Russia #39;s Lavrov tells EU #39;s Mogherini to push Kiev towards peace talks
Russia #39;s Lavrov tells EU #39;s Mogherini to push Kiev towards peace talks Subscribe My Channel! .MOSCOW, Jan 25 (Reuters) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavorv told the European Union #39;s foreign...
By: Burfut News
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Russia's Lavrov tells EU's Mogherini to push Kiev towards peace talks - Video
Anti-Austerity Party Syriza Wins Greek Election, But Markets Unfazed
Greece #39;s anti-austerity party Syriza swept to victory in Sunday #39;s general election, on a promise to renegotiate the terms of its European Union and International Monetary Fund bailout ...
By: TheStreet
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Anti-Austerity Party Syriza Wins Greek Election, But Markets Unfazed - Video
So it looks like all the action remains in Europe this week. The Greek electorate just told its creditors to take a hike, and good on them. In general elections held on Sunday, the Greeks voted for the Syrzia Party, an anti austerity party that promised to repudiate or at least reduce Greeces onerous debt load.
In todays Daily Reckoning, Ill try and work out what this means for you and your investments. Ill show you why the markets dont really care about the news (stocks were up overnight) but why they might in the future.
First a little background. Years ago, Greece got screwedbigtime. Or I should say ordinary Greeks got screwed. Since joining the EU in the late 1990s, Greek politicians ran up enormous debts and international bankers were only too happy to lend them the money.
After the global crisis in 2008 the markets turned on Greece. Lending stopped and interest rates skyrocketed. The country then had a number of bailout packages, which were all about paying money to Greece so Greece could in turn pay its creditors.
While some creditors did get a haircut meaning they lost some of the money they loaned it wasnt much in the scheme of things.
The haircut was a sop in order to get a massive bailout package through. But it was Greeces creditors (not Greece) that received the bailout funds. The Troika made up of the European Commission (EC), the European Central Bank (ECB) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) loaned Greece billions at below market rates in return for committing to a policy of austerity to get its financial house in order.
In addition, the Troika bought up a huge amount of Greek government debt for much more than it was really worth rewarding those debt holders speculating on a bailout.
These actions avoided an immediate crisis but now the Troika hold around 80% of Greeces debt, which in total amounts to around 320 billion, or a massive 175% of GDP.
I want you to be clear on what happened so current events have some context: Greece still has a massive debt burden. Its bailouts didnt lessen that burdenthey only improved the terms and the interest rate.
The only bailout was for the speculators and bankers who misjudged the risk in lending to Greece in the first place. The Troika saved Greece merely to keep their cushy jobs in Brussels and the euro experiment alive.
Continued here:
Greece Doesnt Need the European Union
European Union plans to ban proprietary trading and break up the blocs biggest banks are faltering as lawmakers clash over fundamental principles of the bill.
The European Commission, the EUs executive arm, presented its bank-structure overhaul a year ago to address the threat posed by too-big-to-fail banks. The bill has proven divisive in the European Parliament and among national governments, leading some legislators to say its days may be numbered.
The chances of any serious progress on the proposal for structural reform of the banks are diminishing rapidly, Richard Reid, a research fellow for finance and regulation at the University of Dundee in Scotland, said by e-mail. In part its because quite a few governments see no real need to substantially reshape their banking systems.
The push for an EU-wide law lags behind the U.K., whose so-called Vickers rule will force Britains biggest lenders to split off core consumer banking from trading activities. Other countries such as France, Germany and Belgium have also developed their own measures.
The bill would cover banks that have assets exceeding 30 billion euros ($34 billion) in three consecutive years and trading activities of more than 70 billion euros or 10 percent of assets. It specifically captures the European banks labeled as globally systemic by the Financial Stability Board, including HSBC Holdings Plc and Deutsche Bank AG. (DBK)
The commissions blueprint sought to ban the lenders from certain activities, such as proprietary trading and investing in hedge funds, while also forcing supervisors to assess whether the banks should have to separate off some trading activities into separately capitalized units.
This separation would take place if the investment banking surpassed certain thresholds and if the lender couldnt demonstrate that the move was unnecessary.
The bill requires approval from the EU parliament and the Council of the European Union, the institution that represents national governments. Both bodies are currently trying to settle on their negotiating positions on the draft law.
The lead lawmaker on the file in parliament, Swedens Gunnar Hoekmark, has put forward an amended version of the law that faced pushback during a debate last week. In the council, nations have called for further explanation of proposals put forward by Latvia, which holds the blocs revolving presidency.
Hoekmark, a member of the assemblys largest center-right group, proposed giving supervisors more freedom to decide if separation is necessary, and to focus the legislation more narrowly around making sure a bank can be wound down if it fails. This approach ran into opposition from lawmakers seeking more far-reaching measures.
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EU Bank-Separation Push Falters as Lawmakers Are Divided
Intellectual Property Right Management
Il seminario - tenuto dall #39;ingegnere Davide Roncuzzi (Roncuzzi Associati), e organizzato dalla Cattedra Jean Monnet "International Business for European Union" (IB4EU) - fornisce gli elementi...
By: zamm multimedia - Universit di Catania
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Intellectual Property Right Management - Video