What If Gold Is Declared Illegal?

What If Gold Is Declared Illegal?

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 07/01/2015 17:30 -0400

Submitted by Bill Bonner of Bonner & Partners (annotated by Acting-Man.com's Pater Tenebrarum),

The Beginning of the End

Over the weekend, the lines in Greece stretched along the street. Around the corner. Down the block. Lines to get cash. Lines to buy gas. Lines of people eager to get their hands on something of value. Food. Fuel. Cash. Pity the poor guy who was last in line …

… the poor taxi driver, for example, standing behind 300 other people, trying to get 200 lousy euros out of an ATM. Like a tragic nightclub customer … among the last to smell the smoke. By the time he headed for the exit, it was clogged with desperate people, all struggling to get through the same narrow door at the same time.

Being the last in line usually means you have waited too long.

Image via archives.gov, Al Capone’s Soup Kitchen, Chikago 1931

Remember: When a bear attacks in the woods, you don’t have to be faster than the bear. You just have to be faster than at least one other hiker…

Athens On The Potomac - It Could Never Happen Here, Right?

Home

Athens On The Potomac - It Could Never Happen Here, Right?

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 07/01/2015 16:32 -0400

Submitted by John Gabriel via Ricochet.com,

Financial experts in New York, London, and Brussels have tut-tutted Greece’s economic travails as Athens considers its future with the European Union. Why did they borrow so much money? How can they ever pay it back? Do they think that much debt is sustainable?

Instead of pointing fingers at the innumerates running Athens, they should consider our own situation. Jason Russell of the Washington Examiner shows how America’s debt projections look suspiciously like Greece’s recent history.

With all the chaos unravelling in Greece, Congress would be wise to do what it takes to avoid reaching Greek debt levels. But it’s not a matter of sticking to the status quo and avoiding bad decisions that would put the budget on a Greek-like path, because the budget is on that path already.

Eurogroup's Dijsselbloem Says "No Grounds For Further Talks", Will "Wait For Outcome Of Referendum"

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 07/01/2015 13:59 -0400

• Greece

 

Update: Here is the statement:

And the highlights from Bloomberg:

• DIJSSELBLOEM SAYS GREEK POLITICAL GROUNDS HASN'T CHANGED
• DIJSSELBLOEM SAYS GREEK GOVT AMENDED PROPOSALS FROM CREDITORS
• DIJSSELBLOEM SAYS EUROGROUP TOOK NOTE OF GREEK PROPOSALS
• DIJSSELBLOEM SAYS SEES NO GROUNDS FOR FURTHER GREECE TALKS
• DIJSSELBLOEM SAYS WILL BE NO TALKS IN COMING DAYS
• DIJSSELBLOEM SAYS WILL WAIT FOR OUTCOME OF GREEK REFERENDUM
• DIJSSELBLOEM SAYS WILL TAKE INTO ACCOUNT OUTCOME OF SUNDAY VOTE
• DIJSSELBLOEM SAYS HE IS VERY SORRY ABOUT GREECE SITUATION

The first of today's two key catalysts following Tsipras' defiant speech has concluded: the Eurogroup teleconference chaired by Jeroen Dijsselbloem. And, as he tweeted moments ago, he will post his remarks momentarily.

 

Jeroen DijsselbloemConta verificada‏@J_Dijsselbloem

#Eurogroup conference call on #Greece just ended; video with my remarks will be online shortly on http://tvnewsroom.consilium.europa.eu/ 

What will he announce? Probably not much, if the FT's Peter Spiegel is right:

Peter SpiegelConta verificada‏@SpiegelPeter

I'm told #eurogroup will put conclusions in a letter to @atsipras: No further action until after the referendum #Greece

As much was confirmed by others:

• KAZIMIR SAYS NO GREECE TALKS UNTIL AFTER REFERENDUM

Watch the Eurogroup's summary remarks at the following site, assuming it can be un "503"-ed.

And now everyone focuses on the ECB's much more important decisions: will Mario haircut (or even pull) the ELA or not.

Greek Fin Min Lays Out 6 Reasons To Vote "No" In The Referendum

Greek Fin Min Lays Out 6 Reasons To Vote"No" In The Referendum

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 07/01/2015 13:31 -0400

Confused as to how to vote Sunday? Starting to understand having your cake and eating it to may not work? Greek FinMin Varoufakis has six simple reasons to "just say no"...

1. Negotiations have stalled because Greece’s creditors (a) refused to reduce our un-payable public debt and (b) insisted that it should be repaid ‘parametrically’ by the weakest members of our society, their children and their grandchildren
2. The IMF, the United States’ government, many other governments around the globe, and most independent economists believe — along with us — that the debt must be restructured.
3. The Eurogroup had previously (November 2012) conceded that the debt ought to be restructured but is refusing to commit to a debt restructure
4. Since the announcement of the referendum, official Europe has sent signals that they are ready to discuss debt restructuring. These signals show that official Europe too would vote NO on its own ‘final’ offer.
5. Greece will stay in the euro.  Deposits in Greece’s banks are safe.  Creditors have chosen the strategy of blackmail based on bank closures. The current impasse is due to this choice by the creditors and not by the Greek government discontinuing the negotiations or any Greek thoughts of Grexit and devaluation. Greece’s place in the Eurozone and in the European Union is non-negotiable.
6. The future demands a proud Greece within the Eurozone and at the heart of Europe. This future demands that Greeks say a big NO on Sunday, that we stay in the Euro Area, and that, with the power vested upon us by that NO, we renegotiate Greece’s public debt as well as the distribution of burdens between the haves and the have nots.

Source: YanisVaroufakis.com

 

"What If Berlin And Frankfurt Do Not Budge" - How Varoufakis' Saw The "Worst Case Scenario"

Home

"What If Berlin And Frankfurt Do Not Budge" - How Varoufakis' Saw The "Worst Case Scenario"

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 07/01/2015 12:55 -0400

Over a year ago, and long before he became the mascot for fraught negotiations between Greece and its creditors, Yanis Varoufakis penned a lengthy essay on what might happen should the Greek government decide to stand firm in the face of pressure from Brussels, Frankfurt, and Berlin.

Earlier today we learned that in fact, Greece will stick to its negotiating position even in default and will remain defiant to the end, or at least until the voters who swept PM Tsipras and Varoufakis into office indicate at the ballot box that concedeing the Syriza campaign mandate is an acceptable outcome. With the government urging Greeks to vote "no", the Tsipras and Varoufakis' gambit will be put to the test next week, or perhaps even as early as this afternoon when the ECB could decide to effectively bring the Greek banking sector to its knees. 

In this context, we bring you Yanis Varoufakis' vision of the endgame, straight from the embattled FinMin himself: 

That Greece has the right and the opportunity to deploy these bargaining cards there is no doubt. The important question is this:

 What if Berlin and Frankfurt do not budge? What if they tell Athens to ‘go jump of the tallest cliff’? 

'Boots On The Ground' In Greece: "Stop The German Bloodletting"

'Boots On The Ground' In Greece: "Stop The German Bloodletting"

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 07/01/2015 11:31 -0400

Submitted by Simon Black via SovereignMan.com,

Since my arrival into the country late May, the topic of most discussions I overhear everywhere are naturally about the debt negotiations.

I’d call opinions in support or against the Tsipras governments’ activities pretty sharply divided.

Tsipras supporters are generally fed-up with 5yrs of blood-letting “from the Germans”.

Critics, on the other hand, see the euro as some sort of abstract membership in a club that must be retained at all cost.

A minority even criticize Tsipras for—get this—being too soft.

Defiant Tsipras Addresses Nation, Calls For "NO" Referendum Vote - Live Webcast

Home

Defiant Tsipras Addresses Nation, Calls For "NO" Referendum Vote - Live Webcast

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 07/01/2015 10:27 -0400

After a letter surfaced which shows Athens is ready to accept the latest proposal presented by the troika (i.e. the now expired offer from Brussels) in exchange for a third rescue package worth nearly €30 billion, Greek PM Alexis Tsipras is set to address the nation. As a reminder, a little before 5am CET, news hit that Tsipras was willing to concede to virtually all creditor demands, with a few exceptions.

Although the latest opinion polls show a narrow majority of Greeks would vote "no" in the referendum scheduled for this weekend, the bite of capital controls and threat of an imminent banking sector collapse have heaped pressure on the government which, as of midnight, became the first developed country to default to the IMF. 

• TSIPRAS SAYS REFERENDUM NOT ABOUT EURO OR NOT EURO
• TSIPRAS CALLS FOR `NO' VOTE IN JULY 5 REFERENDUM
• GREECE RECEIVED BETTER PROPOSALS FOR DEBT AFTER REFERENDUM CALL
• IF POSITIVE DEVELOPMENT IN EUROGROUP WE WILL RESPOND: TSIPRAS
• TSIPRAS SAYS EUROPE SHOULD GIVE TIME AND SPACE TO GREEKS
• TSIPRAS SAYS CREDITORS SHIFTED BLACKMAIL FROM GOVT TO CITIZENS
• WE WILL RESUME TALKS ON MONDAY
• IF EUROGROUP APPROVES DEAL WE’LL RESPOND ACCORDINGLY
• REFERENDUM IS FOR THE A APPROVAL OR NOT OF DEAL
• GOVERNMENT STILL WANTS DEAL WITH CREDITORS
• REFERENDUM NOT FOR STAY OR NOT IN EURO
• TSIPRAS SAYS GOVT FIGHTING TO PROTECT PEOPLE'S PENSIONS
• TSIPRAS SAYS NO VOTE IS DECISIVE STEP TOWARD BETTER DEAL

(live feed)