EU Commissioner for Greece Horst Reichenbach told Austria’s Passauer Neue Presse newspaper this morning, “I am optimistic as never before about Greece”.
When asked why, he replied:
“The segment in the finance ministry which is responsible for pensions has greatly improved.”
As a result of this, it may well be that Greece can now monetise its pensioners by leveraging them several times, and offering them a new life as a credit derivative obligation. It is a miracle. Greece is saved.
But Herr Reichenbach was less optimistic about the banks there.
“The financial problems of Greece’s banks pose great difficulties. The banks now need to be re-capitalized so that the economy can prosper,” he said. Ah. So, not a miracle after all then?
To the UK’s granny tax can now be added the nanny tax. The FT headlines today – that’s right, headlines – on the news that getting cash in hand is to be investigated in affluent households. Apparently, anyone caught doing it will be told to go and sit on the Naughty Step, and might even be sent to bed with no cocoa.
Ben Bernanke has meanwhile told the American media that “Consumer spending isn’t fully recovered. In terms of debt and consumption, and so on we’re still way low relative to the patterns before.” This is the start of a smart move by Uncle Ben to reposition debt as a good thing. Pretty soon, when the US deficit hits $17 trillion, Obama will thus be able to tell the nation that in terms of debt, America has never been healthier.
Reuters, the FT and Bloomberg were respectively responsible for printing this crap today. Three years ago, Channel 4 said “The internet is for Opposition”. They could now go further, and add “The MSM is for collaboration.”
Internet access is still intermittent. More posts when possible.
The Slog 