Central Perk

duminică, 16 octombrie 2011

Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis

Deutsche Bank Seeks "Voluntary" 50% Haircut on Greek Debt, Resists Recapitalization Efforts
Property Developers Hurting in China; New Homes Sales Down 50% in Shanghai; Preposterous Prices Won't Last; Commodities to be Hit in Building Slump
Nigel Farage Calls Juncker a "Political Ostrich" in European Parliament, says Wake up to the misery you're inflicting on millions!
In One Day, Trichet Proves He is a Liar; IMF Proves it is Clueless

Deutsche Bank Seeks "Voluntary" 50% Haircut on Greek Debt, Resists Recapitalization Efforts

Posted: 16 Oct 2011 07:05 PM PDT

The Economic Times reports Deutsche Bank boss in talks over Greek debt

The head of Germany's biggest bank, Deutsche Bank, is conducting talks over a 50-percent write-down of Greek debt in his capacity as chairman of the global banking lobby, a newspaper reported Sunday.

Citing both government and banking sources, the mass circulation Bild said that Josef Ackermann was participating in negotiations on a voluntary "haircut" on Greek debt that could be as high as 50 percent.

European Union leaders are gathering next Sunday in Brussels and hope to present a comprehensive solution to the eurozone debt crisis that threatens to tip the 17-nation zone -- and the rest of the world -- into recession.

It is widely expected that leaders will announce that private investors will have to accept a greater loss -- or "haircut -- on their holdings of Greek debt. Speculation has focused on a 50 or even 60 percent write-down.

To prevent these heavier losses from prompting a bank crisis, EU leaders are also thought to be looking at ways to recapitalise the main lenders.

Ackermann spoke out on Thursday against a "forced" recapitalisation of banks, saying the debate was "counterproductive" because most banks had beefed up their capital resources on their own already.

The head of the eurozone finance ministers, Jean-Claude Juncker, however has insisted that cash must be pumped into banks "to ensure that there is no danger of contagion for the entire banking system."

Not "Voluntary"

For starters there is nothing voluntary about 50% haircuts. Second, a 50% haircut is not enough. Third, regardless of what Ackermann says, the entire European banking system is insolvent and thus in desperate need of recapitalization.

Banks passed stress tests only because there were no sovereign debt writedowns included.

We need to look beyond Greece to Portugal and Spain. More haircuts are coming and for countries other than Greece.

Mike "Mish" Shedlock
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com
Click Here To Scroll Thru My Recent Post List

Property Developers Hurting in China; New Homes Sales Down 50% in Shanghai; Preposterous Prices Won't Last; Commodities to be Hit in Building Slump

Posted: 16 Oct 2011 12:21 PM PDT

Developers in China are struggling and it's about to get much worse because China Construction Bank Raises Mortgage Rates for first time borrowers according to the Wall Street Journal.

Channel News Agency Asia reports Credit crunch in China hurts property developers

The co-founder of SOHO China, one of the nation's leading developers, is worried Beijing's efforts to cool the sector are hurting sales and threatening to send some debt-laden property developers to the wall.

"In my sixteen years as a developer this is by far the most challenging year I've ever had, in terms of what we could sell," Zhang, chief executive of Beijing-based SOHO, recently told reporters.

Since the beginning of this year Beijing, fearing a bubble, has been trying to bring down dizzying prices by hiking interest rates and restricting lending to developers, making it nearly impossible for many to get financing, Zhang said.

Industry officials and analysts are worried that the measures are now squeezing sales so much that property developers who have borrowed heavily to fund new projects could be tipped into bankruptcy.

"A wave of newly completed property is about to hit the market. Developers are likely to find themselves holding large volumes of unsold property."

In Shanghai -- where the average cost for one square metre of downtown housing was 48,000 yuan (about $7,500) last year, about 12 times the average monthly salary -- home buyers have little sympathy for cash-strapped developers.

"Considering the high housing prices in Shanghai, a new flat is just a dream," said Qian Xueqi, a manager at an international hotel.

Housing Math in China

One square meter = 10.7639104 square feet
Cost per square meter = $7,500
Cost per square foot = $7,500 ÷ 10.7639104 = $696.77
An 800 square foot home (74 square meters) would cost $557,418

How many in China can afford that? Moreover, other than bubble mentality, there is no reason to pay such prices, even if one could afford it.

Commodities to be Hit in Building Slump

Home prices will not perpetually stay levitated above wages regardless of perceived shortages. Notice I said "perceived" shortages. Housing shortages in China are a mirage just as they were in Florida, Las Vegas, Phoenix, San Diego and other places in the US.

In China, bubble dynamics coupled with inane government intervention and growth policies make it appear as if there are shortages. The entire property sector in China will collapse as will the demand for commodities need to build those houses.

Mike "Mish" Shedlock
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com
Click Here To Scroll Thru My Recent Post List

Nigel Farage Calls Juncker a "Political Ostrich" in European Parliament, says Wake up to the misery you're inflicting on millions!

Posted: 16 Oct 2011 09:46 AM PDT

Here are a couple of highly entertaining videos of Nigel Farage attacking the credibility of Jean Claude Juncker in front of parliament. The second video discusses the no vote by Slovakia's parliament that cost the Prime Minister her job.

Link if video does not play Nigel Farage: Wake up to the misery you're inflicting on millions!

Link if video does not play Nigel Farage: United States of Europe insane politics

In the second interview Farage immediately corrects the interviewer on how many nations actually passed the EFSF and other Eurozone bailout agreements.

Nigel Farage, we salute you.

Mike "Mish" Shedlock
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com
Click Here To Scroll Thru My Recent Post List

In One Day, Trichet Proves He is a Liar; IMF Proves it is Clueless

Posted: 16 Oct 2011 12:06 AM PDT

On Friday, outgoing ECB president Jean-Claude Trichet said the "ECB will not act as a lender of last resort". It took one day for Trichet to prove he is a blatant liar.

Please consider ECB to end bond-buying when markets stabilize: Trichet

The European Central Bank signaled on Saturday it would not abruptly end its bond-buying program now that the euro zone bailout fund EFSF has powers of secondary market intervention and would wait until financial markets stabilize.

"It is because we have the absence of financial stability in the euro area that we have to intervene to help restore a better transmission of monetary policy," Trichet said.

In plain English Trichet effectively said "ECB will be the buyer of last resort until financial markets stabilize."

Thus, it only took only one day for Trichet to contradict himself. I would love to be at a press conference and call him a liar to his face. Why the press lets him get away with these blatant lies is beyond me.

IMF Proves it is Clueless

This one is more subtle. See if you can catch it. Reuters reports IMF calls for pan-European deposit insurance

The International Monetary Fund called on Saturday for an EU-wide deposit insurance scheme and more coordinated regulation of the continent's banks to prevent contradictory national regulation from exacerbating its debt crisis.

A common bank crisis management system, a supra-national resolution regime and common deposit insurance rules would help significantly stabilize the banking system, said Ajai Chopra, the deputy director of the IMF's European Department.

The IMF believes a deposit insurance scheme should be introduced in parallel to an increased harmonization of deposit insurance schemes in the member states to ensure sovereign problems don't trigger destabilizing bank runs, he said.

The headline itself discloses the stupidity of it all. Insurance is not stabilizing, it is destabilizing.

In the United States, FDIC "insurance" protects deposits no matter what stupid things banks do. Scores of banks offered high interest rates attracting deposits simply because they were government insured. Banks took those deposits and made risky loans to condo development in Florida and Las Vegas, then blew up. Corus bank is a prime example. Larger banks were bailed out.

If there was not deposit insurance, these banks never would have gotten funding or if they did they would have failed early. Instead, they were able to attract deposits because deposits were insured, and only because they were insured.

Here is another example: Would money have flowed to Icelandic banks if governments did not guarantee the deposits? I assure you the answer is no. Ironically, Icelandic banks blew up in spite of the alleged insurance, when Iceland rightfully said "screw you".

Bank runs are only destabilizing when they are concentrated. It is far better to have a few isolated bank failures sporadically than none for a decade followed by 700 in two years.

Insurance coupled with AAA ratings on garbage entices people and lenders to take obscene risks in the belief nothing can go wrong. Insurance concentrates systemic risk until the whole mess blows up at once.

This has been proven in spades, multiple times, in multiple countries, and the IMF consists of a collective group of complete fools to not see the simple truth.

Mike "Mish" Shedlock
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com
Click Here To Scroll Thru My Recent Post List

SEOptimise

How to clean up your act and your timeline on Twitter

Posted: 14 Oct 2011 05:58 AM PDT

In this day and age, it's probably fair to say that we're all aware of the value of Twitter – both on an interpersonal level and in a business context – so I'll spare you the "why everyone should be on Twitter" blurb. Those 'in the know' will know that following the right people is important in terms of reaching out to an appropriate audience – those it will benefit you to interact with and who will share your tweets with their followers. As you build up your Twitter followers, you've probably done a fair bit of work to follow people who appear to share your interests. But in the process, you've probably ended up following a load of Twitter users who add little or no value to your Twitter experience, and I've discovered a great tool to help you weed them out.

Twit Cleaner assesses the list of people you follow and categorises the ones who aren't adding much value according to a range of different annoying behaviour, including posting nothing but links, posting the same tweet several times, never interacting with anyone else and only tweeting about themselves.

Running the report on my 'Following' list on my personal Twitter account, @RachelsWritings, was quite an eye-opener. For any Twitter user, there are two main benefits to this exercise.

Most obviously, you streamline your timeline to ensure that you're only receiving interesting tweets from people you wish to engage with.
You learn from other people's mistakes by becoming more aware of the kind of Twitter behaviours that other people find annoying.

So what can we learn from a report run on the list of people I'm following on Twitter at the moment? The Twit Cleaner report gives you a neat list which looks like this:

As you can see in the screenshot, you can even unfollow the offending users directly from the report – convenience itself!

Key points to take away from a report like this in terms of how to run your own or business Twitter account in an appealing way – and how to avoid appearing on an Unfollow list yourself! – are as follows:

Post a range of content – not just links to other posts. If you only link to your own stuff it makes you look self-promotional, and if you only link to other people's stuff it makes you look as though you can't come up with anything original yourself (and this applies equally to people who only retweet other people's tweets). That doesn't mean you have to rule out links altogether – obviously not! – but make sure you throw in a reasonable number of 'proper' updates for your followers to engage with on Twitter itself, without being taken away from your actual tweets.

Don't send out the same tweet twice – and if you're accounting for audiences in different time zones, reword the tweet so that it's unique. E.g. "in case you missed it earlier…"

Tweet regularly – don't set up a Twitter account, get really into it for a week or two and then forget about it. I've seen plenty of surprisingly big businesses who've done this and it looks unprofessional and a bit lazy, quite frankly.

Interact – don't just post your own stuff: reply to and retweet other people's tweets. If you want to be a success on Twitter, you have to treat other people the way you'd like to be treated – or, as I would now like to paraphrase this old adage, "tweet other people the way you would like to be tweeted"!. If someone replies to one of your tweets, acknowledge them! There's nothing worse than businesses who don't respond to customers or people who can't be bothered to take the time to reply to someone who's taken the trouble to message them.

Avoid automated content – Twitter users want to engage with humans, whether you're a business or not. With the amount of spam and general background noise on the internet these days, a real human voice stands out.

Don't just talk about yourself – it's boring! Take an interest in other people and they will take an interest in you.

Finally, and (hopefully) for a bit of an ego-boost, Twit Cleaner also tells you how you appear to the rest of Twitter. Luckily yours truly got a clean bill of health. ;-)

So if you're in need of a wake-up call about your tweeting habits, this is where you get it!

What habits do you find annoying on Twitter? Are you guilty of any of them yourself? Let us know in the comments section below!

Seth's Blog : Yelling and whispering

Yelling and whispering

Have you ever encountered a really stressed, undertrained gate agent at an airport? She starts yelling into the microphone, strangling her words and insisting, demanding and EMPHASIZING just how urgent it is that David Johnson come to the gate immediately...

It doesn't work, because we shut her out. Like a toddler ignoring his ever more insistent parent, it's so easy to turn off the yelling. Just as we ignore the all caps emails, the flashing banner ad and the sirens in New York.

As a marketer, you resort to yelling more often than you should. There's an alternative...

Whispering piques our interest and demands our attention. Yelling, on the other hand, is a waste of time, regardless of how urgent the issue is.

PS some new posts on the Domino blog you might like...

• Email to a friend •

sâmbătă, 15 octombrie 2011

Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis

Occupy Wall Street Protests Go Global, Turn Violent in Rome

Posted: 15 Oct 2011 01:49 PM PDT

Link if video does not play Occupy Protests in Rome Turn Violent

The BBC reports Rome protest against cuts descends into violence

Riot police have fought militant protesters in Rome as the biggest of a series of global rallies against banks and politicians tipped into violence.

At least 70 people were injured, three of them seriously, as police fought masked rioters with tear gas, water cannon and batons.

Other protesters tried to stop the rioters as they attacked cars and businesses, marring a peaceful rally.

The day saw coordinated protests in cities worldwide, most of them small.

Inspired by the Occupy Wall St movement and Spain's "Indignants", demonstrators turned out from Asia to Europe and back to New York for an event organisers said on their website was aimed at initiating "global change".

"United in one voice, we will let politicians, and the financial elites they serve, know it is up to us, the people, to decide our future," they added.

Tens of thousands of people had turned out to demonstrate peacefully in Rome.

However militants dressed in black infiltrated the crowd and began attacking property. Offices belonging to the Italian defence ministry were set on fire, some cars were burnt including an armoured police vehicle, in addition to attacks on cash dispensers and bank and shop windows.

Occupy Wall Street Protests Go Worldwide

Please consider Occupy Wall Street Protests Go Worldwide, Turn Violent in Rome

Protests against corporate greed and inequality were spreading to cities around the world Saturday, with rallies expected in more than 80 locations, including Spain, where such demonstrations were held as early as May.

In Rome, protests turned violent.

Protesters there smashed shop windows and torched cars as violence broke out during a demonstration in the Italian capital.

In Madrid, where hundreds took to Puerta del Sol square earlier this year, calling themselves "los indignados," or "The Indignant," demonstrations were planned for Saturday night.

In New York, where much of the momentum for the movement has been refueled – giving it an international spotlight -- anti-Wall Street protesters, who call the campaign "Occupy Wall Street," headed into Saturday campaigns emboldened by a change of plans among park property owners and police to usher them out of their lower Manhattan encampment for cleanup and impose restrictions that would have essentially shut down their Occupy Wall Street headquarters.

Supporters in Sydney, Australia, on Saturday waved signs such as "you can't eat money."

In Frankfurt, continental Europe's financial capital, some 5,000 people protested in front of the European Central Bank, while in London, around 500 people marched from St. Paul's cathedral to the nearby stock exchange.

Hundreds marched through the Bosnian city of Sarajevo carrying pictures of Che Guevara and old communist flags that read "Death to capitalism, freedom to the people."

Hundreds of people also joined peaceful protests in Sydney, Tokyo, Manila, Hong Kong and Seoul

Political site Gather reports Movement Goes Global

The Occupy Wall Street campaign, which started off in New York City, has now spread to Europe, Asia, and Australia. In the Italian capital, Rome, 200,000 attended a rally that passed by the iconic Colosseum, and started off peacefully, before deteriorating into violence.

Government buildings in Rome were set alight, banks were attacked, and cars were torched. The more militant protestors were confronted by peaceful demonstrators, who tried to bring calm to the situation. Police used water cannon and tear gas on the huge crowd. There were also baton charges by the police.

Social media played its part in the Occupy Wall street protests. Just as with the success of the Arab Spring, Facebook and Twitter were utilized to swell the numbers of the demonstrators.

Another huge protest was held in Madrid's Puerta del Sol Square, which was organized by Spain's 'indignant' movement. This is a group formed in 2011 to complain against what the group deems to be an unjust social and economic system. Dozens of rallies were held all over Spain.

Protests in London, Frankfurt, Madrid, Rome, 82 Countries

The Guardian reports 'Occupy' anti-capitalism protests spread around the world

Economic protests inspired by Spain's "Indignants" and the Occupy Wall Street movement in New York spread to cities around the world on Saturday. Tens of thousands went on the march in London, Frankfurt, Madrid, Rome, Sydney and Hong Kong as organisers aimed to "initiate global change" against capitalism and austerity measures. Rallies were expected in 82 countries.

As dusk fell on more than 2,000 protesters assembled in front of St Paul's Cathedral in London, earlier addressed by the WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, New York was bracing itself for a takeover of Times Square in a continuation of the Occupy Wall Street protests. Manhattan has seen a regular encampment of protesters in Zuccotti Park and violent clashes with police and officials.

There was civil unrest in Rome, where police turned teargas and water cannon on the crowds. Smoke hung over Rome as a small group broke away from the main demonstration and smashed windows, set cars on fire and assaulted television news crews. Others burned Italian and EU flags. "People of Europe: Rise Up!" read one banner in Rome.

In London, police made seven arrests and kept the crowd "kettled" near St Paul's. Assange made a dramatic appearance, bursting through the police lines just after 2.30pm, accompanied by scores of supporters. To clapping and some booing, he climbed the cathedral steps to condemn "greed" and "corruption".

Assange aside, perhaps the strangest event of the day came when a bride arrived at the side-chapel in St Paul's. Across the road, scores of police were changing into riot gear as she entered the cathedral. It was clear that Scotland Yard had opted for pre-emptive strong-arm tactics in the wake of the summer riots. Last week the new Met commissioner, Bernard Hogan-Howe, had pledged to "win days of action".

In Germany, about 4,000 people marched through the streets of Berlin, with banners calling for an end to capitalism. Some scuffled with police as they tried to get near parliamentary buildings. In Frankfurt, continental Europe's financial capital, some 5,000 people protested in front of the European Central Bank.

Another 500 people gathered at a peaceful rally in Stockholm, holding up red flags and banners that read "We are the 99%" – a reference to the richest 1% of the world's population who control its assets while billions live in poverty.

Social Mood is Ugly and Getting Uglier

Bailing out the bondholders ever is simply wrong. Those who take risks need to pay the price.

These protests are just a start of what we will see if bondholders and banks are bailed out again on the backs of taxpayers.

Mike "Mish" Shedlock
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com
Click Here To Scroll Thru My Recent Post List

U.S. Supreme Court Upholds Right of MERS to Foreclose in California Via Refusal to Hear Case

Posted: 15 Oct 2011 08:52 AM PDT

Here's another nail in the MERS "show me the note" coffin: Supreme Court Declines to Review MERS Challenge

The United States Supreme Court has denied a writ of certiorari in a case involving MERS, refusing to reconsider a California court ruling, which upheld MERS' right to initiate foreclosures.

The case in question, Gomes v. Countrywide, was originally decided by Judge Steven R. Denton, who ruled that the language in the deed of trust allows MERS to initiate non-judicial foreclosure actions and that the borrower concedes this right to MERS when he or she signs the deed of trust.

"Courts in California have ruled consistently that MERS' legal standing as beneficiary gives MERS the authority under state law to take action on behalf of the owner of the note," said Janis Smith, MERSCORP's VP of corporate communications in a statement announcing the Supreme Court's denial of the case.

She added that Gomes' claim "lacks merit" and that "[a]s stated in the deed of trust, Gomes agreed by executing that document that MERS has the authority to initiate a foreclosure."

"The MERS business model has been upheld by numerous courts around the country, and is operating in all 50 states," Smith added.

However, MERS issued a policy update in July stating that MERS will no long initiate foreclosure actions.

Gersten believes MERS' foreclosure actions were not legal and it "does away with land laws" when initiating foreclosure actions. When a homeowner faces foreclosure, he or she should at least know who is filing the foreclosure "and who has a legal right to foreclose," he stated.

The right of MERS to foreclose is the correct ruling which is not the same thing as saying I like the MERS model (because I don't).

Together with the ruling from the 9th Circuit Court - Cervantes vs. Countrywide (please see 9th Circuit Court Ruling Legitimizes MERS) gives legitimacy to MERS and deals a major blow to many of the arguments that attorneys representing homeowners try to make.

There are other issues, primarily fee related, that have yet to be resolved, but it's high time the "show me the note" nonsense is buried forever.

Mike "Mish" Shedlock
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com
Click Here To Scroll Thru My Recent Post List

Man Jumps Over Speeding Lamborghini

Posted: 14 Oct 2011 10:29 PM PDT

We know all about high jumpers, but jumping high enough to avoid death by this speeding car is pretty incredible.

The Lamborghini Gallardo comes frighteningly close to the man before he jumps over the vehicle as it dashes right under him. We don't even want to imagine what could've happened if the timing wasn't just right.

Libyan Guitar Hero

Posted: 14 Oct 2011 09:35 PM PDT

Historically music has always been a feature of battle, from drummers keeping armies marching in time to buglers playing laments for the dead.

In recent years, however, the role of the battle musician has largely been relegated to an anachronism.

Not so in Libya, apparently. An extraordinary picture has emerged from the country, credited to the AFP/Getty agency, which appears to show a guitarist in full song during a fierce gun battle in Sirte.

The photo by Aris Messinis, which was published on 10 October, almost looks too strange to be real. There is no note attached to the photo to say what song was being played - or, indeed, why. But it is certainly a strange insight into the very human chaos of modern warfare.

Source: dailymail

Soda Can Sized Puppies

Posted: 14 Oct 2011 07:58 PM PDT

If you like dogs this will be a real treat for you, here is a collection of dog puppies who are just about the size of soda can. These little pups are the definition of cuteness and it must be because of their size! Probably the smaller it is, the cuter it gets!