Thread: No More Mr. Nice Guy As IMF Set To Kick Out Greece

No More Mr. Nice Guy As IMF Set To Kick Out Greece


Submitted by Tyler Durden on 07/22/2012 15:15 -0400

• default
• European Central Bank
• Finland
• Greece
• International Monetary Fund

It appears that following the resignation letter fiasco from Friday, the venerable IMF is trying to regain some level of credibility in the world. In a note obtained by SPIEGEL, senior IMF officials patience has clearly come to an end and has decided that, with Greece likely to go bust by September, it is no longer willing to provide additional Greek aid (we assume in light of the push-backs on the promised cuts that the aid was based upon).

Pointing to this now being a euro-zone problem, their cessation of Greek aid is even more critical since both Holland and Finland pledged support because the IMF was involved. August 20th marks an important short-term hurdle as Greece is required to pay back EUR3.8bn to the ECB - and with collateral being withdrawn, we wonder how long before the ECB pulls the plug entirely - even on Greek T-Bills. Whether this is sabre-rattling before the delayed TROIKA visit or the IMF (and the rest of the TROIKA) indeed deciding enough is enough and realizing finally that more debt (or even maturity extensions) does not solve the problem of too much debt - only default will do that!

No More Mr. Nice Guy As IMF Set To Kick Out Greece | ZeroHedge

Men in Black to seize Spanish Regions


Submitted by thetrader on 07/22/2012 16:59 -0400

• ETC
• fixed

By www.thetrader.se

As our readers should know, we have been overly bearish with regards to the Spanish Economy. The main problem, still not covered by any economic researcher, is the great Spanish denial. With politicians, policy makers, business managers etc denying the state of the economy, the problem Spain faces will ultimately be much bigger than if you would deal with the problem. Valencia “came clear” on Friday, and expect more regions to follow. Murcia’s president is putting the whole problem rather clearly. From El Mundo.

“Let no one think they’re going to give away money” , said Valcárcel, who has predicted that “it would ask for between 200 and 300 million” but specified that is not yet fixed the exact amount requested to fund the Murcia region created by the Government to help the regions.

Murcia President said that “in practice”, all regions are taken over, as he explained, the State “forced” to make decisions that will not normally be taken.

“All regions can be tapped, because if you do not meet the deficit, the state forces you to take action and that is the intervention,” he said.

“There will come a few gentlemen dressed in black with a briefcase, wearing sunglasses, to get us out of the offices to clean slap” incident Murcia President, who asked whether he would resign if there is intervention, considers that Zapatero and then Rajoy “should have resigned several times.”

In this sense, states that as a community “belong to a state that requires you to take action and as a country, belong to a union of states that also forces you to apply for the general good.”

By Given this situation, expressed his respect for the demonstrations against the cuts are happening, but thinks that “could have been done before.”

In his view, “demonstrating against a government that makes decisions and they did against other Government which denied the crisis. The end is installed in people the idea that the crisis has caused Rajoy.” But adds, in a row, what is clear is that people “is very angry and is within their rights” because “when you work more and get paid unless you get mad.”

He believes that what is pissing people is the fact that the government “always said he would not take such measures and has taken,” but argues that “maybe we should have understood that Zapatero did not take some measures, which took late and wrong, as required by Brussels and habérnoslo thought twice before making the easy criticism. “

Full article here.

For the crash deja vú, click here, and the latest on the Spanish Economy click here.

Men in Black to seize Spanish Regions | ZeroHedge

Related: The Russian Default Scenario As Script For Europe's Next Steps | ZeroHedge

Related: Greece's Tsipras Calls For 'Drachmatization' Instead Of TROIKA "Longer Rope To Hang Ourselves" | ZeroHedge

Dead and Deader



Submitted by ilene on 07/22/2012 14:03 -0400

• Beige Book
• China
• fixed
• Hugh Hendry
• Hugh Hendry
• Unemployment

Dead and Deader

Phil Davis of Phil's Stock World is sounding a little bearish.
Excerpt from Stock World Weekly

Redrum, redrum, REDRUM!

OK, if you haven’t seen “The Shining” that may not make sense but the short story is Shelly Duval should have listened to that crazy kid and gotten the Hell out of that house. That’s how I felt about the markets after reading Wednesday’s Beige Book.

Hsac, hsac, HSAC!!!—would be more accurate (and if you can’t figure that out, perhaps you should stick to Cramer or some simpler form of financial analysis). In Wednesday morning’s post, I point- ed out that Hugh Hendry, one of the only analysts I actually respect, had said “Bad things are going to happen and I still think the closest analogy is the 1930s” and we discussed the massive drought in the US and how conditions are, indeed moving towards what we did have in the 1930s—from the record income disparity to the rising unemployment to the destabilization in Europe... No wonder I titled Thursday’s post “Déjà Vu All Over Again.”

It’s a shame that we waited all this time with our cash only to finally see opportunities on the short side but we need to play the cards we are dealt. Yes, there are many companies that do seem cheap—just as there were many companies that seemed cheap in July of 2008, when we slipped from 14,000 in October 2007 to 11,000 on the Dow and seemed to find a bottom. In October of 2008, things seemed even cheaper as we held that 8,000 line—who knew we had another 20% to fall after that and wouldn’t see 8,000 again until the following April?

Our only bullish premise since we bought at the June bottom was that we would get some form of stimulus to move the markets higher. We were not deluded into thinking things were actually fixed, nor do we think that the stimulus (if it ever comes) will actually fix anything but you can inject a few hundred cc’s of adrenaline into a guy who’s pretty much dead and still get a reaction—that’s all we’re expecting—just a little reaction to some additional stimulus.

But what if the stimulus doesn’t come? Then all you have is that economy that’s pretty much dead and getting deader every day. Even worse, all of the economy’s friends and neighbors are dropping like flies and not only does Uncle China seem unwilling or unable to give us a transfusion but he’s starting to look like he may be about to keel over as well.

Riots, chaos, mayhem—these are not the earmarks of a contented society. To watch the financial news all day is to miss out on what’s really going on in the World, which is inhabited by the bottom 99% and the bottom 90% of that group are in dire straits indeed.

For a free trial to Stock World Weekly, click here.

Dead and Deader | ZeroHedge