Financial News: Cyprus In Layman’s Terms

Cyprus In Layman’s Terms

In case you’ve heard it and didn’t understand or have been living under a rock, in terms of financial news, not that everyone pays attention to financial news, the tiny nation of Cyprus is doing something unprecedented. They are stealing depositors money.

The news is reporting it and the most casual way possible. If they told you exactly what was going on, and what other options were available, a widespread panic would ensue.

So here’s the basics of this report. The tiny nation of Cyprus, basically serves as the offshore banking for much of Europe. They are the Cayman Islands of Europe. People deposit their huge sums there, and pay very little taxes. Because the island’s banks gets huge sums of money, they thought to make even more money by investing it themselves. Who did they invest in? Greece. Wait, are you thinking what I’m thinking? That’s right, Greece is insolvent and can’t pay its creditors, including Cyprus.

Iran stops oil sales to British and French firms

Strap on your day trader hats, all you commodity junkies, crude is about to hit the roof with this news. The summer is going to be a boondoggle for the white house. And, Obama will more than likely lose the presidency over this.

Tehran, Iran

TEHRAN (Reuters) – Iran has stopped selling crude to British and French companies, the oil ministry said on Sunday, in a retaliatory measure against fresh EU sanctions on the Islamic state’s lifeblood, oil.

“Exporting crude to British and French companies has been stopped … we will sell our oil to new customers,” spokesman Alireza Nikzad was quoted as saying by the Ministry of Petroleum website.

The European Union in January decided to stop importing crude from Iran from July 1 over its disputed nuclear program, which the West says is aimed at building bombs. Iran denies this.

Iran’s oil minister said on February 4 that the Islamic state would cut its oil exports to “some” European countries.

Iran Stops Oil Sales to Britain and France

The European Commission said last week that the bloc would not be short of oil if Iran stopped crude exports, as they have enough in stock to meet their needs for around 120 days.

Industry sources told Reuters on February 16 that Iran’s top oil buyers in Europe were making substantial cuts in supply months in advance of European Union sanctions, reducing flows to the continent in March by more than a third – or over 300,000 barrels daily.

France’s Total has already stopped buying Iran’s crude, which is subject to fresh EU embargoes. Market sources said Royal Dutch Shell has scaled back sharply. Shell had no comment on the announcement.

Among European nations, debt-ridden Greece is most exposed to Iranian oil disruption.

Motor Oil Hellas of Greece was thought to have cut out Iranian crude altogether and compatriot Hellenic Petroleum along with Spain’s Cepsa and Repsol were curbing imports from Iran.

Iran was supplying more than 700,000 barrels per day (bpd) to the EU plus Turkey in 2011, industry sources said.

By the start of this year imports had sunk to about 650,000 bpd as some customers cut back in anticipation of an EU ban.

President Mahmoud Admadinejad of Iran

Saudi Arabia says it is prepared to supply extra oil either by topping up existing term contracts or by making rare spot market sales. Iran has criticized Riyadh for the offer.

Iran said the cut will have no impact on its crude sales, warning that any sanctions on its oil will raise international crude prices.

Brent crude oil prices were up $1 a barrel to $118.35 shortly after Iran’s state media announced last week that Tehran had cut oil exports to six European states. The report was denied shortly afterwards by Iranian officials.

“We have our own customers … The replacements for these companies have been considered by Iran,” Nikzad said.

EU’s new sanctions includes a range of extra restrictions on Iran that went well beyond U.N. sanctions agreed last month and included a ban on dealing with Iranian banks and insurance companies and steps to prevent investment in Tehran’s lucrative oil and gas sector, including refining.

The mounting sanctions are aimed at putting financial pressure on the world’s fifth largest crude oil exporter, which has little refining capacity and has to import about 40 percent of its gasoline needs for its domestic consumption.

(Writing by Parisa Hafezi; Editing by David Cowell)

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Newt Gingrich Disproves Global Warming (full video)

Newt Gingrich Disproves Global Warming

I am no fan of Newt Gingrich, but in the video below he actually quotes and cites all his sources, those being of actual scientists and not just sound bites like Al Gore does: “the science is clear”; “the science is firm”; “there is no debating global warming”; “those who oppose global warming are like those who think the lunar landing was staged in Hollywood, a very small segment of scientists.” What’s more Newt Gingrich gives his credentials before speaking. He actually has grounds to say what he says, because he actually has credentials, where Gore was just Vice President, not a gleaming qualification to get the world in an uproar over man made global warming. I’ve actually dug up my own independent research, and everything Gore says is completely false.

Former Speaker Newt Gingrich

• icebergs are melting [ yes in the summer they melt slightly every year, for the past 1 billion years]
• co2 emissions will make sea water rise 20ft in 30 years [completely false, and a prediction, not a fact, based on science that has been completely debunked due to a report that was falsifying information adding ANOTHER 20 degrees to the data]
• man made co2 is the cause of global warming [completely false, global warming and cooling is done by many factors, the least of which are sun spots and cloud cover that reflects heat radiation back to surface, HENCE our ability to actually live on the planet (what an idiot)]
• polar bears are dying and drowning [completely debunked, and the scientist that came up with the report has been since removed from office and is under investigation]
• there is a consensus that global warming is man made [over 10,000 scientists came out of the woodwork to personally sue Mr. Gore, stating there is not a consensus and that the science was completely false]
• global warming is readily apparent and temperatures are rising like a hockey stick [completely false, and debunked since they only used data over the past 100 years, go back to the middle ages and our temperatures seem like a spec of dust since temperatures during that time were MUCH higher, go back further and further and the middle ages are simply the normal cycle of global temperatures]
• I’ve submitted reports showing the science of global warming [all reports submitted to the UN and the IPCC have since been shown to have been falsified, a conspiracy to commit perjury and the data was not submitted to any peer review study]

This is just from the research i’ve read over.  Newt actually has other data than what I’ve dug up, but the two corroborate.

Gore is now worth nearly $200 million.  When he left office with clinton he was worth a mere $100,000.  Insiders have said all along this was all about money and global governance, i.e. a one world government.

They keep trying, but everything falls apart.  The EU was actually their first step, which was conceived some 30 years ago.  It is clamoring to stay afloat, but the model is completely flawed.  Spain, Ireland and portugal will be the next to fall, with Greece holding on for dear life.  We [ the federal reserve ] are pouring trillions into the EU, secretly.  They cannot stay afloat by themselves.  They are essentially already in a coma and noone is saying it.  Pull the plug and she’s dead.

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European Union Launches Antitrust Probe on Google

EU Tackles Google Dominance in Antitrust Probe

Google Antitrust Probe

BRUSSELS (AFP) – The European Union has launched an antitrust probe on internet king Google on Tuesday, after complaints the Silicon Valley giant abused its dominant position in the online search market.

European Union competition watchdogs formally announced their investigation, after rivals accused Google of “unfavorable treatment” of their services in both unpaid and sponsored search results, the crucial listings that make the web navigable.

Competition authorities are probing whether Google’s own services – the company has branched out into just about every web domain there is – are getting “preferential placement” when users punch in search queries, some of which may lead to consumer spending.

The official probe will certainly take months, and potentially carries echoes of a decade of antitrust pursuit of fellow computer giant Microsoft over issues from operating systems to web browsers.

An investigation does not necessarily mean legal action will follow, although fines in similar cases have run to many hundred of millions of Euros in the past.

Google’s share of the core US search market grew to 66.1% in September, according to industry tracker comScore.

The company posted a 32% leap in net profit to $2.17 billion between July and September, its latest available results.

One of the complainants, British search site Foundem, said in a statement that its revenue “pales next to the hundreds of billions of dollars of other companies’ revenues that Google controls indirectly through its search results and sponsored links.”

The commission wants to check if Google was “lowering the ranking of unpaid search results” as well as other allegations of advertising interference including imposing exclusivity clauses, restricting ads from competing providers and data on consumer impact.

Google said it would cooperate with the prove, saying: “There’s always going to be room for improvement, and so we’ll be working with the commission to address any concerns.”

It insisted it had always sought to ensure that “ads are always clearly marked.”

Microsoft’s portion of the US market improved a fraction to 11.2% while that of Yahoo! slipped from 17.4% in August to 16.7% in September, comScore reported last month.

Approximately $12.4 billion will be spent in the United States this year on ads on search engines, with Google expected to rake in 73.3% of that cash, according to Marketer.

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Greece In Trouble with Bailouts and Its Generous Pension Plan

Germans Irate, Greek Pension Plan Better than Theirs

Greek Employment Minister Andreas Loverdos

After German citizens saw that the Greek pension plan is much more generous than their own,  German retirement age is being raised to 67, while Greek men currently retire at 65 and women at 60, it helped fuel widespread opposition among Germans to footing the bill for Greece’s rescue, in which Berlin will pay the biggest national share

For its part Greece is trying to renegotiate the terms of the pension reform required under the terms of an economic rescue deal agreed this month with the EU and the IMF, senior government officials said. Officials said they wanted the EU and IMF to agree full pensions should be payable after 37 years of contributions instead of 40, as set out in the deal, and allow the reform to be implemented later than foreseen.  This will lower the payout of pensions.

“The (EU/IMF) memorandum will be implemented but I want to have the option to negotiate to the end,” Labor Minister Andreas Loverdos said in a television interview. “I’m fighting for this, I’m not saying I will win.”

The EU/IMF are using the pension reform as a benchmark for the country, any problems over this could raise doubts about the government’s resolve to carry out the harsh austerity programme.

Negotiation talks by the Labor Minister is seen as nothing more than a bluff since Greece must comply with the plan or risk their entire bailout.

The European Commission sent Greece a letter to remind it to stick to the terms of the deal regarding the pension reform.  Greece hopes that a study it will provide to visiting EU / IMF inspectors will help convince them to water down the terms of the deal, including implementing the pension reform fully in 2018 rather than 2015.

Greek Protests Heat Up as 3 Die From Police Beatings

“This is also an open issue, whether the new way of pension calculation will be implemented in 2015 or 2018,” said Deputy Labor Minister George Koutroumanis.  “We have specific arguments on why (it should be) in 2018 and not in 2015,” he said. “Of course it is not a problem for us to move it three years earlier but there are technical issues which we have to deal with.”

The draft pension bill allows retirees to draw a full pension after 37 years of contributions, three years less than set out in the bailout deal, but gives incentives for workers to work 40 years.

“We say yes to the age limit of 40 as mentioned in the memorandum and we respect it, but we somehow interpret it differently,” said Employment Minister Andreas Loverdos. “If it is not accepted, if the actuarial study does not convince, then we will adapt to the memorandum.”

The pension bill is expected to be submitted to parliament soon and be voted on this month. The socialist government has a comfortable parliamentary majority which should allow it to pass the bill easily.  But the main labor unions oppose the bill and have warned they will stage strikes this month to put pressure on the government.

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The United States to Remove Itself from the United Nations

Getting Out of the United Nations

United Nations leader sentenced in corruption scandal. Department head at United Nations caught in falsifying evidence. Policy chief exposed for trying to defraud general assembly at United Nations (UN). European Union forms Eurozone. India, China, Brazil and Russia believe they can form their own little U.N. and the block can really control the world resources, talent and even finances. At a time like this congress proposes that the United States excuse itself from United Nations membership. The body is now rife with corruption and filled with petty dictators that the depth of taint is unassailable. Not only can nothing be done, but nothing can be done with any sense of trust that the facts can trusted. President George W. Bush going before the United Nations and presenting completely false evidence of weapon of mass destruction found in Iraq was the nail in the coffin. When the last standing super power shows a complete lack of respect for the body and shows evidence of corruption the rest of the body was not long for a complete autopsy. While Bush’s corruption did not single-handedly corrupt the entire U.N., he did put the capstone on it.

At 28% of its operating cost, in the billions of dollars annually, America cannot afford to be a part of the now defunct body. With the latest scandal of the swine flu hoax and the global warming hoax revealed, Congress is hard pressed to continue justifying paying so much money to be a part of the circus. Governor Mike Huckabee and others have all thrown in the towel on the organization and congress has taken steps to excuse us from this tainted organization.

The straw that broke the camel’s back, as if more straws were needed, was found when it was revealed that the general assembly has now adopted a Hegelian world policy, i.e. removal of national governments in favor of a one world government, all national sovereignty to be removed, by force if necessary.

Congress, in its infinite wisdom, has finally seen the writing on the wall. The story was leaked by the U.S. Department of State. Apparently, it was an act done out of their own self preservation. Had the leak not happened, it is unclear how long this would have been kept from the public. Specifically what was leaked was the fact that clear evidence was shown that the U.N. has adopted this united government stance and they are poised to act on it.

Conclusion

There are not many things I agree with Congress on, but this one subject I do. The United States cannot be a party to a body that is espouses a Hegelian world policy, forcibly removing national governments. I am pretty sure that our government might resist this. I don’t know. Politicians are pretty stupid, but are they that stupid? I cannot imagine Harry Reid just stepping aside, just because.

Can you imagine if U.N. “peacekeepers” descended on Washington and removed Congress? I don’t know if I would cheer or be mad.

When Reagan removed us out of UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization), I wonder why he didn’t just remove us from the U.N. altogether. He did it quietly and there was not much press on the matter. He could have quietly excused us and no one would have said anything.

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