Returning Greece to the Drachma

To the Drachma

The standard of living reached in Greece since it joined the European Union means austerity will be inadequate to rebalance the economy. Returning Greece’s currency to the drachma, on the other hand, would allow market forces to set the country’s wage levels, induce other indebted European Union members to reform without Continental prodding and thus solidify the euro.

Greece’s gross domestic product per capita of $30,400 in 2008 was close to the European Union average. It was caused not by an exceptional surge in productivity, but mostly by huge subsidies and extensive borrowing. Greece’s continuing current account deficit, estimated by The Economist at 8.3 percent of gross domestic product in 2011 despite a severe recession, indicates that it remains deeply uncompetitive.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/12/business/returning-greece-to-the-drachma.html

From Spiegel, with the article recreated in its entirety as the implications for the EUR, the eurozone, and crony communism as massive:

German Finance Minister Prepares for Possible Greek Bankruptcy

German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble, who is reportedly doubtful that the country can be saved from bankruptcy, is preparing for the possibility of Greek insolvency. Officials in his ministry are currently reviewing scenarios for handling such a situation, exploring what it might mean for the rest of the euro zone. Under the first scenario for a Greek bankruptcy, the country would remain in the euro zone. Under the other, Athens would abandon the common currency and reintroduce the drachma.

The European bailout mechanism, the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF), is playing a key role in those considerations. Soon the EFSF is expected to be given new powers agreed to by European leaders at a special euro crisis summit in late July. Two instruments at the EFSF's disposal are at the forefront of the Finance Ministry's scenarios.

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/goodbye-euro-hello-drachma

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EES announces opening of registration at eesfx.com

EES FX is now accepting new registrations with a secured, encrypted login at http://eesfx.com/portal - See the login / register module on the bottom right of the home page.  Login / Register will be available only at the homepage for the time being.  If you navigate away from the hompage, click "Home" in the upper left top menu to go home.

During the coming weeks, eesfx.com will be undergoing changes to facilitate a social environment for Forex traders.

In the meantime, you may now register for the site and participate in the forums http://eesfx.com/portal/ees-fx/forum

SUPERCOMPUTER PREDICTS CIVIL UNREST

In Isaac Asimov's "Foundation" series, the future of masses of people can be predicted with "psychohistory," a method of predicting future political and social trends, using a device called the "Prime Radiant." In the 1950s, there wasn't the math or the computational power available to make such a thing reality. Now there might be.

Supercomputers, such as the Nautilus at the University of Tennessee's Center for Remote Data Analysis and Visualization, may have brought the world closer to Asimov's vision, though it is still early days. The key is seeking patterns in massive amounts of data and being able to visualize them. Kalev Leetaru, assistant director for text and digital media analytics at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, did just that.

BLOG: The Pursuit of Intelligence in Computer Science

Leetaru used a database of 100 million news articles spanning the period from 1979 to early 2011. The data is from the Open Source Center and Summary of World Broadcasts, both set up by the U.S. and British intelligence agencies to monitor what amounts to nearly every news source in the world and translate them into nuanced English. By analyzing the text in the news stories and the tone -- whether they were largely positive or negative -- Leetaru found patterns emerging that seemed to line up with major periods of unrest. For example, in Egypt, the tone of news articles about Mubarak grew increasingly negative as the protests grew, until eventually Mubarak resigned.

http://news.discovery.com/tech/supercomputer-predicts-civil-unrest-110908.html

CFTC Sues 11 More Forex Companies

The companies are sued under the 2008 Farm Bill, the Dodd-Frank Act and the CFTC’s regulations. The 11 new lawsuits join 14 previous ones, making the total number 25.
Some of the firms are based in the US, while others are from the British Virgin Islands, Belize, the UK, Australia and Cyprus. Here are their names:

1. 1st Investment Management, LLC, a Wyoming LLC;
2. City Credit Capital, (UK) Ltd., a United Kingdom company;
3. Enfinium Pty Ltd., an Australian company;
4. GBFX, LLC, a New York LLC;
5. Gold & Bennett, LLC, a New York LLC;
6. InterForex, Inc., a British Virgin Islands company;
7. Lucid Financial, Inc., a Utah corporation;
8. MF Financial, Ltd., a Belize company with offices in New York City;
9. O.C.M. Online Capital Markets Limited, a British Virgin Islands company
10. Trading Point of Financial Instruments Ltd. a Cyprus company; and
11. Windsor Brokers, Ltd., a Cyprus company.

http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20110908-710711.html

http://www.forexcrunch.com/cftc-sues-11-more-forex-companies/

North Anna Nuke Plant paid $32,000 fine for definition of 'safe' - no earthquake plan in place

It is North Anna’s second serious brush with quake issues. The first was in 1973, when the company was digging a hole for the foundation of a third reactor that was later abandoned. A visiting geology professor told an executive of the plant operator, then called the Virginia Electric & Power Company, that there was a geologic fault.

The executive let the comment drop, and Virginia Electric told the Nuclear Regulatory Commission that there was no evidence of faults. Eventually it paid a fine of $32,000 for failing to alert regulators promptly; the five-member commission also reprimanded its own staff for moving slowly to bring the information to the attention of the administrative law judges hearing the company’s application for an operating license. The commission ultimately decided that the reactor would be safe.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/08/science/earth/08nuclear.html?pagewanted=2&_r=3 

JPMorgan explains crisis with Legos

Michael Cembalest, the chief investment officer for JPMorgan's private bank, included a Lego diorama in his research note today in order to explain the ongoing euro zone crisis as seen by a 9-year-old. [via Felix Salmon]

If you're having trouble reading it, don't worry, there's a key that includes plenty of European stereotypes. 

For example, the toreador in a floppy hat, and the F1 driver in the upper left-hand corner represent Spain and Italy. The sailor represents Finland and the artists are France.  Felix Salmon points out that he forgot about Iceland. 

If playing with Legos to explain economics seems bizarre to you, here's what Cembalest has to say to that:

"If today’s diorama analysis borders on the absurd, so does maintaining the fiction that accumulation of massive public and private sector claims in Europe can somehow be engineered away."

Image: http://blogs.reuters.com/felix-salmon/2011/09/06/jp-morgan-explains-the-euro-crisis-with-lego/

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/jpmorgan-legos-2011-9#ixzz1XIfDRCvn

Euro break-up – the consequences by UBS

The Euro should not exist.

More specifically, the Euro as it is currently constituted – with its current
structure and current membership – should not exist. This Euro creates more
economic costs than benefits for at least some of its members – a fact that has
become painfully obvious to some of its participants in recent years.

The Global Economic Perspectives draws on the research UBS has published
over the past fifteen years looking at the issues surrounding the Euro and its
existence. If the Euro does not work (and it does not), then either the current
structure needs to change, or the current membership needs to change. Rather
than go through the options for keeping the Euro together (fiscal confederation
being the central idea, and our base case), we look at the consequences of
attempting to break up the Euro.



http://www.americanfuture.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/2011-09-06-UBS-Euro-break-up-the-consequences.pdf 

http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article30286.html 

European banks make large cash transfers to US

Cash transfers


Bank shares have taken the brunt of the latest stock market sell-off.
Royal Bank of Scotland fell 12.3%, Deutsche Bank 8.9% and Societe Generale 8.6%.
Most major banks in the US and Europe have lost about half of their value over the last six months.
Fears began to mount again that the eurozone may not be able to contain its debt crisis, and a government default could in turn lead to a European banking crisis.

Deutsche Bank's outgoing chief executive, Josef Ackermann, said on Monday that some European banks would go bust if they were forced to recognise in their accounts the existing losses on government debts they own, based on current market prices for government bonds.

Banks also face the prospect of being sued by US government mortgage agencies for mis-selling home loans during the housing boom, while the Financial Times reported on Monday that Deutsche Bank headed a list of banks being investigated in the Serious Fraud Office for similar mis-selling in the UK.

Meanwhile, evidence emerged that some analysts suggest shows European banks have been transferring large amounts of cash across the Atlantic in a bid to escape an emerging European banking crisis.

Data released by the US Federal Reserve on Friday indicated that unnamed foreign banks transferred cash into the country's banking system over the summer, while separate data from the ECB that shows that European banks have been withdrawing their cash from the European banking system.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-14785694

The College Conspiracy: The next debt bubble

Company makes tiny, 65 sq ft build-it-yourself homes

All this can be yours for just $99! Company makes tiny, 65 sq ft build-it-yourself homes 

By RACHEL QUIGLEY

or those who are too broke to get on the housing ladder, an American firm is here to help.

Jay Shafer's Tumbleweed Tiny House Company makes cute little homes that start from the bargain price of $99.

The cheapest home is a flat-pack to be built by the owner but, if you're not very handy, there are ready-made versions for $38,997.

Cute: For those who are too broke to get on the housing ladder an American firm Tumbleweed Tiny House Company is here to help with homes that start at the bargain price of $99

Bargain: The cheapest home is a flat-pack to be built by the owner but, if you're not very handy, there are ready-made versions for $38,997

All necessities: The homes all have fully functioning kitchens, bathrooms and sleeping areas

The teeny homes, which start at just 65 square feet are kitted out with fully functioning kitchens,  bathrooms complete with composting toilets and sleeping areas.

Some models even come on wheels.

As well as being environmentally friendly the homes are affordable for people on meagre incomes. 

As the debt problem in the U.S. reaches tipping point Mr Shafer, who lives in one of his houses in Sebastapol, California, says that less can be more. 

'People are starting to get a clue I think,' he said.

'People are starting to understand that excess is not necessarily a luxury. It can be a burden, a liability. People are living in 4,000 and 6,000 square foot debtors prisons.'

Convenient: A lot of the homes have wheels, so you can move any time your heart desires

Mobile: The teeny homes, which start at just 65 square feet, are kitted out with fully-functioning kitchens, bathrooms and sleeping areas - some models even come on wheels

He said that having less belongings is also a pleasure.

'People spend 30 years or more paying for all this space and stuff that they don't really need.'

But one of the main reasons he likes to live small - less cleaning.

'I grew up in a 4,000 square foot home,' he said.

'And my sister and I were in charge of cleaning the house. But my main reason for building such a little home was nothing so grandiose as saving the world, or so pragmatic as saving money.

'Truth be known, I simply do not have the time or patience for a large home. I’ve found that, like anything else that’s superfluous, extra space merely gets in the way of my contentment, for it requires maintenance and heating and ultimately demands that I exchange a portion of my life for the money to pay for these luxuries. 

'I wanted a place that would maintain my serene lifestyle, not a place that I would spend the rest of my life maintaining. I find nothing demanding about Tumbleweed. Everything’s within arm’s reach and nothing’s in the way–not even space itself.'

Deals on wheels: As well as being environmentally friendly the homes are affordable for people on meagre incomes and can be wheeled anywhere

Mobile: The teeny homes designed by Jay Shafer, right, which start at just 65 square feet, are kitted out with fully-functioning kitchens, bathrooms and sleeping areas - some models even come on wheels

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2032402/Tumbleweed-Tiny-House-Company-makes-tiny-65-sq-ft-build-homes.html#ixzz1WlvMAm00

Quantum Entanglements by Leonard Susskind (Stanford)

Roubini - we're heading into recession and running out of policy tools

Social Engineering in the 20th Century

Euro bail-out in doubt as 'hysteria' sweeps Germany

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financialcrisis/8728628/Euro-bail-out-in-doubt-as-hysteria-sweeps-Germany.html

Mrs Merkel has cancelled a high-profile trip to Russia on September 7, the crucial day when the package goes to the Bundestag and the country's constitutional court rules on the legality of the EU's bail-out machinery.

If the court rules that the €440bn rescue fund (EFSF) breaches Treaty law or undermines German fiscal sovereignty, it risks setting off an instant brushfire across monetary union.

The seething discontent in Germany over Europe's debt crisis has spread to all the key institutions of the state. "Hysteria is sweeping Germany " said Klaus Regling, the EFSF's director.

German media reported that the latest tally of votes in the Bundestag shows that 23 members from Mrs Merkel's own coalition plan to vote against the package, including twelve of the 44 members of Bavaria's Social Christians (CSU). This may force the Chancellor to rely on opposition votes, risking a government collapse.