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Thu, May 20th 2010, 16:55

Olaf Theiler, Political Scientist, German Armed Forces, Platinum Contributor (173)

Great article, a bit gloomy, but still great.

My personal message for all real believers in the European Dream: Hope dies last.
Or differently phrased: there is still hope that the dream will survive and even the Euro might survive his current crisis. Europe might still come out of this crisis stronger, more united and with a clearer vision of its own future.

Despite all national egoism, nations and societies in Europe can learn out of this mess. And the lesson would be:
1. We are all sitting in one boat, if we like it or not. And if this boat starts to take water, we all would do best to start to scoop as fast as we can.
2. No community can survive without some kind of solidarity, even if this means to dig into our own pockets and to find some money to share.
3. What the Euro currently experiences is a warning to all states worldwide that we can’t just go on like we have done before: Spending endlessly money in a way that our economy is not able to sustain. This is true for Greece, Portugal or Spain, for all the other Euro-States including Germany and France, but also for Britain or the U.S.
4. In a global economic crisis like this, a community like the Euro zone might be a safer place than a small economy, easily to be isolated and marginalized.

Sat, May 22nd 2010, 08:28

Marie Claude

http://finance.yahoo.com/banking-budgeting/article/109581/are-german-banks-short-the-euro

“Observers continue to question Merkel’s motives. It could be argued that the collapse of the Eurozone partnership would strengthen Germany’s financial system because it could go back to its own currency, but the country would then have to deal with significant fallout, some of which is not obvious.

Some financial experts believe that Merkel is acting in the interest of German banks which hold billions of dollars in sovereign paper in Eurozone paper. Defaults could swamp the balance sheets of those banks.

But, the real reasons behind Merkel actions may be more complex and sinister. There is a great deal of evidence that some of Germany’s large banks have bet against both the euro and sovereign debt in the weakest nations in the region. If so, these banks, like other speculators, probably made billions of dollars on such deals.

Merkel may have to deal with the accusation, probably an accurate one, that Germany allowed its banks to take sides against the euro as the government helped drive its value down. How would it look if Germany then left the Eurozone and its banks became, under a set of circumstances helped by Merkel, rich in the process?”

from an American commenter on "the Economist" blogs:

“Well, well, well. I am hearing some sinister stories about German banks from my ex-colleagues who work at German banks. German banks made massive bets against the Euro and against Greece bonds during this entire downturn in Europe. Effectively German banks are the speculators who Merkel has been protecting all along with this ban annouced this week. This will all come out in the news soon. Merkel has been colluding with the banks all along while watching the Euro dream go down.”

“but for Merkel to come out and say (repeatedly) that these so-called specualtors sending down the currency and that foreign banks (e.g. GS) were to blame when it is so obvious now that she has just been protecting her own banks who were taking these massive trades as she knew exactly what they did and were doing”

Sat, May 22nd 2010, 08:30

Marie Claude

Für klare Finanzmarktregeln und Transaktionssteuer http://youtu.be/rkHwA_V-Lfg Steinmayer flams Merkel for her bad holding of the crisis -video

Sat, May 22nd 2010, 10:28

Jennifer Margaret Anne Morrison, Company: Myformation, Silver Contributor (27)

Great article! Really interesting!

Sun, May 23rd 2010, 17:49

Marie Claude

http://seekingalpha.com/article/205794-der-tarp-germany-is-hiding-a-big-banking-problem

Der TARP: Germany Is Hiding a Big Banking Problem