Posts Tagged Banking
Downfall Of A Tuscan Paradise – Monte Dei Paschi Di Siena, The World’s Oldest Bank
Posted by TheRedPillGuide in Economy, Finance, News on August 7, 2012
via: Spiegel
by: Alexander Smoltczyk in Siena, Italy
August 7, 2012
Monte dei Paschi di Siena, the world’s oldest bank, took five centuries to accumulate its wealth — and three years to gamble it away. Its fall from grace is a disaster for its home city of Siena, which relied on distributed profits from the bank. Now the picturesque Tuscan city is trying to come to terms with the new reality.
Siena’s Financial Fiasco
Valentina still has exactly 22 hours before her future comes to an end. She has to drop off papers at the Italian Football Federation by 6 p.m. tomorrow to register her club in Serie A, Italy’s top soccer league. It would be a triumph, a well-earned conclusion of a season in which the female football team of the Italian city of Siena qualified for promotion into the country’s highest league for the first time.
Dropping off the papers in Rome on time wouldn’t have been the problem, but the €17,000 ($21,000) registration fee was. The club’s traditional sponsor had backed out, due to “an internal decision,” as had been explained in the fax, written on letterhead with the Monte dei Paschi Foundation’s logo of three beehives at the top.
Valentina Lorenzini is the coach, masseuse and organizer of the soccer club Siena Calcio Femminile. She is a stocky 43-year-old who refuses to believe that it’s over, that something has finally come to an end in her city. “We won and we can’t be promoted,” she says. “How sick is that?”
But there is still time. It’s only 8 p.m. Perhaps she’ll still manage to find someone.
A Happy Exception
This is the way it’s always been in Siena, an idyllic Tuscan city where even the curbstones look as if they’d been chiseled by the sculptor Bernini. It’s a city over which the profits of a major bank, Monte dei Paschi di Siena (MPS), were distributed year after year like manna. Sometimes it was €150 million, and sometimes it was even €200 million. It’s a lot of money for a city with a population of 55,000 people.
Siena was always considered a happy exception in Italy, a prosperous city with functioning hospitals, recycling and free buses for the schools. And now there isn’t even enough money to register the local women’s soccer club in Serie A. Siena’s coffers are empty, the main bank has to borrow money, the elites have failed and a commissioner has taken control of the city. Siena has gone from being an exception to a reflection of Italy’s general situation.
Most locals don’t perceive that as a compliment.
It is partly to do with the debt crisis, partly with the Italian state and a lot to do with Siena. It also has a lot to do with the fact that now, at 8 p.m., hundreds of Sienese wearing fake Yulia Tymoshenko-style braids and with pacifiers in their mouths are marching across the Piazza del Campo, banging on drums and waving blue-and-white flags.
Federal Reserve Audit Bill Overwhelmingly Passes The House
Posted by TheRedPillGuide in Banking Cartels & The Fed, Finance, News on July 25, 2012
via: HuffingtonPost
by: Jennifer Bendery
July 25, 2012
WASHINGTON — In a rare moment of bipartisanship, the House overwhelmingly passed a bill by Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) to audit the Federal Reserve.
The bill, which has 270 co-sponsors, passed 327 to 98. All but one Republican — Rep. Bob Turner of New York — voted for it, along with 89 Democrats.
Paul teamed up with former Rep. Alan Grayson (D-Fla.) in 2010 to pass similar legislation that became part of the final Wall Street reform bill. But Paul has said new audit legislation is needed because the 2010 bill didn’t go far enough. Specifically, he states on his website that the audit called for in the 2010 bill only focused on emergency credit programs and procedural issues, rather than on the substantive details of the lending transactions. The 2012 bill doesn’t limit the focus of the audit.
Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke recently told the House Financial Services Committee that he agrees with the “basic premise” that the Fed should be transparent, but raised concerns that Paul’s bill doesn’t exempt monetary policy and deliberations from its reach.
Not including an exemption on this point could create “a political dampening effect on the Federal Reserve’s policy decisions,” Bernanke warned.
But Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) pointed out that the House vote on the bill comes on the same day that the Washington Post reported that the New York Fed “did not communicate in key meetings with top regulators that British bank Barclays had admitted to Fed staffers that it was rigging LIBOR,” the index which sets interest rates worldwide.
“The Fed creates trillions of dollars out of nothing and gives it to banks. Congress is in the dark. The Fed sets the stage for the subprime meltdown. Congress is in the dark. The Fed takes a dive on LIBOR. Congress is in the dark. The Fed doesn’t tell regulators what is going on. Congress is in the dark,” Kucinich shouted on the House floor, just before the vote.
12 Signs That Spain Is Shifting Gears From Recession To Depression
Posted by TheRedPillGuide in Economy, Finance, News on July 24, 2012
via: TheEconomicCollapse
July 23, 2012
Where have we seen this before? Bond yields soar above the 7 percent danger level. Check. The stock market crashes to new lows. Check. Industrial activity plummets like a rock and the economy contracts. Check. The unemployment rate skyrockets to more than 20 percent. Check. The bursting of a massive real estate bubble pushes the banking system to the brink of implosion. Check. Broke local governments beg the broke national government for bailouts. Check. The international community pressures the national government to implement deep austerity measures which will slow down the economy even more and hordes of violent protesters take to the streets. Check. All of this happened in Greece, it is happening right now in Spain, and mark my words it will eventually happen in the United States. Every debt bubble eventually bursts, and right now Spain is experiencing a level of economic pain that very, very few people saw coming. The recession in Spain is rapidly becoming a full-blown economic depression, and at this point there is no hope and no light at the end of the tunnel.
The bad news for the global economy is that Spain is much larger than Greece. According to the United Nations, the Greek economy is the 32nd largest economy in the world. The Spanish economy, on the other hand, is the 4th largest economy in the eurozone and the 12th largest economy on the entire planet. It is nearly five times the size of the Greek economy.
Financial markets all over the globe are very nervous right now because if the Spanish government ends up asking for a full-blown bailout it could spell the end for the eurozone. There simply is not enough money to do the same kind of thing for Spain that is being done for Greece.
Of course European officials are going to do their best to keep the eurozone from collapsing, but what they have completely failed to do is to keep these countries from falling into depression.
As I have written about previously, Greece has already been in an economic depression for some time.
I warned that Spain, Italy, Portugal and a bunch of other European nations were going down the exact same path.
Now we are watching a virtual replay of what happened in Greece take place in Spain.
Unfortunately, the global financial system may not be able to handle a complete implosion of the Spanish economy.
The following are 12 signs that Spain is shifting gears from recession to depression….
#1 At one point on Monday, the IBEX stock market index fell to 5,905, which was the lowest level in nearly ten years. When it hit 5,905 that represented a drop of about 12 percent over just two trading days. If that happened in the United States, it would be the equivalent of the Dow falling by about 1500 points in 48 hours.
#2 So far this year, the Spanish stock market is down more than 25 percent. Back in 2008, the IBEX 35 was well over 15,000. Today it is sitting just above 6,000.
#3 Spain has banned many forms of short selling for 3 months.
#4 The yield on 10 year Spanish bonds is now well above the 7 percent “danger level”.
#5 Thanks to the problems in Spain, the euro continues to fall like a rock. On Monday it hit a new two year low against the U.S. dollar, and it is near a twelve year low against the Japanese yen.
Rothschild Anoints Alexandre Heir As Family Cements Reign
Posted by TheRedPillGuide in Illuminati, Secret Societies & Ruling Families / Global Elite, News on July 20, 2012
via: Bloomberg
by: Jacqueline Simmons and Anne-Sylvaine Chassany
July 20, 2012
Alexandre de Rothschild said his father always told him to “do what you want — if you want to play tennis, go ahead.” Alexandre, now 32, did not devote his life to perfecting his serve, breeding horses, or the other pursuits one might imagine are available to a scion of the world’s biggest family-owned bank.
Instead, he took jobs at other financial firms before joining the family business four years ago, becoming the seventh generation of a banking dynasty that can be traced to the 18th century.
Today, as the firm undergoes a generational shift to younger bankers, he’s being groomed to run Rothschild and succeed his 69-year-old father, David, within five years, according to three people with direct knowledge of the plan.
Hyper Report 07/20/12 – Prepare For Tough Times
Posted by TheRedPillGuide in Economy, Finance, Health, Natural Environment & Weather, News on July 20, 2012
via: HyperReport
July 19, 2012
Source Links and video text for Today’s Items are located at:
Go Back to Sleep
Posted by TheRedPillGuide in Economy, Finance, News on July 19, 2012
via: LibertyBlitzkrieg
by: Michael Krieger
July 19, 2012
Whenever the legislators endeavor to take away, and destroy the property of the people, or to reduce them to slavery under arbitrary power, they put themselves into a state of war with the people, who are thereupon absolved from any farther obedience.
- John Locke
When it gets down to having to use violence, then you are playing the system’s game. The establishment will irritate you – pull your beard, flick your face – to make you fight. Because once they’ve got you violent, then they know how to handle you. The only thing they don’t know how to handle is non-violence and humor.
- John Lennon
When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace.
- Jimi Hendrix
Go Back to Sleep
Most of you that are taking the time to read this have already experienced some level of “waking up” over the past several years or longer. Most of you have also probably felt from time to time that the knowledge you possess is a burden and have fully appreciated the meaning of “ignorance is bliss.” I know this because I have felt these very same emotions at times. The most important thing to remember; however, is that we are just awake individuals within a wave or cycle of awakening. There were those that came before us and there will be many, many more to come after us. Last Thursday, I was at Freedom Fest in Vegas for a brief stint and I had the honor to meet and break bread with some of the most influential minds in the Liberty Movement. As I sat there at the table at Delmonico’s, thoroughly impressed with the intellect, commitment and total sense of purpose of the people around me I became more sure than ever that TPTB don’t stand a chance. The problem for those control freak clowns is that ten years ago they had at least 95% of the American populace completely asleep. I would estimate that number at the moment to be around 75%. If I am anywhere close to being right, that means that 25% of the population is at least somewhat aware that things aren’t as they appear to be. They are asking serious questions and looking for serious answers. Breaking it down even further, I would say that 5% of the population can be described as fully awake and somewhat committed to fully committed. This is something like 15 million Americans and is more than enough. Most importantly, once you are truly awakened you never go back to sleep. In my five years or so in this adventure I have seen the transformative process of many, many people within my personal circle of friends and contacts. Not ONE, I repeat not ONE of them has ever fallen back into the matrix mindset. It just doesn’t happen and it reminds me of quotes about truth and lies. As Mark Twain said “If you tell the truth, you don’t have to remember anything.” Then there is the counter quote from I can’t remember who that “lies require commitment.” Believe me, they are committed! That said, too much is coming out now and what TPTB are doing in the markets is desperately manipulating everything so that another wave does not wake up. There are terrified that this next wave of people will be the tipping point for their control structure. They are correct but it is coming soon to smack them in the face no matter what they do.
Global Banking Giant Caught Laundering Money For Mexican Drug Cartels
Posted by TheRedPillGuide in Banking Cartels & The Fed, News on July 17, 2012
via: MoxNews
July 17, 2012
5 Best Countries for Offshore Banking
Posted by TheRedPillGuide in Finance, News on July 11, 2012
via: ActivistPost
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
When we hear the term “offshore banking,” it often conjures up images of the overly-wealthy elite or sly, nefarious criminals hiding away millions of dollars from prying government eyes. But the way offshore banking is portrayed in the movies is not the reality.
Opening an account offshore is not illegal, as many people wrongly believe. In fact, many offshore financial institutions are considered safer than many domestic banks. Most foreign banks offer absolute privacy guarantees, as well as security to protect your assets.
Banks in the United States are limited in the amount of the interest they can pay to customers. Many offshore institutions are able to offer higher interest rates to their clients. In many US and European banks, the governments have too much control, to the detriment of the countries’ citizens. Because of this, the government can step in to freeze your bank accounts and assets indefinitely.
Some countries are a better choice for offshore banking than others. Here are the top five countries to consider if you want to put a portion of your money into a foreign account and what you need to open one.
Dubai
Singapore
When you open an account in Singapore, you are investing in one of the fastest-growing economies in the world, while at the same time protecting your money and saving on taxes. This country has the lowest tax rate in Asia. The typical minimum required balance is $1,000. You need to have your passport, proof of address, and maybe even your taxpayer number (SSN) for your country of residence. Accounts can be held in any currency, eve
WET WORK? ‘Stressed’ Bank of England Official Supposedly STABBED HIMSELF TO DEATH
Posted by TheRedPillGuide in Economy, Finance, News on July 10, 2012
via: SGTReport
Source: TheTelegraph
July 4, 2012
[Ed. Note: OK, not sure how we missed this one. This story tends to remind us of all those Clinton-related Mena, Arkansas "suicides". You know, the ones with the victims hands tied behind the back with multiple gunshots to the back of the head. Yeah, those "suicides".]
The body of Christopher Dymond, 52, was discovered in a secluded car park in Herongate, Essex, after his family had reported him missing.
A post-mortem revealed Mr Dymond died from self-inflicted stab wounds to his chest and cuts to his arms.
His grieving father, Denis Dymond, told an inquest: “Our over-arching point of view is that Chris’s death came about because of intense anxiety which was work-related.
“He was let down in the duty of care by his employers.”
The father-of-three had been reported missing by his concerned family at around 10.30pm on April 21 this year after they were unable to contact him.
Police launched a full-scale search and discovered the body early the following morning four miles from the family home in a car park at Herongate Athletic Football Club.
