Obama to EU: Get Your S_ _t Together; Got An Election Next Year
The Obama administration has been fiercely lobbying European governments and central banks to shut up and do something. No more disagreements in public, Timothy Geithner told them in Poland. No more disputes over fundamental issues. To heck with democratic problem resolution. The world is collapsing, and it's time to act boldly and decisively. Hank Paulson's extortion racket is back.
This time, it isn't Congress and American taxpayers that are targeted, but the Europeans, or rather a select few, in particular certain recalcitrant elements in the German government and in the Bundesbank. The White House brandishes the big fix of 2008 and 2009. That's how we fixed our crisis, that's how you should fix yours, they say.
http://www.businessinsider.com/obama-to-eu-get-your-st-together-got-an-election-next-year-2011-9
http://euobserver.com/24/113725
Bat bridge' comes under fire after it costs Welsh government £650,000
The bridge, which is being constructed over the Porthmadog bypass in Gwynedd, is designed to give the rare lesser horseshoe bats a way of crossing the bypass without putting themselves in danger.
While many have criticised the decision by the Welsh government - which says its hands are tied by EU legislation to protect wildlife - naturalists and RSPB officials have defended the construction of the bridge.
http://www.metro.co.uk/news/876502-bat-bridge-comes-under-fire-after-it-costs-welsh-government-650-000
"The threat of cascading default, bank runs, and catastrophic risk must be taken off the table, as otherwise it will undermine all other efforts, both within Europe and globally."
Geithner reiterated US frustration with the pace of Europe's approach to the debt crises.
"Decisions as to how to conclusively address the region's problems cannot wait until the crisis gets more severe," he said.
Europe's banks, particularly French banks, have seen interbank funding lines tightened and their shares sold off by investors worried about their holdings of sovereign debt from Greece and the eurozone's other financially embattled governments.
In a BBC interview broadcast early Saturday, Geithner stressed that markets, which have been in panic this week over EU and US economic weakness, are moving "much more quickly" than Europe's leadership is moving.
"These things have the classic dynamic that the longer you wait, the harder it is to solve," he said.
http://tinyurl.com/4ynzkm3
The simple truth remains that there is no hope that Greece will be able to repay the debts, especially if the economy is subjected to further recession. Even if the austerity plans are approved in parliament, they will not be carried out.
The key problem is that all the key players know that Greece will default in the end and markets have fully price in a default into the yield structure. Given that this is a known outcome, attempts to delay the inevitable will be increasingly counter-productive, a fact demonstrated very powerfully this week as capital continues to flood out of the financial sector.
http://www.actionforex.com/analysis/daily-forex-fundamentals/policy-must-change---the-euro-zone-is-out-of-time-20110924149604/
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