Greece seen closer to bailout on ECB move

ECB said to swap bonds, Germany backs off calls for delay

FRANKFURT (MarketWatch) — A Greek bond swap reportedly being conducted by the European Central Bank has boosted prospects for a deal early next week to approve a second bailout for the debt-strapped country, economists said Friday.

The move comes as Germany appeared to abandon its effort to delay the release of the bulk of the 130 billion euro ($169 billion) bailout until after Greek elections expected to take place in April.

“None of this solves the fundamental issues of an imploding Greek economy and an unsustainable debt path. And the deal could still unravel over the weekend. But at 7 a.m. [London local time] on Friday, mini-euphoria that a deal will probably be struck and the Greek crisis put off for a few more months is leaving markets in a warm cuddly haze,” said Kit Juckes, head of foreign exchange at Societe Generale.

U.S. equities were boosted late Thursday on news of a possible bond swap. Reports further indicating European officials were moving toward approval of a bailout at a Monday meeting of euro-zone finance ministers helped boost Asian and European equities. Europe Markets

The euro EURUSD +0.23%  changed hands at $1.3161 versus the dollar, up 0.3% from Thursday.

Several news reports said the ECB is exchanging its holdings of an estimated €50 billion of Greek government bonds for new bonds that would be immune to “collective action clauses” that may be imposed by the Greek government. Such clauses would allow a majority of bondholders to force all bondholders to participate in a debt swap. <Rest of the Article>

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The ECB wants all other bondholders, except itself, to take a haircut.  It's trying to ensure that the bonds it's holding are maintained and paid out at par.  It's great to be King.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5imeT1RrzFK-fRoFadftTnL...

works both ways bitches. At least we have the 2nd Amendment protection. You agents are getting dangerous to society and for the safety of the community we must have commons sense reform.

Choke on it LEO's

Record $6 Trillion of Fake U.S. Bonds Seized

Italian anti-mafia prosecutors said they seized a record $6 trillion of allegedly fake U.S. Treasury bonds, an amount that’s almost half of the U.S.’s public debt.

The bonds were found hidden in makeshift compartments of three safety deposit boxes in Zurich, the prosecutors from the southern city of Potenza said in an e-mailed statement. The Italian authorities arrested eight people in connection with the probe, dubbed “Operation Vulcanica,” the prosecutors said.

The U.S. embassy in Rome has examined the securities dated 1934, which had a nominal value of $1 billion apiece, they said in the statement. Officials for the embassy didn’t have an immediate comment.

The financial fraud uncovered by the Italian prosecutors in Potenza includes two checks issued through HSBC Holdings Plc (HSBA) in London for 205,000 pounds ($325,000), checks that weren’t backed by available funds, the prosecutors said. As part of the probe, fake bonds for $2 billion were also seized in Rome. The individuals involved were planning to buy plutonium from Nigerian sources, according to phone conversations monitored by the police.  <Rest of the Article>

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It's interesting that these bonds are very similar to the bonds discussed by Benjamin Fulford in the Dragon suit against the Federal Government.  Makes you wonder if the Federal Government is trying to discredit a legitimate claim with catching and parading a lot of false claims.  It's hard to tell how much of the 1934 Bond story is true, but I love anything that challenges our Government to reveal the truth.  :-)

Putin Aims To Please With 'Oligarch' Windfall

Tax

Thursday, 16 February 2012

To stem falling support in the run up to presidential elections, Russian Prime Minister and presidential candidate Vladimir Putin has suggested that Russia's wealthiest individuals should pay a windfall tax on gains made since the 1990s when state enterprises were rapidly privatized upon the dissolution of the Soviet Union.

During the presidency of Boris Yeltsin in the 1990s, the government planned to distribute national assets evenly through privatization vouchers. However, these vouchers were purchased at cut-price rates by a select few of the nation's well-connected individuals at the time, leading to the creation of a select group of super-rich owners of former state industries, now known as oligarchs.

In a speech to the Russian Chamber of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, Putin aired the idea of a windfall tax as a way of cleansing "dishonest" past dealings, and the measure is expected to be strongly supported by the electorate, particularly at a time when Putin is contemplating potentially unpopular measures to reduce the nation's deficit. <Rest of the Article>

the metals go up with the rest of the market today. It's so nice to have a free market.

i will probably regret saying that

GREEK DEFAULT EXCLUSIVE: SENIOR US BANKERS GIVEN EXPLICIT TIMETABLE FOR ATHENS DEFAULT

Home home on the range bound metels markets.

Where the algo's and wopper's play.

Where seldom it herd a discouraging word. 

Until Turd starts bashing blyth and her minions.

                  The Original Greaser Bob

found this on the Sandstorm board at Yahoo.

http://af.reuters.com/article/metalsNews/idAFL4E8DH8H420120217?sp=true

Doctor Divergence In The Gold House

Morris Hubbartt
Weekly Market Update Excerpt
posted Feb 17, 2012

T-Bond Death Chart

• The largest bubble on the financial scene today is probably the US treasury market. For several weeks now, I have been arguing that a major bond market top is in place. Keep in mind that this is a slow process, and investors will be reluctant to believe it is all over.
• A common statement made by mainstream investors and financial advisors is that gold is a bad investment because it doesn’t pay any dividends. Yet these same managers tell investors to buy bonds that pay almost nothing.
• Soon these bonds may actually pay less than nothing. The Treasury Borrowing Advisory Committee brings together dealers and treasury officials. They recently met in a closed meeting at the Hays Adams Hotel.
• The committee members unanimously agreed that the Treasury should start permitting negative interest rate bids for T-bills. This is the kind of signpost that signifies the death of a 30 year bull market in bonds. Will financial advisors and money managers now promote negative yield investments to senior citizens?

Keep in mind that every bar on the above chart is one month. This chart provides you with a long term view of the bond market...

http://www.321gold.com/editorials/sfs/hubbartt021712.html

I'd make a little pig like that and laquer him for the trophy shelf.  Well done!

gets tiring

Hi,

Thanks to all for the welcome and please excuse my Pig ignorance!

TA