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Greece is boned, but Mario Draghi says "Everything's gonna be allllll right.." Zero Hedge. Excerpts:
On one hand we have Mario Draghi promising he has a magic wand (not a printer - remember the keys to that are now held by Angela Merkel who is on vacation) and to "believe him" that the EUR will survive. On the other we have Greece which is a poster child of everything that is wrong in Europe. And that we summarize as follows: i) an epic and now relentless deposit outflow from Greek banks which continues as all trust in the local banking system is now gone, as €7 billion in deposits or the second biggest amount ever, is pulled and 20% of the entire corporate and household deposit base has vaporized in the past year, and ii) an economy in which it is every man for himself and where nobody pays any taxes any more, period. Best of luck in preserving that EUR Super Mario.
And a quick story on which Greece will never be fixed no matter what magic Draghi and Potter concoct between them:
The Financial Crimes Squad (SDOE) on Thursday reported that six in 10 businesses inspected at popular tourist resorts were not issuing sales receipts, and that of the 1,410 checks conducted in July, 57.1 percent found business owners to be in breach of the law.
..
In Zakynthos in the Ionian and Rethymno on Crete, every business inspected was breaking the law, while on the islands of Paros and Myconos, 70 percent were avoiding taxes.
No deposits, and no tax revenues: thank you Germany for continuing to fund this slow motion trainwreck thus providing everyone with hours of taxpayer-subsidized entertainment.
I think he's being sarcastic. I don't think he thinks it's really entertainment.
Bad Omen Monday.. Like, two-headed crow flying backwards, ten feet above your head shrieking "NOOOO!," bad.. Zero Hedge. Whole Post:
This has to be a record:
•GREEK FINANCE MINISTER RAPANOS RESIGNS; PRIME MINISTER ACCEPTS
This is the same guy who was appointed last week, and who fainted after seeking the official Greek numbers. In fact we are not sure he ever got an official appointment. And elsewhere:
•CYPRUS REQUESTS EU AID
•CYPRUS SEEKS EXTERNAL FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE FROM EURO AREA: China just said NEIN
Prepare the bath salt firehose.
Repanos: we hardly knew thee. Courtesy of William Banzai:
Welcome, Cyprus! If you haven't been paying attention, you're in for some "excitement!"
Starving Greeks queue for food in their thousands as debt-wracked country finally forms a coalition government... but how long will it last? Samaras will be hurtling into a massive political shitstorm, no matter what he tries or ultimately does. No action will please a majority of Greeks. And there already quite a few who are super pissed off and riot-y. There will be no honeymoon period. Congratulations again, Mr. Prime Minister, on your "victory." Daily Mail. Excerpts:
Starving Greeks queued around the block for free food handouts yesterday as the country's politicians managed to end a crippling stalemate to form a coalition government.
Young children as well as the elderly waited in line in Athens to collect the parcels of fruit and vegetables donated by farmers from Crete to help ease the devastating austerity faced by many Greeks.
But as hungry people collected food, a few miles away a new conservative-led alliance was formed, vowing to renegotiate the country's strict European bailout in a bid to breath economic life back into the debt-stricken country.
Don't forget, Merkel has already stated she Will Not Re-Negotiate any terms of Greece's bailout. It's all theater on Samaras' part; Greece's harsh realization in three.. Two..
Conservative Antonis Samaras was sworn in as prime minister and head of a three-party coalition that will uphold the country's international bailout commitments.
In the hot seat: New Prime Minister Antonis Samaras vowed to rescue Greece's economy as he spoke for the first time after being sworn in to office at the presidential palace
The move ends a protracted political crisis that had cast grave doubt over the country's future in Europe's joint currency and threatened to plunge Europe deeper into a financial crisis with global repercussions.
Samaras, an American-educated 61-year-old economist, was sworn in three days after his party won the second national elections in six weeks but without enough votes to form a government on its own.
His New Democracy party will join forces with the socialist PASOK party, which came in third place, and the smaller Democratic Left led by Fotis Kouvelis.
Discussions on the lineup of ministers were expected to be completed by Wednesday night.
‘I will ask the new government that will be formed tomorrow to work hard so that we can offer tangible hope to our people,’ Samaras told reporters as he left the presidential mansion.
Greek stocks rose marginally in response to the news, with Athens shares closing up 0.5 percent, limiting earlier gains.
The new prime minister was to meet with outgoing Finance Minister Giorgos Zanias, PASOK head Evangelos Venizelos and Kouvelis on Wednesday evening.
All three parties broadly back Greece's pledges to bailout creditors for further austerity and reforms, although they have pledged to renegotiate some of the terms for the rescue loans.
Again, Merkel and the rest of Germany will not budge. The Greeks will only bring back bad news. How long will this coalition last?
Ahh, the great PASOK flip-flop. Nice.. Sensible Greeks, you have every reason to believe the two parties that brought you to the brink of financial DOOM will find the way back to prosperity! Good for you; Here's a participation ribbon! Rest up, Riot Dog; You'll be busy soon enough! Zero Hedge. Excerpts:
One of the biggest caveats from yesterday's Greek election result was that Pasok announced it would only participate in a broad coalition government that includes Syriza. Obviously Syriza promptly turned down the offer, which has now put the ball back in the court of the Pasok leader - Venizeloz. Being a career politicians, and knowing quite well what the final outcome of the Greek fiasco would be, it was only a matter of time before the former minister of defense, finance, and yes, sport, would flip flop, and hint that a government of just ND and Pasok would also work, as the alternative is just too harsh to even consider. In other words, we may shortly get a repeat of the precisely same leadership that brought Greece to 23% unemployment and a completely destroyed financial and economic system, with Veni back in the role of finance minister once again.
And:
Does this mean a Greek government just may happen, evading a 3rd Greek election in as many months? We will know for sure by tomorrow night, when Pasok said is the deadline by which a new government has to be formed. As for bets on the longevity of the new cabinet, we have no idea what the spread is, but we take the under.
What's the definition of insanity? Happy fun times are just ahead with your "new" old leaders, Greece! Opa! When you take back to the streets, remember to hydrate? It's gonna be a long, hot summer!
Articulate and succinct. From Charles Hugh Smith from Of Two Minds. Zero Hedge. Excerpts:
The Tiresome Eurozone Soap Opera Has Entered Re-Runs
The Eurozone "drama" needs some fresh plot developments; it has become boring.
What's more tiresome than a hastily rehearsed soap opera that replays the same boring plots again and again? Re-Runs of that soap opera. The Eurozone "drama" is now in re-runs and I for one am switching channels. Nothing will change until some critical part of the worm-eaten, corrupt construct of artifice and denial collapses in a heap. Until then, all we have is replays of the same boring plot lines:
Put-upon Greece: We were just minding our business here in the sunny south, living happily on borrowed billions in a thoroughly corrupt Status Quo, and suddenly we're debt-serfs squeezed by rapacious Eurozone enforcers of the banking cartel. What did we do to deserve this? It's not fair.
Put-upon Germany: We were just minding the store here, racking up 40% of our GDP in exports and raking in bank profits loaning money to our Eurozone compatriots, when suddenly everyone who's lived beyond their means demands that we refinance their debts because we're rich. Excuse us, but did anyone look at how we got rich? Hard work, cuts in spending, high taxes and a tight lid on wages. What did we do to deserve this? It's not fair.
Married couple in counseling: France and Germany: It's all his/her fault. They never bothered to understand me, etc.
The lit-fuse terrorist: Either refinance our debt and bail out our Status Quo, or we're gonna blow up the Eurozone!
Is anyone else tired of the entire cast and threadbare plotlines?
Pasok Throws A Monkey Wrench Into Coalition Discussions Zero Hedge. Full post.
As reported in the previous post, the Greek PASOK party of former PM G-Pap may have thrown a grenade into coalition discussion, following an announcement by Katerina Diamantopoulou that Pasok will not join into a coalition government with ND unless Syriza also joins said coalition. Which Syriza stated moments ago it would not do. The question then comes whether ND can form a government (150+ seats) with any of the other remaining parties (up to and including neo-nazi New Dawn or the communists... why is there no Pirate party in Greece?). The answer is most likely not, but not before some serious horse trading shows that the second Greek elections has achieved nothing, and the world now has to look forward to a 3rd Greek election round, some time in August, and then another, and then another, until no more assets are left to be plundered from the state which will have no head for a long time. Incidentally, just as we predicted on May 3 in "Previewing The First Of Many Greek Elections"
As summarized by Keep Talking Greece:
Next Question: What government?
•PASOK official Anna Diamantopoulou said that PASOK would not join a coalition government without SYRIZA.
•PASOK considers citizens have down voted the party’s policies therefore it can not join a pure ND-PASOK government.
Short answer? The whole thing meant nothing, really. No one is any safer in their current position, and the volatility will continue.
Greece's economic fate hangs in the balance, and will be decided shortly. A sampling of the calm before the potential beginning of the Global Financial Super Storm.. Selections from Der Spiegel(via The Extinction Protocol) and Zero Hedge. Excerpts:
Greeks empty bank accounts ahead of historic election (Der Spiegel)
Many Greeks are emptying their bank accounts out of fear that the country may return to the drachma. But most of the money is not going abroad. Instead, individuals are storing cash in safe deposit boxes or at home — leading to an increase in burglaries. Joanna Stavropoulos is not proud of what she has done. “I had a guilty conscience when I withdrew my money from Greece,” says the 43-year-old. Of course she knew what would happen if everybody does the same: Greece’s banks would be threatened with collapse. But she says she had to think of her two-month-old daughter, Josephina, who is currently asleep on Joanna’s shoulder. Increasing numbers of Greeks are following Joanna Stavropoulos’ example and emptying their accounts. They are afraid that Greece may leave the euro zone and return to the drachma. Stavropoulos is one of the few people who know very well what this scenario would look like in concrete terms. As a journalist and NGO worker, she has traveled all over the world, most recently in Haiti and Iraq. “I have been to countries where banks closed,” she says. She was in Argentina, for example, when the government declared a national default. She has also lived in Zimbabwe, where three-digit inflation destroyed the currency. Joanna is sure that Greece could face the same thing if it returns to the drachma. “My country is going downhill,” she says. There is still little sign of panic in Greece, and there has not been a stampede to the banks. Nevertheless, people are withdrawing hundreds of millions of euros from the banks every day. In May alone, outflows totaled €5 billion. According to official figures, €80 billion has been withdrawn since the start of the crisis. Rich Greeks have long been moving billions to countries such as Italy or Switzerland, or buying luxury properties in London. But overall, according to estimates by the Greek central bank, only about one-fifth of the total money withdrawn has gone abroad. Many customers have left their money in the bank itself, Christiana says — but in a safe deposit box rather than in their accounts.
As Greek Banks Run Out Of Safe Deposit Boxes, An Eerie Calm Takes Over The Country 24 Hours Before D-Day (Zero Hedge.)
Oddly enough, despite the all too real dangers of a complete lock out by and of the local banks, Greeks refuse to believe that the worst case scenario could realistically happen:
There is still little sign of panic in Greece, and there has not been a stampede to the banks. Nevertheless, people are withdrawing hundreds of millions of euros from the banks every day. In May alone, outflows totaled €5 billion. According to official figures, €80 billion has been withdrawn since the start of the crisis.
Which however is not to say that most people have not already commenced preparations:
Christiana (not her real name) can see the capital flight every day with her own eyes. The 46-year-old, who wishes to remain anonymous, works as an asset manager at a large Greek bank. "It's not just that it is increasing," she says of the withdrawals. It's not only major customers who have been taking out money in recent months, she explains, but all kinds of clients, from account holders with a few hundred euros to the bank's most important private customers. "Naturally, the wealthy ask particularly often what they should do with their money," she says.
Yet the most ironic moment in the Greek denouement will come when fractional reserve lending collapses onto itself:
Stavropoulos and her friends have a new strategy to deal with their daily expenses. "We charge everything to our credit cards," she says. If the Greek banks fail, they won't be able to collect the outstanding debts, she argues. "If they want to mess me around, I will do the same to them."
In other words, Greece is now America, where the vast majority of people also live on credit alone, and have taken up the following motto when dealing with banks: "you pretend to be solvent, we pretend to have money."
At the end of the day, it is all just one big global monetary circle jerk, only this time in reverse, as the snake of fractional reserve banking has finally started to eat its own tail. With people spending money they don't have, and in debt to their eyeballs to a banking system that itself is just as insolvent, is there any wonder that nobody really panics any more over daily threats the grand reset is finally coming?
But in the end, it probably won't even matter..
Citi's Buiter: Greece will be forced out of the euro regardless of who wins the Sunday elections. (Zero Hedge)
New Democracy. Syriza. Doesn't matter. According to Citi's senior political analyst Tina Fordham, chief economist Willem Buiter, and global economist Ebrahim Rahbari, "any new Greek government, regardless of its composition, will struggle with implementation challenges related to the imposition of further austerity measures demanded by the Troika in exchange for further assistance," and as a result, they "consider it likely that a new troika deal would ultimately fall apart and lead to Grexit."
Citi notes that there is growing sense among European leaders that "promotion of economic growth can no longer be subordinated completely, even in fiscally unsustainable euro area member states, to the requirements of fiscal austerity," but no one has any idea what that means.
We will find out soon. Riots will probably be forthcoming. Cue Riot Dog, stage left..
From Zero Hedge. Emphasis from post itself. Excerpts:
Five days ahead of the Greek parliamentary re-vote, the media propaganda machine has gone mute due to the moratorium on the RAND() known as popular polling: forgotten are the days when Syriza' popularity rating would swing from -100 to +100 in the span of hours, Diebold notwithstanding. Which leaves the media machine just one tactic: updates on the economic collapse as a tacit suggestion of what may happen if situation is not fixed. And while at this point it is nearly impossible to distinguish propaganda from fact, the latest numbers out of Kathimerini are just stunning. As Bloomberg's Marcus Bensasson reports, citing Kathimerini, the Greek banking system has continued to hemorrhage deposits this month, amid uncertainty over the outcome of elections on June 17.
..
"Deposits are leaving the banking system at a rate of 100 million to 500 million euros ($125 million to $625 million) a day, Kathimerini said, without specifying over how long a period that rate of outflow has continued."
And:
Putting this in the US context, which has over $8 trillion in various forms of deposits, this would be equivalents to about $25 billion getting withdrawn. Every day.
It all happens/accelerates next week!
This is going to be a nasty break up. Zero Hedge. Excerpts:
Preparing for Greece’s exit from the Eurozone has been picking up momentum and has reached critical mass—on the way to a fait accompli. Still unspeakable in public discussion last year, it has become a routine topic at all levels of government. While everyone at the very top still hues to the line that Greece should stay in the Eurozone, out of the other side of the mouth comes the but—especially since the focus is on Spain, the real problem, the one problem that the Eurozone will have trouble digesting.
Even if it could digest bailing out Spain or losing Spain, the next step up, Italy, due to its size, is beyond bailout and would cause the Eurozone to fracture into its component pieces—unless the ECB decides against all treaty limitations and stiff German opposition to monetize directly and without qualms any sovereign debt that needs to be monetized. And even that would tear up the Eurozone because Germany and a handful of other countries would refuse to be tied to that kind of loosey-goosey management of their currency.
There are political realities in Germany, where Chancellor Angela Merkel, slipping in the polls, is trying to decipher the scribbles on the wall. Her people, who vacation in Greece more than any other people, have handed her some clues: 60% said they wanted Greece out of the Eurozone, a jump from November when an already shocking 49% had wanted them out, according to a ZDF Politbarometer poll released Friday. Only 31% wanted Greece to remain in the Eurozone, down from 41% in November, with 9% not giving a hoot.
And:
But the next big battle may actually revolve around keeping Germany in the Eurozone: 50% of the respondents saw more disadvantages than advantages, up from 43% in February; only 45% saw more advantages, down from 51% in February. The more costs and risks rise for Germany, the more this number is going to skew away from the euro. A scary trend for Eurozone bailout freaks. And suddenly Germans woke up to the headline, "Greeks Pay less Taxes"—taxes being a sore subject for Germans who pay out of their noses to get their welfare-state budget into balance. For a debacle without equal, read.... The Confiscation Conundrum in Europe.
"The notoriously tax-sinning Greeks paid their government even less than before," the article began unnervingly. Turns out, Reuters had gotten two anonymous “senior” finance ministry officials to talk: Greeks were refusing to pay their taxes in euros in anticipation that they could soon pay them in drachmas, albeit with minor penalties. And lacking a government, they wanted to wait for the outcome of the next election on June 17, which hopefully would produce a government, any government. And so tax revenues in May were on track to drop 10%. Outside of Athens and Thessaloniki, tax revenues would fall between 15% and 30%. First capital flight then quiet bank runs, and now a refusal to pay taxes to a government they don’t have, in a currency they might not have much longer.... The Greeks are preparing for a reversion to the drachma, and they're trying, very understandably, and very smartly, to protect whatever they can—which, of course, simply speeds up the process of reverting to the drachma.
Forced to answer, I'd say that by July 1st, Greece's Eurozone exit will be the foregone conclusion. Momentum in Greece's June 17th election is swinging towards anti-austerity Syriza, and they won't hesitate to drop the hammer on all prior agreements. Bank runs have already begun, and will most likely intensify. Greece's collapse will also effect non-E.U. countries like Romania and Bulgaria. Greece's exit also hastens Spain and Italy's demise. Further chaos in Greece really could get this whole party started. Yeah. By July 1st, things should be coming to a boil.
Buy canned goods and water!
The populist tsunami forms.. If these polls hold true, Greece is about to change history. Is this Greece's exit from the euro zone? Is this the beginning of the end for the entire European Union? Where's Riot Dog? Zero Hedge. Excerpts:
In one of the most fascinating psychological shifts, there has been a massive shift in the perspective of the Greek electorate since the election two weeks ago. Almost as if the size of the actual votes for Syriza, the far-left anti-bailout party, gave citizens 'permission' to be angry and vote angry. The latest opinion polls, as per Credit Suisse, show the center-right New Democracy party crashing from 108 seats to only 57 as Tsipras and his Syriza colleagues soar from 52 seats to a hugely dominant 128 seats. Is it any wonder the market is pricing GGBs at record lows and 'expecting' a Greek exit from the Euro as imminent given the rhetoric this party has vociferously discussed. On the bright side, the extreme right Golden Dawn party is seen losing some of its share.
The new election date for Greece is June 17th. Can the bankers prevent a bank run meltdown before then? Fun election fact: More than one half of Greek policemen voted for the Neo-Nazi New Dawn Party. That ought to be a great conversation starter and laugh riot during the upcoming real riots!
If Greece Exits, Here Is What Happens Zero Hedge thinks maybe/grain of salt. More importantly, will Greece follow Iceland or Germany? Greek skata hits fan in three.. Two..
An unprecedented financial crisis is lurking on the horizon as Market Oracle warns of Greece’s exit from the Eurozone The Extinction Protocol. Excerpts:
What may be lost in the noise that is the mainstream press is the fact that Greece has not been in a recession or even a depression, Greece has been in a state of slow motion economic collapse on the scale of past economic collapses such as that of Argentina but so far without the ability to default, devalue and inflate.
And:
Greek politicians traded insults and accusations Sunday following an effort by President Karolos Papoulias to broker a coalition government, increasing the possibility of new elections in the debt-stricken country. Papoulias called together the leaders of the three biggest parties on Sunday, a week after indecisive elections and three failed attempts to form a government. A default by Greece could drag down other troubled governments such as Spain and Portugal. Europe is keeping a nervous eye on Greece, fearing that the political chaos there could lead to defaults on debt that could threaten the future of the euro. Greek failure — or refusal — to make debt payments could hurt banks across Europe. The eurozone economy is fragile, and any financial shock could plunge the region into a deep recession, a development that would ripple across the globe. A default by Greece also could drag down other troubled governments such as Spain and Portugal.
Merkel's CDU Trounced In Most Populous State Elections Over Austerity; Pirates Strong Also from Zero Hedge. Excerpts:
Another weekend, another stunner in local European elections, this time as Merkel's CDU gets a record low vote in the state elections of Germany's most populous state North Rhein-Westphalia. According to a preliminary projections by ARD, the breakdown is as follows:
•SPD:39%
•CDU: 26%
•Greens:12%
•Pirates: 7.5%
•FDP: 8.5%
•Left:2.5%
And:
Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives suffered a crushing defeat on Sunday in an election in Germany's most populous state, exit polls showed, a result which could embolden the left opposition to step up attacks on her European austerity policies.
Merkel remains popular at home for her steady handling of the euro zone debt crisis, but the sheer scale of her party's defeat represents a heavy blow that could tilt the German political landscape and leave her more vulnerable to domestic critics.
According to an exit poll for public broadcaster ARD, the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) won 39 percent of the vote and will have enough to form a stable majority with the Greens, who scored 12 percent.
The two left-leaning parties had run a fragile minority government for the past two years under popular SPD leader Hannelore Kraft, whose decisive victory on Sunday could propel her to national prominence.
Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU) saw their support plunge to just 26 percent, down from nearly 35 percent in 2010, and the worst result in the state since World War Two.
Merkel's attention will now be divided between the financial crisis and domestic concerns, like keeping her job. I think Germany has begun to de-stabilize. Albeit a long way away, this vote was a pretty visible step in that direction..
Three JPMorgan executives expected to resign over $2 billion loss This is only the beginning. Of everything.. Raw Story. Excerpts:
Three top executives at JPMorgan are expected to resign this week in the wake of a $2 billion trading loss.
The Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday that the three include Ina R. Drew, the head of the risk-management division responsible for the loss, along with the top executive and a managing director at the London branch that placed the trades under her direction.
According to several JPMorgan executives, Drew had offered her resignation several times since the extent of the losses became known in late April, but CEO Jamie Dimon had previously refused to accept it.
The situation changed however, when Dimon revealed the loss on Thursday and it led to a 10% drop in the firm’s stock price the next day. “We made a terrible, egregious mistake,” Dimon has since admitted. ‘There’s almost no excuse for it.”
The Jaime Dimon Countdown-To-Quitting clock begins!
Australia the most ‘obvious’ bubble in 30 years, says economist Financial Post. Excerpts:
As far as bubbles go, they don’t get more obvious than Australia, according to one economist and noted bear.
Albert Edwards, economist with Société Générale, put out a note on Thursday morning whose title says it all: “The biggest bubble in recent history is heading for the mother of all hard landings.”
Mr. Edwards cites Australia’s extreme reliance on the Chinese economy as the foundation for the current bubble. After all, Australia, a global heavyweight in mining, is dependent on the global commodity boom that China has largely helped fuel over the last decade.
“All we have in Australia, at its simplest, is a credit bubble built upon a commodity boom dependent for its sustenance on an even greater credit bubble in China,” he said.
And:
Mr. Edwards adds that the current bubble has been precipitated by the fact that Australia has not experienced a recession for more than 20 years — making investors complacent as a result.
“The absence of any recession since 1991 has led Australians to have an excessive appetite for debt in the belief the future will reflect the past,” he said.
And complacency, of course, is a big factor in bubble creation. That has led Mr. Edwards to conclude the following about Australia:
“Of all the bubbles I have seen over the last 30 years in this industry, this one is even more obvious than the rather prominent nose on my increasingly haggard face,” he said.
What we have here is some of them "Unintended Consequences" mixing with "Negative Death Sprial." Greece is boned, and that's good news for no one, including Germany. The entire post from Zero Hedge. Wow(Emphasis theirs)..
As if the Greeks haven't suffered enough from Northern European actions (admittedly in response to their own actions), it seems the anti-German sentiment is keeping the wealthy tourists away from the beaches. As Reuters notes today, 'German tourists are in short supply in Greece these days, frightened away by reports of visceral anti-German sentiment in some places'. Data for the main summer holiday season shows pre-bookings from Germany down by some 30 percent. We guess the pictures of Molotov cocktails being thrown, city-wide strikes, and cardboard cities full of unemployed youths was too much but as one Greek tourist-shop-owner clarified "They're not coming because of the problems. But we don't have a problem with German people, only their government." Tourism - the one remaining possibility for Greece to drag themselves out of the quagmire (aside from olive oil and yoghurt) - is now under pressure as The Germans ("That's just the way Germans are: if there's trouble in some country, then Germans just don't go there on their holidays.") wage "an economic war against Greece". Sadly the xenophobic and nationalist tensions are indeed rising (as we warned many times in the past - and suggest will be the ultimate undoing of the political compact in Europe) as the crisis had revived anti-German sentiment from World War Two that most thought had long since disappeared. "The Greeks moved on and tried to forget, then this. If you ask me, Germany owes Greece billions for all the murders and war crimes. Germany should pay Greece what it owes."
I think German economic reparations as a theme could have legs, especially in countries Germany destroyed just 77 to 83 years ago, especially in countries like Greece that faces yet another type of destruction, again by German hands.. This situation could hop, skip, and jump from old wounds, to bad blood, to visceral hatred much faster than the Germans can understand or quantify. Greece's economic crisis is just beginning to bloom. Germany, and the rest of the E.U. will all be impacted. After that, how much longer will it be before diplomacy, decorum, and civility are fully abandoned?
Iran Halts Greek Oil Shipments After Bills Left Unpaid – UPDATE [REPORT] G Captain. Excerpts:
Iran stopped shipping oil to Greece and may halt supplies to Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDSB.LN, RDSA, RDSB) over unpaid bills, Iran media said Friday, as the impact of sanctions widens. The news suggests a decline in Iranian oil exports last month may accelerate as banking sanctions add to an upcoming European ban on Tehran oil. That could lead to upward pressure on oil prices, which have recently surged to a four-year high.
The Mehr news agency said that, due to unpaid bills, Iran stopped deliveries to Greek refiners Hellenic Petroleum (ELPE.AT) and Motor Oil (MOH.AT). Greece has long been the European Union country relying the most on Iranian oil–sometimes for as much as a third of its supplies.
And:
Iran halts oil sales to two major Greek firms Tehran Times. Excerpts:
The Islamic Republic of Iran has terminated oil sales to two major Greek firms over their failure to pay for their crude purchases from Tehran, Press TV reports.
Iran’s decision to bar Hellenic Petroleum and Motor Oil Hellas from purchasing Iranian crude came after they defaulted on their purchases from Tehran.
The interruption of oil flow from Iran is expected to further deepen the financial crisis in Greece.
Oil prices have shot up in recent months in the wake of Iran’s decision to halt its crude exports to certain European countries in response to the European Union (EU) oil embargo on Tehran.
Iran has already cut oil exports to France and Britain in retaliation for the Western-led sanctions imposed on its oil industry.
Interesting. The EU/West imposes sanctions on Iran, hurting(?) it's economy. Iran refuses sales of oil to the weakest of EU members(Remember--If one goes, that starts the dominoes!), kickstarting Greece's economic death-spiral. And the whole world takes a few more steps to financial meltdown and all-out war. Neat, huh?
And the geo-political Circle of Life is complete. Until the next crisis manifests, drawing close The Inevitable, that is..
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