The Big Bailout of the Eurozone (Another crisis coming? - Seriously)

[Rossfan]

It wasnt "The Unions" who borrowed trillions to force up the price of property so that rich gamblers could make a fortune. Then of course when it all went wrong .... it became the Govt/Taxpayers problem.

[muppet]

It wasnt "The Unions" who borrowed trillions to force up the price of property so that rich gamblers could make a fortune. Then of course when it all went wrong .... it became the Govt/Taxpayers problem.

'It all went wrong' in two areas:

1 the banks
2 public spending

The bailout was for both. Both sectors are responsible for jointly bankrupting us and yes the last Government was the common denominator along with certain public servants (Financial Regulator, Central Banks, Dept. of Finance etc).

But Begg (and to a lesser extent Geraghy) sits on both sides as well.

[seafoid]

It wasnt public spending as much as FF freakonomics that was the problem. FF based its tax policy on transactional taxes which collapsed when the boom went tits up.

I think Begg is entitled to ask questions about the debt. Under the current terms it is just not sustainable.
The FF regime turned private bank debt into public debt.

There were many at fault over the boom and Begg at the CB would be way down the list. The bank auditors are still being paid millions, for example. Without the bank albatross the debt situation would be manageable. If you stop paying teachers etc the economy vapourises.

" The biggest regulatory holes in the case of RBS were both the shortage of equity and the absence of a credible bail-in system". Same for the banks here. 

[Main Street]

Kenny spin as reported on rte.ie
'Mr Kenny said that Ireland was grateful to receive the British loan and Mr Cameron was very supportive of the Irish position in Europe. However, the Taoiseach said that Britain's €3bn contribution to Ireland's bailout was not discussed in detail today'.

No thanks Kenny.
Kenny is grateful to be regarded as Europe's current biggest donkey, expressing thanks on behalf of a nation for a loan to the Irish State to pay off some private debt to UK banks. Does that gobshite Kenny not realise who is doing who the favour here?

[muppet]

Kenny spin as reported on rte.ie
'Mr Kenny said that Ireland was grateful to receive the British loan and Mr Cameron was very supportive of the Irish position in Europe. However, the Taoiseach said that Britain's €3bn contribution to Ireland's bailout was not discussed in detail today'.

No thanks Kenny.
Kenny is grateful to be regarded as Europe's current biggest donkey, expressing thanks on behalf of a nation for a loan to the Irish State to pay off some private debt to UK banks. Does that gobshite Kenny not realise who is doing who the favour here?

I'm sure he understands perfectly.

Why would we tell those who lent us the money to piss off, until we actually really mean it?

[muppet]

Portugal 10 yr bond rises to 9.08%
Ireland 10 year bond rise to 9.75%
Greek 10 year bonds rise to 14.55%

That is what the markets think of the bailed or almost bailed out economies.

Spain 10 yr bonds jump to 5.55% today.

[Main Street]

I'm sure he understands perfectly.
Why would we tell those who lent us the money to piss off, until we actually really mean it?

If that quisling understood perfectly and understood/accepted the EU program then why would he be be going around the various heads of state, saying (on behalf of the thick Irish)  thank you very much kind sir.
Telling them to piss off is not the issue, just where is the basic understanding of who is doing who the favour here?

[muppet]

I'm sure he understands perfectly.
Why would we tell those who lent us the money to piss off, until we actually really mean it?

If that quisling understood perfectly and understood/accepted the EU program then why would he be be going around the various heads of state, saying (on behalf of the thick Irish)  thank you very much kind sir.
Telling them to piss off is not the issue, just where is the basic understanding of who is doing who the favour here?

We are in no position to be obstreperous. Being belligerent with Cameron or whoever, just for the sake of it, will hardly work.

Patience though............it will all go up in smoke including the RBS debt.

[seafoid]

Portugal 10 yr bond rises to 9.08%
Ireland 10 year bond rise to 9.75%
Greek 10 year bonds rise to 14.55%

That is what the markets think of the bailed or almost bailed out economies.

Spain 10 yr bonds jump to 5.55% today.

the FT says the Germans are discussing a haircut on Greek debt. That would just open the floodgates.
An admission that current policy is a failure. And that austerity alone will not lead to the kingdom of heaven. 

S&P have cut their outlook on US debt so it's risk off again.
The whole global financial system is a big steaming pile of horse shit.

[muppet]

Portugal 10 yr bond rises to 9.08%
Ireland 10 year bond rise to 9.75%
Greek 10 year bonds rise to 14.55%

That is what the markets think of the bailed or almost bailed out economies.

Spain 10 yr bonds jump to 5.55% today.

the FT says the Germans are discussing a haircut on Greek debt. That would just open the floodgates.
An admission that current policy is a failure. And that austerity alone will not lead to the kingdom of heaven. 

S&P have cut their outlook on US debt so it's risk off again.
The whole global financial system is a big steaming pile of horse shit.

Why don't we :

Do a deal with Japan. Clearly they are an organised self-sufficient, productive people while we are nothing of the sort. We have volatile political and economic system on a stable landmass while they have a stable society on a volatile land mass. We owe the world a fortune while they merely owe themselves a fortune.

We should swap islands. They don't deserve the chaos, while we wouldn't even notice the earthquakes

We can have our chaotic existence on a chaotic surface while they can get on with being productive. We would need our debt written off of course and some extras like 100 years supply of beer and rice. The Unionists could decide whether they want to come with us or stay with their new more mannerly but still not British neighbours.

Well?

[armaghniac]

The Unionists could decide whether they want to come with us or stay with their new more mannerly but still not British neighbours.

우리는 항복하지 않습니다

[muppet]

The Unionists could decide whether they want to come with us or stay with their new more mannerly but still not British neighbours.

우리는 항복하지 않습니다

Ok ok.............you bags Taoiseach.

I bags Emperor Mé Féin the 1st.

[Declan]

The whole global financial system is a big steaming pile of horse shit.

A bit like this really http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Emperor's_New_Clothes

[seafoid]

Here is what is coming down the line for Ireland 

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/639502a0-69dc-11e0-89db-00144feab49a.html#ixzz1Jx9t7dht

Greece must meet its restructuring fate
By Nicholas Economides and Roy Smith
Published: April 19 2011 00:46 | Last updated: April 19 2011 00:46
It has been almost a year since the €750bn European Financial Stability Fund was created to bail out over-borrowed Eurozone states, of which Greece was the first to falter.
Despite a €110bn loan from its neighbours, substantial budget tightening and reforms, and a change of government, Greece looks today even further away from a return to the markets than it was before the crisis. Whatever it is that the EFSF's loan and the European Central Bank's market purchases of Greek debt were supposed to do, the market hasn't bought it. It clearly is expecting restructuring.
Recently Der Spiegel reported that several Eurozone finance ministers told ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet that the Greek stabilisation plans were behind schedule and the debt ought to be restructured. Mr Trichet reportedly blocked the idea and refused to discuss it, and the EU's Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn agreed, saying that restructuring was out of the question. The main reason for their reluctance is the fear that any restructuring would have severe consequences on European banks, especially those from France, Germany and Switzerland.
This fear is well-placed because these banks have not accounted for their Greek or other sovereign holdings at market value, and accordingly, would have to incur substantial writedowns if a restructuring occurred.
Outstanding bank debt of all the peripheral countries held by banks now totals about $600bn. Market prices of this debt range from about 60 per cent of par value to about 85 per cent, so perhaps 30 per cent, or $180 billion, might represent unrealised losses – a manageable amount spread over several countries and numerous banks. The market is well aware of this, of course, and has already repriced the shares of the most exposed banks to reflect a fair market estimate of the current value of their sovereign debt holdings.
Facing the problems of bank losses is an integral part of addressing the sovereign debt issue. Neither the banks nor the distressed sovereign borrowers benefit from continued denial of the problem.
European banks are known to be undercapitalised, relative to their US counterparts, and are expected to have to raise additional capital over the next few years in any event. Refusing to acknowledge their Greek losses does nothing for the banks; the sooner their balance sheets recognise the reality of their holdings the better for them.
Greece, however, plainly needs restructuring to enable it to turn its economy around. It needs to reduce the total amount of its debt that is outstanding, reduce the interest rate it would pay for refinancing and lengthen the maturities of the debt so as to be able to repay it after its considerable belt tightening and reform efforts have had some effect.
Now that the European Structural Mechanism has been declared the permanent replacement of the EFSF, it ought to be possible to use an ESM guarantee to provide sufficient credit enhancement or collateral to allow a new series of Greek bonds to be exchanged for the old ones at their discounted market value, meaning that total debt would be reduced by around 30 per cent.
In the 1990s, after a few years of delay and denial – and fears of imposing unhealthy losses on the struggling banks that held the debt — 18 heavily indebted, distressed Latin American and other countries engaged in similar exchange. They offered old bank debt for new "Brady bonds", that were collateralised by a 30-year zero-coupon US Treasury bond. The programme was designed and orchestrated by the US, in order to clear up a huge problem of defaulted or underperforming sovereign debt.
The exchanges were well received, the governments were able to put meaningful recovery plans into effect, and banks stock prices began to rise. It was a market solution whose time had come. It is time now to do the same for Greece.
Nicholas Economides is a Professor of Economics at the New York University Stern School of Business. Roy C. Smith is a Professor of Finance at the New York University Stern School of Business and a contributor to 'Regulating Wall Street: The Dodd-Frank Act and The New Architecture of Global Finance'.

[wherefromref]

From http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-13127351

Allied Irish Bank pay former MD £2.6m golden handshake

A former managing director of Allied Irish Bank (AIB) received a pay package of over 3m euros (£2.62m) last year, it as emerged.

Colm Doherty stepped down in November as a condition of the governments second bailout of the bank.

The Irish Times reported that Mr Doherty received the payments under a contract agreed in 2009.

This was when he was promoted to the role of managing director, replacing chief executive Eugene Sheehy.

The newspaper said details of the payments to Mr Doherty must appear in AIB's 2010 annual report, which is expected to be published shortly.
Contribution

Mr Doherty's pay was made up of a salary, from January to November, of 432,000 euro(£378.2m).

In place of a years' notice, he was paid 707,000 euro (£619,000) when his contract was terminated at the direction of the former finance minister, Brian Lenihan.

He was also paid about 2m euro (£1.75m) instead of a contribution to his pension.

The Irish Department of Finance has said that it did not sign off on this payment, but that the package was what Mr Doherty was legally entitled to, under the terms of his contract.

AIB has said it will not be commenting on executive pay in advance of the publication of the group's annual report.

AIB is the parent company of Northern Ireland based bank First Trust.

What an absolute disgrace!