BRICS vs OECD or Corporations vs The People?

Photo: BRICS leaders gather at the “2013 BRICS Summit” in Durban South Africa

“The BRICS just became impossible to ignore. At the close of the Fifth annual BRICS Summit in Durban, South Africa last week, there was little question that this group of five fast-growing economies was underwriting an overhaul of the global economic and political order.” – The BRICS Post

This following Post is In Reply to:

BRICS Summit draws clear red lines on Syria & Iran

http://thebricspost.com/brics-summit-draws-clear-red-lines-on-syria-iran/

"BRICS Summit draws clear red lines..." was a very interesting post but it leaves out some extremely important details to the reader such as what this New World Banking Order is and what it really means. What are they really talking about?

In my opinion, what I see emerging with the BRICS is a duplicate Rothschild banking system with the exact same economic model that is based on exponential growth…and while we the people are realing from this growth model at home, the leading Western nations are plugging the worlds largest economy (China) into the energy they need to continue the destruction of the Western economies. Two clear examples of this are in Iraq and most recently, Canada’s Tar Sands…in fact the approved sale of NEXEN came from Washington and London before it could pass in the Canadian Parliament…not that Canada had any say anyways.

 

Photo: Canadian PM Stephen Harper Toasting FIPPA Deal with China’s Premier Wen Jiabao

Video: China Oil Firm Cuts Deal in Iraq

However the Harper government then went out of its way to give China free access without prosecution for damages they may inflict on our country with FIPPA. Then Harper removed the protection on 99.999% of all the lakes and rivers with Bill C-45 so that corporations like the ones from China could do what they want, anyway they want, without fear of prosecution…and to keep the crimes and pollution from being exposed they muzzled the scientists and declared environmental activists terrorists…(See links Below)

BRICS stand on Syria:

As for Syria…talk is cheap. Russia is under the Israeli influence, and Israel desires the destruction of Syria, Lebanon, and Palestine…and what has Russia done to protect them? Absolutely nothing. Syria has been economically destroyed already. All I see is inaction and empty words on the part of Russia and China on Syria as was the case in Libya. Who stopped the western OECD nations from destroying Libya, or the wests friends in Israel, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey, and Jordan from destroying Syria? No one! What I see, is an emerging New World Order via a single currency that will enslave the entire world to the banks and their system of exponential growth.

Video: The Truth About Libya

The status quo, of the OECD & BRICS economic model does not work in the favour of the people. It works in the favour of the wealthy few that control the currency…nothing will change with the BRICS system but I can see that the BRICS will grow simply because no one likes the war like behavior of the Western Nations, and as a result of a crashing OECD economic system, every bankrupt nation will turn to the BRICS and be assimilated into the New World Order emerging from the BRICS new deal.

The BRICS economic model is exactly the same as the OECD model, the only difference is the name of the business plan…the real reason the west is going down is because the banks want control of every country under their single global currency and to do this they must destroy the one that is currently in place…this has been their goal all along.

If we are to see a change in this world of ours we must change our priorities and not allow a corporate model to run the planet. The corporate structure is one of total dictatorship as everyone must see by now as multi national mega conglomerates gobble up everything in sight. Their influence on the Media and government are clearly obvious especially when they become too big to fail, have legislation passed in their favour, or are supported without investigation by the mainstream media. These multi conglomerates are driven by their largest shareholders with a growth model that is exponential and ruthless.

When you have the same share holders controlling the operations of multiple industries with decision making that is best described as, cold, unempathic, and without common sense or moral regard for society, then you have an Armageddon monster out of control and in process of destroying the planet.

 

Photo: Standard Oil Cartoon

Lead by Example:

The only solution that the people have if they want to survive is to stop this “thing” by ending the economic model that feeds it before it completely destroys the planet and everything on it.

I try not to be driven by greed and instead am driven by my empathy for all life and for the future generations that will inherit the earth after I’m gone. What will we leave the future generations? In reality, our needs are meagre compared to what now exists as an economic model…where will we be in 100 years if this economic model is allowed to continue?

Video Source: The Elders Speak (Part 3)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9piIziXU9RE

I Don’t want to leave future generations with this economic monster in place so that it can destroy the planet and all life on it. Let’s be the change together and end this madness. The transition will begin when the OECD economies fall. The transition will be in your hands, either we begin the change by removing the private banks, corporate influence, and its political structure, or we succumb to our greed and wipe out the planet…it’s up to all of us, think very hard on this and discuss it with your neighbours, friends, and family…but do it soon because time has run out.

Stewart Brennan

World United News

This Opinion post is In Reply to:

BRICS Summit draws clear red lines on Syria & Iran
http://thebricspost.com/brics-summit-draws-clear-red-lines-on-syria-iran/

Information Links:

China Oil Firm cuts Deal in Iraq

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m4gskxEbPYw
Activists Labelled “Terrorists” by Canadian Government
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gg124WQthPM
Harper Government Muzzles Scientists
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZmo-sU0bIw
Canadian Scientists “Muzzeling” Probed by Information Commissioner
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NuLUrQpixY4
Canada Under Siege – (Part 1) – The Tar Sands, Free Trade, & The Government
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qpfOsf1f26I
Canada Under Siege – (Part 2) – The Economy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o2K3x-Ci8O8
The Truth About Libya – The Road to Endless War – (Part 2) - Libya
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FCgcbB29bmw
The Global Economy – The Truth and a Warning
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HHTpRDM96YQ

 

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Eurozone finance ministers approve bailout deal for Cyprus

 

French minister of Economy, Finances and Foreign Trade Pierre Moscovici (R) and International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde (L) chat next to EU Commissioner for Economic and Monetary Affairs Olli Rehn (C) prior to an extraordinary Eurozone meeting on March 24, 2013 at the EU Headquarters in Brussels (AFP Photo / John Thys)

Source: Russia Today

http://rt.com/news/cyprus-eu-imf-bailout-764/

The Eurogroup has approved a deal on a 10 billion-euro bailout for Cyprus, struck early Monday in Brussels. Cyprus avoids exiting the eurozone, but will have its second largest bank closed with heavy losses expected for big depositors.

“The size of financial assistance will amount to 10 billion euro,” Eurogroup president Jeroen Dijsselbloem has announced at a press conference in Brussels after the eurozone finance ministers swiftly endorsed the plan.

“With this agreement we’ve put an end to the uncertainty that has affected Cyprus and the euro area over the last few days,”he added.

The new deal agreed between Cyprus and the Troika of international lenders - the EU, the ECB and the IMF - will set up a "good bank" and a "bad bank" and will mean that the country’s second largest bank Laiki will effectively be shut down.

Deposits below 100,000 euros will be shifted from Laiki to the Bank of Cyprus to create a “good bank.” Deposits larger than 100,000 euros will be frozen and used to resolve debts. It remains unclear how large the write-down on those funds will be.

The decision comes hours before the Monday deadline set by the European Central Bank, following heated talks between President Nicos Anastasiades and the Troika.

Earlier on Sunday the central bank in Cyprus has imposed an ATM withdrawal limit of 100 euros per day for the island's two biggest banks, in order to prevent a run on lenders.

Warren Pollock - market analyst and financial adviser says the financial turmoil in Cyprus is part of a broader crisis.

“In reality this is a global problem which has not been addressed since 2007-2008 and previous to that with the issuance of huge amounts of debt and leverage into the system both in Europe and in the United States,” he told RT.


“And when that debt goes bad, the only recourse which exists is to tap remaining collateral in the system which is the savings.”


Pollock believes that sooner or later this “sort of stealing” of savings may result in popular unrest. “We can definitely see smaller countries being the test to see whether savings could be stolen on a wider scale.”

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Cyprus imposes ATM withdrawal limit of €100 per day for island's two largest banks

 

People queue to withdraw their savings at a Cypus Popular Bank (Laiki Bank) ATM in Athens on March 22, 2013. (AFP Photo)

Source: Russia Today

http://rt.com/business/cyprus-bailout-withdrawal-banks-756/

The central bank in Cyprus has imposed an ATM withdrawal limit of 100 euros per day for the island's two biggest banks, in order to prevent a run on lenders.

A spokesman for the country's second largest lender, Cyprus Popular Bank, told Reuters that the new measure began at 1pm local time (11am GMT) and would remain in place until the bank reopens, or until confirmation of continued emergency funding from the European Central Bank. Cyprus Popular Bank had previously limited withdrawals to 260 euros per day.

A government official said the restriction also applied to the Bank of Cyprus.

It was initially reported that the measure was implemented on all banks in Cyprus, although it has now been confirmed that only the island's two biggest banks have been affected.

The news comes after Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades took part in last-minute crisis talks with international lenders on Sunday, in an attempt to save the country from financial meltdown. The negotiations in Nicosia to seal a bailout from the EU and International Monetary Fund failed to reach a solution.

Anastasiades then headed to Brussels to hold talks with EU, European Central Bank and IMF leaders ahead of a crunch meeting of eurozone finance ministers.

Government spokesman Christos Stylianides said in a statement on Sunday that Anastasiades and his team have a "very difficult task to accomplish to save the Cypriot economy and avert a disorderly default if there is no final agreement on a loan accord."

The news comes just one day after Cyprus and the Troika agreed to a 20 per cent tax on deposits over 100,000 euros at the Bank of Cyprus and 4 per cent on deposits held at other banks.

"Unfortunately, the events of recent days have led to a situation where there are no longer any optimal solutions available. Today, there are only hard choices left," European Union Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn said in a Saturday statement.

Cyprus is scrambling to come up with €5.8 billion by Monday, or face being kicked out of the Eurozone. The cash is a prerequisite for a further €10 billion in bailout funds.

Lawmakers' rejection of a previous proposal to tax all bank deposits prompted the European Central Bank to threaten to cut off emergency funding to Cypriot banks unless a deal was reached by March 25. Banks have been shut all week, and are due to reopen on March 26.

On Saturday, at least 1,000 bank workers in Cyprus hit the streets of the country’s capital of Nicosia. The demonstrators marched against the latest bailout measures taken by the country’s central bank.

Protesters carried banners that read, “Hands off provident funds” and “No to the bankruptcy of Cyprus.”

Turkey sends ‘stern warning’ to Cyprus over gas reserves

Meanwhile, Turkey has warned Greek Cyprus against using hydrocarbon reserves off the island to overcome its debt crisis without the consent of Turkish Cypriots. Ankara says such a move could result in an end to efforts to reunite Cyprus’ Turkish and Greek zones.

Turkey has contacted the US and plans to take the issue to the European Union, Today’s Zaman reported.

Ankara “had to issue a stern warning” regarding attempts to offer natural resources in exchange for foreign loans, a Turkish official said on Sunday.

Turkey has repeatedly warned the Greek Cypriot government against unilateral moves to extract natural gas and oil reserves off Cyprus, saying that Turkish Cypriots also have a say on the reserves.

The dispute recently escalated when reports surfaced that hydrocarbon exploration rights were part of Russia-Greek Cyprus talks last week over a possible deal which includes Russian financial help. However, the talks did not produce an agreement.

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev expressed doubt on the inclusion of hydrocarbon reserves as a loan deal, saying there are concerns surrounding commercial viability and questions stemming from Turkish objections.

 

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Cypriot parliament votes against deposit levy

Cypriot woman shouts slogans as she holds a placard during a protest against an EU bailout deal outside the parliament in Nicosia (AFP Photo / Patrick Baz)

Source: Russia Today

http://rt.com/business/cyprus-against-deposit-levy-501/

The Cypriot parliament has voted against a revised bank deposit levy. The tax was meant to shave 9.9% off any deposits over €100,000 and has since caused uproar in the country.

Thirty six deputies voted against the proposal to tax bank deposits in the 56-member chamber, while 19 abstained. One deputy was not present for the vote.

"The bill has been rejected," said house speaker Yiannakis Omirou, as thousands of protesters outside the parliament building in Nicosia erupted in cheers.

According to the proposal, a 6.75% rate was to be set for amounts between €20,000 and €100,000. Deposits of up to €20,000 euros were to remain untouched.

Passage of the bill was considered a prerequisite for a €10 billion European Union bailout for the Mediterranean island. EU finance ministers have warned that Cyprus' two biggest banks could go bust if a bailout deal in some form is not forthcoming. The government and opposition parties have scheduled emergency talks on the bailout for Wednesday.

The European Central Bank (ECB) has threatened to end emergency lending assistance for Cypriot banks if a bailout deal was not ensured. However, following the vote, the ECB said it would continue to provide liquidity to Cyprus as needed “within the existing rules,” Bloomberg reports.

Cyprus has discussed the tax with its European creditors. Ministers from the 17 eurozone countries urged protection for savers with €100,000 or less and for them to be spared from the levy, after the prospect brought panic to the markets and had Cyprus dealing with the prospect of Russia withdrawing its rescue loan.

The Cypriot government’s original proposal was to tax all depositors, setting the rate of 6.75% on all deposits under€100,000 and maintaining a 9.9% tax on all deposits above that level.

In the meantime all Cypriot banks have frozen the accounts liable for the tax and stopped all transactions, including electronic and closed for a long weekend until Thursday to prevent panic.

Cyprus needed to raise €5.8 billion euros for its bailout program and was hoping to get the money in the planned bank deposits levy.

Despite the precarious position Cyprus has found itself in, a default might be preferable than a bailout under the present conditions, United Kingdom Independence Party MEP Nigel Farage told RT.

“The EU has been unhappy about so-called tax havens for a very long time. Ironically, whilst continuing to turn a blind-eye to many activities that go on in Luxemburg. I mean Cyprus finds itself right now in a very difficult, desperate position. But I would say that it is better to officially go bankrupt, to default on international bond obligations. And to do that best to keep a banking industry and to keep some confidence in that country,”he said

 

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Fed chairman warns US lawmakers on impact of 'fiscal cliff'

 

US Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke

Source: Press TV

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2012/11/21/273685/us-lawmakers-alarmed-on-fiscal-cliff/

US Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke has once again warned American legislators to ward off the abrupt and severe combination of legislated tax hikes and federal spending cuts, known as ‘fiscal cliff,’ due to take effect by the end of the year.

In a Tuesday speech at the New York Economic Club, Bernanke described fiscal cliff as a “substantial threat” to the country’s economic recovery and urged US lawmakers to put aside partisan political rivalries to avert the massive financial impact on the nation’s already slow economy.

‘‘Uncertainties about the situation in Europe and especially about the prospects for federal fiscal policy seem to be weighing on the spending decisions of households and businesses as well as on financial conditions,’’ he said, adding, ‘‘Such uncertainties will only be increased by discord and delay.’’

According to reported estimates, the impact of the scheduled federal spending cuts and the expiration of temporary tax breaks will take at least USD 500 billion out of the US economy, threatening to push it back into yet another recession.

Citing several outside economic assessments on the enormity of the ensuing tax hikes and spending cuts, Bernanke said ‘‘a fiscal shock of that size would send the economy toppling back into recession.’’

This is while the Obama administration and Congress are still negotiating over an agreement to reduce the government's massive budget deficit, which has exceeded USD 1 trillion for a fourth consecutive year.

The last time the debt limit was about to be reached, Republican lawmakers in the US Congress waited until the very last minute before deciding to raise the limit.

Saying "the deficit is on an unsustainable path," the Fed chairman further added, ‘‘As you will recall, the threat of default in the summer of 2011 fueled economic uncertainty and badly damaged confidence, even though an agreement ultimately was reached.’’

‘‘A failure to reach a timely agreement this time around could impose even heavier economic and financial costs,” he warned.

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Japan posts another record trade deficit

 

(Reuters / Toru Hanai)

Source: Russia Today

http://rt.com/business/news/japan-trade-deficit-record-219/

Japan has seen its worst trade deficit for October in over 30 years, renewing September’s record, with dropping exports to China due to the territorial dispute, and easing demand from debt-stricken Europe.

The government data showed that a 549 billion yen ($6.7 billion) visible trade deficit in October far exceeded the 360 billion yen shortfall expected by economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires and the Nikkei. This year, Japan posted trade deficits every month except February and June.

Overall, exports fell 6.5% year on year in October to 5.15 trillion yen. Total exports to China were down 11.6% year on year, compared with a 14.1% drop in September due to the growing anti-Japanese sentiment. Exports of automobiles to China were down 82% year on year, and exports of car parts were off 28.1%. The shortfall in car exports to China was the largest since October 2001, according to Japan’s Ministry of Finance.

The territorial dispute with China that sparked anti-Japanese riots in September re-emerged after the Japanese government bought a group of islands that China also claims.

Meanwhile, exports to the European Union dropped 20.1% year on year according to the data. But exports to the US were up 3.1%, supported by a rise in supplies of cars, engines and car parts.

Weaker exports have hit Japanese corporate majors such as Sharp, Panasonic, and Nissan, which heavily rely on foreign trade. Panasonic forecast a $9.5bln loss this year, 30 times bigger than analyst estimates, while Hitachi Construction Machinery Co. and Nissan Motor Co. cut their full-year profit forecasts.

Experts say Japan’s economy would experience its fifth technical recession in 15 years as it is expecting a fall in October-December, after dropping by 3.5% in Q3, which is below analysts’ expectations.

On Tuesday the Bank of Japan announced it has no plans for further stimulus measures, but experts suppose that weak figures would force them to change their mind. "With weak trade data, and likely a weak result to the BOJ's December Tankan survey, the BOJ could very probably ease in December," said Daiwa Securities senior economist Maiko Noguchi.

 

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Japan in doldrums as export shrinks

 

(AFP Photo / Yoshikazu Tsuno)

Source: Russia Today

http://rt.com/business/news/japan-economy-debt-contraction-490/

While investors are focused on the eurozone crisis Japan’s economy is showing signs of contraction as its GDP fell last quarter by 3.5%, the most since the earthquake and tsunami in early 2011, while exports and consumer spending slumped.

­The results fell below analysts’ expectations, which predicted Japan’s GDP to decline 3.4 % in the Q3, according to a Bloomberg News survey last week. It was expected to be the third technical recession since 2008.

“The GDP figures were grim," Japanese PM Yoshihiko Noda told parliament after the data was released. Noda is preparing for an election and has pledged to speed up government efforts to boost the economy. Weaker results could undermine his efforts including a crucial plan to raise the national sales tax from 2014 to boost revenues. The proposed measure would be the first tax rise in more than a decade and is considered politically controversial.

“Today’s bad economic numbers deliver unpleasant news for Noda,” Hiroshi Shiraishi, senior economist at BNP Paribas SA in Tokyo, told Bloomberg. “It will take a while for Japan to get back to a sound recovery, considering a modest pick-up in the global economy at best and the country’s damaged relationship with China.”

Japan suffered the worst September trade result in more than 30 years amid the territorial row with China. The long running dispute re-emerged after the Noda administration’s bought a group of islands that China also claims. Exports to China – Japan’s biggest trading partner – sank 14% from a year earlier to 953.4 billion yen ($12.2 billion). Meanwhile the spreading crisis in Europe also hurt Japanese exports.

Weaker exports have hit Japanese corporate majors such as Sharp, Panasonic, and Nissan, which heavily rely on foreign trade. Panasonic forecast a $9.5bln loss this year, 30 times bigger than analyst estimates, while Hitachi Construction Machinery Co. and Nissan Motor Co. cut their full- year profit forecasts and cosmetics major Shiseido Co. plans spending cuts.

At the end of October the Bank of Japan expanded its asset-purchase program by 11 trillion yen ($137bln) to 91 trillion yen for the second time in two months. With the new weak figures the BoJ is likely to continue its supporting policy under political pressure, experts believe.

High debt burden is another problem of the Japanese economy. Earlier this year the US-based Fitch rating agency cut Japan's Long-Term Foreign and Local Currency Issuer Default Ratings (IDRs) to 'A+' from 'AA' and 'AA-' respectively. The move reflects “growing risks for Japan's sovereign credit profile as a result of high and rising public debt ratios,” according to Andrew Colquhoun, Head of Asia-Pacific Sovereigns at Fitch.

Japan's general government debt is expected to hit 239% of GDP by the end of 2012, compared to the average 39% for OECD economies and 8% for 'A' –rated economies. Even Greece has a debt of 178% of GDP. This debt ratio has risen by 61% since the global financial crisis broke out.

However, Fitch considers that broader private sector savings, official foreign reserves worth $1.3 trillion and the fact that the Japanese yen is a global reserve currency will help the country’s economy to stay firm.

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Post-election report shows record surge in Americans using food stamps

 

AFP Photo / Spencer Platt

Source: Russia Today

http://rt.com/usa/news/post-election-food-stamps-476/

The number of Americans relying on food stamps to stay fed has been steadily on the rise, hitting an all-time record this year, with more than 47.1 million Americans using government assistance to obtain food.

The US Monthly Data report, released by the Department of Agriculture (USDA), is normally issued at month's end. But the most recent report, which shows the record-breaking surge in food stamp dependence, was published on November 9 – three days after the presidential election.

About 15 percent of all Americans, or 47,102,780 people, are now enrolled in the federal government’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). This is the highest number on record, and surpasses the number of unemployed Americans who found jobs during the same time period.

Dave Gibson of the Examiner attributes the delayed release to the Obama re-election campaign, claiming the agency waited to release the dreary data, which could have cast a negative light on the president.

“Obviously, this dose of reality would have harmed the Democratic Party’s false narrative of a ‘recovering economy,” he wrote.

When President Obama was first elected in November 2008, 30.8 million Americans were on food stamps. As of August 2012, 47.1 million were – a rise of about 50 percent.

The Washington Post reports that many of the new food stamp users are college students struggling to pay tuition and living expenses. Rather than pay for expensive campus meal plans, college students are increasingly applying for food stamps, “an option that once carried a social stigma on campus but no longer does,” writes Post reporter Breanna Hogan.

“I am receiving about $200 worth of food stamps per month, and I can’t imagine living without them,” said Sheena Vails, a sophomore at the University of Missouri.

About 15 million additional Americans have enrolled in SNAP since Obama took office. And the number could continue to rise, especially since Hurricane Sandy left thousands homeless across New York and New Jersey.

After the storm devastated New York City, Governor Andrew Cuomo ordered $65 million in new food stamp money to be automatically placed into the cards of displaced families who live in storm-affected areas. There are 77 zip codes in the region whose residents are eligible to apply for food stamps as they struggle to put their lives back together.

While the data for November food stamp usage will not be released for some time, the additional applicants could close 2012 with a much higher, record-breaking number of SNAP members – a number that clashes with rising job figures and the narrative of an improving economy.

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Cuts and more cuts Athens passes 2013 budget

 

Demonstrators stand outside the Greek Parliament protesting against austerity measures in Athens on November 11, 2012 (AFP Photo / Panayiotis Tzamaros))

Source: Russia Today

http://rt.com/news/greece-government-austerity-budget-439/

The Greek government has passed a 2013 budget stipulating new rounds of harsh budget cuts. It comes just after Greece announced the passage of more austerity measures, triggering violent clashes in Athens.

The budget was approved with 167 voting in favor and 128 opposed, while 5 abstained.

The recent austerity package, passed in a narrow vote, was apparently insufficient to appease eurozone finance ministers into granting the cash-strapped nation another tranche of much-needed bailout money.

Without the rescue loan, Greece would effectively default on November 16, the date it must repay a three-month treasury bill worth €5 billion.

Greek trade unions called for another demonstration outside Parliament on Sunday ahead of the lawmakers’ vote on the budget.

Earlier in the week, around 70,000 demonstrators rallied as Parliament voted on the new austerity program.

On Saturday, MPs began debating the 2013 budget. It was the second budgetary test the Greek government has faced in less than a week.

Athens is planning further spending cuts totaling 9.4 billion euro, mainly in state wages, pensions and benefits, all of which have already seen drastic reductions over the past two years.

Several hundred Greek civil servants staged a protest on Saturday in front of parliament, where initial discussions over the 2013 draft budget were held ahead of the vote. The protesters railed against the reduction of 125,000 civil servant jobs by 2016, part of the new austerity package that squeezed through parliament on Wednesday.

 

Protesters demonstrate outside the Greek parliament against the new austerity measures in Athens on November 11, 2012 (AFP Photo / Aris Messinis)

Cutting it close

Greece's 2013 budget predicts that the economy will shrink by a worse-than-expected 4.5 percent next year, and that the country's debt will swell to 346 billion euro ($434.3 billion), or 189 percent of the country's gross domestic product.

Athens is hoping to securing a further 31.5 billion euro of desperately needed international aid. Even then, it would still need to borrow over 68 billion euro next year, the draft budget says

This is in addition to the new austerity package, which includes 18.5 billion euro ($23.6 billion) in cuts and labor law reforms.

Greece has so far avoided default by introducing a series of austerity measures needed to secure two huge bailout loans from a 'Troika' of creditors: The EU, the International Monetary Fund and the European Central Bank.

The recent push for further austerity has sparked popular anger in a country facing its sixth year of recession, while unemployment rose above the 25 percent mark in July.

Meanwhile, the government admits that the program is unfair, and will probably drive the country deeper into recession, Dimitris Yannopoulos, an Economist and Editor at the Athens News newspaper told RT.

According to Yannopoulos, the only benefit the new set of austerity measures will bring is the long-awaited rescue package – which Germany is in no hurry to release.

“Berlin implies that we want more conditions attached to the program dealing with the control of these funds as well as the control of the budgetary administration [in Greece],” he explained.

 

Riot police guard the Parliament building during a demonstration against austerity measures as Greek deputies consider a budget vote (AFP Photo / Panayiotis Tzamaros)

 

Demonstrators march to the Greek Parliament protesting against austerity measures in Athens on November 11, 2012 (AFP Photo / Panayiotis Tzamaros)

 

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Spain’s economy contracts 0.3% in third quarter of 2012

 

People wait in line at a government employment office at Santa Eugenia's Madrid suburb on January 27, 2012.

Source: Press TV

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2012/10/30/269528/spain-economy-shrinks-in-third-quarter/

Official data show Spain’s economy has shrunk by 0.3% in the third quarter of the year, 2012, as the country continues to grapple with economic woes.

According to new data released by Spain’s National Statistics Institute (INE) on Tuesday, country’s gross domestic product contracted by 0.3% from July to September.

This comes as one in four workers is unemployed in the recession-hit country.

On Friday, the Spanish institute also issued a statement saying that the country’s unemployment rate climbed to 25.02 percent in the third quarter, up from the previous 24.63 percent.

INE also pointed out that a total of 5.78 million people were out of work in the July-September quarter, up 85,000 from the previous three months, while the number of Spanish households in which every member is unemployed rose to 1.74 million.

On October 11, Standard and Poor’s rating agency (S&P) downgraded the country’s credit rating by two notches with a "negative outlook" citing “mounting risks to Spain's public finances, due to rising economic and political pressures.

The Spanish government has been sharply criticized over the austerity measures that are hitting the middle and working classes the hardest.

Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy’s proposed 2013 draft budget is expected to slash the overall spending by 40 billion euros ($51.7 billion), freeze the salaries of public workers, and reduce spending for unemployment benefits.

Battered by the global financial downturn, Spain’s economy collapsed into recession in the second half of 2008, taking with it millions of jobs.

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Germany orders a check on its gold reserves

Source: Russia Today

http://rt.com/business/news/germany-gold-reserves-check-472/

German federal auditors have requested the Bundesbank checks Germany’s gold reserves, a major part of which has been stored at banks abroad since the Cold War.

­Germany’s gold bars, stored in the United States, Britain and France "have never been physically checked by the Bundesbank itself, or other independent auditors, regarding their authenticity or weight," reveals a report prepared by the Federal Auditors' Office. Instead, the Bundesbank relies on a "written confirmation by the storage sites."

Germany has placed as much as some 3,400 tons of gold worth an estimated $190 billion at current values in the vaults of the US Federal Reserve, the Bank of France and the Bank of England since the late 1940s. The reason was to secure the country’s gold reserves in a case of a possible war with the Soviet bloc. Currently only about 30% of Germany’s gold reserves are kept in Germany, at the facilities of Frankfurt-based Bundesbank.

Since then, the Bundesbank has seen no reason to check its gold reserves. "There is no doubt about the integrity of the foreign storage sites in this regard," it said in a statement.

Concerns about Germany’s gold reserves arose this year after a group of German federal lawmakers wanted to check gold bars stored at the Banque de France in Paris. But they were turned away by local officials who said there were no facilities to visit the vaults, Deutsche Welle reported.

German worries about the situation with its gold reserves reflect the worries of the German politicians that the country has enough gold reserves to resist the spreading eurozone crisis.

The Bundesbank has reportedly decided to ship 150 tons of gold from the New York Federal Reserve to Germany, according to German daily Bild. After returning to Germany the gold will be melted down to test the overall purity of each consignment before being re-cast into standard gold bars.

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Financial Turbulence: New Downturn in the Global Economy

 

By: Nick Beams

Source: Global Research
http://www.globalresearch.ca/financial-turbulence-new-downturn-in-the-global-economy/5309872

There are increasing signs that the global economy is about to enter a new period of financial turbulence, coupled with deepening recession in a growing number of countries.

In the immediate aftermath of the global economic breakdown that began in 2008, set off by the collapse of the US investment bank Lehman Brothers, governments around the world took on increased debt as they made available trillions of dollars to prevent a complete collapse of the financial system. Meetings of the Group of 20 were dominated by pledges there would be no return to the conditions of the 1930s and assurances that the lessons of history had been learned.

The writings of John Maynard Keynes, the British economist of the 1930s who advocated increased government spending to counter depressions, were suddenly back in vogue. But a sharp turn came in June 2010, when a meeting of the G20 initiated a turn to austerity, emphasising the necessity to impose “fiscal consolidation.” The essence of this program was to claw back the money given to the banks through massive cutbacks to government spending, especially on social services.

However, this program brought a contraction in economic growth leading to decreased profit opportunities for major corporations. Faced with this situation, the US Federal Reserve initiated a policy of “quantitative easing”—the provision of unlimited supplies of money to banks and financial institutions. Central banks around the world cut interest rates to record lows and followed that up with their own versions of quantitative easing (QE). Under conditions of a stagnant real economy, these measures were aimed at boosting the value of financial assets, thereby providing a new avenue for finance houses to realise speculative profits.

While the QE program and its equivalents have been touted as a means of preventing a slide into global recession—US Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke claimed the recently enacted QE3 program was motivated by continuing high unemployment—they have done virtually nothing to boost the real economy. Their only significant impact has been to increase profits through financial manipulation, with the ultra-cheap money provided by the central banks.

But now there are signs that a new stage in the global breakdown is underway, marked by growing recessionary trends, as the impact of the central bankers’ program wanes.

Share prices in the US, which had been lifted by the QE program, have started to fall as companies report a downturn in sales and profits amid announcements of further job cuts. This week American companies pointed to weakening global demand and the fears generated by the continuing financial crisis in Europe.

Dow Chemical announced it would axe 2,400 jobs, 5 percent of its global workforce. It also said it would shut 20 plants and cut capital spending by $500 million, citing a “slow-growth environment in the near term.” DuPont, the largest US chemical group, announced 1,500 layoffs and a loss for the third quarter. It pointed to a sharp drop in sales to the Asia-Pacific region, where volumes were down 10 percent compared to a year ago, dealing a blow to claims that so-called “emerging markets” would provide an alternative source of global demand.

Overall, US corporate profits and earnings are expected to fall for the first time since 2009. The latest data on the US economy show that gross domestic product (GDP) grew at an annual rate of only 2 percent in the third quarter, well below that required to maintain employment levels. Were it not for the effect of an increase in defence spending, the figure would have been significantly under market expectations.

The most significant feature of the US GDP data was investment spending. Its continuing decline reduced the overall growth figure by 0.1 percentage points for the quarter, while imports and exports both fell, taking off 0.2 percentage points.

While the central bankers will continue to pump money into financial markets, these measures will do nothing to turn the situation around. This week, in a major speech, the governor of the Bank of England, Mervyn King, noted that every increase in the money supply had a declining impact on the real economy.

His warnings are confirmed by historical trends. Writing in the Financial Times, financial analyst Satyajit Das pointed out that between 2001 and 2008, borrowing against the rising value of houses contributed about half the growth in the US. “But ever increasing borrowings are needed to sustain growth. By 2008, $4 to $5 of debt was required to create $1 of US growth, up from $1 to $2 in the 1950s. China now needs $6 to $8 of credit to generate $1 of growth, an increase from around $1 to $2 15-20 years ago.”

At the meetings of the G20 in 2009, government leaders insisted there would be no return to the protectionist measures of the 1930s which had such a devastating impact on world trade. But the QE program is producing a twenty-first century version of the beggar-thy-neighbour policies of the Great Depression. The flood of money from the US Federal Reserve has pushed down the value of the US dollar, hitting the export markets of its competitors and leading to the development of “currency wars” as they try to maintain their position.

Furthermore, the boosting of financial assets under conditions of slowing economic growth threatens to replicate the conditions that sparked the 2008 collapse on an even broader scale. This is because, unlike the situation four years ago, the central banks themselves are now heavily involved in financial markets and stand to lose massive amounts in a market collapse.

The central bankers and capitalist politicians claim that while their actions may not have promoted growth, they have at least averted a return to the conditions of the 1930s. These claims are belied by the conditions in Spain and Greece, where unemployment is already at 1930s levels.

Moreover, when viewed from an historical perspective, their self-congratulations are somewhat premature. The Great Depression came after a decade of financial and economic turbulence set off by the breakdown of global capitalism that began with the outbreak of World War I in 1914.

This time around, the capitalist breakdown began with a financial crisis that has now set in motion a deepening contraction in world economy.

Like their counterparts in an earlier period, the ruling elites have no response to the historic crisis of the profit system other than a social counterrevolution against the working class, militarism, and the imposition of dictatorial forms of rule.

Far from ending, the global economic crisis is only just beginning. The working class must respond by developing its own independent program based on an intransigent political struggle for the overthrow of the bankrupt capitalist profit system and the bringing of the banks and major corporations under public ownership in order to establish a planned world socialist economy.

Nick Beams

 

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Thousands march in Madrid against government austerity measures

A picture taken on October 27, 2012 shows placards on a fence installed by police to protect the Spanish Congress during a protest against the government's austerity reforms and the public payment of bank's debts in Madrid (AFP Photo / Dominique Faget)

Source: Russia Today

http://rt.com/news/madrid-austerity-protest-march-396/

A massive police escort accompanied tens of thousands of Spaniards marching on the country’s parliament in Madrid as part of anti-austerity protests.

­The 2.3-kilometers march organized by the "Surround parliament" protest group was closely guarded by law enforcement with dog teams, vans with reinforced windows, officers in full riot gear as well as mounted police.

At the Parliament, the crowd was greeted by an even larger police presence and pushed them back behind a chain of metal rail barricades.

Demonstrators were protesting against the latest measures introduced by Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy's government as tens of thousands of jobs were lost in the third quarter with a bank bailout in sight.

“And now they are going to give banks a bailout, rescue them as if they were princesses,” Alan Pipo told the AP. “They should be put out on the streets, just like all those families who are being evicted from their homes because they are unable to keep up with mortgage payments! "

Demonstrators held a minute’s silence with their backs turned on parliament to show their condemnation of the government’s policies, that’s as a quarter of Spaniards are now unemployed.

The crowd also moved in front of Bankia Bank, where a group of protesters have been camping out since Monday, in an effort to pressure the bank to halt evictions that have so far affected 400,000 families in Spain.

Earlier on Saturday, nearly 3,000 off-duty police officers had also taken to the streets to voice their anger over austerity measures and the withdrawal of their Christmas bonuses.

Overall the Spanish economy has been struggling for years and now faces a staggering unemployment rate among the young of 52.34 per cent according to country’s National Statistical Institute.

In an effort to rebound the economic growth PM Rajoy has hiked taxes, cut spending and introduced harsh labor reforms in an effort to persuade investors that his government can manage Spain's financial trouble without a full bailout.

But some researchers believe that instead of cutting spending, it might be wise to increase it.

“The alternative is actually not to cut spending, but to invest in the economy, to invest in growth to make sure that there’re jobs. And the only way to ultimately get out of this debt, is to grow out of debt and not to cut your way of debt,” Jerome Roos, a researcher on the EU debt crisis at the European University Institute in Florence, told RT.

Spain’s economic output has shrunk for five quarters in a row and the country’s banking sector has been given a €100 billion loan by the 17 Eurozone states.

 

Demonstrators take part in a protest against the government's austerity reforms and the public payment of bank's debts in Madrid on October 27, 2012 (AFP Photo / Caesar Manso)

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Violent clashes erupt as Italy protests austerity

Demonstrators march on the ring road during the No Monti Day demonstration on October 27, 2012 in Rome (AFP Photo / STR)

Source: Russia Today

http://rt.com/news/italy-austerity-protest-clashes-384/

Violent clashes erupted between police and protesters in the northern Italian town of Riva del Garda as tens of thousands took to the streets of Italy in a nationwide anti-austerity demonstration dubbed ‘No Monti Day.’

Police used tear gas and batons to disperse the crowd of angry protesters who fought back with clubs and banners on the streets of Riva del Garda.

Reports say the country’s Prime Minister Mario Monti, who is seen by many as a root cause of the Italian people’s suffering, was attending a meeting in Riva del Garda when the clashes began.

The demonstration in Riva del Garda was just one out of many taking place in Italy on Saturday.

In Rome police expected some 30,000 to take to the streets, but activists estimate that up to 100,000 showed up.

Protesters marched through the city to demand more jobs, investment in schools and universities, more money for healthcare and the end of the austerity policy brokered by Monti and his technocratic cabinet.

Monti, who replaced Silvio Berlusconi last November, is accused of introducing tough austerity measures that have hit ordinary Italians hardest asthe country’s economy continues to falter.

The protests in Italy come a year after ‘Occupy Rome’ turned extremely violent as scores of masked protesters attacked police with rocks, clubs and hummers.

The rioters torched cars, smashed windows, looted shops and even set the building housing Italy’s Defense Ministry on fire.

 

Screen shot from AP video

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Spain jobless rate exceeds 25 percent in 3rd quarter

 

People wait in line at a government employment office in the center of Madrid on September 4, 2012.

Source: Press TV

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2012/10/26/268825/spain-unemployment-hits-new-high/

Official data show that Spanish unemployment rate has exceeded 25 percent in the third quarter of 2012 as the country continues to grapple with economic woes.

New figures released by Spain’s National Statistics Institute on Friday showed that the country’s unemployment rate climbed to 25.02 percent in the third quarter, up from the previous 24.63 percent.

The institute also pointed out that a total of 5.78 million people were out of work in the July-September quarter, up 85,000 from the previous three months, while the number of Spanish households in which every member is unemployed rose to 1.74 million.

The release of the recent figures follows Spain’s labour unions call for a general strike for November 14.

With its high unemployment rate, Spain is under pressure to get its public finances back on track amid concerns in the markets over the state of the country’s banks and the wider economy.

The Spanish government has also been sharply criticized over the austerity measures that are hitting the middle and working classes the hardest.

Public protests have grown in the country over speculation that the government will seek a Greek-style European bailout to keep its borrowing costs in check.

Meanwhile, Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy’s proposed 2013 draft budget is expected to slash the overall spending by 40 billion euros ($51.7 billion), freeze the salaries of public workers, and reduce spending for unemployment benefits.

Battered by the global financial downturn, Spain’s economy collapsed into recession in the second half of 2008, taking with it millions of jobs.

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American CEOs call the Congress to 'stabilize the debt'

 

Source: Russia Today

http://rt.com/business/news/corporations-congress-deficit-plan-198/

Chief executives of more than 80 major US corporations, including Aetna, Goldman Sachs, Macy’s and Boeing are joining forces to pressure Congress to bring down the federal deficit by raising taxes and cutting spending.

­The CEOs call on the policymakers to prepare a fiscal plan that would “stabilize the debt as a share of the economy, and put it on a downward path,” reports the Wall Street Journal, citing the statement. The plan should limit costs of Medicare, strengthen Social Security and "include comprehensive and pro-growth tax reform, which broadens the base, lowers rates, raises revenues and reduces the deficit," the CEOs say.

The US deficit in 2012 is estimated to reach $1 trillion for a fourth year in a row, bringing the national debt by $16 trillion or about 102% of GDP. The US economy also faces a probable slowdown in 2013 – the "fiscal cliff" of automatic spending cuts and tax increases that will take effect early next year as some tax breaks expire. If the Congress fails to balance the tax hikes and spending cuts it could trigger the economy back into recession.

The CEOs' manifesto was prepared under the campaign called "Fix the Debt," organized by Republican Alan Simpson and Democrat Erskine Bowles, who chaired a 2010 deficit panel appointed by President Barack Obama. In a statement corporate chiefs urge policymakers from both parties to join in efforts to prepare the plan “that can succeed both financially and politically, it must be bipartisan and reforms to all areas of the budget should be included."

Though corporate chiefs are calling for immediate action to curb the deficit, they warned that the plan should be “implemented gradually to protect the fragile economic recovery and to give Americans time to prepare for the changes in the federal budget”.

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