The Bank Runs Begin

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/latvias-l [...] 38265.html


Is it just me or does this look familiar to anyone else? I seem to recall this happening sometime in the past. Hmmm, trying to put my finger on it...........

What? The bank run, or the rumors that started it?

Buts its fiat currency, I can no longer trade my 20$ bill for gold. Couldn't they just artificially increase the value of the dollar.

I don't go to a bank either I use a credit union, same deal?

What, specifically, is bullshit? The Fed buying Euros? How do you think that is going to end reynod?

Please enlighten all of us with your banking genius. You are obiously so well versed in history that you recognize this has NEVER happened before, EVER, to any other country.

I'm sure your historical education is so stellar, that you realize a country that monetizes its own debt always creates a positive outcome for its people. yes im sure.

I'm sure you are perfectly aware that a country that engages in quantitative easing, and then does it again, and then again, and is thinking about doing it again, always has a great positive effect on the prosperity of its people. I'm certain you realize this. Certain of it.......

I possess the sociological imagination my friend.

You will probably need to consult google for an hour or so to work up a reply.

I'll give you a few hours ... Mills isn't easy to just skim over.

I need to get some sleep as I need to work tomorrow ... as an academic.

In the meantime I leave you with Aristotle:

"One swallow does not a summer make, nor one fine day; similarly one day or brief time of happiness does not make a person entirely happy."

Well I need to ask a few questions about sourcing:

China: Where and when did they ever say they would no longer buy American bonds?

Dollars to Euros: When are where was this documented?

Run on banks: Are you referring to the last US bank that fell because of rumor mongering: Indy Mac?

Although you invision the barter system coming back, you recommend to hold on to dollars: Yet, as Wanamingo stated, we are on a fiat currency that has ZERO intrinsic value. With the demise of Breton Woods, and the debasement of the currency via the Federal Reserve, we saw the price of our money plummet. Before WW2 the entire world pegged their money vs the US Dollar because we were still using bimetallism (Gold & Silver backed) to keep our money floating soundly. It wasn't until Nixon that the entire intrinsic value of the dollar was washed away, but it was already on a steady decline. So, in a short question, with your (perceived) prediction of a financial implosion, what good would it be to keep actual US dollars on hand when they already have no value?

It's not that China is no longer buying American debt it's that the Chinese government reduced its holdings of U.S. Treasury bonds. Semantics.

Fed bailing out the Euro. Note the source, not something that was widely reported by mainstream American media. But, since then,this has happened. Again, note the source. And again, something not widely reported by mainstream American media.

The fact that the American Dollar is a fiat currency is largely a moot point. List the countries that are on a gold standard. The very fact that the American Dollar is a fiat currency and it's perceived value in the global economy carries an inherent value. We're left with international banks colluding with each other to manage global monetary policy. That's what the globalists and central banks have turned money into, money for the sake of money. Currency being any thing other than a medium for debts and credits is pointless. Given the global banking system, currency is a commodity and it no longer needs to be tied to a natural resource.

In the event of any impending financial collapse, America will not go down alone, China and the EU will collapse as well. It's just a matter of degrees at that point. As long as the American Dollar remains the global backing currency, federal reserve notes will have value.

Then there is this story from reuters going back to the end of Sept. 2011.

http://www.reuters.com/article/200 [...] 3720080925

If they are planning on there being a financial collapse, you can count on there being one.

My point about having some cash, not necessarily dollars, on hand, is so you can eat, put gas in your car, and pay for your life saving prescriptions if your checking account is frozen and the ATM's are shut down.

Also remember, the dollar is the worlds reserve currency. Though for how much longer I don't know. What do you think is going to happen when the Fed can no longer just print money at will?

No, if the rest of the world drops the dollar as the reserve currency the Fed will no longer be able to just print money to satisfy debts. Defaults galore! Fa La-La La-La.

Does anyone agree that it is fact the chinese yuan is tied to the US dollar, and that if the dollar fails, yuan fails as well.

That is the thing. chunky:

I have a relative who visited china. The people there have reported that they cannot even afford their education of their own children. ( Sounds familiar guys?)

China was too quick to rise. They will be quick to fall. Let me put it this way: They got their whole paycheck in one year, whereas other countries got their whole paychecks over decades. they went crazy and began building an empire overnight. Rome and the US took decades. Decades. it will be interesting to see what will become of the world in the next 5 years. Heck, I am interested in the changes we will see next year in 2012!

dog, every currency is tied to the dollar, including the yuan. That's what being the world's reserve currency means. You can go anywhere in the world and buy something with a dollar, well that used to be the case for the most part, you can't do that with most other currencies. This is why only dollars can prop up the Euro. Prop it up for a time mind you, not save it. The Euro is done, and the EU with it when it collapses. It's only a matter of time. France is getting ready to be downgraded, and others will follow suit. The question is, what will it look like after.

Countries will still be there. People will still be there. But, when people begin starving, and economies grind to a halt; that's when wars happen. It's happened before and I think its going to happen again, IMO.

Welcome Bayoutiger to News and Leisure ... oops he was hate-liberals ...so off to permaban again.

The last sentence in the article was the biggest worry omg.

I am starting to think (after some more reading) that you may not be quite as insane as I initially thought you were.

This is causing me some cognitive dissonance ...

I may need to insult you further to help resolve my internal conflict.

Alternatively i could agree with you ... I am unsure which will cause more pain.

Please ... go easy on me with the "I told you so".

Signs in our economy (other post) are now looking bad.

So, can gamer predict this Depression we will have soon?

If the central banks keep doing what they've been doing, financial and economic collaspe on a global scale is inevitable.

Something to watch for as an indicator is when the European Central Bank stops lending money to governments on the verge of default in Europe. Many are already on the verge yet the ECB keeps lending them Euros to hold off the defaults, and at the same time our Federal Reserve is proppiing up the Euro with dollars to perpetuate that. You will see individual countries begin to collapse, think Greece x100, except the riots happening in multiple countries simultaneously.

There is a good chance if this happens our Federal Reserve (as Federal as Federal Express) will be stuck with all the defaults in Europe because It will have been propping up the Euro for years by this time. Now, the other part. All the countries holding US treasuries, or all the countries holding our debt, China and Japan being the two biggest. What happens if they call in those treasuries, after dropping the dollar as the world reserve currency and we can no longer print money to pay those treasuries/debts? That means the US defaults, and all the countries holding our debt will not get paid. Remeber, by this time they are dealing with mass unemployment, riots in the streets becuase of austerity, and they will desperately need that cash that we wont be able to pay.

The USA will be perceived by the rest of the world as "THE 1%".

When will this happen you ask? Tough to say because I can't predict what the central banks will do. I can only see what they've been doing, are doing, and the inevitable outcome if they keep doing it. If they keep this up I would say, in 5-7 years the world will be on fire.

ninja edit: thats if the world doesn't end in 2012

My main worries is the "guy" that fixes it all

If you ask the customers of MF Global, they would probably say "hell no".

Now it all makes sense ... you hang out with accountants aford?

Ask them if banks should bail out Americans.

Is it just me, or did that jump out at anyone else??

Sounds complicated and dodgy.

Wonder how many fewer (but bigger) banks there are now in the US?

A plausible scenario of how this could go down dog. http://www.globalresearch.ca/index [...] &aid=28349

Not sure about all the anti-zionist/Israel crap but the economic and financial predictions are pretty accurate if our central banks keep playing games as they have been.

Unrelenting Global Economic Crisis: A Doomsday View of 2012
The economic, political and social outlook for 2012 is profoundly negative


Introduction


The economic, political and social outlook for 2012 is profoundly negative. The almost universal consensus, even among mainstream orthodox economists is pessimistic regarding the world economy. Although, even here, their predictions understate the scope and depth of the crises, there are powerful reasons to believe that beginning in 2012, we are heading toward a steeper decline than what was experienced during the Great Recession of 2008 – 2009. With fewer resources, greater debt and increasing popular resistance to shouldering the burden of saving the capitalist system, the governments cannot bail out the system.

Many of the major institutions and economic relations which were cause and consequence of world and regional capitalist expansion over the past three decades are in the process of disintegration and disarray. The previous economic engines of global expansion, the US and the European Union, have exhausted their potentialities and are in open decline. The new centers of growth, China, India, Brazil, Russia, which for a ‘short decade’ provided a new impetus for world growth have run their course and are de-accelerating rapidly and will continue to do so throughout the new year.

The Collapse of the European Union

Specifically, the crises wracked European Union will break up and the de facto multi-tiered structure will turn into a series of bilateral/multi-lateral trade and investment agreements. Germany , France , the Low and Nordic countries will attempt to weather the downturn. England - namely the City of London, in splendid isolation, will sink into negative growth, its financiers scrambling to find new speculative opportunities among the Gulf petrol-states and other ‘niches’. Eastern and Central Europe, particularly Poland and the Czech Republic , will deepen their ties to Germany but will suffer the consequences of the general decline of world markets. Southern Europe ( Greece , Spain , Portugal and Italy ) will enter into a deep depression as the massive debt payments fueled by savage assaults on wages and social benefits will severely reduce consumer demand.

Depression level unemployment and under-employment running to one-third of the labor force will detonate year-long social conflicts, intensifying into popular uprisings. Eventually a break-up of the European Union is almost inevitable. The euro as a currency of choice will be replaced by or return to national issues accompanied by devaluations and protectionism. Nationalism will be the order of the day. Banks in Germany , France and Switzerland will suffer huge losses on their loans to the South. Major bailouts will become necessary, polarizing German and French societies, between the tax-paying majorities and the bankers. Trade union militancy and rightwing pseudo ‘populism’ (neo-fascism) will intensify the class and national struggles

A depressed, fragmented and polarized Europe will be less likely to join in any Zionist inspired US-Israeli military adventure against Iran (or even Syria ). Crises ridden Europe will oppose Washington ’s confrontationalist approach to Russia and China .

The US : The Recession Returns with a Vengeance

The US economy will suffer the consequences of its ballooning fiscal deficit and will not be able to spend its way out of the world recession of 2012. Nor can it count on ‘exporting’ its way out of negative growth by turning to previously dynamic Asia, as China, India and the rest of Asia are losing economic steam. China will grow far below its 9% moving average. India will decline from 8% to 5% or lower. Moreover, the Obama regime’s military policy of ‘encirclement’, its economic policy of exclusion and protectionism will preclude any new stimulus from China .

Militarism Exacerbates the Economic Downturn

The US and England will be the biggest losers from the Iraqi post war economic reconstruction. Of $186 billion dollars in infrastructure projects, US and UK corporations will gain less than 5% (Financial Times, 12/16/11, p 1 and 3). A similar outcome is likely in Libya and elsewhere. US imperial militarism destroys an adversary, plunging into debt to do so, and non-belligerents reap the lucrative post-war economic reconstruction contracts.

The US economy will fall into recession in 2012 and the “jobless recovery of 2011” will be replaced by a steep increase of unemployment in 2012. In fact, the entire labor force will shrink as people losing their unemployment benefits will fail to register.

Labor exploitation (“productivity”) will intensify as capitalists force workers to produce more, for less pay, thus widening the income gap between wages and profits.

The economic downturn and growth of unemployment will be accompanied by savage cuts in social programs to subsidize financially troubled banks and industries. The debates among the parties will be over how large the cuts to workers and retirees will be to secure the ‘confidence’ of the bondholders. Faced with equally limited political choices, the electorate will react by voting out incumbents, abstaining and via spontaneous and organized mass movements, such as the “occupy Wall Street” protest. Dissatisfaction, hostility and frustration will pervade the culture. Democratic Party demagogues will scapegoat China ; the Republican Party demagogues will blame the immigrants. Both will fulminate against “the Islamo-fascists” and especially against Iran .

New Wars in the Midst of Crises: Zionists Pull the Trigger

The ‘52 Presidents of the Major American Jewish Organizations’ and their “Israel First” followers in the US Congress, State Department, Treasury and the Pentagon will push for war with Iran . If they are successful it will result in a regional conflagration and world depression. Given the extremist Israeli regime’s success in securing blind obedience to its war policies from the US Congress and White House, any doubts about the real possibility of a major catastrophic outcome can be set aside.

China: Compensatory Mechanisms in 2012

China will face the global recession of 2012 with several possibilities of ameliorating its impact. Beijing can shift toward producing goods and services for the 700 million domestic consumers currently out of the economic loop. By increasing wages, social services and environmental safety, China can compensate for the loss of overseas markets. China ’s economic growth, which is largely dependent on real estate speculation, will be adversely affected when the bubble is burst. A sharp downturn will result, leading to job losses, municipal bankruptcies and increased social and class conflicts. This can result in either greater repression or gradual democratization. The outcome will profoundly affect China ’s market - state relations. The economic crisis will likely strengthen state control over the market.

Russia Faces the Crises

Russia ’s election of President Putin will lead to less collaboration in backing US promoted uprisings and sanctions against Russian allies and trading partners. Putin will turn toward greater ties with China and will benefit from the break-up of the EU and the weakening of NATO.

The western media backed opposition will use its financial clout to erode Putin’s image and encourage investment boycotts though they will lose the Presidential elections by a big margin. The world recession will weaken the Russian economy and will force it to choose between greater public ownership or greater dependency on state funds to bail out prominent oligarchs.

The Transition 2011 – 2012: From Regional Stagnation and Recession to World Crises

The year 2011 laid the groundwork for the breakdown of the European Union. The crises began with the demise of the Euro, stagnation in the US and the outbreak of mass protests against the obscene inequalities on a world scale. The events of 2011 were a dress rehearsal for a new year of full scale trade wars between major powers, sharpening inter-imperialist struggles and the likelihood of popular rebellions turning into revolutions. Moreover, the escalation of Zionist orchestrated war fever against Iran in 2011 promises the biggest regional war since the US-Indo-Chinese conflict. The electoral campaigns and outcomes of Presidential elections in the US , Russia and France will deepen the global conflicts and economic crises.

During 2011 the Obama regime announced a policy of military confrontation with Russia and China and policies designed to undermine and degrade China ’s rise as a world economic power. In the face of a deepening economic recession and with the decline of overseas markets, especially in Europe , a major trade war will unfold. Washington will aggressively pursue policies limiting Chinese exports and investments. The White House will escalate its efforts to disrupt China ’s trade and investments in Asia, Africa and elsewhere. We can expect greater US efforts to exploit China ’s internal ethnic and popular conflicts and to increase its military presence off China ’s coastline. A major provocation or fabricated incident in this context is not to be excluded. The result in 2012 could lead to rabid chauvinist calls for a costly new ‘Cold War’. Obama has provided the framework and justification for a large-scale, long-term confrontation with China . This will be seen as a desperate effort to prop up US influence and strategic positions in Asia . The US military “quadrangle of power” – US-Japan-Australia-South Korea – with satellite support from the Philippines , will pit China ’s market ties against Washington ’s military build-up.

Europe: Deeper Austerity and Intensified Class Struggle

The austerity programs imposed in Europe, from England to Latvia to southern Europe will really take hold in 2012. Massive public sector firings and reduced private sector salaries and job opportunities will lead to a year of permanent class warfare and regime challenges. The ‘austerity policies’ in the South, will be accompanied by debt defaults resulting in bank failures in France and Germany . England ’s financial ruling class, isolated from Europe, but dominant in England , will insist that the Conservatives ‘repress’ labor and popular unrest. A new tough neo-Thatcherite style of autocratic rule will emerge; the Labor-trade union opposition will issue empty protests and tighten the leash on the rebellious populace. In a word, the regressive socio-economic policies put in place in 2011 have set the stage for new police-state regimes and more acute and possibly bloody confrontations with workers and unemployed youth with no future.

The Coming Wars that Ends America “As We Know It”

Within the US , Obama has laid the groundwork for a new and bigger war in the Middle East by relocating troops from Iraq and Afghanistan and concentrating them against Iran . To undermine Iran , Washington is expanding clandestine military and civilian operations against Iranian allies in Syria , Pakistan , Venezuela and China . The key to the US and Israeli bellicose strategy toward Iran is a series of wars in neighboring states, world- wide economic sanctions , cyber-attacks aimed at disabling vital industries and clandestine terrorist assassinations of scientists and military officials. The entire push, planning and execution of the US policies leading up to war with Iran can be empirically and without a doubt attributed to the Zionist power configuration occupying strategic positions in the US Administration, mass media and ‘civil society’.

A systematic analysis of American policymakers designing and implementing economic sanctions policy in Congress finds prominent roles for such mega-Zionists (Israel-Firsters) as Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and Howard Berman; in the White House, Dennis Ross in the White House, Jeffrey Feltman in the State Department, and Stuart Levy, and his replacement David Cohen, in the Treasury. The White House is totally beholden to Zionist fund raisers and takes its cue from the ‘52 Presidents of the Major American Jewish Organization. The Israeli-Zionist strategy is to encircle Iran , weaken it economically and attack its military. The Iraq invasion was the US ’s first war for Israel ; the Libyan war the second; the current proxy war against Syria is the third. These wars have destroyed Israel ’s adversaries or are in the process of doing so.

During 2011, economic sanctions, which were designed to create domestic discontent in Iran , were the principle weapon of choice. The global sanctions campaign engaged the entire energies of the major Jewish-Zionist lobbies. They have faced no opposition from the mass media, Congress or the White Office. The Zionist Power Configuration (ZPC) has been virtually exempt from criticism by any of the progressive, leftist and socialist journals, movements or grouplets – with a few notable exceptions. The past year’s re-positioning of US troops from Iraq to the borders of Iran , the sanctions and the rising Big Push from Israel ’s Fifth Column in the US means expanded war in the Middle East . This likely means a “surprise” aerial and maritime missile attack by US forces. This will be based on a concocted pretext of an “imminent nuclear attack” concocted by Israeli Mossad and faithfully transmitted by the ZPC to their lackeys US Congress and White House for consumption and transmission to the world. It will be a destructive, bloody, prolonged war for Israel ; the US will bear the direct military cost by itself and the rest of the world will pay a dear economic price. The Zionist-promoted US war will convert the recession of early 2012 into a major depression by the end of the year and probably provoke mass upheavals.

Conclusion

All indications point to 2012 being a turning point year of unrelenting economic crisis spreading outward from Europe and the US to Asia and its dependencies in Africa and Latin America . The crisis will be truly global. Inter-imperial confrontations and colonial wars will undermine any efforts to ameliorate this crisis. In response, mass movements will emerge moving over time from protests and rebellions, and hopefully to social revolutions and political power.


James Petras is a frequent contributor to Global Research. Global Research Articles by James Petras

Here's a red flag! Can't believe I missed this on the 20th.

http://www.cnbc.com/id/45794782

There can be only one reason why they would do this. Anyone venture a guess?

Something that particular story doesn't say is that the Chinese Central Bank, ie the government has been buying up gold like mad. Now, they are restricting the ownership of gold by individuals.

I remember something similar happening in the 1930's but I can't seem to put my finger on it...................OH YEAH! the government, i mean the central bank, seized all the privately held gold right here in America! Now I remember!!

If you do brush up, notice how the "great depression" only affected the United States. The rest of the world was only in recession or a mild depression that was over relatively quickly compared to our great depression which only ended after WWII.