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Merkel Sets Terms Of Quid Pro Quo: Tells Greece To Sell Assets, Ireland To Hike Corporate Tax Rate To Get Rate Cut Concessions

Tyler Durden's picture


Auntie Angela has finally snapped at the panhandlers begging for handouts, making it clear what the quid pro quo considerations are for interest rate concessions:


So the ball is now back in the beggars' court.

This is great news for Goldman prop traders and for John Paulson as (a non extradition) Santorini will be back on the market very soon.


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Thu, 03/10/2011 - 12:48 | 1036782 Irwin Fletcher
Irwin Fletcher's picture

It's great news as a precedent for Chinese developers looking to buy US state and national parks in the next decade or two.

Thu, 03/10/2011 - 13:09 | 1036838 SilverRhino
SilverRhino's picture

That's a damn good time to start shooting.   Sell our treasures for pennies on the dollar for paper bullshit the fedgov has pissed away.   Sounds like a repeat of Russia in the early 90's.



Thu, 03/10/2011 - 13:36 | 1036919 covert
covert's picture

the chinese have a delicate economy, confusing legal system that's unclear and loves protectionism and controversy. therefore more study is needed. this seems a little like roosevelt's new deal.


Thu, 03/10/2011 - 13:51 | 1036974 Motorhead
Motorhead's picture

Wait a minute, you talking about the Chinese economy or the U.S. economy?  Just checking, hehe.

Thu, 03/10/2011 - 14:13 | 1037051 Tail Dogging The Wag
Tail Dogging The Wag's picture

I think some states are already selling their assets since they cannot print money directly and they are not being bailed out yet. I don't think it will take a decade for Yellowstone, and Yosemite National Park to be ON SALE. I think we could see that happening in the very near future.

The Third World War is the elephant in the room.




Thu, 03/10/2011 - 15:40 | 1037552 sunny
sunny's picture

The Third World War is the elephant in the room.

I tend to agree, these world wars do tend to pop up in bad economic times.  I'm just not sure who we are gonna fight against.  Will this war be geopolitical or theological in nature?  Anyone?


Thu, 03/10/2011 - 16:14 | 1037717 equity_momo
equity_momo's picture

Historically ,the Nation state is a relatively new phenomena and undeniably helped lube the war machines of 1914 and 1939.   I dont think WW3 is between Nation states but corporations , so a more theological nature. Private armies will be vastly superior to Nation state armies.   Forget Nukes.

That said , before we have an all out World War , i suspect the US is about to get a hard-on like never seen before and will be deploying all its military muscle to divide and conquer before the Empire inevitably collapses. The rest of the World will jawbone but be continue to fight a proxy battle in the wake of the Drones.

Thu, 03/10/2011 - 17:03 | 1037903 ibjamming
ibjamming's picture

Are you kidding?  Who will we fight?  The Muzzies...the guys with all the oil we want/need.


They already started...Congressional Hearings into "fundamental Islam"...that's the guys trying to take down all our puppet regimes over there.  Just like they did with "Communists" and Communism. 


War IS coming...soon.

Thu, 03/10/2011 - 14:34 | 1037159 Vampyroteuthis ...
Vampyroteuthis infernalis's picture

We can repeat with the Chinese what occurred with the Japanese in the late '80s. They buy everything at high prices and the US turns around and buys everything back at pennies on the dollar.

Thu, 03/10/2011 - 14:38 | 1037187 FeralSerf
FeralSerf's picture

WTF do the Chinese want with parks (except maybe for the Gates of the Arctic)?

They're already got America's manufacturing infrastructure.  It's time for them to concentrate on farm land.  And when American labor gets cheap enough, it might be time to transfer some of their Southeast Asian shirt assembly business to Ohio or some such.

Thu, 03/10/2011 - 14:42 | 1037205 Irwin Fletcher
Irwin Fletcher's picture

That's where they'll put their senior rare earth mining executives out to pasture when they retire.

Thu, 03/10/2011 - 14:43 | 1037216 NotApplicable
NotApplicable's picture

They're probably diversifying their mining resources.


Thu, 03/10/2011 - 12:50 | 1036783 Cdad
Cdad's picture

Oh for fuck sake...that's it....breakfast martini coming up.


Thu, 03/10/2011 - 13:06 | 1036821 HedgeFundLIVE
HedgeFundLIVE's picture

lol, Tyler Durden needs a LIKE button in his comments section.

Thu, 03/10/2011 - 13:12 | 1036848 sunkeye
sunkeye's picture


that was funny

yeah never a feelgood when bfast of champions comes back up the down chute

Thu, 03/10/2011 - 13:15 | 1036858 carbonmutant
carbonmutant's picture



Thu, 03/10/2011 - 13:09 | 1036786 Mr Lennon Hendrix
Mr Lennon Hendrix's picture

sarc/ on

Germany making demands?

Who would have thought?

Thu, 03/10/2011 - 13:22 | 1036869 kaiten
kaiten's picture

No demands, conditions.

Thu, 03/10/2011 - 13:29 | 1036888 Mr Lennon Hendrix
Mr Lennon Hendrix's picture

The threat of leaving the Euro creates a win win for Germany's singing Angel.

Thu, 03/10/2011 - 13:31 | 1036899 pendragon
pendragon's picture

it's a negotiation for lower interest rates on the bailout loans

Thu, 03/10/2011 - 13:39 | 1036928 Mr Lennon Hendrix
Mr Lennon Hendrix's picture

Yes because what should be done now is to cut budgets and lower interest rates!  Austerity is creating a drag on the economy, while money is shunned from bonds.  Perfect play to force money into equities.  Bernanke needs to keep selling his President's Working Group's portfolio to Bill Gross.  It's a vicious cycle!  Cut rates to negative and then it might work, yet with inflation finally confirmed maybe rates are negative.  To the Bernanke mobile!

Thu, 03/10/2011 - 13:34 | 1036917 Mr Lennon Hendrix
Mr Lennon Hendrix's picture

The threat of leaving the Euro creates a win win for Germany's singing Angel, if nothing because of the comapritive safety Germany has over other troubled states.  They better get that 4k tonnes out of New York before shit goers down, though, if they want any credit.

Thu, 03/10/2011 - 13:54 | 1036993 three chord sloth
three chord sloth's picture

Germany would lose big time if they left the Euro. The German export machine needs the PIIGS because the PIIGS keep the value of the Euro down. If Germany had to trade with the outside world in her own currency, a new deutsche mark, the cost of everything it exports would jump by at least 30% overnight. Say goodbye to those large trade surpluses.

Thu, 03/10/2011 - 15:37 | 1037415 Zero Govt
Zero Govt's picture

Three Chord Sloth

Let's be crystal clear, Germany, as in its people and industrialists, do not "need Europe". For them the EU has been a huge wealth destroyer. 

The people that "need" Europe are the German politicians and German bwankers whose ambitions are far beyond its peoples and industrialists own needs. The usual parasites are destroying the hard work of the bulk of Germany pissing it away on vacuous grand political ambitions.

The Germans are having their wealth sapped to fund the politicos-bwanksters nonsense of a grand design for a European super-State. Pissing away money on frauds and poor countries to botch together a travesty that no people in Europe actually wants, to be ruled by some unelected marxists in Brussels. Merkel is taking a massive hit in elections as this banking/politico incompetence and stupidity is ever more patent by the day.

Lastly currency fluctuations make no difference to exports, it is pure fallacy. Whatever exporters lose from a high currency rate they gain on import prices (Germany doesn't have many natural resources). Currency makes no difference as it can be hedged nor can currency be manipulated as volumes are too large for any entity to control 

Thu, 03/10/2011 - 16:39 | 1037819 BigJim
BigJim's picture


For a start, Germany was doing very nicely under the D-mark before the euro came along. So the historical evidence is against you.

Then - when you say 'Germany' would lose big time - you make it sound as if 'Germany' comprises one entity. It doesn't. There are exporters, importers, companies that sell domestically. Some would gain, some would lose. On the face of it, the shareholders of the exporting companies would gain, but on deeper analysis, their expenses go up because at the end of the day, their cheaper currency buys less, and the same applies to their employee's wages. And if they're outside the euro-zone, their increased dividends are paid in a weaker currency.

A weaker currency only benefits some groups within a currency zone, at the expense of others, and only temporarily.

Your argument is like saying - having loads of poor people in your country is a good thing, because it drags down the value of your currency, thereby making exports more attractive. Er, no, because all those poor people are poor because they're not producing value - value that could be driving down costs and raising living standards for everyone.

Thu, 03/10/2011 - 15:52 | 1037604 Zero Govt
Zero Govt's picture

Merkel telling Greece to asset-strip and directing Ireland on tax policy is beyond the pale. What is this delusional and failing German Govt going to do next, tell the Spanish to stop having a siesta and work afternoons???

This is all driving a wedge between people and dysfunctional Govts and hastening the end of this failed Euro-socialist mission of madness

Thu, 03/10/2011 - 16:43 | 1037830 BigJim
BigJim's picture


We can only hope.


Well, the 'Elgin' marbles might be a good place to start. We've already got those, so they'd save on postage.

Thu, 03/10/2011 - 14:36 | 1037168 Michael
Michael's picture

So predictable how primal urges and human nature rears it's beautiful head to protect itself from being eaten alive.

Thu, 03/10/2011 - 15:34 | 1037513 uhb
uhb's picture

its about time! no more mr nice guy /superfatgrin

Thu, 03/10/2011 - 12:54 | 1036791 pendragon
pendragon's picture

just some hollow grandstanding for the electorate. merkel has had more caves than tora bora on the club med bailouts

Thu, 03/10/2011 - 21:32 | 1039017 Problem Is
Problem Is's picture

Who put that nerd-wanker Urkel in charge anyway?

Thu, 03/10/2011 - 12:55 | 1036793 THE DORK OF CORK
THE DORK OF CORK's picture

Who could know that 10 years of German paper savings are entirely fictional - yet the dumb Irish still service this 64 pager.

Thu, 03/10/2011 - 13:09 | 1036818 Miles Kendig
Miles Kendig's picture

For now.  What's the word at the pub DOC?  Have a whiskey for me

Thu, 03/10/2011 - 13:29 | 1036894 THE DORK OF CORK
THE DORK OF CORK's picture

Hi Miles

Well I'm down to once a week visits now (true sacrifice for a Irishman) - austerity and all - but when I get out I sence a kind of bewilderment with the entire post 1987 journey this bog hole has embarked on.

The entire fucking thing is  beyond absurd - if Germany increases its consumption even a little bit Ireland will all of a sudden Have the largest NOMINAL trade surplus in the EU.

Thu, 03/10/2011 - 13:33 | 1036908 Charlie Bravo
Charlie Bravo's picture

That is absurd indeed.

Charlie Bravo

Thu, 03/10/2011 - 16:18 | 1037734 Miles Kendig
Miles Kendig's picture

WOW!  Once a week eh?  And the Ostest with the mostest says suffer some more!?!  Imagine the real what what turn about will be for ConRad when Ireland, God Bless her poor soul, cancels Octoberfest !!!

Remember, they're scared shitless since so many of their Ber_Nanks tier I capital is made up of nothing more than goodwill.  Makes Anglo-Irish seem purely responsible in bloody comparison!

God bless all of you DOC as Ireland is called to stand up to the German aggression that is refusal to balance capital flows.  -- :) --

Take care my friend (and my German ones as well since this whole gig is a supreme shit soup sandwich served up by these ponzimatic bankers)

Thu, 03/10/2011 - 13:11 | 1036839 Quintus
Quintus's picture

Quite.  Imagine the rage in Germany when Josef Publik realises that all his pension money has been loaned over the past decade by German banks to the Irish, Greeks, Spanish etc. so that they could afford all the lovely Mercedes cars that clog the streets of the peripheral countries.

For all Angela's bluster, she knows this too.  If she pushes the PIIGS too far, into default, there will be a lot of angry and very impoverished Germans to whom she will owe an explanation.

Ireland has a very strong negotiating position in all of this.  

Thu, 03/10/2011 - 13:19 | 1036860 Fred Hayek
Fred Hayek's picture

Very strong is understating it.  Iceland's still alive after telling the IMF to screw.  Ireland has the choice of defaulting now and 3 or 4 very tough years or becoming indentured servants of the EU in a *slightly* less terrible condition but in perpetuity.  How in the world would anyone but a career politician scum not choose door number 1 instead of door number 2.

Thu, 03/10/2011 - 13:54 | 1036992 equity_momo
equity_momo's picture

Ireland will only survive if they leave the Euro , reinstate the punt , and then follow icelands lead. They have the cultural identity and lack of diversity (ethnic minorities) to pull that off.  More diverse nations without the political will to leave the Euro are simply going to internally combust.

Thu, 03/10/2011 - 13:32 | 1036911 caconhma
caconhma's picture

Germany banks loaned huge amounts of money to PIIGS clients (the Irish, Greeks, Spanish etc.) to buy German products, knowing very well that these clients would not able to pay back.

Now, Germany demanded payments. Well, I don't think Germans will succeed getting their money back. Like it or not but these loans will be restructured following great civil unrest in PIIGS.


Thu, 03/10/2011 - 14:17 | 1037076 Quintus
Quintus's picture

Exactly.  The Chinese fell into the same trap, lending the US all the money they needed to keep buying goods from Chinese factories.   I think restructuring of US debt is also the endgame for that relationship.

Thu, 03/10/2011 - 13:52 | 1036972 equity_momo
equity_momo's picture

Well , not really. You see , theres no "hard graft" to get out of this debt mess. Default is the end game. The Germans , if theyre not stupid , know this. So , get your pound of flesh first.  You wont get it when everyone is battling social chaos at home , so strike early.   The PIIGS WILL default.

The political elite are doing a reasonable job of making out like theres a political solution to this. There isnt. Soon it will be obvious to everyone that the Euro doesnt work and its every Nation for themselves. The Euro is toast and so are the PIIGS.

Germany too is toast , they just need to work out what they can redeem from these smaller nations first.

Its going to get very hostile soon.

Thu, 03/10/2011 - 12:56 | 1036795 serotonindumptruck
serotonindumptruck's picture

Crash the Euro. Bring back the Deutsche Mark, Angela.

Thu, 03/10/2011 - 13:12 | 1036849 aleph0
aleph0's picture

Ditto ... Seconded !

Thu, 03/10/2011 - 12:56 | 1036796 99er
Thu, 03/10/2011 - 13:11 | 1036841 Max Hunter
Max Hunter's picture

Certainly looks like a short term top in place at weekly resistance. Trend line just over 1.4 held strong.. At the same time, more PIIGS downgrades.. I'm seeing what you see... Not sure about near-term targest but pretty sure it will go down from here..

Thu, 03/10/2011 - 13:45 | 1036950 IQ 145
IQ 145's picture

 My goodness that would be nice; I'm short from 1.3965 as of last Friday morning. Zero loss stop in place; so no worries; but it will be interesting to see what happens.

Thu, 03/10/2011 - 12:57 | 1036802 macholatte
macholatte's picture
European Central Bank Wants to Unload PIIGS Bonds,1518,749140,00.html

Thu, 03/10/2011 - 13:08 | 1036833 Cdad
Cdad's picture

Hat fuckin' tip to the photographer that put together that front page gallery on Libya.  Great shots.

Thu, 03/10/2011 - 13:12 | 1036847 Josh Randall
Josh Randall's picture

Maybe this is why PIMPCO is holding so much cash

Thu, 03/10/2011 - 13:14 | 1036856 MsCreant
MsCreant's picture

The world is trying to take a giant dump this morning.

Thu, 03/10/2011 - 13:07 | 1036827 Joe Davola
Joe Davola's picture

They should be thankful it's John Paulson screwing them over, and not some other lowlife.

Isn't that what I read here yesterday?

Thu, 03/10/2011 - 13:08 | 1036832 FeralSerf
FeralSerf's picture

I'd like to buy Paxos if no one else wants it.

Thu, 03/10/2011 - 13:09 | 1036836 TINN
TINN's picture

Angel of fury or holocaust?



Thu, 03/10/2011 - 13:13 | 1036845 overmedicatedun...
overmedicatedundersexed's picture

default on your debt let the banks go bk..why is it such a hard decision??

ok ok we all know - the pols in greece and dublin are owned by the banks.

sell our national treasure to pay off german banks ..this is getting surreal.

Thu, 03/10/2011 - 13:25 | 1036881 Franken_Stein
Franken_Stein's picture


It's also French banks, and British banks and Spanish banks and American banks who lent money to Ireland and Greece.


Even N.M. Rothschild lent money to them.


Do you really want to make N.M. Rothschild take part in a haircut ?


Thu, 03/10/2011 - 13:58 | 1037000 equity_momo
equity_momo's picture

At the end of this it would be nice to see the aforementioned without a hair on their bodies. Start dry shaving at the scrotum.

Thu, 03/10/2011 - 13:14 | 1036851 John McCloy
John McCloy's picture

No chance the Irish citizens stand for this wealth transfer to the bankers. Within a year they should be going Cairo.

Thu, 03/10/2011 - 13:21 | 1036866 Logans_Run
Logans_Run's picture

I look forward to that moment. The Irish know how to brawl (I'm half Irish). They are too independent to put up with this.

Thu, 03/10/2011 - 14:06 | 1037028 bunkermeatheadp...
bunkermeatheadprogeny's picture


I think you just coined the theme for 2011.

Thu, 03/10/2011 - 13:15 | 1036854 Josh Randall
Josh Randall's picture

Simply JAW BONEING - this is to look tough for the Elections before they get squashed - forgone conclusion. The new regime will demand this too, but will be more genuine

Thu, 03/10/2011 - 13:15 | 1036855 carbonmutant
carbonmutant's picture

How much for Santorini?

Thu, 03/10/2011 - 14:33 | 1037153 FeralSerf
FeralSerf's picture

I take your Paxos.  I take the whole thing.

Thu, 03/10/2011 - 13:19 | 1036863 Curtis LeMay
Curtis LeMay's picture

"Yes to the Lisbon Treaty, Yes to Jobs" - Fianna Fáil

Howzat working out fer ya?


Thu, 03/10/2011 - 13:21 | 1036865 Ratscam
Ratscam's picture

How much for Mykonos?

Thu, 03/10/2011 - 13:25 | 1036884 pendragon
pendragon's picture

yours at cabinet. too many homs

Thu, 03/10/2011 - 13:24 | 1036879 treemagnet
treemagnet's picture

give a mouse a cookie and its gonna want a glass of milk

Thu, 03/10/2011 - 13:29 | 1036893 Atomizer
Atomizer's picture


Thu, 03/10/2011 - 13:48 | 1036966 IQ 145
IQ 145's picture

 eh ?

Thu, 03/10/2011 - 13:33 | 1036897 Ferg .
Ferg .'s picture

As a citizen of the Emerald Isle I can tell you , unequivocally , that there is absolutely no chance in the darkest corner of hell that the government here will agree to raise the corporate tax rate . It was Labour who introduced it back in the 1990's and both coalition parties campaigned for the ratification of the Lisbon Treaty with assurances that the rate would not be changed . It's an issue that garners quite a bit of attention over here and any attempt to alter the status quo would likely create quite the political/media shit storm .

Thu, 03/10/2011 - 13:41 | 1036933 THE DORK OF CORK
THE DORK OF CORK's picture

It actually goes back to the 50s but Europe quite rightly forced us to tax global and local corporations at the same rate.

The Irish banks made huge profits from this rule change however (before the bust)

Never a fan of it myself given the huge distortions in the local economy it creates yet we have grown so dependent on this it would rip out all the industry in the country.

We really have a elephant man type economy - global corporations yet no fishing industry.

This was one of the reasons why Iceland could go tell the bankers  fuck off as they still had internal capital to draw on - we have become too globalised to make independent waves.

Thu, 03/10/2011 - 16:06 | 1037666 Ferg .
Ferg .'s picture

Yes I was thinking that myself . We've become hugely dependent on it and if it was altered I don't think the large multinationals would be sticking around for the pleasant weather . It's lustre is fading as well now that we've got more competition from Eastern Europe , but in the current economic climate there's no chance it'll be hiked .

Agreed we're very dependent on exports right now . Export strength has been mentioned on countless occasions by analysts and politicians as a pillar of recovery but that's a very dangerous scenario to place your faith in . One in which we're at the mercy of exchange rate fluctuations and shifts in foreign demand patterns . I suppose that's the price everyone pays for globalization participation though . Great in the boom years , a disaster when it all hits the fan .

Thu, 03/10/2011 - 16:36 | 1037805 THE DORK OF CORK
THE DORK OF CORK's picture

A country with a extreme trade surplus is a colony pure and simple - we have nearly always had a surplus at least since the late 80s.

Since the mid 90s its gone crazy and therefore we are a jurisdiction of extreme profit for certain individuals and corporations.

There is nothing wrong with trade defecits if you can import physical capital and capital building structures that can sustain real long term wealth.

We imported decking.

Thu, 03/10/2011 - 14:33 | 1037009 Charles Wilson
Charles Wilson's picture

Thank you, Ferg.. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

You get today's prize, a free Happy Meal with purchase of 2 Combo Meals at full suggested retail price.

I thought I was the ONLY person who saw this little nugget buried in the verbiage of Mama Merkel's screed.

Just what an economy needs:

"Most one-term Presidents only have time for one truly disastrous decision. Herbert Hoover squeezed in two. Having crimped international trade, he proceeded in 1932 to squeeze the domestic economy directly by pushing through Congress a measure to boost the income-tax rate back to 63% from 25% and piling on business taxes too."

- Jude Wanniski, "The Crash of 1929"

Merkel knows what she is doing. Pax Germanica for the European Continent.



Thu, 03/10/2011 - 15:20 | 1037455 Charles Wilson
Charles Wilson's picture

Question: Why not ask the rest of the EU to LOWER their business taxes to Ireland's level?  Or better yet, lower all of the business taxes everywhere?

(Hint: It's not the people that matter.  "I am the state." It's all that matters, isn't it?)



Thu, 03/10/2011 - 16:11 | 1037699 Ferg .
Ferg .'s picture

I wonder how much longer Mama Merkel will be in her current position . Rumblings from Germany suggest she and her party might be in for quite the storm in the upcoming elections .

Should be clear to her by now that a Pax Germania is irreconciable with the current fiscal/monetary status quo within the EMU .

Great excerpt by the way !

Thu, 03/10/2011 - 13:33 | 1036903 virgilcaine
virgilcaine's picture

I belive Greece will fall first then Portugal.. Ireland is just going along with the dance currently.  It's all polite  Eu mannerisms.. you first.. no after you, well if you insist,  take  my place would you.

Thu, 03/10/2011 - 13:30 | 1036904 Franken_Stein
Franken_Stein's picture


If you are interested in a neat overview over PIIGS bond interest rates, here they are:


Thu, 03/10/2011 - 13:43 | 1036942 pendragon
pendragon's picture

nice move in 2y pgbs.... shurely shome mishtake

Thu, 03/10/2011 - 13:57 | 1036976 Franken_Stein
Franken_Stein's picture


No but a coordinated hedge fund attack.

The U.S. is in a much worse shape than Greece, even Boston Prof. Laurence Kotlikoff admitted that, when you take all unfunded liabilities into account.


Strange that these hedge funds never attack the U.S. dollar.


And strange that all 3 nonsense rating agencies who rated sub-prime MBS junk as Triple-A in order to not lose their investment bank clients are based in the U.S., but the U.S. is never downgraded, as it rightfully should have been years ago already.


These 3 rating agencies are biased beyond belief and are part of an economic war against the EU.


That's why it is imperative to:

1. Establish a European rating agency

2. Listen closely to what Dagong, the Chinese ratiing agency has to say about U.S. sovereign debt

3. Watch investment decisions like that of PIMCO, who play the role of surrogate rating agency and canary in the coalmine


Thu, 03/10/2011 - 14:01 | 1037013 pendragon
pendragon's picture

2y up 160bps with 5y unched?? scary

Thu, 03/10/2011 - 13:33 | 1036909 Logans_Run
Logans_Run's picture

I am just amazed at the balls of Merkel to insist that sovereign nations adopt her demands regarding their financial administration. Is the EC really not just one big clusterfuck with France and Germany as the bully-enforcers?

Thu, 03/10/2011 - 13:39 | 1036930 Ferg .
Ferg .'s picture

Germany and France , but mainly Germany , are the largest economies within the EMU and are also the biggest contributors to the ongoing bailouts . With that in mind I don't think it's unreasonable to make certain demands . As I mentioned in an earlier post , Ireland will not raise its corporate tax rate , but if ourselves and Greece ( and in all probability soon Portugal ) want lower interest rates on these bailout funds then concessions will have to be made .

Thu, 03/10/2011 - 13:45 | 1036955 Franken_Stein
Franken_Stein's picture

Good comment. It's exactly as you say.

Thu, 03/10/2011 - 15:07 | 1037359 M.B. Drapier
M.B. Drapier's picture


Yes it bloody is. They're already coercing us into making whole unguaranteed bank bondholders, when it's thanks to making whole bank bondholders that we ended up on the EU/IMF drip in the first place. I don't see what further concessions they deserve for a) using Ireland as an offshore haven in a voter-avoidance scheme to channel their taxpayers' money into their own banks before b) getting reimbursed by us c) with interest.

Thu, 03/10/2011 - 13:45 | 1036947 Franken_Stein
Franken_Stein's picture


It's because they also get German money transferred to their budget and borrowed at artificially low interest rates during the boom years 1999-2007, all because they were members of the Eurozone financed by the German taxpayer.


Do you honestly think that we hand out money for free whithout any strings attached ?


But instead of investing the money into something useful and longlasting like education, they squandered it into decadent and profligate enterprises like an overblown housing market and a bank ponzi scheme, not to mention all these worthless financial products.


These banks are like locusts.

They hop from country to country, alsways interested in short term profits only.


They give a rat's ass about the people and their stories behind it.

People are only human robots and slaves to be exploited and milked.


They leave the mess for others to clean up.


Thu, 03/10/2011 - 13:32 | 1036910 baby_BLYTHE
baby_BLYTHE's picture

Gold & Silver are getting blowtorched!


Thu, 03/10/2011 - 13:41 | 1036934 fuu
fuu's picture


Thu, 03/10/2011 - 13:57 | 1036944 baby_BLYTHE
baby_BLYTHE's picture

hmmm. I think I will :)

For SLV or any ETF if I place a market order on Scott Trade it says "Good until market close", do I have to do anything else until I decide to sell?

Thu, 03/10/2011 - 14:00 | 1037012 equity_momo
equity_momo's picture

Yes ,make sure if you buy on margin to not get stopped out. Dont be aggresive , you want to buy and hold and if youre feeling flush , buy enough to stand for delivery. Make the bitch deliver.

Thu, 03/10/2011 - 14:08 | 1037039 baby_BLYTHE
baby_BLYTHE's picture

thx. no I don't use margins.

I just have a small cash account.

My 6 gold coins and 8 rolls of Kennedy + Franklin Halves is the most money I have ever seen.

Then I have a couple of thousand $ at my local credit union. (Sold all my savings bonds I have been getting since birth).

Not Rich, but trying to keep up with the inflation!

Thu, 03/10/2011 - 14:37 | 1037182 equity_momo
equity_momo's picture

You seem like a genuine person and feel free to ignore this advice but imho , the less you talk about your personal finances on an open forum ,  the better. At least dont be too specific. There are all sorts of predators out there. It amazes me what people talk about on Facebook for instance.

Anyway , good luck , i think youre on the right track.

Thu, 03/10/2011 - 14:11 | 1037050 cosmictrainwreck
cosmictrainwreck's picture

applies not just to ETF's, but any ticker...don't do a buy @ "market"..... too sloppy; you'll pay the highest price. [unless you're speking in general of "the market"] buy using "limit". when you select "limit", window pops up showing you bid/ask. make your bid price based on current action & trends. sounds like you've already bought this one.... maybe next time. "good to close" is default; order (if not filled) dies today. you can always change to GTC to roll-over to future

Thu, 03/10/2011 - 13:37 | 1036922 JS1234
JS1234's picture

Are they panhandlers begging for handouts or drowning victims threatening to swamp the lifeboat?

Thu, 03/10/2011 - 13:37 | 1036923 max2205
max2205's picture

Germany, same as the old Germany without the uniforms

Thu, 03/10/2011 - 13:52 | 1036978 kaiten
kaiten's picture

So should Germany just write a check to any failed economy?

Thu, 03/10/2011 - 14:22 | 1037103 FeralSerf
FeralSerf's picture

The Germans only thought they were getting paid more than their neighbors to the south.  The checks have already been written.  There just needs to be a way to explain it to the German proletariat so they will keep their Bavarian noses to the Prussian grindstones.  Maybe they can increase the size of the beer steins to 3 litres as they play hide the sausage?

Thu, 03/10/2011 - 13:44 | 1036951 adonisdemilo
adonisdemilo's picture

since spending many,many happy weeks in greece over the last few years i have witnessed the changes for the worse since they joined a "club" where they simply can't afford the membership.

the commonsense response to Merkel et al should be "we're FUBAR, going back to the Drachma, get stuffed"  

Thu, 03/10/2011 - 13:45 | 1036952 curbyourrisk
curbyourrisk's picture

reland to hike corporate rate.....does this mean Ingersol-Rand comes back home crawling on their hands and knees?? 

Thu, 03/10/2011 - 16:07 | 1037682 Tanz der Lemminge
Tanz der Lemminge's picture

In the words of Country Joe & the Fish


"next stop Vietnam"

Thu, 03/10/2011 - 13:46 | 1036956 TINN
TINN's picture

The whole situation is still like a Mexican Stand Off.

Nobody wants to take losses.

My feeling is some decicions are made at this very moment helping to clarify.

So even though ZH is at the very top for the laymen, they dont know most things going on.


Still it is the best site on the web and for me and I bought a cap today with ZH.




Thu, 03/10/2011 - 13:45 | 1036958 Bicycle Repairman
Bicycle Repairman's picture

Selling public assets and infrastructure.  That is the name of the game, no?

Thu, 03/10/2011 - 13:52 | 1036970 Greater Fool
Greater Fool's picture

Yeah, would be interesting to see what Germany would do if Greece or Ireland told them to fuck off, they aren't paying the debt.

It's so funny and obvious that since the fiscal controls built into the treaty are toothless, inevitably you are going to reach a state where such controls come into existence via ad hoc methods. Dependent states had better get pretty used to having Germany deliver domestic policy "suggestions."

Thu, 03/10/2011 - 14:02 | 1037019 bunkermeatheadp...
bunkermeatheadprogeny's picture

Vichy Ireland, Vichy Greece.  What was WWII about if the result becomes the same?

Thu, 03/10/2011 - 14:27 | 1037127 FeralSerf
FeralSerf's picture

It was about concentration of the wealth of the many into the accounts of the few.  It worked brilliantly.  It may be time to rinse and repeat again.

Thu, 03/10/2011 - 14:03 | 1037021 adonisdemilo
adonisdemilo's picture

why is the cost of borrowing so high for Greek debt?

because it's a risky bet!

Merkel, YOU JUST LOST THE BET, now fuck off.

Thu, 03/10/2011 - 14:08 | 1037037 Stuck on Zero
Stuck on Zero's picture

Have I got this straight?  The corrupt at the top of the rich countries loan trillions to the corrupt at the top of the poorer counries for big kickbacks and giant bonuses.  The corrupt at the top of the poor countries deposit the money in secret accounts in the rich countries and then duck out.  The poor of the poor country who never saw the money now owe it to the rich of the rich country who took it from the poor of the rich countries.

Sounds like a plan to me.

Thu, 03/10/2011 - 14:14 | 1037059 Franken_Stein
Franken_Stein's picture


Brilliant comment.

Yes, I know that a lot of poor Greeks never saw the money.

I don't blame them.


Guys like Greek ex-PM Kostas Karamanlis or the CEOs of Anglo-Irish Bank are to blame.


Plutocracy at work.


Thu, 03/10/2011 - 14:12 | 1037048 BrutusTex
BrutusTex's picture

How much for Lesbos?

Thu, 03/10/2011 - 14:15 | 1037071 Franken_Stein
Franken_Stein's picture

10 cunnilingus and a Louis Vuitton girly-bag.

Thu, 03/10/2011 - 14:15 | 1037066 TINN
TINN's picture


Thu, 03/10/2011 - 14:15 | 1037072 JoeSexPack
JoeSexPack's picture

Remember Cash for Clunkers?

Now it's Cash for Corfu!

One day they'll throw off the banksters.

Thu, 03/10/2011 - 14:30 | 1037142 FeralSerf
FeralSerf's picture

I'll take Paxos if no one else wants it.

Thu, 03/10/2011 - 14:35 | 1037174 Eireann go Brach
Eireann go Brach's picture

NAMB National Association Of Mortgage Brokers sues the Fed and Bernanke personally also. Those bastards at the Fed are trying to tell mortgage brokers how much we can make, since when is that constitunitonal too? I hope they have his head on a stick soon!


Thu, 03/10/2011 - 14:38 | 1037183 Eireann go Brach
Eireann go Brach's picture

Excuse the spelling error before..constitutional!

Thu, 03/10/2011 - 14:40 | 1037196 Eireann go Brach
Eireann go Brach's picture

When the National Association of Independent Housing Professionals sued the Federal Reserve on Monday, the trade group kept it "all business" by naming the agency only. But not the National Association of Mortgage Brokers. In its lawsuit seeking to derail the coming loan officer compensation rule, it names as defendants Fed chairman Ben Bernanke and Sandra Braunstein, director of the central bank's division of community affairs. NAMB paints a dire portrait of the broker community saying, "The rule's restrictions are causing NAMB and its members immediate, devastating and irrevocable harm. Mortgage brokers are already losing their life blood — their loan officers — and planning to cease their operations and close their doors as a direct result of the Challenged Section of the Rule."

Thu, 03/10/2011 - 14:42 | 1037201 trav7777
trav7777's picture

tell them to fuck off and default.

The euro was good while the ponzi boom it's useless. 

Thu, 03/10/2011 - 15:00 | 1037306 taint
taint's picture

nothing unusual want my money, you must provide something in return.  


Also, there will be no "Third World War"...too many nukes and at upon reflection even those things kill bankers.

Thu, 03/10/2011 - 15:13 | 1037400 jmc8888
jmc8888's picture

Ireland (via Sinn Fein) should tell Merkel to kick rock, we're defaulting on the fraud.

Who has the real power?

Not Merkel, unless you're a dumbass who listens to a 3 year old throwing a tantrum with her fist up.

Thu, 03/10/2011 - 16:07 | 1037677 Ahmeexnal
Ahmeexnal's picture

Somebody ought to carve a swastika on her ugly fat butt.

Thu, 03/10/2011 - 18:15 | 1038193 NoTTD
NoTTD's picture

I'll start taking her seriously when she begins making demands on the Czech Republic and  Poland.

Thu, 03/10/2011 - 20:33 | 1038812 Which is worse ...
Which is worse - bankers or terrorists's picture

Bring back the f**king Wehrmacht. 


Why does ZH make me do this math shit? Please tell me. 

Thu, 03/10/2011 - 21:08 | 1038929 Buck Johnson
Buck Johnson's picture

I knew eventually this would come to pass.  Greece has 1400 islands and 227 of them have the whole population of 11 million and change scattered on them.  So Greece has 1173 islands that are uninhabited.  The assets that Merkel may be talking about is their territorial islands.  Many nations see where Greece is located and it's islands and see a prime place to put their flag of state in buying 20 or 30 islands for themselves.  Greece is in a situation and I don't think that Germany is going to lend them anymore money without assets being sold to them.  I mean look at it from the standpoint of being on the outside.  You loan them 150 billion euros/dollars last summer and they need more?  How will they even be able to pay for the original debt much less the new one that they are taking on.  They won't and can't, they just want them to continue to loan because they know that eventually Greece will default.

The European Union knows that the fall of the Euro is the death of the Union pure and simple.  In fact if the Euro and Union would have stayed with the economically sound countries from the start, they wouldn't be in the problem that they are now.  The other countries that wanted to get into the Union wanted the richer countries to subsidize their economy and that is what has happened.  Sooner or later Germany will pull out and when it does the Euro will fall and the Union will essentially be a club.  Also I've been hearing about a massive war that we may be involved with in the near future to get people to sacrifice when austerity is imposed on them from the govt. via the market. 

Some say it will be with Iran, I don't think so.  It's to close to europe and especially to close to Russia being able to supply the country with weapons (remember vietnam).  Also its a place of 75 million people living in a country that is 2 to 3 times bigger than Iraq and considered the most mountainous country in europe and middle east.  Which means that using your tanks will be very very hard if not impossible and taking casualities will be the norm.  And on top of that 75 million people is alot and people will galvanize behind the country to support them pushing us out.  Since we go after low hanging fruit in a sense when we pick fights, I think I know where the next battle will be it will be Saudi Arabia.

It will be this country because it's essentially the one country besides nuclear Russia and China, that could make the market tumble and the dow goes down to 5,000.  They know that the dollar is kaput, but the only way to keep it going is to control a major oil hub like Saudi Arabia and forcing them to keep the oil in dollars.  Also we owe the Saudi's alot of money (trillions) from them recycling the petrodollars into the US, and we don't want to pay it.  So what better way of controlling the situation than invading them after they try to stop democratic reforms (like today and tomorrow) from the people.  We already know that they fund terrorism, so we throught that stick in.  You see we topple the monarch regime with someone in the family that is okay with the reforms or the family entirely with sunni and shia voting in elections.  And then we have this newly elected and fragmented democracy having to be supported on both sides by us and are willing to allow us to keep troops in the country of a considerable size and also to keep the oil priced in greenbacks.   

Thu, 03/10/2011 - 22:58 | 1039237 torabora
torabora's picture

England should be able to get a hell of a deal on the Elgin Marbles now.
