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I see that Big Guy was busy giving autographs to his adoring fans yesterday while Lady M was busy raising money for the campaign… No wait! I’ve got that backwards. It was the other way around. It’s really getting hard to keep their schedules straight, since they’re nearly identical these days. So, while Big Guy was out drumming up support for WINNING and moving the hope ’n change FORWARD, Romney’s a vampire capitalist. Now repeat after me: ‘I hope he fails’by blaming the stinkin’ economy on Bush for stickin’ him with the bill for that big old steak and martini...

Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said Sunday he would travel to watch the country's Euro 2012 soccer opener in Poland, just one day after Spain announced it would seek international help to rescue its stricken banks. "I am going because the Spanish team are world champions and I think it is good that the head of government be at this inaugural game," Rajoy told a news conference.

Ireland wants to renegotiate its rescue plan to benefit from the same treatment as Spain, which looks set to win a bailout for its banks without any broader economic reforms in return, European sources said on Saturday. "Ireland raised two issues: one is the need to ensure parity of the deal with Spain retroactively on its bailout from EFSF," one European government source told AFP, referring to the temporary rescue fund, the European Financial Stability Facility. Another European government source confirmed the information. Ireland secured an 85-billion-euro ($112 billion) rescue deal from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund...

After months of denials, a short Eurogroup Statement shows Spain will submit a formal request to Brussels for a bailout.  Here is the statement in full. The Eurogroup supports the efforts of the Spanish authorities to resolutely address the restructuring of its financial sector and it welcomes their intention to seek financial assistance from euro area Member States to this effect. The Eurogroup has been informed that the Spanish authorities will present a formal request shortly and is willing to respond favourably to such a request. The financial assistance would be provided by the EFSF/ESM for recapitalisation of financial institutions....

The EU Is Considering Limiting ATM Withdrawals And Imposing Border Checks If Greece Leaves The Euro Luke Baker, ReutersJune 11, 2012 European finance officials have discussed as a worst-case scenario limiting the size of withdrawals from ATM machines, imposing border checks and introducing capital controls in at least Greece should Athens decide to leave the euro. EU officials have told Reuters the ideas are part of a range of contingency plans. They emphasized that the discussions were merely about being prepared for any eventuality rather than planning for something they expect to happen - no one Reuters has spoken to...

Here we go: •EU SOURCES HAVE DISCUSSED IMPOSING CAPITAL CONTROLS AS WORST CASE SCENARIO IF GREECE LEAVES EUROZONE - RTRS •IMPOSING BORDER CHECKS, LIMITING ATM WITHDRAWALS ALSO PART OF WORST-CASE SCENARIO PLANNING - EU SOURCES - RTRS [....] In other words, that money you thought you had... You don't really have it. We can only hope this message was not meant to restore confidence and prevent future bank runs. Because if Europe wanted a continental bank run, it may have just gotten one. This is getting scary very fast. Full piece from Reuters: European finance officials have discussed as a...

The Danish presidency has abandoned attempts to agree to new rules on access to EU documents. It took the decision on Tuesday (12 June) after EU countries and the European Commission last week rejected its latest draft of the law. It still wants MEPs to back a commission proposal to extend existing rules on freedom of information to all EU institutions—including its 31 agencies—however. The existing rules go back to 2001. Pro-transparency advocates say they allow too much secrecy. EU officials say they waste time by ambiguity on what is open or not. A big sticking point in the draft...

The European Parliament on Wednesday (13 June) approved draft laws that would strongly increase Brussels' power over eurozone countries' budgets. But they tempered the previously austere proposals with measures for growth, debt redemption and democratic scrutiny. "This is the core of a fiscal union," said Austrian MEP and socialist leader Hannes Swoboda. "This is the first time that there is a structural solution [to the eurozone crisis] on the table," said Liberal leader Guy Verhofstadt. His Green counterpart Daniel Cohn-Bendit called it a "milestone" for the strength of agreement among MEPs. The pair of laws—also known as the two-pack—is among...

France has called on the United Nations to authorize using "all means" necessary to end the carnage in Syria, bringing the civil war closer to the edge of a proxy war between Russia and the Western alliance. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Wednesday accused the United States of supplying weapons to Syria's opposition, hours after U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton charged that Moscow is sending a new shipment of attack helicopters to Damascus. Lavrov spoke during a brief visit to Iran, which along with Syria are two of Russia’s favorite nations for investment of nuclear development and arms...

The British people do not want a referendum on the European Union at the moment, Downing Street has said. In a claim that will irritate many voters and Conservative MPs, David Cameron’s spokesman said there was no popular support for it. Resolving the eurozone crisis was a greater priority, she said. The comments came as market fears over the single currency deepened, with Spain’s borrowing costs rising to record levels despite this week’s agreement for an £80 billion bailout of its banks. Italian bond yields also rose. George Osborne suggested that it could take the exit of a eurozone member...

Police in the Polish capital Warsaw are on full alert as Russia fans marched through the city centre in a celebration of Russian independence day. Poland and Russia were drawn together in the European Championships group stage.

When Jean-Claude Trichet called last June for the creation of a European finance ministry with power over national budgets, the idea seemed fanciful, a distant dream that would take years or even decades to realize, if it ever came to be. One year later, with the eurozone's debt crisis threatening to tear the bloc apart, Germany is pushing its partners for precisely the kind of giant leap forward in fiscal integration that the now-departed European Central Bank president had in mind. After falling short with her "fiscal compact" on budget discipline, German Chancellor Angela Merkel is pressing for much more...

Eurozone finance ministers agreed on Saturday to lend Spain up to €100 billion ($125 billion) to shore up its teetering banks, and Madrid said it would specify precisely how much it needs once independent audits report in just over a week. After a 2½-hour conference call of the 17 finance ministers, which several sources described as heated, the Eurogroup and Madrid said the amount of the bailout would be sufficiently large to banish any doubts. "The loan amount must cover estimated capital requirements with an additional safety margin, estimated as summing up to €100 billion in total," a Eurogroup statement...

US President Barack Obama has demanded that European leaders act “right now” as ministers in Brussels deliberate over whether to impose a bail-out on Spanish banks. In Madrid, Berlin and Brussels officials denied that a rescue plan for Spanish banks was ready to launch this weekend, but Mr Obama blew their cover. “The focus must be on strengthening the banks, like we did in 2008,” he said. “EU leaders are in discussions about that and they are going in the right direction.” At the White House Mr Obama said: “The sooner [leaders] act, the more decisive and concrete their action,...

Iran, Syria and China have been accused of flouting US and EU sanctions in a three-way deal to boost the Syrian regime's bank balance with oil revenues. Iran, which has backed the Damascus government President Bashar al-Assad thoughout the year-long uprising, has provided Syria with a tanker to ship oil to a Chinese state-run importer, reports have claimed. The move, in defiance of Western sanctions, could give the Syrian regime an £80m boost, Reuters said. China has been criticised for vetoing two Western-backed resolutions at the UN which condemn the bloodshed in Syria and step up pressure against Assad. Although...

In what has been called “a definite turning point,” China’s direct investment in Europe over the last couple of years has multiplied by a factor 10, according to a new study. EU trade commissioner Karel De Gucht welcomed the news, saying that “we need the money.” “Our dataset shows a profound post-2008 surge,” says the new study, presented on Thursday (7 June) in Brussels by consultancy firm Rhodium Group. “From €700 million yearly 2004-2008, to roughly €2.3 billion in 2009 and 2010, to €7.4 billion in 2011.” Most of that money went to France—with more than €4.5 billion in investment...

A serious mishandling of the debt crisis by European leaders led Fitch to axe Spain’s credit rating by three notches and issue a warnings on the stability of country’s banks, debt levels and economy. In a report that will be embarrassing for Berlin and Brussels, the credit rating agency said “policy mis-steps at the European level” and an “absence of a credible vision” for the euro had resulted in a “dramatic erosion of Spain’s sovereign profile.” Spain’s credit rating was cut to BBB from A leaving the eurozone’s fourth biggest economy languishing just above junk status. Fitch said the cost...

The companion of the new French president has finally found a role for herself, but her choice is getting mixed reviews. Valérie Trierweiler, the partner and closest confidante of President François Hollande, said she wanted to continue working as a journalist, prompting some to complain about the potential conflict of interest. Ms. Trierweiler has covered political and cultural issues for Paris Match magazine for more than 20 years. Since Mr. Hollande took office, she negotiated with the magazine to continue to contribute book and art reviews and other cultural coverage a few times a month. “It’s an unprecedented situation,” Olivier...

Iran accused the United Nations nuclear watchdog of spying and vowed never to suspend uranium enrichment on Monday, Bloomberg reported. The move cast doubt on whether a deal between Tehran and the P5+1 allowing wider atomic inspections is possible. Tehran's IAEA envoy Ali Asghar Soltanieh in Vienna said “Iran will resist to the end” and “will not permit our national security to be jeopardized” by International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors working for Western intelligence agencies. Soltanieh added, “Iran will never suspend its enrichment activities." His comments came as the agency’s 35-member board of governors concluded its quarterly review of the...

ANCHOR NEVILLE MILLER Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Hu Jintao met in Beijing Tuesday to discuss security plans. They focused on resolving the conflict in Syria. The meeting comes less than a day after an EU summit in St. Petersburg where EU leaders put pressure on Russia to help prevent civil war in Syria. euronews explains— “Russia and China both agree there should be no foreign intervention in Syria. Russian president Vladimir Putin is in Beijing for a state visit, and is being hosted by his Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao.” Both Russia and China have opposed foreign involvement,...

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has said she will use the gathering of EU leaders at the end of the month to push ahead with plans for a political union, including more sweeping powers to Brussels. "We do not just need a currency union but also a so-called fiscal union—more common budget policy," she told Germany's ARD television early Thursday (7 June). She emphasized that a political union was also necessary: "That means that step-by-step in the future we have to give up more powers to Europe and grant Europe more oversight possibilities." While there has been a concerted effort over...

Gaps in governance and corruption undermine Europe’s financial and economic stability and have contributed to the eurozone crisis, a report presented yesterday (6 June) by Transparency International suggested. The anti-corruption NGO said there is a strong correlation between fiscal deficits and corruption in crisis-hit countries such as Greece, Portugal and Spain. But countries considered the "cleanest of the clean" have also deficits in their anti-corruption framework. Links between corruption and the financial and fiscal crisis should no longer be ignored, Transparency International (TI) said. Greece, Portugal and Spain were underscored as countries where "inefficiency, malpractice and corruption are neither sufficiently...

There are reports of food and medicine shortages in Greece, crime and suicides are on the rise and people have been rapidly pulling their money out of the banks. Hopefully this article will give you some ideas that you can use as you prepare for the economic chaos that will soon be unfolding all over the globe. The following are 10 things that we can learn about shortages and preparation from the economic collapse in Greece....

The presidents of Russia and China laid out ambitious plans on Tuesday to tie their countries into a closer strategic and economic partnership as both Beijing and Moscow seek to use each other to balance their relationship with the US. The two presidents set a goal of more than doubling bilateral trade from $83.5bn last year to $200bn in 2020, Hu Jintao, China's president, said after talks with Vladimir Putin, the Russian president. The ambitious target was announced together with a slew of investment and trading deals. It was held up by the two leaders as a sign of new...

SKIERNIEWICE, Poland -- Chinese companies have wowed the world with superhighways, high-speed trains and snazzy airports, all built seemingly overnight. Yet a modest highway through Polish potato fields proved to be too much for one of China's biggest builders. The A2 highway between Warsaw and Berlin was supposed to be an opportunity for Chinese construction to shine on a European stage after years of megaprojects at home and in the developing world. Poland badly wanted the project completed before the European soccer championships starting June 8, which Poland is hosting for the first time with Ukraine. Instead, a key 30-mile...

Spain has admitted for the first time that it can no longer raise money on the global markets or roll over its sovereign bonds, threatening to set off a dangerous escalation of Europe's debt crisis. Premier Mariano Rajoy said the country is "in an extremely difficult situation" and called on Europe to stand by the mutual obligations of euro membership. "Europe must say where it is going and show that the euro is an irreversible project that is not in danger, that helps nations in difficulty," he told Spain's senate. Cristobal Montoro Treasury minister Cristobal Montoro confessed that Spain can...

Clashes between neo-Nazi demonstrators and far-left counter-protesters overnight in the northern German port city of Hamburg left 38 police officers injured, police said Sunday. Security forces were pelted with rocks, bottles and fireworks and responded by turning water canon and pepper spray on the rioting groups who turned out at a march by the far right. At least two parked cars and a police cruiser were set ablaze. Police, who deployed 4,400 officers to keep the peace between the two sides, took 63 demonstrators into custody and formally arrested another 17. Around 3,500 people, mainly from the hard left, turned...

Orhan Sircasi threw his wife's head from the roof of the apartment building, landing in the courtyard below (pictured) Orhan Sircasi threw his wife's head from the roof of the apartment building, landing in the courtyard below (pictured) After he lunged at police with the severed head of his wife he threw it from the roof of his five storey apartment building to the street below. He was overpowered on the rooftop in Berlin and taken into custody. Then officers entered the apartment in the Kreuzberg district of the capital to find the dismembered body of his wife and the...

Spain has frittered away its chances for economic development for the second time. The first was after it discovered the Americas in 1492, and the second was after it joined the European Union in 1986. The anti-economic thinking that has dominated Spain is rooted in its history and culture. Excerpts: by Sebastian Schoepp What's wrong with Spain? Back in the reign of Prime Minister José María Aznar (1996 -2004), it was the poster child of the EU when it came to growth. One hundred and fifty billion euros in structural aid poured from Brussels into the fourth-largest economy in the...

The Russia-EU summit that takes places today (June 4) in Strelna outside St. Petersburg was pre-scheduled as a routine event without any significant predicted achievements. But President Vladimir Putin did not want to start his new term at the helm of Russia’s foreign policy in such a boring way (Kommersant, June 2). In order to add more symbolism and intrigue, he paid his first official foreign visit to Belarus last Thursday and then proceeded with two blitz-visits to Germany and France (RIA Novosti, Nezavisimaya Gazeta, June 1). This activity was supposed to compensate for his decision not to attend the...

Despite a recent surge in homophobia and differences between countries, Europe on the whole remains the most gay-friendly continent on the globe. Nowhere on the old continent—except in Turkish-controlled north Cyprus—is homosexuality illegal, "making Europe a region that stands out," according to ILGA, a global umbrella organization for LGBT (lesbian, gay, bi- and transexual people's) rights, in a report released last month. France was the first to decriminalize same-sex sexual acts between consenting adults shortly after the French Revolution in 1791. Armenia was the latest, in 2003. By contrast, roughly 40 percent of countries—mostly in Africa and the Middle East—still...

German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Monday (4 June) said she supports more integration in the eurozone—a veiled reference to pooling debt provided EU institutions gain more supervisory powers. "We need more Europe, not less, especially in the eurozone. This means that EU institutions, the EU commission included, should be granted more possibilities to control. Otherwise it would be impossible for a currency union to work," Merkel said alongside EU commission chief Jose Manuel Barroso who visited her in Berlin ahead of a 28-29 June summit. Recognizing that her hard-fought-for treaty on fiscal discipline—signed in March by 25 EU states—is "a...

Vladimir Putin has made clear that he will not budge an inch on Syria ahead of an EU-Russia summit. Speaking in separate press events in Berlin and Paris on Friday (1 June), the Russian leader ruled out lifting his UN Security Council veto on economic sanctions or military action against Syrian President Bashar Assad. He also blamed civilian deaths on opposition forces and denied that Russia is selling weapons to Damascus. "Russia does not provide weapons that could be used in a civil conflict," he said in the German capital. … He also criticized Western adventurism in general, noting that...

Nicolas Sarkozy is said to be "bored" after spending a three-week post-election break with his wife and children in Morocco in which he was constantly on the phone to politicians back in France, according to reports. Mr Sarkozy, his wife Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, and their daughter Giulia, returned to Paris on Saturday, where he was spotted jogging in the Bois de Boulogne, after unwinding at King Mohammed VI's expense in one of his luxury private residences in Marrakesh. The Right-winger intends to remain "durably discreet" after losing to Socialist François Hollande in his presidential re-election bid on May 6, one of...

After a Spanish exit from the euro, there would be nothing left to exit from. I’ve never actually heard the term “total emergency” before, at least not in the context of global economics. It sounds like the title of a disaster movie. When it is uttered in sober tones by the elder statesman of an advanced democracy to describe his country’s financial condition, the effect is rather startling. The man who delivered this apocalyptic judgment, former Spanish prime minister Felipe González, being a socialist, might be expected to detest austerity programmes that require cuts to government spending. But there seemed...

Armenia appears to be intensifying integration into the European Union, despite Moscow’s unease over the growing EU presence in its former Soviet backyard. The authorities in Yerevan are particularly keen to conclude a far-reaching “association agreement” that will lead, among other things, to a permanent free trade regime with the EU. Armenian leaders are also increasingly asserting their commitment to “European standards,” with promises to hold democratic elections and carry out other wide-ranging reforms. Serzh Sargsyan at the European People's Party conference President Serzh Sargsyan highlighted that stance with his participation on December 7, as a “guest of honor,” during...

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Spain is fast becoming the biggest threat to Europe's shared currency as the cash-strapped government struggles to contain a growing banking crisis. The depth of Spain's banking crisis was exposed late last week after the government announced a €19 billion rescue of one of the nation's top lenders, Bankia. The move raised worries that Spanish banks face larger-than-expected losses on bad loans stemming from the collapse of the nation's housing bubble. But the Spanish government does not have the money to bail out the entire banking sector, which analysts say could cost upwards of €100 billion....

Time Bomb? Banks Pressured to Buy Government Debt CNBC, NETNET, NET NET, EUROPE DEBT, GREEK DEBT, EUROPEAN DEBT CRISIS, ECB, EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK Posted By: Jeff Cox | CNBC.com Senior Writer CNBC.com | 31 May 2012 | 02:42 PM ET US and European regulators are essentially forcing banks to buy up their own government's debt—a move that could end up making the debt crisis even worse, a Citigroup analysis says. Regulators are allowing banks to escape counting their country's debt against capital requirements and loosening other rules to create a steady market for government bonds, the study says. While that...

The head of Greece’s Radical Left Coalition, whose strong gains in last month’s elections deepened concerns over his country’s future in the European single currency, vowed Friday to cancel Greece’s international bailout agreement if he wins an upcoming repeat ballot. Alexis Tsipras, whose Syriza party came second in the inconclusive May 6 polls, said there was no way to partially implement the terms of the bailout that the heavily indebted country has come to rely on to pay its way.

Once again, a European government is standing up and declaring that public sector and private-sector bondholders mustn't suffer. But why not? Bondholders suffer all the time when the companies whose debt they purchase fail. Stockholders get wiped out first, and then the bondholders take a hit, with those holding unsecured bonds getting hit first. That's how capitalism and markets work.

The US has joined ranks with EU officials exploring ways to pump eurozone money directly into Spain's troubled banks instead of having to further burden the state budget. "We were talking about the possibility that the banks, not only Spain's but also in other countries who need it, could access funds directly without intervention from the governments and without conditions," said Spanish deputy PM Soraya Saenz de Santamaria after meeting US finance minister Timothy Geithner in Washington on Thursday (31 May). "The treasury secretary indicated that we are working in the same direction and that we must find a solution...

The True Finn Party in Finland has broken through the left-liberal consensus to take second place in the polls, reminding voters that Finland is not just a geographical area but a country defined by language, culture, and history, a country that has been defended at great cost against the Soviet desire to absorb it and which is now, thanks to the European Union, being robbed of its savings in order to replenish the pockets of Mediterranean kleptocrats. Finns have revealed that they don’t like being manipulated by political elites outside the country. They want to show the world that Finland...

'Beware a rerun of the Great Panic of 2008': Head of World Bank warns Europe is heading for 'danger zone' as world markets suffer bleakest day of the year so far Robert Zoellick: 'Far from clear leaders ready for impending catastrophe' Raft of dismal news from around world wreaked havoc on market Manufacturing output crashed in Britain, jobless up in Europe and U.S. Fast-emerging economies such as Brazil and China running out of steam By Hugo Duncan PUBLISHED: 15:49 GMT, 1 June 2012 | UPDATED: 22:52 GMT, 1 June 2012 The head of the World Bank yesterday warned that financial...

The course of events in the republic of Ingushetia, the smallest and youngest republic of the Russian Federation, has changed dramatically over the past two years. In particular, changes were seen in the confrontation between the armed opposition, the Sharia jamaat and the pro-Moscow authorities, namely republican head Yunus-Bek Yevkurov. The jihadists call the republic the Velayat of Ingushetia within the Caucasus Emirate. Head of the Ingushetia republic, Yunus-Bek Yevkurov There has been an overall decline in the number of armed clashes in Ingushetia since 2010, primarily the result of the Russian security services successfully planting a mole at the...

French President Says Syria's Assad Has To Go June 1 2012 SYLVIE CORBET — France's president said Friday that only the departure of Bashar Assad would end the violence in Syria, saying his regime had acted in an "intolerable way." Francois Hollande, who was elected in May, again advocated for pressure and sanctions to force out the Syrian leader, continuing France's tough line on the country, where an anti-government uprising has raged for more than a year. "The regime of Bashar Assad has conducted itself in an unacceptable, intolerable way and has committed acts that disqualify it" from power, Hollande...

A follow up to "Is There Really Any Doubt About How Our Enemies Would Vote?"...

  With the right-wing UMP party predicted to lose upcoming parliamentary elections, former interior minister Brice Hortefeux and other French conservatives are embracing recently departed president Nicolas Sarkozy. As conservative leaders in France contemplate a likely defeat in parliamentary elections in June, some among them have rallied around an unlikely figure: defeated former president Nicolas Sarkozy.  The Friends of Nicolas Sarkozy Association was formally established in Paris on Wednesday, fuelling ongoing speculation about the uncertain future of France’s political right. Sarkozy, who lost the May 6 presidential runoff to Socialist rival François Hollande, repeated before and after the vote that he...

The Gemelli Hospital in Rome, owned by the Church, has a hole in theie accounts of one billion. This has been revealed in a letter to Cardinal Bertone: "There is danger of bankruptcy" A few days ago the Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone received a report with devastating content regarding the healthcare operations of the Catholic University of Sacred Heart which controls the Gemelli Hospital, showing a total debt of nearly one billion (750 to banks and 170 million to suppliers), and the risk of a crash is very close. "L'Espresso" has read the confidential memo dated May 17, 2012...

Earlier this week the Pew Research Center’s Global Attitudes Project released a major report entitled ‘European Unity on the Rocks’. Its survey, involving more than 9,000 respondents across eight European Union nations as well as the United States, is the stuff of nightmares for EU officials desperately trying to keep the European project together against the backdrop of the biggest economic crisis in Europe since the 1930s. In the words of the report’s authors the European project “is a major casualty of the ongoing sovereign debt crisis,” with deep-seated disillusionment with the European single currency and the broader process of...

So after a nervous night, Enda Kenny will be relieved by the 60% margin of victory in the Irish referendum on the fiscal pact. The Taoiseach's measured welcome for the result reflects his knowledge that this is not the end of Ireland's austerity, nor even the beginning of the end, although like Winston Churchill, Mr. Kenny might hope this is at least the end of the beginning. Having delivered the German Chancellor Angela Merkel a rare bit of good news, Dublin will hope Europe's leaders might reward their decision to stay within the fiscal stability pact with a reciprocal degree...