The
Austrian Black Swan Claims Its First Foreign Casualty: German Duesselhyp
Collapses, To Be Bailed Out - (www.zerohedge.com) Precisely one week ago in "A Black Swan Lands In Southern
Austria: The Ripple Effects Of "Mini-Greece Going Off In The Heartland Of
Europe", when analyzing the consequences of the collapse of Austria's bad
bank, we noted perhaps the biggest paradox of Europe's emergency preparedness
response to the Greek collapse and imminent expulsion from the Eurozone: namely
that the biggest threat to German banks was no longer in some Mediterranean
nation, but in its very own back yard. To wit: Irony #2, and
the biggest one of all: while German banks had spent the past 3 years preparing
for the inevitable Grexit and offloading all their exposure to the now
insolvent Greek state, it was a waterfall chain of events which started in
Germany's own "back yard", courtesy of auditors who decided it was
unnecessary to mark losses to market until it was far too late, and the
immediate outcome is that one ninth of until recently Aaa/AAA-rated Austria is
now also insolvent. And that is just the beginning.
Debunking
$1.4 Trillion Europe Debt Myth in Post-Heta Age - (www.bloomberg.com) Austria’s
decision to burn bondholders of a failed state bank may mean almost 1.3
trillion euros ($1.4 trillion) of European debt once deemed risk-free now comes
with a hazard warning. Austria is the first country to wind down a bank, Heta
Asset Resolution AG, under the European Union’s new Bank Recovery and Resolution
Directive after changing laws last year to allow it to write down subordinated
debt of its failed predecessor, Hypo Alpe-Adria-Bank International AG. The
government is also refusing to stand behind guarantees by the province of
Carinthia on Heta’s senior debt. The moves are putting bondholders at risk of
losses. As age-old banking mores clash with modern banking rules, investors are
being forced to take a second look at how governments have used explicit or
implicit promises in the past to issue debt that doesn’t show up in official
ledgers.
Greece
Scrambles to Find Cash Ahead of $2 Billion Payment Deadline - (www.bloomberg.com) Greece will begin debating measures to boost
liquidity as the cash-starved country braces for more than 2 billion euros
($2.12 billion) in debt payments Friday. Unable to access bailout funding and
locked out of capital markets, the government will outline emergency plans to
parliament later Tuesday that includes incentives for tax delinquents to pay up
before March 27, when Greece needs money for monthly salaries and pensions. Prime
Minister Alexis Tsipras’s government is burning through cash while trying to
get creditors -- euro area member states, the European Central Bank and the
International Monetary Fund -- to release more money from a 240 billion-euro
bailout program. Euro-area finance ministry officials will hold a call Tuesday
to discuss Greece’s deteriorating finances, according to two European officials
who asked not to be identified because the talk hasn’t been publicized.
Farmers
stand to reap $24B windfall - (www.cnbc.com) Last year there were a lot of
self-congratulations by both Republicans and Democrats when Congress finally
passed a bipartisan five-year farm and nutrition bill to reduce long-term
spending by about $23 billion. "This is not your father's farm bill,"
Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), then-chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee,
boasted at the time. "Instead of getting a government check even in good
times, farmers will pay an insurance bill every year and will only receive
support from that insurance in years when they take a loss." The
legislation forged by Stabenow and Frank Lucas (R-OK), former chair of the
House Agriculture Committee, consolidated a myriad of duplicative programs, cut
spending on food stamps and conservation programs, and eliminated direct
payments to farmers.
Nation's
Largest Teachers Union Funded This 'ALL COPS ARE BASTARDS' SIGN - (www.dailycaller.com) A
militant Wisconsin group funded heavily by the National Education Association —
America’s largest teachers union — unfurled a banner declaring “ALL COPS ARE
BASTARDS” at an anti-police protest last week. The group, Wisconsin Jobs Now, organized the protest on Wednesday, EAGnews.org reports. Despite the name “Wisconsin Jobs Now,” the
small, radical group has spent considerable time and energy in recent months
protesting police tactics. Wisconsin Jobs Now has long targeted the Milwaukee
police department. It has now branched some 80 miles west to Madison. The
National Education Association is a major financial donors for Wisconsin Jobs
Now. The teachers union — the largest in the United States — gave $125,000 to
Wisconsin Jobs Now in 2014 alone.
Major U.S. allies to join China-backed bank: reports - (www.reuters.com)
Euro States’ Greek Solidarity Has Limits, Slovenian Premier Says - (www.bloomberg.com)
Greek, German tensions rise amid swearing claims - (www.cnbc.com)
[Gilbert] Greece's Euro Exit Seems Inevitable - (www.bloomberg.com)
Draghi QE is stoking bond bubble risk - (www.ft.com)
U.S. Basically Says Russia Sanctions Will Go On Forever - (www.forbes.com)
As Cyprus Recovers From Banking Crisis, Deep Scars Remain - (www.nytimes.com)
Espirito Santo Collapse Triggers Bank Merger Discussions - (www.bloomberg.com)
Europe’s Extreme Parties Lure Voters by Speaking in Code - (www.bloomberg.com)
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