Germany Rejects Geithner, ECB Refuses To "Print", Greece Gets Final Warning

ZeroHedge ^ | 09/17/11 | Tyler Durden

[RobertClark]

Looks like no more official trips for G-Pap anywhere very soon:

ECB'S WEIDMANN-IT IS WRONG TO ABANDON ALL PRINCIPLES OF MONETARY POLICY BY CITING A GENERAL EMERGENCY-SPIEGEL

GERMAN CSU HEAD - IF GREECE CAN'T OR WON'T KEEP TRACK WITH RESCUE PLAN THAN AN EXIT FROM THE EURO ZONE IS CONCEIVABLE-SPIEGEL

More from Reuters:

European Central Bank Governing Council member Jens Weidmann told Germany's Spiegel magazine in an interview he considered it wrong to "throw out all established principles of monetary policy by citing a general emergency."

In a preview of an interview to be published in the new edition of Spiegel, Weidmann, head of the Bundesbank, said: "Once people start to use monetary policy there will always appear to be reasons suggesting it should continue to be used."

Abd:

The leader of Germany's Christian Social Union (CSU), part of Chancellor Angela Merkel's centre-right coalition, reiterated in an interview with Germany's Spiegel Magazine that Greece might have to leave the euro zone if it failed to meet conditions set by the European Union, European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund.

"If the Greek government and parliament can't or won't keep to the path then we shouldn't wait for the financial markets to force us into accepting reality. Then an exit of Greece from the euro zone must be conceivable.

And in other official news, Germany officially slammed the door on Geithner's face:

Germany’s top two finance officials rejected using the European Central Bank to boost the euro-area rescue fund’s firepower, rebuffing a suggestion by U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner.

Inviting Geithner to a euro meeting for the first time, European finance chiefs who wrapped up two days of talks in Wroclaw, Poland, today also said the 18-month debt crisis leaves no room for tax cuts or extra spending to spur an economy on the brink of stagnation.

The German stance risks leaving the euro area without sufficient means to prevent the crisis from engulfing Spain and Italy. Geithner floated a variation of a 2008 policy he developed while at the New York Federal Reserve that would expand the reach of the 440 billion-euro ($607 billion) European Financial Stability Facility using leverage in a partnership with the ECB, said Irish Finance Minister Michael Noonan.

“The EFSF’s sole purpose is the financing of states and that’s in order as long as it’s done via the capital market,” Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann told reporters today. “If it’s done via the central bank it constitutes monetary state financing,” which is forbidden under European Union rules.

"Luckily" for the US middle class, adhering the rules never stopped Timmy-G before...

But the biggest slap down is not that of Pinocchio, but of Bernanke himself:

Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker, who chairs meetings of euro region finance ministers, said yesterday: “We’re not discussing the increase or the expansion of the EFSF with a non-member of the euro area.” Instead, the ministers recommitted to a July 21 decision to empower the fund to buy bonds in the secondary market, offer precautionary credit lines and create a bank-recapitalization facility.

“We don’t think that real economic and social problems can be solved by means of monetary policy,” said German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble, speaking alongside Weidmann after the meeting of EU finance ministers and central bank governors. “That has never been the European model and it won’t be.”

Funny: does Bernanke realize that Europe just mutinied? What happens if the head USD printer suddenly decides to shut down those expanded swap lines after all.

[RobertClark]

Looks like Sept. 20 may be D-Day for Greece and the major banks. Two big bonds, the 4.5% of 2037 and the 4.6% of 2040 both have coupon payments due that day, totalling 769 Million Euro. So if the IMF wanted to avoid letting another billion euro go down the drain, September 20th would be a good day to do it. The IMF seems to have delayed approving another tranche for now, so Greece must already have the money for this payment?

The Fed Scheduled their meeting for 2 days. It now starts on September 20th. Maybe a co-incidence, but what better way to be prepared for new emergency policies?

CDS "rolls" on the 20th. On the 21st, all Sept 2011 CDS will have expired. My guess is that banks own more protection than they sold to the September 20th date, so defaulting while those contracts are still valid would be a net benefit to the banking system.

[Red Badger]

A Greek co-worker of mine is going there on the 19th. He may find it difficult to get back....

[Orange1998]

Is he the boss, it could be promotion time. :}

[Red Badger]

No, we just work together........

[silverleaf]

Have Geithner’s bosses at Goldman Sachs begun to worry yet?
He is such a weasel.

[tumblindice]

Double not-so-secret probation for Greece?

[Orange1998]

Suggest he prepay the ticket and get to the airport early.

[vanilla swirl]

So, I guess that’s it then.......