Archive for the 'Spain' Category

(MSNBC) – On Meet The Press this morning MSNBC Mad Money host Jim Cramer warns there will be financial anarchy and bank runs in both Spain and Italy within weeks. Read the rest of this entry »

(DaisyLuther) - Oh – what am I doing?  I’m just practicing counting votes for the 2012 presidential election, possibly the most vital election in American history.

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EU gave green light to bar anti-ECB protesters from entering country during summit

(PaulWatson) – The European Commission has given Spain the green light to take the unprecedented move to temporarily suspend its open border policy with France under the Schengen agreement in a bid to curtail mass protests targeting a European Central Bank summit set to take place in Barcelona next week.

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(ZeroHedge) – The reality of the consequences of the Greek default sink in as the country officially goes into depression, the Dutch government faces collapse and contagion spreads to Spain. Read the rest of this entry »

(HigginsBlog) – Economic data and technical data coming out of Spain is telling us point blank that disaster is looming and will trigger the dominos to fall across Europe. Read the rest of this entry »

(PressTV) – The US and Britain regimes have militarized the oil industry, making it extremely difficult for Argentina to reclaim a former state-owned oil company, says a noteworthy author.

On Monday, Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner announced the decision to reclaim YPF, which was formerly a state-owned Argentine oil company, at a meeting with her cabinet and provincial governors.

She said that Argentina had to take back the oil company since it is the only nation in Latin America “that does not manage its natural resources.” Read the rest of this entry »

(DailyBell) - Spanish bailout ‘impossible’ for eurozone, says prime minister Mariano Rajoy … The eurozone is not equipped to bail out Spain, the country’s prime minister Mariano Rajoy has admitted, as global traders continued to punish the nation’s stocks and bonds. Mr Rajoy said it was “not possible to rescue Spain” but insisted his country did not need a Greek-style international bail-out anyway …Christine Lagarde, the boss of theInternational Monetary Fund (IMF), also warned that Europe’s rescue mechanisms were not enough to restore confidence to global markets but said the IMF could provide a “global firewall”. Read the rest of this entry »

(RussiaToday) – Madrid’s high-class escorts have found a way to regulate the Spanish banking sector. The ladies want to have their say in the economy by withholding sexual pleasures from bank employees.

The largest trade association for luxury escorts in the Spanish capital has gone on a general and indefinite strike on sexual services for bankers until they go back to providing credits to Spanish families, small- and medium-size enterprises and companies. Read the rest of this entry »

(ZeroHedge) – Nothing good here for our Spanish readers: while speaking at a news conference, Deputy Prime Minister Soraya Saenz de Santamaria said that Spain’s economy will contract by 1.7 percent this year as the government carries out drastic austerity measures. The forecast matched the International Monetary Fund’s outlook for Spain’s economy this year and was less optimistic than the outlooks from the country’s central bank and from the European Commission. Read the rest of this entry »

(OccupyAmerica) – An excerpt from the article, “Spain: violence during a protest against austerity in Valencia” can Be found below. Read the rest of this entry »

(Fox) – Freedom Watch – UKIP’s Nigel Farage breaks down the reality behind the EU ‘deal’. – Read the rest of this entry »

(AFP) – More than 100,000 protesters took to the streets in Spain on Sunday blaming bankers and politicians for causing a financial crisis that forced the country to adopt painful spending cuts.

Demonstrators of all ages linked to a movement called the “indignants” also protested against crippling unemployment and a failure to take on government corruption. Read the rest of this entry »

(AFP) – Thousands of protesters in Madrid furious over soaring unemployment staged a silent protest and then erupted in cheers of joy as a 48-hour ban on their demonstration took effect on Saturday.

“Now we are all illegal” and “the people united will never be defeated,” were among the chants of the protesters who crammed Madrid’s Puerta del Sol square and spilled onto side streets. Read the rest of this entry »

(WashingtonsBlog) – Gerald Celente predicted in February that the Middle Eastern and North African protests would spread to Europe:

It is not solely the Middle East that is destined to experience episodes of violent upheaval. What is transpiring in the Arab world will spread throughout many European states. While the call to arms will be spoken in different tongues, the underlying causes will be the same. Read the rest of this entry »

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(RussiaToday) – Another Eurozone country might need a financial bailout soon. Italy – which is the third largest economy that uses the Euro currency – has started plunging in the same direction as Greece and Ireland. It comes as fresh protests sweep across Europe – with people angry at facing tough cuts to pay for it all. RT talks to European Parliament member Nigel Farage, who’s the leader of the UK Independence Party. Read the rest of this entry »

(RussiaToday) – Spain has been gripped by a 24-hour general strike against the government’s plans to slash its budget. Thousands of passengers were left stranded in Madrid with two thirds of flights grounded due the actions by transport workers. A wave of anti-austerity demonstrations is expected all over Europe with tens of thousands marching on Brussels. Read the rest of this entry »

(WSWS) – Nearly 70 percent of Spanish workers—10 million—took part in Wednesday’s general strike. In some sectors, such as mining, metal, auto manufacture, electronic, fishing and other industries, participation was nearly 100 percent. The movement also encompassed many self-employed workers and small businesses.

Although the government tried to downplay the effects of the strike, the national grid operator Red Electrica Corp. said that electricity consumption was down by 20 percent. Read the rest of this entry »

(AFP) – Spanish fishermen who took part in a clean-up operation after the Prestige oil tanker spill in 2002 have shown symptoms of chromosomal damage and respiratory problems, a study released Tuesday said.

The study, conducted by Spanish researchers between September 2004 and February 2005 on 501 fishermen who helped clean up Europe’s worst oil spill, was published in the American review Annals of Internal Medicine.

On November 19, 2002 Liberian-flagged oil tanker the Prestige broke up and sank off Galicia in northwestern Spain, a region famed for its pristine coastline and ecological diversity.

The ship spewed 64,000 tonnes of thick, heavy fuel oil into the waters, polluting thousands of kilometres (miles) along the Atlantic coast of France, Spain and Portugal.

The Spanish study said “those who participated in the clean-up had a higher prevalence of respiratory symptoms, higher levels of markers suggestive of airway injury in exhaled breath condensate, and chromosomal alterations in lymphocytes compared with those who did not participate in clean-up activities.” Full article here

Alex Jones breaks down the importance of our Republic vs society’s little mainstream creatures from hollywood and the sports music industry! Read the rest of this entry »

(FinancialTimes) – US senator warns of ‘financial meltdown’ risk

The US is heading for a debt-driven “financial meltdown” within five to seven years, according to Judd Gregg, the outgoing Republican senator for New Hampshire. Read More Here

(SteveWatson) – Prominent Investor: Pound Could Collapse Within Weeks

Billionaire financier Jim Rogers has predicted that the British Pound could completely collapse within weeks, sending shockwaves throughout the global economy and heralding the beginning of a downturn that would make the recent economic crisis look tame in comparison. Read More Here

(WSJ) – The Euro’s Next Battleground: Spain

Greece set off the crisis rattling the euro zone. Spain could determine whether the 16-nation currency stands or falls. Read More Here

(DailyReckoning) – A Real Economic Phenomenon

The depression is alive and well, thank you. Read More Here

(CNN) – The secret lives of America’s debtors

Americans are loaded up with credit card debt. What’s worse is that some husbands, wives and even children hide those money woes from their families. The results are often devastating. Read More Here

(DetroitNews) – Detroit Mayor Bing emphasizes need to shrink city

Mayor says it’s not ‘an easy conversation,’ but people, services must be focused to save city Read More Here

(WashingtonTimes) – Bernanke delivers blunt warning on U.S. debt

Stage is set in U.S. for a Greek tragedy Read More Here

(Bloomberg) – Junk Debt ‘Wall’ to Trigger U.S. Defaults, Bank of America Says

A “wall” of junk debt maturing in the next four years will increase the risk of corporate defaults in the U.S., according to Bank of America Merrill Lynch. Read More Here

(HuffingtonPost) – Freddie Mac 4Q Results: Freddie Mac Posts $7.8 Billion Loss

Freddie Mac lost almost $26 billion last year, ominous news for taxpayers who are footing the bill to rescue the mortgage finance company and its sibling Fannie Mae. Read More Here

(DigitalJournal) – Jim Rogers: British Pound could collapse within weeks

Jim Rogers, Chairman of Rogers Holdings, has once again made a bold prediction and that is the British Pound could quite possibly collapse within the coming weeks. Read More Here

(DailyMail) – Man who broke the Bank of England George Soros ‘at centre of hedge funds betting against crisis-hit euro’

The man who broke the Bank of England in 1992 is said to be at the centre of a plot to cash in on the demise of the euro. Read More Here

(HuffingtonPost) – Jim Bunning Repeatedly Blocks Unemployment Benefits Extension, Tells Dem ‘Tough Shit’

Jim Bunning, a Republican from Kentucky, is single-handedly blocking Senate action needed to prevent an estimated 1.2 million American workers from prematurely losing their unemployment benefits next month. Read More Here

(SeekingAlpha) – Recent Stats Indicate U.S. Economic Recovery Was an Illusion

A number of economic reports in the last few days indicate that the U.S. economy has not only not failed to recover from the recession, but continues to fall deeper into a hole. Read More Here

(Truthout) – Documents Reveal Anthem Blue Cross Manipulated Data to Justify Massive Rate Hike

Internal documents show one of the country’s largest for-profit health insurers, in an effort to maintain profits, manipulated data to justify a rate increase on individual premiums in California this year by as much as 39 percent. Read More Here

(ConnexionFrance) – Seniors march in pensions protest

THOUSANDS of retired people have taken to the streets to call for changes to the way the state pension is calculated. Read More Here

(Cryptogon) – Banks Bet Greece Defaults on Debt They Helped Hide

But first, a quick walk down memory lane: Banks Bundled Bad Debt, Bet Against It and Won: Read More Here

(Reuters) – Nearly 20% of US Workers Underemployed in Jan

Nearly 20 percent of the U.S. workforce lacked adequate employment in January and struggled to make ends meet with reduced resources and bleak job prospects, according to a Gallup poll released Tuesday. Read More Here

(Reuters) – Regulators report 27 percent jump in problem banks

The number of “problem” U.S. banks jumped 27 percent during the fourth quarter of 2009 to 702, the highest level since 1993 and a sign the industry’s recovery is still shaky, regulators reported on Tuesday. Read More Here

(Reuters) – US Jan mass layoffs edge up on weak manufacturing

The number of mass layoffs by U.S. employers edged up in January as manufacturers stepped up job cuts, data showed on Tuesday, but probably not enough to alter views that the economy is on the brink of creating jobs. Read More Here

(AP) – Report: States’ tax collections fall again

States again saw sharp declines in tax collections in the last quarter of 2009 — a record fifth straight quarterly drop, according to a new report that predicts more looming spending cuts or tax increases. Read More Here

(TheComingDepression) – Mainstreet in the gutter while wallstreet post 17% bonuses in 2009

Bonuses on Wall Street rose 17 percent last year to $20.3 billion even as the industry faced a public backlash over pay practices. Read More Here

(Telegraph) – Concerns grow over China’s sale of US bonds

Evidence is mounting that Chinese sales of US Treasury bonds over recent months are intended as a warning shot to Washington over escalating political disputes rather than being part of a routine portfolio shift as thought at first. Read More Here

(Bloomberg) – Secret AIG Document Shows Goldman Sachs Minted Most Toxic CDOs

When a congressional panel convened a hearing on the government rescue of American International Group Inc. in January, the public scolding of Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner got the most attention. Read More Here

(Aljazeera) – Spain engulfed by pension protests

Spain’s debt-laden Socialist government has witnessed the first mass protests by unions in its six years in power as anger over a plan to raise the retirement age spilled onto the streets. Read More Here

(247WallSt) – Underwater Mortgages Hit 11.3 Million

There is a reason that 702 American banks, nearly one in ten, were on the FDIC “problem list” as of the end of 2009. A large number of small and mid-sized banks are burdened with home and commercial mortgages that are in default and may even go into foreclosure. Read More Here

(VancouverSun) – U.S. economy is a shambles, with no improvement in sight

President Obama’s claim that a second depression isn’t possible doesn’t square with the relevant numbers Read More Here

(ZeroHedge) – FDIC Hits Record “Default” Level As Deposit Insurance Fund Plunges By $12.7 Billion To NEGATIVE 20.9 Billion

The U.S. banking industry continued to struggle in the fourth quarter, as the number of banks on the brink of failure continued to rise and the government’s fund to protect deposits fell sharply into the red. Read More Here

(EconomicPolicyJournal) – Where Did the Links Go That Point to the Government Forcing Your 401k and IRA Money into Treasury Securities?

Forget about hedging inside your 401k and IRA against inflation. Sooner than you think, you will not be allowed to own gold ETF’s, gold mining stocks or gold related mutual funds in your 401k or IRA. Read More Here

(Bloomberg) – Greek Police, Protesters Clash in Nationwide Strike (Update2)

Greek police fired tear-gas and clashed with demonstrators in central Athens after a march organized by unions to oppose Prime Minister George Papandreou’s drive to cut the European Union’s biggest budget deficit. Read More Here

(ChimpPlanet) – Trillions for War And None For The American People

In 2001, George W. Bush attempted to destroy Social Security by turning the people’s money over to Wall Street. Then, 9/11 happened and Social Security was saved for the time being. Read More Here

(WashingtonsBlog) – Foundation for the Study of Cycles: Gold to $2,000 By Late 2011, While Dollar and Stocks will Sink

I’m agnostic about different cycle systems, but – for what it’s worth – the Foundation for the Study of Cycles is predicting: Read More Here

(ZeroHedge) – The $100 Trillion Problem: Can America Learn From Chile Before It’s Too Late?

Jose Pinera provides an Entitlement State 101 lecture, in which Chile’s former Labor and Social Security Minister demystifies the U.S.’s $100 trillion unfunded benefits problem. Since Pinera is the man who many years ago privatized Chile’s entitlement system, America, and the entire Western system, which for the past century has been relying on unfunded liabilities to provide benefits to the population in the hopes that funding day will never come, may do well to listen to what he has to say. Read More Here

The Israel Air Force recently staged military exercises between Israel and the British colony of Gibraltar near southern Spain, the French magazine L’Express reported on Saturday. Read the rest of this entry »

The governor of the Bank of Spain on Sunday issued a bleak assessment of the economic crisis, warning that the world faced a “total” financial meltdown unseen since the Great Depression.

“The lack of confidence is total,” Miguel Angel Fernandez Ordonez said in an interview with Spain’s El Pais daily.

“The inter-bank (lending) market is not functioning and this is generating vicious cycles: consumers are not consuming, businessmen are not taking on workers, investors are not investing and the banks are not lending. Read the rest of this entry »

“This crisis is the most complex we have ever lived through given the plethora of factors on the table at the same time,” Read the rest of this entry »