It is strange how, with the EU issue in the UK intensifying, it is slowing down on the mainland for the time being. Thus, we see Spiegel's report of the European Council telling us that the "colleagues" have chosen "rest over reform".

As recently as November, the magazine says, Merkel was saying that this month's EU Council meeting would set an ambitious timeline for far-reaching "reforms" in the eurozone. But, whether pre-Christmas exhaustion or something else, such ambitions have been forgotten for the moment.

After nine hours of talks, we are told that all the "colleagues" managed was a five-page paper. Although called a "roadmap," this is little more than a vague outline for the next six months.

The most "concrete" date mentioned is June 2013, when Van Rompuy is to have worked out a solid timeline for the establishment of closer fiscal policy coordination among euro-zone member states. But this "time-bound roadmap" was exactly that which was forecast for this month. It seems it wasn't that "time-bound" after all.

View full article here

Quote - Herman



highlighting - you know who.

I can't begin to......................is he.....................he must be...............

Anyway, apparently Dave and George have extracted a promise that the EZ will keep out of the City - HEY!! - ffs...watch the small print lads.
Secondly, 200 banks will be under scrutiny but not most of the German big boys [keeps the German public happy] but you can guess out of the 17 - who is going to pay after the monetary and banking union is formalised....er debts are mutualised and Spain et al will dump their broke banks - quicker than speedy Gonzalez on acme Roadrunner speed tablets.

Word is, from Posener [Der Spiegel] writing - in the Times, Angela post 2013 vote - will circumvent or nullify [a potential thrashing at the polls] and join up with the greens and other EU-fanatical German political parties [that's all of 'em then], combining in an Axis of Angela the great and cementing her as the 1000 year Reichs' Chancellor [or summat].

Edited by user 14 December 2012 23:23:31(UTC)  | Reason: Not specified

Interesting article on the German banks and the shipping market.

http://www.cnbc.com/id/1...man_Banks_mdash_Shipping

Edited by user 14 December 2012 22:51:59(UTC)  | Reason: Not specified

Idle hands make much work for the devil.Though it pales beside the mortgage/property bubble that is actually the ruin of all UK/US banks and has yet to be resolved.It does appear from that article that German banks have had a taste for shipping investments if many have given 60% of their lending to this sector alone.Though I see this was encouraged by government tax reliefs.One wonders if this is a contravention of EU law regarding state aid.....seeing as the ship building industry was destroyed by the EU for that very reason in my home town here, back in the 80s.

When too much money is allowed to circulate the economy you get speculative bubbles usually in property, as I said, or share and bond markets.But this is another example,more evidence that we need better overall credit controls on our private banks as they pose limitless ways to cause mischief.It is quite a simple step to get the central bank to regulate national lending limits in accordance with how the real economy is performing which will go a long way to stop these huge speculative bubbles popping up, which then leads to banks collapsing and then having to be nationalised.

The biggest sin here is allowing a huge expansion of credit during boom years...its a very painful lesson when the inevitable crash follows.

Edited by user 15 December 2012 08:30:31(UTC)  | Reason: Not specified