statism watch

Todd Howe, WeAreChangeToronto
November 11, 2010

This week world leaders, finance ministers and their retinues are once again meeting for the G20 summit, descending this time on the city of Seoul. Protests have broken out in the streets, as expected. The mandatory dramatic images of citizens being pepper sprayed have been rolled out to the international media. And South Korea has shown it can deploy a militarized security force with the best of them: demonstration is simply ‘illegal’ within 2km of the site and a battery of water cannons, armoured vehicles, robots, roadblocks and helicopters says so.

As it turns out, the real melee to watch in Seoul may be inside the security wall this week. With talk of a showdown between the US and Germany and China over currency manipulation, the World Bank’s push for a stronger global trade unit, and the ongoing implosion of sovereign European bonds in overexposed countries (most recently, Ireland), the occasional firework is sure to be lit inside the conference center as well. Despite the mass media’s overwhelming focus on protest, violence, and damage to property it’s clear that the police, the intimidating hardware, and the very real populist opposition to the summit are symptomatic of, but are not the ultimate cause of the dis-ease afflicting the streets of any recent G20 host site. That’s the part of the story reserved for the business sections and back pages of the paper, couched in the pallid language of global economics, abstraction, and understatement.

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Problem, reaction, solution: globalist bankers have been successful at blowing out the US dollar and the Euro and bringing them to the brink via massive wealth destruction through the sale of fraudulent derivative securities, the monetization of the resultant debt, and “stimulus” inflation. This artificial debt bubble is just about set to pop, and a new solution is being offered by the same people, in much the same way a crack dealer strings along his victims.Want a hit? The first one’s free.

Related: RBS tells clients to prepare for ‘monster’ money-printing by the Federal Reserve | The scary euro? Maybe the most frightening monster is the greenback | Germany could cause euro collapse: Soros | Spain could test the euro to its limit | US money supply plunges at 1930s pace as Obama eyes fresh stimulus | Germany’s Merkel Says Euro Is in Danger | Ron Paul: Euro Bailout Will Lead To Currency Collapse | Ontario launches U.S. bond | IMF chief proposes new reserve currency | Man who broke the Bank of England, George Soros, ‘at centre of hedge funds plot to cash in on fall of the euro’ | Collapse of the euro is ‘inevitable’: Bailing out the Greek economy futile, says French banking chief | Euro currency union shows strains | The Federal Reserve as Giant Counterfeiter | Current And Former IMF Heads Call For New Global Currency | George Soros Calls for World Currency and “New World Architecture” | U.S. dollar sags on global financial leaders’ omission | G20 Meet To Finalize Dumping Of Dollar This Weekend? | Dollar Reaches Breaking Point as Central Banks Shift Reserves | Fisk: Nations to hasten demise of dollar in new world order | US dollar set to be eclipsed, World Bank president predicts | Bilderberg Wants Global Currency Now | Dollar to fall under scrutiny at G20 summit | UN wants new global currency to replace dollar | G20 agrees to continue economic stimulus measures; Geithner shops international reserve accord | China Set to Buy $50 Billion in IMF Notes | Medvedev Unveils “World Currency” Coin At G8 | China calls anew for super-sovereign currency | China explores buying $50bn in IMF bonds | Chinese economists deem huge holding of US bonds “risky” as Geithner visits| U.N. panel says world should ditch dollar | IMF may need to “print money”, act as “world’s central bank” as crisis spreads | Globalists Exploit Financial Meltdown In Move Towards One World Currency | World needs new Bretton Woods, says Brown

Gabriella Casanas, Mick B. Krever, CNN
June 29, 2010

The dollar is an unreliable international currency and should be replaced by a more stable system, the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs said in a report released Tuesday.

The use of the dollar for international trade came under increasing scrutiny when the U.S. economy fell into recession. “The dollar has proved not to be a stable store of value, which is a requisite for a stable reserve currency,” the report said.

Many countries, in Asia in particular, have been building up massive dollar reserves. As a result, those countries’ currencies have become undervalued, decreasing their ability to import goods from abroad.

The World Economic and Social Survey 2010 is supporting a proposal long advocated by the International Monetary Fund to create a standardized international system for liquidity transfer.

Under this proposed system, countries would no longer have to buy up foreign currencies, as China has long done with the U.S. dollar. Rather, they would accumulate the right to claim foreign currencies, or special drawing rights, or SDRs, rather than the currencies themselves.

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Related: The scary euro? Maybe the most frightening monster is the greenback | US money supply plunges at 1930s pace as Obama eyes fresh stimulus | Europe and America Morally and Financially Bankrupt | Terence Corcoran: The rise of global statism | Stimulating our way into debt crises | The Federal Reserve as Giant Counterfeiter | The Keynesian quagmire | Nassim Taleb on the economy: ‘We still have the same disease’ | Statistical Deceptions: How Fake is the “Recovery”? | Headed to National Socialism | The Illustrated Road to Serfdom | Fascist America, in 10 easy steps

Ambrose Evans-Pritchard, The Telegraph
June 27, 2010

As recovery starts to stall in the US and Europe with echoes of mid-1931, bond experts are once again dusting off a speech by Ben Bernanke given eight years ago as a freshman governor at the Federal Reserve.

“Lies and theft/ Guns and debt/ Life and death/ IMF” – Vampires by Thievery Corporation

What’s the balance of outstanding loans between the IMF and G20 countries? Well, it turns out they have a webpage for that and the present total is 51 billion in credit outstanding accounts. That’s priced in ‘SDRs’, the house scrip of the IMF, which aspires to be a sort of world Federal Reserve. So in this communique, they’re simply giving their clients a little friendly advice to pay up. Can you imagine if this institution, its interventions and predatory loans the cause of so much turmoil in the developing world, won its PR campaign to get international transactions denominated in SDRs? Soros, DSK, Sarkozy and others are hopping with urgency for the  Petrodollar replacement. The IMF would be the top creditor to the world, essentially taking over the Federal Reserve’s role and extending its services, so helpful to the USA, to all nations. Hopefully DSK would be gone by that point, a small mercy. Have you read his bio? Domique Strauss-Khan is a dyed in the wool collectivist, scion of the socialist party in France, a veteran of the “Yes” campaign for the EU constitution, a top globalist. If the IMF takes over the printing of currency, this guy becomes a sort of Alan Greenspan to the world. And if you thought Greenspan was creepy, check out old DSK.

The IMF’s business primary business is setting up military dictatorships to drain the resources of a country dry. DSK and the IMF both fulfill the archetype of the wight, the vampire – he with his insistent SMS, they with their SDRs and SAPs – “Structural Adjustment” austerity programs. Hey Canada, there’s a new banker in town and you’re not going to like what he puts on the table. You thought turmoil followed the G20? Just wait until you see an IMF riot. That’s why Harper spent a good chunk of the 1.2 Billion it cost to stage the IMF on security hardware. They’re just getting ready for the really angry mobs all the military studies are predicting when people figure out how they are being bled dry. (It would go some way to explain why Harper appears so bloodless. It should come as no surprise he’s for austerity programs as well.)

Related: G8 Summit: Leaders divided over tackling national deficits | The End of The Great Bailouts is Approaching | The Real Meaning of ‘Economic Austerity’: IMF/World Bank devastation | For G20 leaders, fiscal austerity is the new normal | IMF says Spain taking right steps towards stability | Harper urges austerity, Obama stimulus in urge for G20 to boost economic recovery | Carney warns of ‘age of austerity’, global outlook ‘getting worse’ | Spanish bailout readied as EU chief warns ‘democracy could disappear’ in debt ridden states | Europe embraces the cult of austerity — but at what cost? | | British face big spending cuts as coalition shows unity on austerity | Impact of $47B stimulus minimal: Fraser Institute | More stimulus spending coming | Federal budget watchdog disputes Flaherty’s forecasts | Hope keeps Flaherty’s balanced budget afloat | Tories hand out $75 billion worth of ’spending restraint’ | Stimulating our way into debt crises | IMF warns against retreat from stimulus spending | Flaherty’s economic plan blasted as leading to taxation or cuts | Idle job market hurting recovery, Flaherty warns | No new stimulus, economy ’stabilized’: Harper | Lower tax haul helps widen Ottawa deficit, $56.2B shortfall expected | Can’t say if federal stimulus is working: watchdog | Liberals call stimulus numbers ‘fiction’ | Ottawa on track for largest-ever deficit | Flaherty, USA say no to global financial tax, yes to continued ’stimulus’ at G20 | Economic picture still not very bright, and more layoffs are in store, manufacturers say | G20 to pledge continued ’stimulus’, examine international reserve fund | Aspiring government economists must reveal views on stimulus plan | Fund me or axe me, parliamentary budget officer says | Stephen Harper trumpets economic report card | Carney says G20 must stay the course on stimulus | Ottawa’s deficit plan would hike EI premiums | Canada’s $1-trillion debt baby | Flaherty sees deficit, debt, and timetable to return to surplus all expanding | G20 agrees to continue economic stimulus measures; Geithner shops international reserve accord | Federal deficit hits $7.5B in April-May | Budget officer ‘can’t tell’ if stimulus plan working | G8 leaders see no early end to stimulus | Flaherty looks for way to end stimulus | Stimulus cash is flowing — down a hole? | Harper lays out stimulus spending in progress report | ‘Reduced pace of deterioration’ indicates economy on the mend: Flaherty | Federal deficit to top $50B | Stimulus needed now, Bank of Canada says | US Congress reaches deal on economic stimulus package | $12B for infrastructure forms key pillar of stimulus package | Brace for a big, ‘comprehensive’ budget: Harper | Transport Minister Baird calls for dramatic action on stimulus package | Obama calls for ‘dramatic action’ on stimulus package | Flaherty vows short-lived deficit, consults corporate chiefs on spending initiatives | Harper government plans deficits as deep as $30 billion | Britain to introduce massive stimulus package | Deficits ‘essential,’ Harper says | Flaherty eyes sale of Canadian government assets | Flaherty lauds Keynesian global ‘economic stimulus’ strategies

Heather Scoffield, The Globe and Mail
June 26, 2010

Sacrifices would be great, but rewards would be enormous, with millions of new jobs, widespread reduction in poverty, and stronger global growth, paper says

Related: Germany could cause euro collapse: Soros | Spain could test the euro to its limit | US money supply plunges at 1930s pace as Obama eyes fresh stimulus | Germany’s Merkel Says Euro Is in Danger | Ron Paul: Euro Bailout Will Lead To Currency Collapse | Ontario launches U.S. bond | IMF chief proposes new reserve currency | Man who broke the Bank of England, George Soros, ‘at centre of hedge funds plot to cash in on fall of the euro’ | Collapse of the euro is ‘inevitable’: Bailing out the Greek economy futile, says French banking chief | Euro currency union shows strains | The Federal Reserve as Giant Counterfeiter | Current And Former IMF Heads Call For New Global Currency | George Soros Calls for World Currency and “New World Architecture” | U.S. dollar sags on global financial leaders’ omission | G20 Meet To Finalize Dumping Of Dollar This Weekend? | Dollar Reaches Breaking Point as Central Banks Shift Reserves | Fisk: Nations to hasten demise of dollar in new world order | US dollar set to be eclipsed, World Bank president predicts | Bilderberg Wants Global Currency Now | Dollar to fall under scrutiny at G20 summit | UN wants new global currency to replace dollar | G20 agrees to continue economic stimulus measures; Geithner shops international reserve accord | China Set to Buy $50 Billion in IMF Notes | Medvedev Unveils “World Currency” Coin At G8 | China calls anew for super-sovereign currency | China explores buying $50bn in IMF bonds | Chinese economists deem huge holding of US bonds “risky” as Geithner visits| U.N. panel says world should ditch dollar | IMF may need to “print money”, act as “world’s central bank” as crisis spreads | Globalists Exploit Financial Meltdown In Move Towards One World Currency | World needs new Bretton Woods, says Brown

Eric Reguly, The Globe and Mail
June 25, 2010

As economists foretell the demise of the European currency. they are forgetting about the U.S. dollar beast in the closet

The words that have dominated headlines on the euro have bordered on apocalyptic: crisis, blowout, sinking, disaster, chaos, death, storm, tragedy, fear, contagion. This is how the world has come to see Europe’s shared currency.

Anyone reading about the euro from the time that Greece began to unravel in January would have assumed that the greatest economic experiment since the end of the Second World War, perhaps since Roman troops employed pointy objects to unify Europe 2,000 years ago, was a dud, kaput, finito, mort. The North American media and the economists they quoted were particularly down on the 11-year-old euro project. They endlessly referred to American economist Milton Friedman’s prediction that the euro would not survive Europe’s first big economic crisis.

Mr. Friedman’s skepticism about the euro’s long-term viability may yet prove well founded. But on the eve of the Group of 20 summit in Toronto, the leaders of the euro zone countries will not arrive defeated, their heads bowed. That’s because, already, there are signs the worst is over.

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So we’ll mark Soros down as still belonging firmly to the stimulus (more free money for banks) camp. He’s being a little uncharitable considering the cost of bailing out the Mediterranean states has fallen largely on German shoulders. But then, he stands to clean up if the Euro falls, which is why this ongoing sermon is so suspect.

Related: Soros Sees ‘Act II’ of Financial Crisis, Blames ‘Market Fundamentalism’ Again | Soros warns Europe of disintegration | Man who broke the Bank of England, George Soros, ‘at centre of hedge funds plot to cash in on fall of the euro’ | Davos 2010: George Soros warns gold is now the ‘ultimate bubble’, calls for IMF to handle climate fund | George Soros Calls for World Currency and “New World Architecture” | Soros: China Will Lead New World Order | Soros points out regulated markets fail to operate on market fundamentals, calls for more regulation

Reuters
June 23, 2010

Billionaire investor says the country is dragging its neighbours into deflation

German’s budget savings policy risks destroying the European project and a collapse of the euro cannot be ruled out, billionaire investor George Soros said in a newspaper interview released on Wednesday.

“German policy is a danger for Europe, it could destroy the European project,” he told German weekly Die Zeit.

Mr. Soros, who earned $1-billion in 1992 by betting against the British pound, added that he “could not rule out a collapse of the euro.”

“If the Germans don’t change their policy, their exit from the currency union would be helpful for the rest of Europe,” he said.

Chancellor Angela Merkel unveiled plans earlier this month for €80-billion ($107-billion) in budget cuts over the next four years — a package she hopes will bring Germany’s structural deficit within European Union limits by 2013.

“Right now the Germans are dragging their neighbours into deflation, which threatens a long phase of stagnation. And that leads to nationalism, social unrest and xenophobia. Democracy itself could be at risk,” Mr. Soros said.

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Ambrose Evans-Pritchard, The Guardian
June 20, 2010

We already know that the eurozone money markets seized up violently in early May as incipient bank runs spread from Greece to Portugal and Spain, threatening the first big sovereign default of our era.

Related: Chinese facing debt time bomb | Is China actually bankrupt? |China rejects Barack Obama’s call to change yuan policy | Soros: China Will Lead New World Order | Fisk: Nations to hasten demise of dollar in new world order | US dollar set to be eclipsed, World Bank president predicts | Bilderberg Wants Global Currency Now | Dollar to fall under scrutiny at G20 summit | IMF approves $13bn gold sale to boost lending fund | UN wants new global currency to replace dollar | G20 agrees to continue economic stimulus measures; Geithner shops international reserve accord | China Set to Buy $50 Billion in IMF Notes | Timothy Geithner: travelling bond salesman | Medvedev Unveils “World Currency” Coin At G8 | China calls anew for super-sovereign currency | No one talking about dumping dollar: China minister | China explores buying $50bn in IMF bonds | Chinese economists deem huge holding of US bonds “risky” as Geithner visits | A Bigger, Bolder Role Is Imagined For the IMF | UK PM reveals G20 plan to boost IMF by $1 trillion, hails new world order (again) | UN & IMF Back Agenda For Global Financial Dictatorship | US backing for world currency stuns markets | U.N. panel says world should ditch dollar | IMF poised to print billions of dollars in ‘global quantitative easing’ | Gordon Brown seeks sweeping reforms to give IMF global ’surveillance role’ | IMF may need to “print money”, act as “world’s central bank” as crisis spreads | Globalists Exploit Financial Meltdown In Move Towards One World Currency | World needs new Bretton Woods, says Brown | IMF prescribes state regulation of ‘global financial order’ | Bilderberg Seeks Bank Centralization Agenda | Banks face “new world order,” consolidation: report

Andy Hoffman, The Globe and Mail
June 20, 2010

After deciding to let the currency appreciate, there will be less complaining at this week’s Toronto G20 summit

China’s surprise pledge to allow its currency to begin appreciating marks a significant shift in policy that will eventually help rebalance global trade and accelerate an economic shift within China towards growth driven by its own consumers.

Although any rise in the value of the Chinese yuan is likely to happen gradually, the country’s central bank signalled over the weekend that it will abandon its policy of keeping its currency closely tied to the U.S. dollar, which it has done since the financial crisis of 2008.

By allowing the artificially weak yuan (also known as the renminbi, or RMB) to rise in value against the greenback, policy makers risk hurting China’s key export sector by makings its goods more expensive to foreign buyers. But a stronger currency will boost the purchasing power of China’s consumers and businesses — and bring the country closer to achieving its goal of establishing a more self-sufficient economy, driven by domestic demand.

The move will also help control inflationary pressures that have recently emerged in the world’s third-largest economy and may allow China to avoid implementing further tightening measures, such as a rise in interest rates.

“China’s leaders have increasingly come to recognize that, despite short-term pain for exporters, a more flexible exchange rate and a stronger RMB also bring many benefits to China over the long term, and put its economy on sounder footing,” said Patrick Chovanec, a business professor at Beijing’s Tsinghua University.

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Related: IMF says Spain taking right steps towards stability | EU to push for global bank tax at G20 | France surrenders to Germany’s demand for Euro oversight by central bank | Spanish bailout readied as EU chief warns ‘democracy could disappear’ in debt ridden states | Europe embraces the cult of austerity — but at what cost? | Soros Sees ‘Act II’ of Financial Crisis, Blames ‘Market Fundamentalism’ Again | Double-dip recession ‘practically inevitable’: UBS | European markets decline for 3rd day | Eurozone plan for common bond issue to head off debt crisis | EU plans to create watchdog to curb credit rating agencies | Germany bans naked short-selling | European debt fears batter TSX | Greece links U.S. banks to debt crisis | European Council On Foreign Relations: EU Needs To Use Crisis For Greater Power | Sarkozy threatened to quit euro in showdown with Germany: Report | Hedge funds vote threatens EU-US rift | Global markets slide on debt fears | Loonie, TSX slip on euro woes | European Powerbrokers Present Proposal For New Economic And Political Order | Europe and America Morally and Financially Bankrupt | EU wants member countries to co-ordinate budgets | EU deal euphoria fizzles out | Ron Paul: Euro Bailout Will Lead To Currency Collapse | ‘Shock and awe’ euro rescue lifts global markets | Western Central Banks back Trillion Dollar European rescue plan, ECB to manage markets | Euro zone to regulate hedge funds, vows to fend off ‘wolf pack’ traders at all costs | Euro crisis goes global as leaders fail to stop the rot | Debt crisis: Panic on Wall Street, stonewalling in Europe | Greek rescue fears hit global stock markets | Greece swallows tough medicine in $150B bailout, more spending cuts announced | Greece erupts as men from IMF prepare to wield axe | Greece’s near bankruptcy won’t scuttle Canada-EU trade talks: minister | New austerity measures essential, says Greek PM | European Central Bank chief: Bank of International Settlements to Rule the Global Economy | Greek debt crisis: Europe feels shockwaves as bailout falters | Standard & Poor’s downgrade Greek credit rating to junk status | Greek bailout not limited to €45bn, Flaherty warns | IMF to move quickly on Greek request for loan | Greek PM calls for EU bailout loans | Greek civil servants strike, challenge EU/IMF talks | Soros warns Europe of disintegration | Investors rush to sell Greek bonds | IMF struggles to conceal glee at Greek deal | Greece secures joint IMF/Eurozone bailout program | Greek PM threatens to go to IMF if no EU bailout | General strike cripples Greece as protesters clash with police | Athens erupts as Greek austerity plan passes | Greece unveils radical austerity package | Athen’s coffers to run dry in two weeks, more cracks appear in Eurozone | Man who broke the Bank of England, George Soros, ‘at centre of hedge funds plot to cash in on fall of the euro’ | Goldman role in Greek crisis probed | Greek workers stage general strike | How EU Countries Cooked Books Using Derivatives | Goldman Sachs Helped Greece Obscure Debt Through Currency Swaps | Collapse of the euro is ‘inevitable’: Bailing out the Greek economy futile, says French banking chief | Euro currency union shows strains | Stimulating our way into debt crises | EU leaders reach secret Greek bailout deal | Will Greece set off ‘global debt bomb’? | EU cautions Greece about its deficit | Could Greece drag down Europe? | ‘Significant chance’ of second financial crisis, warns World Economic Forum | A world awash in debt | Secret report details Nazi plan to create a European Union | Leaked 1955 Bilderberg Docs Outline Plan For Single European Currency | Leaked Agenda: Bilderberg Group Plans Economic Depression | Bilderberg chairman: ‘Bilderberg helped create the Euro’ | Bilderberg Seeks Bank Centralization Agenda

Bruno Waterfield, The Telegraph
June 19, 2010

As the euro has continued to plunge on foreign exchanges, Spain has become the main focus of fears that economic and debt imbalances between southern and northern Europe will tear the single currency apart

Related: Gold price hits new record as it breaks through $1,250 | Iran To Dump 45 Billion Euros For Gold Bullion & Dollars | Gold vaults nearly 3% to record high $1234, BMO sees $1600 horizon | Gold nears record high as stocks plunge | Manipulation of Gold Market by Financial Giants Exposed at CFTC Hearing | Davos 2010: George Soros warns gold is now the ‘ultimate bubble’, calls for IMF to handle climate fund | We’re running out of gold: miners | Gold rallies to record above $1,100 | Gold prices surge as India buys IMF reserves | Plentiful paper currency buffing gold’s shine | Gold continues record-breaking run | Gold price rises to all-time high | Fisk: Nations to hasten demise of dollar in new world order | IMF approves $13bn gold sale to boost lending fund | Gold regains $1,000 | Gold toys with $1000/oz | Industrial demand for silver sharpens bullish view | Global demand for gold investment soars 38% in past year | Bullion and Bandits: The Improbable Rise and Fall of E-Gold | Has the Mint’s gold vanished? | Bank crisis spawns new kind of gold rush | Gold Tops $1,000, First Time Since March as Recession Deepens | Manipulation Of Gold And Silver Prices Further Exposed | Analysts Predict Hyper-Inflation To Push Gold To $2000, Oil to $300 | Ottawa warns on gold-backed Web trades

Carole Vaporean, Jan Harvey, Reuters
Jun 18, 2010

Metal hits new high above $1,260 an ounce, gain in 2010 now nearly 15 per cent

Gold (GC-FT1,234.00-24.30-1.93%) rallied Friday to an all-time record above $1,260 (U.S.) an ounce, as investors looked to precious metals for an alternative to equity or debt investments given renewed uncertainty about the economic recovery.

Several surprisingly weak U.S. economic readings released a day earlier renewed investors worries, driving them to seek the safety of a tangible asset like gold.

Spot gold hit an all-time high of $1,261.90 an ounce, but was bid at $1,256.65 an ounce at 3:20 p.m. ET, against $1,243.40 late on Thursday. U.S. gold futures for August delivery also climbed to a record at $1,263.70, and settled up $9.60 at $1,258.30, its highest ever close.

“I think it is a case of gold’s ability to compete with both credit and equity markets for investments. Competing with credit markets has been in play for a long time, because of low interest rates and low opportunity cost of holding gold,” said Tom Pawlicki, precious metals analyst at MF Global in Chicago.

“The data yesterday from initial claims and Philadelphia Fed was another thing indicating to investors that the economic recovery will be sub-par compared with other recession recoveries. That makes gold more attractive,” he added.

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