World economy talk

[Monseratto]

Time to top up my tanks again...

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Net long oil futures

http://www.commoditytrader.com/

Hedge funds and other speculative traders sharply increased their net long positions in crude oil futures in the week ending Feb. 16, according to trading data from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, after having reduced them in the previous week.

[uls]

Gordon Gekko is back

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9tNun95UvXI"]YouTube- Wall Street 2 - Money Never Sleeps -Trailer #1[/ame]

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3zknU4yNIfE"]YouTube- 'Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps' - Official Trailer (Exclusive)[/ame]

[tidus1203]

Uy mukang maganda yan ah! And is that Shia Labeuf?

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yep, that's Shia LaBeouf

[Monseratto]

The point is, ladies and gentleman, that greed, for lack of a better word, is good. Greed is right, greed works. Greed clarifies, cuts through, and captures the essence of the evolutionary spirit. Greed, in all of its forms; greed for life, for money, for love, knowledge has marked the upward surge of mankind. And greed, you mark my words, will not only save Teldar Paper, but that other malfunctioning corporation called the USA. Thank you very much.

-Gordon Gekko

[uls]

^^^

yep

classic

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7upG01-XWbY"]YouTube- Gordon Gekko "Greed is Good"[/ame]

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for those who haven't seen the movie

http://www.icefilms.info/index.php?o...st&video=18030

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http://www.voxeu.org/index.php?q=node/4659

Over the last three decades, the US financial system has tripled in size, as measured by total credit relative to GDP. Each time the system runs into problems, the Federal Reserve quickly lowers interest rates to revive it. These crises appear to be getting worse and worse – and their impact is increasingly global. Not only are interest rates near zero around the world, but many countries are on fiscal trajectories that require major changes to avoid eventual financial collapse.

What will happen when the next shock hits? We believe we may be nearing the stage where the answer will be – just as it was in the Great Depression – a calamitous global collapse.

the global financial system cannot survive another crisis

governments and central banks were able to prevent Armageddon

govt stimulus and zero rates worked this time

but now governments are deep in debt and interest rates are already at zero

if another crisis hits, the same strategies will no longer work

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a few posts back, i said if Greece defaulted, it would be a Lehman-like event

i'm not the only one saying that

http://www.spiegel.de/international/...9502-3,00.html

The senior Finance Ministry officials were alarmed by a letter from Jochen Sanio, the president of Germany's Federal Financial Supervisory Authority, known as BaFin. In the letter, which was addressed to Jörg Asmussen, a senior Finance Ministry official, Sanio urgently warned that the consequences of a Greek default could resemble the effects of the Lehman bankruptcy.

German banks could probably cope with a Greek default, but if it led to the financial collapse of other countries, like Italy, Spain or Portugal, the consequences for the banking sector could be catastrophic, Sanio warns. If this happened, the financial market crisis would only get worse.

In his letter, the BaFin president calculates what could happen to individual banks if securities from these countries lost 30, 50 or even 70 percent of their value. The results are horrifying.

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price of sugar falling

Pakistan Gets Seven Bids in Tender to Buy 200000 Tons of Sugar
BusinessWeek - Farhan Sharif - ‎Feb 21, 2010‎
Feb. 22 (Bloomberg) -- Trading Corp. of Pakistan received seven bids for a tender to import 200000 metric tons of refined sugar, ...

Pakistan Cancels Sugar Tender for Import of 200000 Metric Tons
BusinessWeek - Farhan Sharif - ‎Feb 22, 2010‎
Feb. 22 (Bloomberg) -- Trading Corp. of Pakistan scrapped a tender to import 200000 metric tons of white refined sugar after the lowest ...

Sugar Falls on Fund Sales After Buyer Cancels Planned Purchase
http://www.businessweek.com/news/201...-purchase.html

Feb. 23 (Bloomberg) -- Sugar futures in New York fell to the lowest level in 10 weeks on sales by speculators after Egypt canceled a planned purchase.

Egypt called off a purchase of 50,000 metric tons of raw sugar on Feb. 21, citing high prices. Yesterday, sugar futures tumbled 7.1 percent, the biggest drop in almost a year. The sweetener is down 21 percent for the month, after reaching a 29- year high of 30.4 cents a pound on Feb. 1.

speculators liquidate after failed buying by Pakistan and Egypt

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hahaha

surprise daw

Surprise! Pump prices up P1/liter
http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx...bCategoryId=63

MANILA, Philippines - Petron Corp., Chevron Philippines, Seaoil Philippines Corp. and Eastern Petroleum Corp. made unannounced increases in their pump prices of P1 per liter yesterday.

The oil firms implemented the price hikes early yesterday, catching consumers by surprise. The companies said the oil price hike reflected the upward trend in global petroleum market prices.

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i know it's getting boring but it can't be ignored

Greece is imploding

last night, Fitch downgraded the credit rating of 4 Spartan banks

Fitch downgrades Greece's four largest banks
http://www.reuters.com/article/busin...61M5F520100223

ATHENS/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Fitch Ratings on Tuesday downgraded the ratings of Greece's four largest banks on expectations fiscal tightening would weigh on the economy and loan demand, hurting profits.

the business of banking is all about confidence

that's sooooo not confidence-inspiring

B-A-N-K-R-U-N

--

And...

All flights cancelled: Greece faces massive strike action
Deutsche Welle - Andreas Illmer - ‎42 minutes ago‎
A nationwide strike has shut down air, rail and maritime transport in Greece as thousands protest the government's austerity plan to resolve the massive ...

Greek Unions Stage Second Strike Over Budget Cuts
BusinessWeek - Maria Petrakis - ‎53 minutes ago‎
Feb. 24 (Bloomberg) -- Greece's unions shut down transportation, medical and educational facilities today in a second 24-hour strike aimed ...

Greece shut down for 24-hour strike
BBC News - Malcolm Brabant - ‎1 hour ago‎
Hundreds of thousands of Greeks are on strike to protest at the imposition of austerity measures to save the economy. Greece's airspace will be closed to ...

[safeorigin]

...and the emissary of the banking world arrives at sparta and speaks with the king.

emissary: We are here to declare your country has defaulted

leo: THIS ISSSS SPAAAAARTTAAAA!!!

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haha

THIS!

IS!

SPARTA!

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this is MADNESS!!!

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Fitch downgraded Greece banks

now S&P...

S&P: Further downgrade in Greece's rating possible
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/sp-...ble-2010-02-24

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Standard & Poor's Ratings Services on Wednesday maintained Greece's BBB+ long-term and A-2 short-term sovereign credit ratings but warned that a ratings cut is possible in the near term. "In our view, a further downgrade of one to two notches is possible within a month," said Marko Mrsnik, an S&P credit analyst. S&P lowered Greece's long-term rating to its current level on Dec. 16. Confidence in Greece has deteriorated after it was revealed late last year that the country's 2009 deficit was close to 13% of its gross domestic product, significantly more than the euro-zone's 3% limit.

waiting for Moody's

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EUR/USD 1.3489

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+++++++++++++++++++++++

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USD index

[safeorigin]

Fitch downgraded Greece banks

now S&P...

S&P: Further downgrade in Greece's rating possible
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/sp-...ble-2010-02-24


waiting for Moody's

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EUR/USD 1.3489

sub(sub)prime sovereign?