Free Republic

European governments must rapidly commit to fiscal union or a partial break-up of the euro to prevent a "fundamental erosion" in demand for the region's debt, Pimco, the world's biggest bond investor, has warned. "They can't continue to muddle through," said Andrew Balls, who runs Pimco's European investments. "They'll either have to signal their position or you'll get a continued disengagement by investors from the eurozone." The stark assessment comes ahead of a gathering of European leaders in Brussels that has been billed as a summit that cannot afford to fail. A crisis that began in Greece almost two years...

‘Occupy’ protesters and housing rights activists are planning to help families resist eviction from foreclosed homes and take control of vacant properties in some 25 U.S. cities on Tuesday, an effort aimed at focusing attention on the ongoing housing crisis and giving the movement a new focus after the dismantling of many of its encampments. The protesters have been crafting proposals – often quietly to prevent police from learning about their intentions beforehand -- to defend families facing eviction or return others home. In Minneapolis, for example, they plan to help a Vietnam War veteran stay in his home, in...

What you are about to read should absolutely astound you. During the last financial crisis, the Federal Reserve secretly conducted the biggest bailout in the history of the world, and the Fed fought in court for several years to keep it a secret. Do you remember the TARP bailout? The American people were absolutely outraged that the federal government spent 700 billion dollars bailing out the "too big to fail" banks. Well, that bailout was pocket change compared to what the Federal Reserve did. As you will see documented below, the Federal Reserve actually handed more than 16 trillion dollars...

This is the worst-case scenario from Europe, and it just might come true: Italy defaults on its debts. Every major Italian bank collapses. Recession grips the eurozone. Sovereign defaults and bank failures ripple across the Continent. Saddled with bad loans to nations and lenders in Europe, American banks hemorrhage cash. Credit freezes in the United States. Multinational companies, unable to raise money, curb U.S. investment and hiring. Wall Street demands, but fails to get, new bailouts. The entire developed world plummets into recession and, quite possibly, depression. This, in contrast, is the placid warning that President Obama gave Americans about...

In 2008, the United States government and Federal Reserve helped bailout European banks to the tune of trillions of dollars.  The reactions to this by Congress and the public ensured that any future bailouts would have to be performed through the use of a proxy institution. It appears that this proxy institution has been found, as the IMF on November 22nd just opened a new credit facility with the primary purpose of providing liquidity to sovereign nations, especially those currently in the Euro Zone. IMF talking points on new credit facility * IMF APPROVES CREDIT LINE PROGRAM CHANGES TO PROVIDE...

President Obama wants to spend $3.7 trillion next year and $5.7 trillion in 2021. Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) wants to spend $3.6 trillion next year and $4.7 trillion in 2021. The Republican Study Committee (RSC) wants to spend $3.6 trillion next year and $4.2 trillion in 2021. Rand Paul wants to spend $3.7 trillion next year and $3.4 trillion in 2016. The Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) has a "People's Budget" outline that, in keeping with representing a math-averse nation, doesn't include anything as straightforward as a series of annual-outlay numbers, though it does promise that outlays and revenues in 2021...

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. (MarketWatch) — “Top advisers see very slow growth in 2012.” That headline is screaming at Americans in “InvestmentNews: The Leading News Source for Financial Advisers” and most trusted. Get it? Not just “slow growth,” but “very slow growth in 2012.” Another even predicted “very slow, measured growth for two, three years.” Actually it’s far worse. Folks, this is not some worried bull hyping naïve investors, not a Wall Street bank analyst, a Washington politician covering his butt, nor one of Mad Money’s market mavericks. No, this comes from the most respected news source reporting to America’s...

BILL FLECKENSTEIN: The Money Printing Era Will Implode In One Or Two Years Gus Lubin Nov. 1, 2011, 3:39 PM Bill Fleckenstein recommends gold above all as a hedge against money printing from the Fed and the ECB. In one or two years you'll be thankful, he tells King World News: Tomorrow the Fed is probably going to bring QE3 and meanwhile Europe is in a state of disarray. All of that will sort itself out bullishly for gold even if were to decline for the next couple of days. The Japanese, the British, the Swiss, the Americans are all...

So much for euphoria. Having soared just days ago on a pledge by European leaders to prop up euro zone banks and stem the spread of a festering debt crisis, world stock markets and the euro came crashing back to earth this week as Greece's government hovered near collapse. The decision by Greece's prime minister to subject a just-agreed bailout to referendum was the last thing markets wanted to hear. A defeat by Greek voters could see Greece ejected from the euro zone and thrust into default, a scenario investors fear could spark a run on banks that have lent...

By JESSICA DESVARIEUX WASHINGTON, Oct. 9, 2011 House Democratic Leader Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said she supports the growing nationwide Occupy Wall Street movement, which began on the streets of downtown New York City in mid-September. "I support the message to the establishment, whether it's Wall Street or the political establishment and the rest, that change has to happen," said Pelosi in an exclusive interview with ABC News "This Week" anchor Christiane Amanpour. "We cannot continue in a way this is not relevant to their lives." Pelosi sees the protestors' anger stemming from unemployment, which remains above 9 percent.

We have lowered our long-term sovereign credit rating on the United States of America to 'AA+' from 'AAA' and affirmed the 'A-1+' short-term rating.We have also removed both the short- and long-term ratings from CreditWatch negative.The downgrade reflects our opinion that the fiscal consolidation plan that Congress and the Administration recently agreed to falls short of what, in our view, would be necessary to stabilize the government's medium-term debt dynamics.More broadly, the downgrade reflects our view that the effectiveness, stability, and predictability of American policymaking and political institutions have weakened at a time of ongoing fiscal and economic challenges...