncertain financial scenarios that seem increasingly likely.
One of the most published academics on gold in the world, Dr Brian Lucey of Trinity College Dublin (TCD) wrote yesterday that “the research evidence is that gold is usually a safe haven asset”.
Lucey pointed out how physical gold is financial insurance or a hedge against political uncertainty:
“Interestingly financial gold, such as ETFs etc are useful as safe havens against economic events and physical gold against political events. Both are in play in Cyprus and so the safe haven nature of gold should continue to provide comfort for purchasers.”

Gold In GBP, YTD – (Bloomberg)
Hoping for the best, but preparing for less benign scenarios remains prudent.

NEWS  
Gold Seen Extending Rebound as Cyprus Revives Bulls – Bloomberg
Gold heads for biggest weekly rise in 4 months on Cyprus – Reuters
Gold futures pause after gains –  Market Watch
Shanghai Bourse Mulls After-Hours Trade in Gold, Silver – Fox Business
COMMENTARY
Video: Gold Fundamentals “Absolutely Intact” – $1,800/oz By September – Business Week)
Getting Beyond the Fed – NY Sun
“It Is Only In Safe Hands If It Is Kept In Switzerland” – Zero Hedge
President Nixon: The Man Who Sold the World Fiat Money – CFA Institute
Could a “Cyprus-Like” Situation Happen in US? It Already Has – Sense on Cents
http://www.senseoncents.com/2013/03/could-a-cyprus-like-situation-happen-in-us-it-already-has/
Video: Texas May Start Hoarding Gold…Secession Next? – Yahoo
For breaking news and commentary on financial markets and gold, follow us on Twitter.

Read more at http://investmentwatchblog.com/gold-2-5-in-euros-eu-considering-deposit-withdrawal-restrictions-and-capital-controls/#xTUawHVGvhbcaXBq.99

Goldman Sachs – Power and Peril (Full Version)

Goldman Sachs has come under intense scrutiny following a government investigation into its practices. The firm is a powerhouse whose 34,000 employees are known as the best and the brightest. It’s unique corporate culture and its long history of success have always been the envy of its competitors … but now Goldman Sachs is fighting to maintain its reputation. The firm has been accused by some critics of misleading investors, and taken to task for accepting a government bailout when, less than a year later, it was able to reap massive profits. Some ask if its connections to the many Goldman alumni who went on to influential government positions gave it an unfair advantage in surviving the global financial crisis.
In this CNBC original documentary, correspondent David Faber reveals how Goldman Sachs benefited from some of its most controversial deals before, during and after the economic collapse. He describes how Goldman, throughout its history, has fought back from adversity with innovation and fierce competitiveness. Faber also examines the future of Goldman Sachs, asking whether the bank can maintain its dominant position atop the world of finance.

CORZINE: 'I Don't Know, I Don't Recall, I Know Nothing!'

Jon Corzine has all the answers.
MF Global congressional testimony mashup from Reuters.  Runs 90 seconds.
---
Edith O'Brien is the key and Eric Holder won't offer her immunity because the Covington & Burling Department of Justice Criminal Defense has absolutely zero interest in hearing her implicate Obama bundler Jon Corzine for multiple felonies.
Here's the truth about Corzine from Janet Tavakoli:
On October 28, JPMorgan didn't buy Corzine's story, either.  Having been a risk manager myself, I believe Barry Zubrow, JPMorgan's chief risk officer, did exactly the right thing.  He called Jon Corzine to get him to verify that the funds belonged to MF Global and that none of the money was customer money. Zubrow, an outsider, was well aware of the possibility that customer funds had been transferred. It's implausible that Corzine wasn't aware of the potential impermissible transfer of customer funds when he gave the authority to make the transfer. By doing its job, JPMorgan removed Corzine's ability to credibly deny knowledge of the potential problem.
As for JPMorgan, it asked Jon Corzine for a signed letter stating that the transfer was legitimate. He reportedly responded: "Send me the letter and we'll have our people look at it." It was disingenuous of Jon Corzine to pass JPMorgan's letter to Edith O'Brien to sign given that it asked for a sign-off that all "past, present and future" transfers complied with the law. Ms. O'Brien would have been asked to take responsibility for all transfers without having the authority over them. Jon Corzine had the broad authority to sign the letter, but by passing it on, he effectively stalled.
JPMorgan sent additional versions of this letter in response to MF Global's requests for revisions, but JPMorgan never received a signed letter back.
---
Corzine in a previous life:


Sgt. Schultz - I See Nothing


Photos by William Banzai7...

Mass Panic In Cyprus: The Banks Are Collapsing And ATMs Are Running Out Of Money

by Michael

European officials are openly admitting that the two largest banks in Cyprus are “insolvent“, and it is now being reported that Cyprus Popular Bank only has “enough liquidity to cover the next few hours“.  Of course all banks in Cyprus are officially closed until Tuesday at the earliest, but there have been long lines at ATMs all over Cyprus as people scramble to get whatever money they can out of the banks.  Unfortunately, some ATMs appear to be “malfunctioning” and others appear to have already run out of cash.  You can see some photos of huge lines at one ATM in Cyprus right here.  Some businesses are now even refusing to take credit card payments.  This is creating an atmosphere of panic on the streets of Cyprus.  Meanwhile, the EU is holding a gun to the head of the Cyprus financial system.  Either Cyprus meets EU demands by Monday, or liquidity for the banks will be totally cut off and Cyprus will be forced out of the euro.  It is being reported that European officials believe that the “economy is going to tank in Cyprus no matter what“, and that it would be okay to let the financial system of Cyprus crash and burn if politicians in Cyprus are not willing to do what they have been ordered to do.  Apparently European officials are very confident that the situation in Cyprus can be contained and that it will not spread to other European nations.
Unfortunately, European officials are losing sight of the bigger picture.  If the largest banks in Cyprus are allowed to fail, it will be another “Lehman Brothers moment“.  The faith that people have in banks all over Europe will be called into question, and everyone will be wondering what major European banks will be allowed to fail next.
Meanwhile, European officials have already completely shatteredconfidence in deposit insurance at this point.  Everyone now knows that when there is a major bank failure that depositors will be expected to share in the pain.  Expect to see “bank jogs” all over southern Europe over the coming weeks.
The banks in Cyprus had been scheduled to reopen on Tuesday, but very few people expect that to actually happen at this point.  In fact,Bloomberg is reporting that EU officials are actually thinking about shutting down the two biggest banks in Cyprus and freezing their assets…

Finance ministers for the 17 euro countries are considering a plan to shutter the two biggest banks in Cyprus and freeze the assets of uninsured depositors, said the four officials, who asked not to be named because the talks are ongoing. The ministers are holding a teleconference tonight.
Cyprus Popular Bank Pcl (CPB) and the Bank of Cyprus Plc would be split to create a so-called bad bank, one of the officials said. Insured deposits — below the European Union ceiling of 100,000 euros ($129,000) — would go into a so-called good bank and not sustain any losses, while uninsured deposits would go into the bad bank and be frozen until assets could be sold, said the four officials.
Losses to unsecured creditors, including uninsured depositors, could reach 40 percent under the plan, which has support from the International Monetary Fund and the European Central Bank. The proposal, a version of which was rejected last week, is considered a better option than taxing insured deposits or allowing Cypriot banks to collapse in a disorderly fashion if they lose access to ECB aid, the officials said.

Such a scenario would be an utter disaster.
How would you feel if you woke up someday and 40 percent of your life savings was suddenly gone?
According to Greek newspaper Kathimerini, European officials are also openly discussing the possibility of a Cyprus exit from the eurozone if a suitable bailout agreement is not worked out…

The possibility of Cyprus exiting the eurozone was discussed during teleconference involving technocrats from the Euro Working Group on Wednesday, Kathimerini understands.
A reliable source told Kathimerini that the technical implications of a euro exit, as well as the adoption of capital controls were debated by the Euro Working Group officials during the teleconference.

As I mentioned above, European officials seemed resigned to the fact that there will be an economic collapse in Cyprus “no matter what”, and so letting Cyprus leave the euro would not make that much of a difference.  Either way, the banks are going to have to be “reorganized” and capital controls will be imposed…

In detailed notes of the call seen by Reuters, the group’s chair Austria’s Thomas Wieser said: “The economy is going to tank in Cyprus no matter what. Restrictions on capital will probably be imposed.”
Never before have we seen European officials impose such a harsh ultimatum with such a short deadline.  It is almost as if they want to boot Cyprus out of the euro.  The following comes from a recent CNBCreport…

In stark twin warnings on Thursday, the European Central Bank said it would cut off liquidity to Cypriot banks and a senior EU official made clear to Reuters that the bloc was ready to see the bankrupt island banished from the euro in the belief it could then contain damage to the wider European economy.

And European officials are even publicly talking about the possibility that Cyprus will soon need to start using “their own currency”…

In Brussels, a senior European Union official told Reuters that an ECB withdrawal would mean Cyprus’s biggest banks being wound up, wiping out the large deposits it has sought to protect, and probably forcing the country to abandon the euro.
“If the financial sector collapses, then they simply have to face a very significant devaluation and faced with that situation, they would have no other way but to start having their own currency,” the EU official said.

This is absolutely shocking.  Everyone always thought that Greece would be the first to leave the euro, but now it looks like it might be Cyprus.
However, there is still a chance that Cyprus may find a way to comply with EU demands.  Politicians in Cyprus are frantically searching for a way to raise the needed cash without raiding private bank accounts.  The following is what CNN is saying about the latest efforts…

Leaders of Cyprus’ political parties agreed Thursday to create an “investment solidarity fund,” which would issue bonds backed by state and church assets.
The plan was due to be discussed by the Cypriot government and parliament on Thursday evening, but few details were available and it was not clear how much the fund would be worth.

According to Reuters, other proposals have been under consideration as well…

The government said a “Plan B” was in the works.
Officials said it could include: an option to nationalize pension funds of semi-government corporations, which hold between 2 billion and 3 billion euros; issuing an emergency bond linked to future natural gas revenues; and possibly reviving the levy on bank deposits, though at a lower level than originally planned and maybe excluding savers with less than 100,000 euros.

At this point it is unclear whether any of those proposals will turn out to be acceptable to European officials.
In fact, the tone of European officials has noticeably changed from previous bailout efforts.  They now seem much more willing to play hardball.  For example, just check out what German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble is saying about the situation in Cyprus…

German finance minister Wolfgang Schaeuble told the ZDF public broadcaster on Tuesday night (19 March) he “took note with regret” of the Cypriot parliament’s rejection of the bailout deal, but insisted that the terms will stay the same.
Asked if the eurozone was willing to let Cyprus go bust, he answered: “Well, we are much more stable in the eurozone – we took measures to protect ourselves from the risks of contagion … but I don’t want to have any of this.”
He added: “It is a serious situation, but this cannot lead to a decision that makes absolutely no sense, to rescue a business model that has failed. Cyprus has a banking sector that is totally oversized and this made Cyprus insolvent. And nobody outside Cyprus is to blame for it.”

Schaeuble knows that the EU is holding all of the cards and that Cyprus is doomed without their help…

“The Cypriot state cannot fund itself on the markets. Its two largest banks are insolvent and are being kept afloat with emergency funding from the ECB, but only on the condition that there will be a long-term rescue programme. If this condition is no longer met, Cyprus will no longer be solvent and this is something Cypriot decision makers must know”

But the truth is that the EU can’t really afford to allow major banks to fail or for a single member to leave the eurozone.  If either of those things happen, the confidence game that has been holding the European financial system together will begin to rapidly evaporate.
If the EU thinks that they can abandon Cyprus without the crisis spreading to the rest of southern Europe they are just being delusional.
At least there are a few politicians in Europe that understand what is happening.  Nigel Farage, a very outspoken member of the European Parliament, is telling people to get their money out of banks in southern Europe as quickly as they can.  He is warning that a great collapse of the European financial system is coming and that people need to get prepared for it…


So what do you think?
Do you believe that we are on the verge of a major financial collapse in Europe?
Please feel free to post a comment with your thoughts below…

Read more at http://investmentwatchblog.com/mass-panic-in-cyprus-the-banks-are-collapsing-and-atms-are-running-out-of-money/#F38yOop8pFt4sZAQ.99

Crisis in Cyprus shows collapse of the West

In 2014, all EU countries will hold parliamentary elections that may be won by the opponents of European integration. Recent EU measures to stabilize the situation in Cyprus showed that the foundations of the ideology of the Western world based on the Catholic and Protestant faiths have been undermined. The West is trying to explain its hurried decisions with the pressure from the Russian Federation.

After the summit in Brussels approved a plan of Cyprus "rescue" (by providing a tranche of 10 billion euros in exchange for the withdrawal of 10 percent of all deposits in the country), it became clear that this was the beginning of the end for the united Europe. The basis of any state ideology is religion. The measures undermined confidence in the notion sacred for Catholics and Protestants - inviolability of private property. Expropriation is a measure completely alien to the Western mentality and may lead to a social unrest. Jean-Claude Juncker, Luxembourg Prime Minister and former President of the Eurogroup (the club of finance ministers of the euro area) said that against the background of recession and rising unemployment he did not rule out the risk of a social rebellion.

The measure so far has been implemented only in Orthodox Cyprus (Orthodoxy, unlike Catholicism, encourages sharing and sees the path to salvation in poverty). However, people in many countries began to worry, even in the U.S., as the practice may become universal, particularly in those countries that have requested assistance from the EU, i.e., Spain, Ireland, Portugal, and Italy.

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Meanwhile, Forbes magazine has already drawn parallels with the Great Depression in the United States that would not have been that destructive if the Federal Reserve abstained from a similar measure. The magazine wrote that Cyprus did away with the guarantees on bank deposits and removed protection from flight of capital, which may result in a cascade of bankruptcies. Indeed, regardless of what the European Commission says, people got alarmed and started withdrawing or transferring their investments to other currencies and countries. The euro is dropping in value against the national currencies and the dollar.

British magazine The Economist called this not only nonsense, but a catastrophe and said that the decision was unfair, short-sighted and self-defeating. The injustice is in the fact that the measure affected ordinary depositors, while holders of debt obligations have not been affected, the magazine wrote. The measure is called short-sighted because it would lead to risks and flight of capital. Also, these measures undermine the political credibility of the rescue program under the auspices of the EU. Reuters agency wrote that the Cypriot government would be forced to violate one of its most important promises - a promise that the contributions under 100,000 euros would be safe.

The European Union decided to clear the air by utilizing the old mechanism of blaming Russia that allegedly is most affected by the proposed measures. Raúl Ilargi Meijer from Business Insider speculated that with 37 percent of the deposits in Cyprus, Russians heavily pressured European politicians to take this populist decision - to punish the perpetrators, which made the Europeans neglect the consequences. Gavin Hewitt of the BBC agreed, saying that the Germans suspected that half of the deposits in the banks of the island belonged to the Russians, and these deposits are made for money laundering. Therefore, according to Hewitt, the Germans did not want to continue to save Cyprus by giving it money. The statement of Finance Minister of the Russian Federation Anton Siluyanov that in exchange for the extension of the credit to Cyprus (EUR 5 billion) Russia may require it to provide all the data on the Russian owners of the capital of the island only added fuel to the fire.

It turns out that Russia began fighting corruption and "let down" Europe. Unfortunately, the EU is falling apart without Russian participation. There is no unity anywhere, including politics. Besides the opposition of the "hardworking North" and "lazy and irresponsible South", there are other conflicts, such as creditor countries vs. debtor countries, as well as contradictions between the leaders. Germany is accused of usurping power, the UK raised the issue of withdrawal from the EU, and France is unilaterally sending troops to Mali and is going to supply weapons to the Syrian terrorists. There is no peace and quiet at the national level either. Nationalists became active in all directions, from extreme left to extreme right. In Portugal, protesters are singing a revolutionary anthem "Grândola," Spain is splitting before our eyes torn by separatist movements, in Greece the Nazis emerged in the Parliament, and in France the far-right "National Front" of Marine Le Pen is activating. In Italy at the parliamentary elections a "clown prince" comedian Beppe Grillo secured sensational 25 percent of votes. In Germany, a new party "Alternative for Germany" was created that calls for the dissolution of the euro area and creation of small alliances with "some countries with healthy economies," namely, Austria, Finland and the Netherlands.

Founded on the basis of ideological confrontation with the Soviet Union, the European Union has created a system of social protection that the Soviet people could not even dream about. The benefits included average pension of 600 euros, year-end and Christmas bonuses, unemployment payments nearly equal to salary, and great medical insurance. But these guarantees were based not on the income growth of the real sector but the speculative funds of the banking sector. The crisis of 2008 caused the neoliberal economic model to collapse. Europe's population does not want to live as one family any longer. The term "welfare state" has disappeared from the vocabulary of politicians. ZDF channel reported that nearly half of Germans believe that their country would be better off without the euro. In other countries this percentage is much higher. In Spain, for example, it is 75 percent, in Portugal - 68, according to the Eurobarometer.

The election of Pope Francis, who first spoke about the Catholic Church as the Church of the poor, denying, in fact, wealth as a virtue, shows that the crisis in the West has moved from the economic and political spheres to religious and ideological ones. It makes its leaders and the elite face a dilemma - either change the model of wealth distribution and the burden of difficulties, or be destroyed.

Lyuba Lulko

Pravda.Ru

Swiss citizens force a vote to bring Swiss gold back home from the New York Fed

A rightwing group has submitted more than 106,000 signatures to the federal authorities, seeking a vote on stopping the sale of gold reserves held by the Swiss National Bank (SNB). It also wants gold bars stored in the US to be returned.
The group, led by members of the Swiss People’s Party, the far-right Swiss Democrats and the Lega dei Ticinesi movement, is confident a nationwide vote will be called on the issue once the signatures are verified. A date still has to be set by the government.
The collection of the necessary 100,000 signatures over 18 months was hard going but a last-minute effort ensured they reached the goal in time, activists said on Wednesday.
People’s Party parliamentarian Luzi Stamm criticised the sale of gold reserves which started 13 years ago following a decision to abandon the gold standard.
“Gold reserves guarantee the stability of the Swiss franc. They ensure that that private savings, salaries, pension keep their value,” Stamm said.
He warned gold must not be the object of speculation for the SNB or for politicians.
The initiative also seeks to enshrine in the constitution a clause obliging the central bank to keep a minimum of 20 per cent of its assets in gold, twice the current level. Promoters say higher gold reserves will boost the SNB’s credibility.
In addition, they want to force the government to disclose where the gold reserves are stored.
An important part of the reserves are kept in the United States, according to People’s Party parliamentarian Lukas Reimann. He doubts whether the heavily indebted country can be trusted with the Swiss gold.
“It is only in safe hands if it is kept in Switzerland,” he told journalists.

Keeping prices stable

The SNB, which has to guarantee price stability in Switzerland, currently holds about 1,040 tons of gold reserves after gradually selling off at least 1,550 tons.
The rightwing campaigners said the bank made a meager surplus off the gold it sold, which went for a “pathetic price” of CHF16,000 ($16,900) per kilogramme on average.
By 2005, the proceeds of CHF21 billion had been distributed among the 26 cantons and the national government.
A previous proposal by the People’s Party to spend all the proceeds on the state’s old age pension system was rejected at the ballot box in 2002. A government plan to use part of it to fund humanitarian projects was also thrown out.
Source: http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/swiss_news/Swiss_to_vote_on_central_bank_gold_reserves_.html?cid=35278920

Press Conference with Chairman of the FOMC, Ben S. Bernanke

Euro Banking System On The Verge Of Collapse

By Jeff Berwick

News came out yesterday that all Cypriot banks will continue to be closed until at least next Tuesday and may remain closed permanently.
Last week, the European Central Bank threatened to cut the Emergency Liquidity Assistance which Cyprus had been receiving unless Cyprus’ major banks implemented legislation which would “tax” all investors who have accounts in Cypriot banks an amount up to 9.9 percent of their total deposits. The tax was rejected by the Cyprus parliament on Tuesday.
The ECB proposal led to runs on Cypriot banks and to angry protests, including from Russia’s Vladimir Putin, as many Russians have money in those banks. Cyprus is a more than thousand year-old banking center which has facilitated trade in the region for centuries, so this situation is of great interest to many people worldwide including a massive amount of shipping companies who use Cyprus as their financial center.
Nigel Farage is a British politician and leader of the UK Independence Party (UKIP) since 2010 and, since 1999, he has been a Member of the European Parliament for South East England. He came out with a scathing rebuke of the ECB’s plans.
In his first TV appearance since the Cypriot wealth tax was announced, he stated that in all his years and all his experience of the desperation of the European Union’s leadership “never did [he] think they would resort to stealing money from people’s savings accounts.”
He stated the obvious. The EU knows they cannot let any country leave, no matter how small, for “once one country goes, the whole deck of cards will come tumbling down.”
He parroted our comments that this has the potential to destroy the entire EU banking industry and even the euro itself. Italians, Spaniards and many other weaker EU citizens must be looking at their local bank accounts with great worry.
We agree completely with Nigel’s prognosis that Europeans and anyone with a bank account in Europe should “get your money out while you can.”
“Do not invest In The Euro-Zone,” he said, which we have been saying at TDV for years. He went on, “you have to be mad to do so – as it is now run by people who do not respect democracy, the rule of law, or the basic principles upon which Western civilization is based… They are propping up a Eurozone that, in the end, will collapse in disastrous failure and they are prepared to do anything to do so.”
But here we take issue with Nigel that this shows a lack of respect for democracy. This is the inevitable outcome of the democratic political process which allows voting for goodies from politicians at the expense of future generations and ever increasing debt. The bill is now coming due.
The events in Cyprus in the last week may have been the linchpin that sets off a complete collapse of the Euro Zone and even, by extension, the entire Western financial and banking system should enough panic set in.
Dollar vigilantes are ready for this, but many in the world are just waking up to the fact that the entire Western financial system is a house of cards underpinned by nothing but debt and only propped up in the last few years by massive amounts of money printing.
Your Assets Are Not Safe
What can we take away from the events of the last month? It’s the same conclusions we have been promoting for nearly three years. To start, get your assets outside of the Western financial system.
This may not be quite as simple as you may think. While Cyprus was obvious as being a place to avoid due to its inclusion in the collapsing Eurozone, many other places are not as obvious.
As example, the British colony, Bermuda, long thought of as a safe, tax-free banking center is not as safe as you might think. The 21 square mile British Overseas Territory’s debt has soared from $176 million in 1998 to almost $1.2 billion in August 2011 – about a 610 percent rise. Much like in the US, the “debt ceiling” has recently been raised exorbitantly to $2.5 billion and there are plans in the works to raise the debt to as high as $4 billion in the next few years. With a population approximately 65,000 that would work out to $60,000+ in national debt for every man, woman and child in the country.
Just recently, the eyes of the British government have turned their Sauron-like gaze to the Bahamas. During a debate this week in the UK’s House of Commons, a UK MP said Britain “is responsible for some of the biggest tax havens in the world,” singling out the British Overseas Territories of Barbados, the British Virgin Islands and Bermuda.
How long will it be before Bermuda becomes the next Cyprus?
As you can see, we live in a dangerous world for your assets. I have stated that this is the most dangerous time in human history for capital and you now have to be incredibly cautious and diligent with where you place your assets.
TDV’s recommendation has been to keep most of your assets in “hard assets”, located internationally in safer jurisdictions, so as to reduce the chances of government confiscation as the Western financial system collapses.
At TDV Offshore we help you attain a bank account in some countries that we deem to be safer. These countries generally are not as tied into the Western financial system and are in countries without a massive debt load. [In the March Issue of TDV, Justin O’Connell will look at a few jurisdictions we deem to be safer at this time.]
As well, as we have recommended for years – and Cypriots are now just learning the hard way – to keep at least a few months’ worth of fiat cash in your house for emergencies should you find your bank machines closed for a significant period of time and also keep some precious metals nearby. With the remainder, look to diversify internationally as prescribed in our Special Report for subscribers, “Getting Your Gold Out Of Dodge”.
And, if you can, get a second passport to give yourself options as TEOTMSAWKI progresses.
There are no green shoots, there will be no real recovery and things are only going to get worse from here… before they once again get better. So, prepare now and keep your eyes open. TEOTMSAWKI and the collapse of all fiat currencies will be the biggest event in human history. The symptoms of it are all around us and are so obvious that only a truly close-minded person or someone who just cannot handle the truth could possibly deny it.
Turn off your TV, ignore the newspapers and do your own research… and continue to stick with us here at TDV to help guide you through this Great Transition.

Mass Panic In Cyprus: The Banks Are Collapsing And ATMs Are Running Out Of Money

Michael Snyder
Activist Post

European officials are openly admitting that the two largest banks in Cyprus are "insolvent", and it is now being reported that Cyprus Popular Bank only has "enough liquidity to cover the next few hours". Of course all banks in Cyprus are officially closed until Tuesday at the earliest, but there have been long lines at ATMs all over Cyprus as people scramble to get whatever money they can out of the banks.

Unfortunately, some ATMs appear to be "malfunctioning" and others appear to have already run out of cash. You can see some photos of huge lines at one ATM in Cyprus right here. Some businesses are now even refusing to take credit card payments. This is creating an atmosphere of panic on the streets of Cyprus. Meanwhile, the EU is holding a gun to the head of the Cyprus financial system. Either Cyprus meets EU demands by Monday, or liquidity for the banks will be totally cut off and Cyprus will be forced out of the euro. 

It is being reported that European officials believe that the "economy is going to tank in Cyprus no matter what", and that it would be okay to let the financial system of Cyprus crash and burn if politicians in Cyprus are not willing to do what they have been ordered to do. Apparently European officials are very confident that the situation in Cyprus can be contained and that it will not spread to other European nations.

Unfortunately, European officials are losing sight of the bigger picture. 

If the largest banks in Cyprus are allowed to fail, it will be another "Lehman Brothers moment". The faith that people have in banks all over Europe will be called into question, and everyone will be wondering what major European banks will be allowed to fail next.

Meanwhile, European officials have already completely shatteredconfidence in deposit insurance at this point. Everyone now knows that when there is a major bank failure that depositors will be expected to share in the pain. Expect to see "bank jogs" all over southern Europe over the coming weeks.

The banks in Cyprus had been scheduled to reopen on Tuesday, but very few people expect that to actually happen at this point. In fact,Bloomberg is reporting that EU officials are actually thinking about shutting down the two biggest banks in Cyprus and freezing their assets...

Finance ministers for the 17 euro countries are considering a plan to shutter the two biggest banks in Cyprus and freeze the assets of uninsured depositors, said the four officials, who asked not to be named because the talks are ongoing. The ministers are holding a teleconference tonight. 

Cyprus Popular Bank Pcl (CPB) and the Bank of Cyprus Plc would be split to create a so-called bad bank, one of the officials said. Insured deposits -- below the European Union ceiling of 100,000 euros ($129,000) -- would go into a so-called good bank and not sustain any losses, while uninsured deposits would go into the bad bank and be frozen until assets could be sold, said the four officials. 

Losses to unsecured creditors, including uninsured depositors, could reach 40 percent under the plan, which has support from the International Monetary Fund and the European Central Bank. The proposal, a version of which was rejected last week, is considered a better option than taxing insured deposits or allowing Cypriot banks to collapse in a disorderly fashion if they lose access to ECB aid, the officials said.

Such a scenario would be an utter disaster.

How would you feel if you woke up someday and 40 percent of your life savings was suddenly gone?

According to Greek newspaper Kathimerini, European officials are also openly discussing the possibility of a Cyprus exit from the eurozone if a suitable bailout agreement is not worked out...

The possibility of Cyprus exiting the eurozone was discussed during teleconference involving technocrats from the Euro Working Group on Wednesday, Kathimerini understands. 

A reliable source told Kathimerini that the technical implications of a euro exit, as well as the adoption of capital controls were debated by the Euro Working Group officials during the teleconference.

As I mentioned above, European officials seemed resigned to the fact that there will be an economic collapse in Cyprus "no matter what", and so letting Cyprus leave the euro would not make that much of a difference. Either way, the banks are going to have to be "reorganized" and capital controls will be imposed...

In detailed notes of the call seen by Reuters, the group’s chair Austria's Thomas Wieser said: “The economy is going to tank in Cyprus no matter what. Restrictions on capital will probably be imposed.”

Never before have we seen European officials impose such a harsh ultimatum with such a short deadline. It is almost as if they want to boot Cyprus out of the euro. The following comes from a recent CNBC report...

In stark twin warnings on Thursday, the European Central Bank said it would cut off liquidity to Cypriot banks and a senior EU official made clear to Reuters that the bloc was ready to see the bankrupt island banished from the euro in the belief it could then contain damage to the wider European economy.

And European officials are even publicly talking about the possibility that Cyprus will soon need to start using "their own currency"...

In Brussels, a senior European Union official told Reuters that an ECB withdrawal would mean Cyprus's biggest banks being wound up, wiping out the large deposits it has sought to protect, and probably forcing the country to abandon the euro. 

"If the financial sector collapses, then they simply have to face a very significant devaluation and faced with that situation, they would have no other way but to start having their own currency," the EU official said.

This is absolutely shocking. Everyone always thought that Greece would be the first to leave the euro, but now it looks like it might be Cyprus.

However, there is still a chance that Cyprus may find a way to comply with EU demands. Politicians in Cyprus are frantically searching for a way to raise the needed cash without raiding private bank accounts. The following is what CNN is saying about the latest efforts...

Leaders of Cyprus' political parties agreed Thursday to create an "investment solidarity fund," which would issue bonds backed by state and church assets. 

The plan was due to be discussed by the Cypriot government and parliament on Thursday evening, but few details were available and it was not clear how much the fund would be worth.

According to Reuters, other proposals have been under consideration as well...

The government said a "Plan B" was in the works. 

Officials said it could include: an option to nationalize pension funds of semi-government corporations, which hold between 2 billion and 3 billion euros; issuing an emergency bond linked to future natural gas revenues; and possibly reviving the levy on bank deposits, though at a lower level than originally planned and maybe excluding savers with less than 100,000 euros.

At this point it is unclear whether any of those proposals will turn out to be acceptable to European officials.

In fact, the tone of European officials has noticeably changed from previous bailout efforts. They now seem much more willing to play hardball. For example, just check out what German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble is saying about the situation in Cyprus...

German finance minister Wolfgang Schaeuble told the ZDF public broadcaster on Tuesday night (19 March) he "took note with regret" of the Cypriot parliament's rejection of the bailout deal, but insisted that the terms will stay the same. 

Asked if the eurozone was willing to let Cyprus go bust, he answered: "Well, we are much more stable in the eurozone - we took measures to protect ourselves from the risks of contagion ... but I don't want to have any of this." 

He added: "It is a serious situation, but this cannot lead to a decision that makes absolutely no sense, to rescue a business model that has failed. Cyprus has a banking sector that is totally oversized and this made Cyprus insolvent. And nobody outside Cyprus is to blame for it."

Schaeuble knows that the EU is holding all of the cards and that Cyprus is doomed without their help...

"The Cypriot state cannot fund itself on the markets. Its two largest banks are insolvent and are being kept afloat with emergency funding from the ECB, but only on the condition that there will be a long-term rescue programme. If this condition is no longer met, Cyprus will no longer be solvent and this is something Cypriot decision makers must know"

But the truth is that the EU can't really afford to allow major banks to fail or for a single member to leave the eurozone. If either of those things happen, the confidence game that has been holding the European financial system together will begin to rapidly evaporate.

If the EU thinks that they can abandon Cyprus without the crisis spreading to the rest of southern Europe they are just being delusional.

At least there are a few politicians in Europe that understand what is happening. Nigel Farage, a very outspoken member of the European Parliament, is telling people to get their money out of banks in southern Europe as quickly as they can. He is warning that a great collapse of the European financial system is coming and that people need to get prepared for it...



So what do you think?

Do you believe that we are on the verge of a major financial collapse in Europe?

CYPRUS' RIOTS BEGIN "NOW"!

Peter Schiff: Fed Has Created An Economy Completely Dependent On Monetary Heroin

Peter Schiff: Fed Has Created An Economy Completely Dependent On Monetary Heroin

Arizona could soon approve gold, silver as legal tender

After being rejected by three state legislatures this year, a measure to recognize U.S. Government-minted gold and silver coins as legal tender may find a second home in Arizona.

Author: Dorothy Kosich
Posted: Wednesday , 20 Mar 2013
RENO (MINEWEB) - 
Arizona could soon become the second U.S. state to recognize gold and silver as legal tender if the Arizona House approves SB 1439.
The bill has already won the approval of Arizona’s State Senate and the Arizona House Financial Institutions Committee which voted the legislation out of committee on a 4-2 vote Monday. The measure now goes to a vote of the Arizona House.
Thus far, only the State of Utah has officially recognized gold and silver as legal tender, (See: Gold, silver coins now officially legal tender in Utah) although the issue has been under consideration this year in four states including Arizona. The Arizona bill defines legal tender as a mode of paying debts and taxes.
The measure also states that any coin or bullion that has gold or silver content and is issued by the United States Government can be defined as legal tender. However, no one can be compelled to accept coin or bullion containing gold or silver. The measure would also mandate that coin or bullion containing gold or silver issued by the U.S. Government cannot be taxed as property since it is to be considered money.

RELATED PODCAST: The practicalities of gold and silver as legal tender - Danker

If the Arizona Legislature enacts SC 1439 and Republican Gov. Jan Brewer signs the measure into law, gold and silver would go into effect as legal tender in the state in 2014.
However, House Joint Resolution No. 590 --which would have established a joint subcommittee to study whether the Commonwealth of Virginia should adopt a rule recognizing gold or silver billion or gold or silver coin authorized by the U.S. Government as legal currency—died in the Virginia General Assembly’s State Senate last month.
In January the South Dakota Legislature rejected House Bill 1100 which would have made U.S. Government-minted gold and silver coins legal tender that could be used to pay state taxes at their market value.
Meanwhile, Senate Bill 99, Indiana’s version of recognizing U.S.-issued gold and silver coins as legal tender, appears to be buried in the Indiana State Senate Committee on Tax and Fiscal Policy.

Arizona could soon approve gold, silver as legal tender

Washington: Europe's biggest bank by market value HSBC is gearing up for thousands more job cuts, according to a report.

The job cuts target has still to be fixed, but people close to the bank suggested up to 5,000 staff could go as part of the one billion dollars savings plan.

If HSBC maintained the recent rate of staff cuts to cost savings, the number would be closer to 10,000, CNN reports.

According to the report, Stuart Gulliver, HSBC's chief executive, said when he announced annual results last week that he would "fixate on costs" over the coming year and promised to find a further one billion dollars of annual savings in 2013.

Gulliver has spent the past two years trying to streamline HSBC's global network of fiefdoms, both in order to impose more control from head office in London and to strip out overlaps and inefficiencies.

HSBC has already exceeded its target of finding 2.5-3.5 billion dollars of cost savings by 2013, announcing 3.6 billion dollars of "sustainable annual savings" with its 2012 results, the report said.

But the bank remains as far as ever from a related target, to cut the bank's elevated cost-income ratio to between 48 and 52 percent, the report added.

ANI

First Published: Tuesday, March 19, 2013, 10:05

Pictures From A Cyprus ATM Line

For a few days, the people of Cyprus were calm, quietly and orderly accepting the unreality of the levy being imposed upon them - incredulous that it was even possible. As we reach the 4th day of bank closures, amid rolling rumors and ECB threats, it appears the people have reached a tipping point as this series of images from Cyprus ATM lines indicates - the bank-jog has arrived. When will it become a full blown sprint?

It appears the catalyst for this latest move is the ECB threat and EU concerns over the future of the two biggest insolvent banks: As AFP reports:  EU calls on Cyprus to set capital controls and merge 2 biggest banks Laiki and Bank of Cyprus.

• *EU WANTS CYPRUS TO ADOPT MEASURES BEFORE BANKS RE-OPEN, ANSA
• *EU WANTS CYPRUS TO ADOPT MEASURES TO STOP DEPOSIT FLIGHT: ANSA

Via @Imeldaflattery


Via NYT


Via Sigma Live






Via @janinel83



Via @jkozakou




Source: Twitter and Fred

By Fraud and deciet: The Money Junkies and Oligarchs Will Self Destruct on Their Own

Yes there are mega Banks trying to suck the wealth out of the people. These banks would not have any power unless they have puppets and will servants in governments to carry out the theft of a nation. Right now the bankers and Wall Street oligarchs have a feeling of invincibility feeling safe with armed security details to be there to protect them from the angry mobs looking for them.
The governments that act as a rear guard to protect them will be unable because they are outnumbered. The government can pass all the laws exempting the bankers from prosecution or any liability will not shield them from public accountability. Both the money junkies and the willing accomplices in the government have bitten off more then they can chew. So how can it be?
I do not care if a person is rich or poor. We all suffer the consequences for our actions. If we try to do good or do harm. What goes around comes around. The government can do everything possible to make sure Wall Street and the Bankers never suffer any consequence for their actions. A man will reap what he sows. It is just a fact of life.
The bankers and oligarchs are not above the law. I am not talking about man’s laws the government uses to protect them from accountability.  I am talking above the laws of the universe. The universe always bends towards justice for those seeking it. This is a principle that knows no class of people, or social status can escape.
The money junkies and oligarchs are now out of control. Even some corrupt people have some discipline not to go to far killing the goose that lays the golden eggs. They know their limitations. Not the central bankers and oligarchs. They live a life in a bubble insulated from the rest of the world assuming nothing can touch them no matter what they do. This will be their downfall and demise.
I believe the end is coming real soon to them. They cannot start a war to distract the people from the looting. Their hand has been exposed of how they do things trying to start wars to divert people attention away from the big heist they plan to do. That is not working too well. The latest chemical attack in Syria as an excuse will not work. The Bankers tools they used in the past are not as effective as they were in the past.
Michael Rivero’s masterpiece of “All Wars are Bankers Wars” exposes the tactics of bankers use to enslave people through debt slavery using wars funding both sides of the wars. We now see this is not working out well for them. They are desperate to start a major war now so they can complete the looting of the nation’s wealth. They are unhinged now thinking they can get away with anything. They will be their own force that will destroy themselves.

The truth is, these Bankers and money junkies and oligarchs maybe intelligent in one way. But they are very ignorant in others. The Banksters can only be insulated from any consequence for so long until they make it so bad for the people who suffer the most. They will self destruct on their own.
When they try to steal people bank accounts and attempt to go after the private pension funds to bail themselves out. That is a sign they are getting ready to self destruct and the private central banking system getting ready to collapse. The derivative I have said in the past will be the very weapon they tried to use on us will be the very thing that will destroy them.
They bankers got away with fraud for hundreds of years with wars getting nations into debt and compound interest. So lets help the bankers self destruct. Don’t barrow on credit, Stop the wars, prevent anymore  conflicts from starting. Pull your money out of the banks. Let the financial system crash and the federal Reserve note crash. Let the US government  collapse. If It’s built on lies. Let the corrupt system implode from the moral rot from within. Dynasties and empires come and go. Not always from armies or coups. It’s because corruption caused these bankers to self destruct by their own actions.
It’s a matter of time before the chickens comes home to roost. These consequences no one can escape nor immune from. The bankers are beginning to self destruct is coming. They sowed into the wind and now will reap the whirlwind.  It’s the law of the universe will bend toward justice that cannot be legislated away.

Big Banks Offer Payday Loans At 300 Percent Interest: Study

Huffington Post – by Mark Gongloff
Step aside, Tony Soprano: Big banks will now lend money at 300 percent interest without threatening to break a leg.
Then again, the payday loans some big banks are offering can have other ill effects, such as financial ruin, according to a new study by the Center for Responsible Lending. Even as public anxiety grows about the dangers of payday lending, with 15 states recently banning the practice, many big banks are offering the service to their customers.   
“Despite federal banking regulators’ recognition of the abuses of payday lending and aggressive action blocking previous bank partnerships with payday lenders, a few large banks have begun offering payday loans directly through checking accounts,” the study says. Large banks offering the service include Wells Fargo, U.S. Bank, Regions Bank and Fifth Third Bank.
The average annual percentage rate on a bank payday loan is 225 to 300 percent, the study says. Banks that offer payday loans extract payments automatically from the borrowers’ checking accounts on the next pay cycle. In some cases, that withdrawal cleans out a borrower’s checking account, leading to bounced checks. According to the study, users of paycheck advances are twice as likely to overdraw their bank accounts, leading to even more fees for the banks. And that’s just the start of the potential problems.
“Research has shown that payday lending often leads to negative financial outcomes for borrowers,” the study says. “These include difficulty paying other bills, difficulty staying in their home or apartment, trouble obtaining health care, increased risk of credit card default, loss of checking accounts, and bankruptcy.”
The elderly, already financially vulnerable and short on retirement savings, are making increasing use of these loans. According to the study, more than a quarter of bank payday loan borrowers are on Social Security.
Wells Fargo spokeswoman Richele Messick said the bank has been offering a payday loan service it calls “Direct Deposit Advance” since 1994. Available only to Wells Fargo customers, this loan has a set fee of $7.50 per $100, regardless of the length of the loan, which Messick said compares to the payday loan industry standard of about $17 per $100.
“It is an expensive form of credit, and we’re very clear with our customers that it is an expensive form of credit and not to be used as a long-term solution,” Messick said. “We have policies in place to make sure customers don’t use the service in the long term.”
Wells Fargo will not clean out a borrower’s account when taking money to pay itself back for payday loans, Messick said. The bank makes sure the customer gets to keep at least $100 from each paycheck, and if customers use the service for six months in a row, Wells Fargo will cut them off from more paycheck advances for a bit — what the CRL study calls a “cooling-off” period.
The study singles out this Wells Fargo practice for criticism, saying it’s not enough to keep borrowers out of trouble.
“After six consecutive months with loans, a borrower will typically have paid hundreds of dollars in fees and still effectively owe the original principal on the loan — a deep hole from which to recover,” the study says. “As currently structured, banks’ cooling-off periods allow borrowers to become mired in a significant, destructive cycle of debt before the cooling-off period is triggered.”
Like Wells Fargo, Regions Financial also warns its customers that its payday lending service, called Ready Advance, is expensive. It charges $1 per every $10 advanced during an early probationary period and 70 cents thereafter. (Non-bank payday lenders typically charge between $1.50 and $2 for every $10.) It also charges high interest if a customer wants to pay back the loan in installments — 21 percent above prime rate.
“We introduced the product after extensive research with our customers, who told us that they were either already using a non-bank advance loan product, or would like for Regions to offer an alternative,” Regions spokeswoman Evelyn Mitchell said in an statement to The Huffington Post. “Ready Advance is intended to meet the credit needs of existing Regions Bank customers who have a checking account in good standing. Our fees are generally half what customers would pay elsewhere and we offer customers a pathway to qualify for less expensive credit products.”
Fifth Third, which calls its payday-loan service “Early Access Advance,” costing $1 per $10 advance, declined to comment on CRL study.
“Our goal is to give customers access to funds in the case of an emergency,” U.S. Bank spokeswoman Teri Charest said in an email to the Huffington Post. “We make it very clear that [U.S. bank's payday-loan product] Checking Account Advance is for short-term use only, and that lower cost alternatives may be available. Of those that have used the advance, more than 96 percent say they are satisfied or very satisfied with the service.”
Even banks that do not directly offer payday loans themselves often help the less-scrupulous lenders who do, giving them access to customers’ bank accounts to extract payments for loans at interest rates that sometimes run to 500 percent. JPMorgan Chase recently said it would do more to help protect its customers from these lenders, making it easier for them to block withdrawals and close accounts. The bank will also offer a discount on the fees it charges to customers whose accounts have been picked clean by payday lenders.
JPMorgan’s policy shift comes as regulators, including the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, are investigating how banks help payday lenders, The New York Times reports. Those lenders are in turn scrambling offshore and online as they come under increasing scrutiny in the U.S.

Bank Manager Verifies Cash Withdrawal Limits and Reduced Hours coming to US Banks within 60 Days

Steve Quayle Alerts
Gentlemen:
Just received a call from a highly agitated bank manager who stated that within 60 days, banks will be greatly reducing their hours, days of operation, amount of withdrawals and a requirement to fill out “paperwork” if the amount is questioned by bank officials. Unless the form is completed, money will not be disbursed.  
What really irritated this manager is that after hearing our statements on the air, and receiving years of assurance that our positions and contacts were so much bravo sierra, now he hears from corporate people that it is apparently true after all.
He said, “Screw them, grab the money while you can.”
The parameters given were banks open two days a week for four to five hours with below minimum staffs, increased security and greatly reduced amounts of actual cash in the vault. Amount of withdrawal will be held to $500-2000 per day per customer account–not customer. So my account could only have either my wife or I withdraw, not both. That level could change at ANY time. There is no plan (at least known) for automatic confiscation from accounts–yet, and he said that the banks hold the “ownership” authority and final disposition of any items found in safety deposit boxes. (Surprise, surprise!) Withholding mortgage payments could result in expedited (30) day foreclosures and 15 day Sheriff’s locks on your front door.
The Federal Reserve could and will initiate other more draconian restrictions on all aspects of “private” banking and access to any property held by banks. It could include forfeiture of your primary (paid for) residence if your summer cottage has a mortgage and you fail to pony up to keeping it current or any forthcoming restrictions on your accounts.
Clearly, the only option is to close accounts or only keep funds that can be paid instantly to keep electric, water, or other critical accounts paid. Cash will be drying up—so, unless people hold precious metals, bullets (the new currency) or medicines, etc., you are screwed. Barter will be king. As the Colonel said yesterday, “the universe is contracting into the black hole. There is no way to escape its pull.” (Political/economic/social order black hole)
Received at 15:45 hours
20 March 2013
The Lawman

‘Open talk’ of Cyprus leaving euro as British savings are put at risk

The Telegraph – by Richard Spencer, Nicosia, Bruno Waterfield in Brussels, Tom Parfitt in Moscow and Alex Spillius

Unless the island signs off on a radical debt-cutting programme, the ECB will on Monday withdraw “emergency liquidity assistance” leading to the immediate collapse of the two largest Cypriot banks and a financial crash in Cyprus.

It has also emerged that talks over Cyprus leaving the EU’s single currency took place on Wednesday night between senior finance officials who have drawn up plans for capital controls to prevent a meltdown of the eurozone’s financial system.  

In minutes seen by Reuters of a telephone conference that Cyprus refused to take part in, one senior ministry official described emotions as running “very high” and “open talk in regards of (Cyprus) leaving the euro zone”.

The officials, heads and deputy heads of the eurozoneﾒs finance ministries discussed draconian capital controls to “ring-fence” the rest of the eurozone from the impact of Cyprus leaving the euro and to ensure there was no contagion.

Fears were raised of large outflows of capital once Cypriot banks reopen on Tuesday with ﾓtechnical preparations” being made to try to limit capital flight.

“Some additional laws need to be passed. Overall we are in a very difficult situation,” said one official. “(We’re) trying to do everything within the powers to limit any unauthorised outflows.”
The chairman of the ﾓeuro working group, Thomas Wieser, an Austrian, warned: “The economy is going to tank in Cyprus no matter what. Restrictions on capital will probably be imposed.”
Cypriot banks are totally reliant on the ECB for funding and have taken over €9.1 billion in an emergency programme to ensure cash does not run out.
“The governing Council of the ECB decided to maintain the current level of Emergency Liquidity Assistance (ELA) until Monday, 25 March 2013,” the bank said in a statement.
“Thereafter, ELA could only be considered if an EU/IMF programme is in place that would ensure the solvency of the concerned banks.”
Jeroen Dijsselbloem, the Dutch finance minister who chairs meetings of eurozone ministers, warned that Cyprus poses a “systemic risk” to Europe’s economy and banking sector, meaning a bank meltdown there could plunge other European countries into a new crisis.
“In the present situation I think there is definitely a systemic risk and I think the unrest of the last couple of days has proven this, unfortunately,” he said.
He told Cyprus that it would have to carry out a raid on Russian bank depositors to pay off €6 billion in debts and insisted that new loans from Russia would not solve the Cyprus debt problem, only add to it.
“The Cypriot government is now talking to the Russian government whether more can be done, I don’t know the outcome of that yet,” he said.
“The only thing I can say that if the Russians were to say we could lend, that wouldn’t help on the sustainability of the debt situation. Building up the debt in Cyprus does not help them to work towards a new future.”
Dmitry Medvedev, the Russian Prime, attacked plans to raid large Russian depositors in Cypriot banks as “absurd” and demanded that Moscow was involved in eurozone talks.
“This scheme that is being discussed on Cyprus now looks absolutely absurd,” he said.
“I think that in any case the Eurogroup could examine a future plan of regulating Cyprus with the participation of all the interested sides, including Russian structures.”
Mr Medvedev threatened an all-out currency war with the euro by saying that Russia may need to review the share of euros it holds in its central bank reserves, cash totalling around €175 billion.
“We have 41 or 42 per cent of our reserves denominated in euros – that is a lot of money, but for us, as for any country, predictability is important, and the offer that was made is not just unpredictable, it is evidence of some lack of rationality,” he said.
“A large number of our open public structures work through Cyprus. They now have money blocked for reasons that are unclear, because the source of that money is obvious. This money is declared everywhere. These include government structures. That’s why we have to take quite a firm position on the events around Cyprus and regulating the debt of Cyprus.”
Michael Sarris, the Cypriot Finance Minister, is in Moscow since Tuesday seeking to negotiate a deal to sell Cyprus newly discovered natural resources and remaining bank assets.
“We are discussing the subjects of gas, bank cooperation and other subjects,” he said.
Cyprus is angering the EC and eurozone by resisting a plan – originally advocated by Finland and Germany – to merge its two largest and most troubled banks, Laiki and Bank of Cyprus.
The plan, billed as the “Icelandic solution”, would create a new safe bank that would carry all deposits of under 100,000 euros, including the savings of thousands of Briton, and a “bad bank” with larger investments.
Cyprus opposed the scheme because it would put large uninsured deposits into the bad bank, wiping many out, hurting Russians and destroying the island’s reputation as an offshore banking haven.
Thousands of British pensioners are caught in the middle of the three-way battle between Cyprus, the EU and Russia as the authorities drew up plans to prevent them taking their money out of the country.
The finance ministry announced that the country’s banks would remain closed until Tuesday as it proposed measures to impose capital controls, limiting the amount of money depositors could remove.
The proposals, which could have severe consequences for the 60,000 Britons on the island – including around 20,000 pensioners – came as politicians struggled to forge a new deal to replace the EU bank levy, which was voted down by parliament.
Designed to prevent a run on the banks once they open, the move posed a particular threat to the savings of expatriates. About €2 billion (£1.7 billion) is held by British citizens and companies on the island, the second highest amount of any EU country behind Greece.

China’s Solar Billionaire Undone as Banks Push Suntech to Brink

Shi Zhengrong, once China’s richest man, saw his fortune further unravel yesterday as the solar company he founded allowed its main unit to tip into insolvency.
Shi’s stake in Suntech Power Holdings Co. (STP) was valued at $1.7 billion when he emerged at the top of the Wall Street Journal’s rich list for China in 2006. His roughly 30 percent stake today is down to about $32 million, if shareholders get anything out of the Chinese bankruptcy process.
Suntech was once the world’s biggest solar company and Shi, 50, set his sights on growing as big as BP Plc (BP/) or Royal Dutch Shell Plc. (RDSA) The decline of China’s first solar billionaire shows how the industry built itself with cash from Wall Street and Chinese authorities, creating a boom in factory expansions that ultimately drove down prices.
“Being in the solar manufacturing industry over the past eight years has been an excellent way to turn a big fortune into a small one,” said Jenny Chase, lead solar analyst at Bloomberg New Energy Finance in Zurich.
Suntech had debt of $2 billion at the end of August and defaulted on a $541 million bond that matured last week. That prompted eight Chinese banks to ask a court in Wuxi, where Suntech is based, to start bankruptcy proceedings on its main manufacturing unit.
Shi was ousted as chairman March 4, and spoke out about the company’s inability to restructure the debt. “The problem is they don’t have a solution,” he said in an interview. “They need a viable business plan.”

Suntech Debt

The company had about $1.44 billion of bank credit and a $50 million loan from the International Finance Corp., according to regulatory filings. China Development Bank Corp. is among its lenders. Suntech (STP) raised a total of $743 million from Wall Street in two separate stock offerings in 2005 and 2009. The bonds traded in New York.
Shi started Suntech in 2001 after serving as research director at another solar company in Australia, Pacific Solar Pty. He received a bachelor’s degree in optical science from Changchun University of Science and Technology in 1983 and a master’s in laser physics from the Shanghai Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics in 1986.
After moving to Australia in the late 1980s, he earned his doctorate in electrical engineering at the University of New South Wales in Sydney in 1992.
Calls to Shi in Beijing weren’t answered, and he didn’t respond to e-mails seeking comment after Suntech’s announcement last night.

Fast Learner

The native of Jiangsu province was one of the fastest to finish the program at UNSW’s School of Photovoltaic and Renewable Energy Engineering, according to Martin Green, a professor at the university.
“He was the type of student to get a result at just about anything he did,” Green said by phone in October. “Something about the way he tackled problems. He was able to overcome difficulties that might emerge and see his way through.”
The Chinese scholar went to work for Pacific Solar, a university spinoff, in 1995 and became an Australian citizen.
When Shi decided to return to China in 2001 to start the solar-power company, lured by $6 million in funding from a regional government in Wuxi in eastern China, his fellow researchers in Sydney tried to talk him out of it.
Green, known by some in the solar industry as the “father of photovoltaics,” reminded Shi of their unsuccessful trip to China seven years earlier to find a partner and open a manufacturing facility in the country, Green said. They had hoped to commercialize the university’s solar technology.

Hopeless Situation

“We thought the situation was pretty hopeless,” Green recalled. “The companies weren’t operating very efficiently or effectively. So I was pretty pessimistic about his chances based on how difficult I perceived it to be.”
David Hogg, who worked with Shi at Pacific Solar and again at Suntech as chief operating officer for two years until 2011, said Shi helped attract Chinese researchers and eased communication with their Australian peers.
“He was able to get the best out of people,” Hogg said in an interview in October. “While he was of Chinese origin, he was quite a Western guy in many ways.”
Four years after leaving Australia, Suntech began trading on the New York Stock Exchange. The Chinese company later won a contract to supply the solar system for the stadium at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, opened its first U.S. factory in 2010 and reached 2 gigawatts of production the next year.

Record High

The company’s American depositary receipts, each worth one ordinary share, climbed to a high of $88.35 on Dec. 26, 2007, from an initial price of $15 in 2005. The stock closed at 58.6 cents on March 19, valuing the company at $105.6 million.
“Dr. Shi was very popular with investors and clients, and was one of the most sought-after speakers on the conference circuit from 2005,” said Chase, the New Energy Finance analyst in Zurich. “Then, the supply balance flipped from undersupply to oversupply in late 2008.”
Shi set his targets on rivaling Big Oil in scale. He told the Guardian that year that Suntech within a decade may be as big as BP or Shell.
Suntech’s capacity to make solar modules more than quadrupled to 2,400 megawatts in 2011 from 540 megawatts in 2007, part of China’s effort to wrest control of the industry away from German and Japanese companies.

Top Companies

Four of the six top panel manufacturers are based in China, including Trina Solar Ltd., Yingli Green Energy Holding Co., and Suntech, which fell to fifth in production capacity in 2012, according to New Energy Finance. Sharp Corp., which is based in Osaka, Japan, dominated the industry until 2006. Then Q-Cells SE of Thalheim, Germany, took over the lead.
In November 2010, Shi joined Oscar-winning actress Cate Blanchett at the Sydney Theatre Co. to mark the start of a rooftop solar-power system using Suntech panels. The company was the world’s biggest cell maker that year and the next.
Giving a speech on a wharf overlooking Sydney Harbor, Shi, who donated A$2 million ($2.08 million) to the project, called the effort to replace fossil fuels with renewable energy the “challenge of our generation.”
“Twenty years ago, while performing solar research at the University of New South Wales, few people believed solar technology could be one day part of the beauty of a place such as this wharf,” Shi said in 2010. “Even 10 years ago skeptics would ask, ‘Do you really believe solar technology will be economically competitive with fossil fuels?’’

Solar Expansion

It was the scale of the industry’s expansion that undid Shi’s ambitions. Solar cell prices that as recently as October 2010 were $1.50 a watt are now less than a third of that price, costing about 38 cents on March 11, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Suntech last reported a profit in the first quarter of 2011 and in July disclosed that it was a victim of accounting fraud involving an affiliated company in Europe. It hired UBS AG to help restructure debt payments then the unit succumbed to insolvency after failing to retire its bonds on schedule last week.