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Emirates tells the truth.
From Market Ticker:-
Oh Oh, Emirates Air Tells Truth?
The Market Ticker ® - Commentary on The Capital Markets
Posted 2012-03-22 14:04
by Karl Denninger
in Banking System
Oh Oh, Emirates Air Tells Truth?
Talk about burying the lede!
Emirates, the biggest airline by international traffic, said more carriers will go bust this year as fuel costs and sluggish economies undermine profitability.
“We can reel off a whole load of airlines that are teetering on the brink or are really gone,” Tim Clark, the Dubai-based carrier’s president, said in an interview. “Roll this forward to Christmas, another eight or nine months, and we’re going to see this industry in serious trouble.”
No no no, not that lede. That's the one Bloomberg wanted you to pay attention to.
THIS lede:
“You think you’re going to win, but in the long term you always lose,” Clark said yesterday at the Gulf carrier’s head office near Dubai International Airport. “When we enter into derivatives, betting whatever it may be with counterparties who actually control the price of fuel in the first place, you have to ask yourself, ‘Is that smart?’”
Aha -- truth. You enter into derivatives with those who have a license to steal as even if they misrepresent what they're selling nobody will prosecute them and if not they simply manipulate the market after selling you the position!
Why would you take a bet on the price of something with a guy who has a corner on the market in question? You'd be nuts to do so and yet this is exactly the model these banksters have devised -- peddle to you the "necessity" of hedging and then screw you when you take their advice.
"Heads I win, tails you lose" -- what a great game for the banksters.
The shocker is that Bloomberg printed this.
PS: How's it feeling up there in Jefferson County Alabama peasants? Still haven't figured it out have you? Maybe some day Americans will, and then will rise and put a stop to it, one way or another. Until then I hear that Jersey Shore will be back in production soon.
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Oh Oh, Emirates Air Tells Truth?
The Market Ticker ® - Commentary on The Capital Markets
Posted 2012-03-22 14:04
by Karl Denninger
in Banking System
Oh Oh, Emirates Air Tells Truth?
Talk about burying the lede!
Emirates, the biggest airline by international traffic, said more carriers will go bust this year as fuel costs and sluggish economies undermine profitability.
“We can reel off a whole load of airlines that are teetering on the brink or are really gone,” Tim Clark, the Dubai-based carrier’s president, said in an interview. “Roll this forward to Christmas, another eight or nine months, and we’re going to see this industry in serious trouble.”
No no no, not that lede. That's the one Bloomberg wanted you to pay attention to.
THIS lede:
“You think you’re going to win, but in the long term you always lose,” Clark said yesterday at the Gulf carrier’s head office near Dubai International Airport. “When we enter into derivatives, betting whatever it may be with counterparties who actually control the price of fuel in the first place, you have to ask yourself, ‘Is that smart?’”
Aha -- truth. You enter into derivatives with those who have a license to steal as even if they misrepresent what they're selling nobody will prosecute them and if not they simply manipulate the market after selling you the position!
Why would you take a bet on the price of something with a guy who has a corner on the market in question? You'd be nuts to do so and yet this is exactly the model these banksters have devised -- peddle to you the "necessity" of hedging and then screw you when you take their advice.
"Heads I win, tails you lose" -- what a great game for the banksters.
The shocker is that Bloomberg printed this.
PS: How's it feeling up there in Jefferson County Alabama peasants? Still haven't figured it out have you? Maybe some day Americans will, and then will rise and put a stop to it, one way or another. Until then I hear that Jersey Shore will be back in production soon.
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Ascent of Money
A BBC documentary that details the history of money from the 1400s to the present day.Provides great insights to how we are being conned and controlled throught the financial system.The "free market" is a myth.
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Yes indeed Americans will work it out eventually but it will be all too late.
'Occupy Wall Street' does prove that some USA citizens are waking from their naive slumber, however the numbers are few. It is time for people to stop celebrating political victories with pomp an ceremony and start realizing that your government, which itself is controlled by 'other interests' is screwing you all over. Your country is broke. You have excess debt levels to the point where bankruptcy is inevitable. Your politicians are puppets of Wall Street and do as they are ordered while the rest of the country eek out a bare existence surviving one day at a time!
Americas 'bank holiday' is coming and in the not so distant future all the peasants will head for the bank to withdraw their meager savings but all for nought - it will be long gone, only the privileged will have had prior warning. In the meantime you keep living the fantasy that you can click your heels and everything will be ok, you keep printing money, you keep pretending. What a sad dose of reality millions will experience when the house of cards finally crumbles.
'Occupy Wall Street' does prove that some USA citizens are waking from their naive slumber, however the numbers are few. It is time for people to stop celebrating political victories with pomp an ceremony and start realizing that your government, which itself is controlled by 'other interests' is screwing you all over. Your country is broke. You have excess debt levels to the point where bankruptcy is inevitable. Your politicians are puppets of Wall Street and do as they are ordered while the rest of the country eek out a bare existence surviving one day at a time!
Americas 'bank holiday' is coming and in the not so distant future all the peasants will head for the bank to withdraw their meager savings but all for nought - it will be long gone, only the privileged will have had prior warning. In the meantime you keep living the fantasy that you can click your heels and everything will be ok, you keep printing money, you keep pretending. What a sad dose of reality millions will experience when the house of cards finally crumbles.
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To-ing and Fro-ing
Everybody is worried about everyone, elsewhere!
The Americans remain on high alert over Greece:-
GREEK DEFAULT EXCLUSIVE: SENIOR US BANKERS GIVEN EXPLICIT TIMETABLE FOR ATHENS DEFAULT | The Slog....
And the Europeans remain cautious about Wall Street??
I think we have to worry about ourselves.
At the end of the day, "Everybody pays the Ferry Man!"
Who's worrying about that?
The Americans remain on high alert over Greece:-
GREEK DEFAULT EXCLUSIVE: SENIOR US BANKERS GIVEN EXPLICIT TIMETABLE FOR ATHENS DEFAULT | The Slog....
And the Europeans remain cautious about Wall Street??
I think we have to worry about ourselves.
At the end of the day, "Everybody pays the Ferry Man!"
Who's worrying about that?
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Bernanke
Ben proves there was no housing bubble, nothing to see here, move along...
(note carefully the gold & silver prices at 2:06 into the video, date November 2006, today's closing price $1660 & $32.11)
(note carefully the gold & silver prices at 2:06 into the video, date November 2006, today's closing price $1660 & $32.11)
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Tick tock
Tick tock.......
Eurozone needs 'mother of all firewalls', says
OECD
The eurozone needs "the mother of all
firewalls" if it is to protect the EU's single currency from debt contagion, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has warned.Jean-Claude Juncker, the chairman of eurozone finance ministers, argued that opponents of an increase risked leaving the euro exposed to future contagion from financial markets.
By Bruno Waterfield, in Brussels
9:20PM BST 27 Mar 2012
Angel Gurria, OECD's secretary general, urged EU finance ministers meeting in Copenhagen on Friday to increase the eurozone's bailout fund to at least €1 trillion (£835bn).
"Weak financial conditions, fiscal consolidation and
economic adjustment are restricting demand in the short-term before the long-term benefits on stability and growth are felt," he said. "Decisive action to restore confidence and support demand is needed now."
Germany is trying to hold down any increase to €700bn but Mr Gurria stressed a big fund, the bigger the better, would be needed to fight a eurozone crisis that is not yet over.
"When dealing with markets you must overshoot
expectations," he said. "The mother of all firewalls should be in place, strong enough, broad enough, deep
enough, tall enough, just big."
The International Monetary Fund has made the increase the pre-condition of increasing its resources to provide credit lines to the euro area, which is facing turbulence on the bond markets.
Heralding a major battle with Germany, Jean-Claude Juncker, the chairman of eurozone finance ministers, argued that opponents of an increase risked leaving the euro exposed to future contagion from financial
markets.
"The firewalls have to be increased," he said. "For me it
is obvious that we would underestimate the current crisis and remaining consequences of that crisis if we would not be prepared to increase the firewall."
Berlin is fiercely resisting plans to combine the euro's
existing bailout "facility", worth €440bn, with a $500bn European Stability Mechanism (ESM), due to begin operating in July to create a combined fund of €940bn.
On Monday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who faces stiff parliamentary opposition to an increase, refused to combine the two funds, only conceding that €200bn in existing loans to Greece, Portugal and Ireland would be able to run in tandem with the ESM.
In contrast to Germany's position, the OECD's annual 2012 report on the eurozone warns that refinancing needs, both for highly indebted countries and fragile banks, could be more than €1 trillion within the next two years.
"Although it is unclear that funds on this scale would ever need to be drawn down, the availability of credible firewalls may enhance confidence," the report concluded.
"Euro area stability funds should be expanded further,
subject to conditionality, to provide credible support."
The OECD, which sees 0.2pc growth in the bloc in 2012,
rather than contraction, has cautioned the eurozone against complacency following the calmer financial markets in the wake of a massive European Central
Bank liquidity operation carried out at the start of the year.
"The pressure has come down, but we can't draw too much comfort from signs of healing. How many times have we seen conditions ease only for the crisis to
return? Risk spreads on government debt remain at
unsustainable levels for several European countries, and they have shown recent signs of creeping up again," said Mr Gurria
OECD
The eurozone needs "the mother of all
firewalls" if it is to protect the EU's single currency from debt contagion, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has warned.Jean-Claude Juncker, the chairman of eurozone finance ministers, argued that opponents of an increase risked leaving the euro exposed to future contagion from financial markets.
By Bruno Waterfield, in Brussels
9:20PM BST 27 Mar 2012
Angel Gurria, OECD's secretary general, urged EU finance ministers meeting in Copenhagen on Friday to increase the eurozone's bailout fund to at least €1 trillion (£835bn).
"Weak financial conditions, fiscal consolidation and
economic adjustment are restricting demand in the short-term before the long-term benefits on stability and growth are felt," he said. "Decisive action to restore confidence and support demand is needed now."
Germany is trying to hold down any increase to €700bn but Mr Gurria stressed a big fund, the bigger the better, would be needed to fight a eurozone crisis that is not yet over.
"When dealing with markets you must overshoot
expectations," he said. "The mother of all firewalls should be in place, strong enough, broad enough, deep
enough, tall enough, just big."
The International Monetary Fund has made the increase the pre-condition of increasing its resources to provide credit lines to the euro area, which is facing turbulence on the bond markets.
Heralding a major battle with Germany, Jean-Claude Juncker, the chairman of eurozone finance ministers, argued that opponents of an increase risked leaving the euro exposed to future contagion from financial
markets.
"The firewalls have to be increased," he said. "For me it
is obvious that we would underestimate the current crisis and remaining consequences of that crisis if we would not be prepared to increase the firewall."
Berlin is fiercely resisting plans to combine the euro's
existing bailout "facility", worth €440bn, with a $500bn European Stability Mechanism (ESM), due to begin operating in July to create a combined fund of €940bn.
On Monday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who faces stiff parliamentary opposition to an increase, refused to combine the two funds, only conceding that €200bn in existing loans to Greece, Portugal and Ireland would be able to run in tandem with the ESM.
In contrast to Germany's position, the OECD's annual 2012 report on the eurozone warns that refinancing needs, both for highly indebted countries and fragile banks, could be more than €1 trillion within the next two years.
"Although it is unclear that funds on this scale would ever need to be drawn down, the availability of credible firewalls may enhance confidence," the report concluded.
"Euro area stability funds should be expanded further,
subject to conditionality, to provide credible support."
The OECD, which sees 0.2pc growth in the bloc in 2012,
rather than contraction, has cautioned the eurozone against complacency following the calmer financial markets in the wake of a massive European Central
Bank liquidity operation carried out at the start of the year.
"The pressure has come down, but we can't draw too much comfort from signs of healing. How many times have we seen conditions ease only for the crisis to
return? Risk spreads on government debt remain at
unsustainable levels for several European countries, and they have shown recent signs of creeping up again," said Mr Gurria
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Shame - Hawker Beechcraft maybe victim of GFC
(Reuters) -Hawker Beechcraft Inc, the aircraft manufacturer owned by Goldman Sachs Group Inc's (GS.N) private equity arm and Onex Corp (OCX.TO), is preparing to file for bankruptcy protection in the next several weeks, according to several people familiar with the matter.
Hawker, which was bought by the private equity firms in 2007 for $3.3 billion, is negotiating a prearranged bankruptcy with its largest lenders, which include Centerbridge Partners, Angelo Gordon and Capital Research & Management, these sources said on Wednesday.
Hawker and Onex declined to comment. Goldman Sachs and the lenders were not immediately available for comment.
The sources declined to be named because they were not authorized to speak to the media.
Centerbridge, a New York-based investment firm focused on leveraged buyouts and distressed investments, is the biggest lender, these sources said.
These lenders would also likely provide debtor-in-possession (DIP) financing to allow Hawker to continue to operate in bankruptcy, one of the sources said.
One of the sources also said the DIP financing is currently expected to be less than $500 million, but cautioned the number has not been finalized and could change.
Goldman Sachs Capital Partners, the bank's private equity fund, and Canada's largest buyout firm, Onex, bought Raytheon Aircraft Co from Raytheon Co (RTN.N) in early 2007, at the height of the buyout boom, and renamed it Hawker Beechcraft.
But the purchase has proven to be ill-timed. The financial crisis of 2008 and the subsequent economic downturn has led to a multiyear aviation industry downturn. The Wichita, Kansas-based manufacturer of business jets, general aviation turboprops and military trainers has seen sales of its small and medium-sized business jets fall.
Hawker competes against bigger U.S. rivals such as General Dynamics Corp's (GD.N) Gulfstream and Textron Inc's (TXT.N) Cessna, as well as foreign players like Brazil's Embraer SA (EMBR3.SA) and Canada's Bombardier (BBDb.TO).
Hawker is one of several buyouts from the 2006-2007 period to run into trouble. Several private equity firms at the time paid aggressive prices for companies, loading them up with huge piles of debt and hoping that economic growth would continue to sustain the investments. But the financial crisis put a spanner in their assumptions about growth, making these firms unviable.
TURNAROUND SPECIALIST
In February, the company's owners brought in turnaround specialist Steve Miller as chief executive officer. Hawker had previously hired Perella Weinberg Partners and law firm Kirkland & Ellis LLP as financial and legal advisers.
Miller, who is also chairman of bailed-out insurer American International Group (AIG.N), is known for his ability to work with financially troubled companies and solve hard problems, even earning the moniker of "The Turnaround Kid" after he wrote a book in 2008 about his experiences fixing companies over the years.
Miller, who has come out of retirement several times to work on corporate restructurings, helped oversee bankruptcies of companies such as Delphi Corp and Federal-Mogul Corp (FDML.O).
On Tuesday, Hawker clinched interim financing. It reached a deal with lenders that will provide a $120 million loan and defer the company's obligations to make certain interest payments.
This forbearance agreement, scheduled to expire at the end of June, has provided Hawker with more time to finalize the details of a prearranged bankruptcy with the main lenders, said these same the sources.
DEBT LOAD
Hawker has a huge debt load stemming from its 2007 leveraged buyout and was hit especially hard by a sharp decline business jet sales after the financial crisis.
One of the sources familiar with Hawker's management thinking said that the company's business plan had projected a recovery in the business jet market beginning in 2010, but that had only started to materialize this year.
Earlier this year, Hawker lost a contract to build 20 light attack planes for the U.S. Air Force, losing out in the bid to U.S. defense contractor Sierra Nevada Corp and Embraer.
The Air Force later cancelled that contract citing inadequate documentation for the decision, giving Hawker -- which had challenged the contract award -- a chance to compete. But no details have been released on the follow-on competition and it remains unclear whether the financially distressed company has a better chance of winning this time.
"We view this as a positive development for Cessna and Embraer business jet orders," said Morgan Stanley analyst Heidi Wood in a research report responding to the Reuters story.
"Our discussions with our industry sources... have indicated increasing reluctance by business jet buyers to order jets from an OEM in serious financial straits," Wood said. "We expect both Cessna and Embraer to pick up share ceded by Hawker."
(Additional reporting by Nick Brown, Billy Cheung and Greg Roumeliotis in New York; Editing by Paritosh Bansal, Andre Grenon, Phil Berlowitz and Bernard Orr)
Hawker, which was bought by the private equity firms in 2007 for $3.3 billion, is negotiating a prearranged bankruptcy with its largest lenders, which include Centerbridge Partners, Angelo Gordon and Capital Research & Management, these sources said on Wednesday.
Hawker and Onex declined to comment. Goldman Sachs and the lenders were not immediately available for comment.
The sources declined to be named because they were not authorized to speak to the media.
Centerbridge, a New York-based investment firm focused on leveraged buyouts and distressed investments, is the biggest lender, these sources said.
These lenders would also likely provide debtor-in-possession (DIP) financing to allow Hawker to continue to operate in bankruptcy, one of the sources said.
One of the sources also said the DIP financing is currently expected to be less than $500 million, but cautioned the number has not been finalized and could change.
Goldman Sachs Capital Partners, the bank's private equity fund, and Canada's largest buyout firm, Onex, bought Raytheon Aircraft Co from Raytheon Co (RTN.N) in early 2007, at the height of the buyout boom, and renamed it Hawker Beechcraft.
But the purchase has proven to be ill-timed. The financial crisis of 2008 and the subsequent economic downturn has led to a multiyear aviation industry downturn. The Wichita, Kansas-based manufacturer of business jets, general aviation turboprops and military trainers has seen sales of its small and medium-sized business jets fall.
Hawker competes against bigger U.S. rivals such as General Dynamics Corp's (GD.N) Gulfstream and Textron Inc's (TXT.N) Cessna, as well as foreign players like Brazil's Embraer SA (EMBR3.SA) and Canada's Bombardier (BBDb.TO).
Hawker is one of several buyouts from the 2006-2007 period to run into trouble. Several private equity firms at the time paid aggressive prices for companies, loading them up with huge piles of debt and hoping that economic growth would continue to sustain the investments. But the financial crisis put a spanner in their assumptions about growth, making these firms unviable.
TURNAROUND SPECIALIST
In February, the company's owners brought in turnaround specialist Steve Miller as chief executive officer. Hawker had previously hired Perella Weinberg Partners and law firm Kirkland & Ellis LLP as financial and legal advisers.
Miller, who is also chairman of bailed-out insurer American International Group (AIG.N), is known for his ability to work with financially troubled companies and solve hard problems, even earning the moniker of "The Turnaround Kid" after he wrote a book in 2008 about his experiences fixing companies over the years.
Miller, who has come out of retirement several times to work on corporate restructurings, helped oversee bankruptcies of companies such as Delphi Corp and Federal-Mogul Corp (FDML.O).
On Tuesday, Hawker clinched interim financing. It reached a deal with lenders that will provide a $120 million loan and defer the company's obligations to make certain interest payments.
This forbearance agreement, scheduled to expire at the end of June, has provided Hawker with more time to finalize the details of a prearranged bankruptcy with the main lenders, said these same the sources.
DEBT LOAD
Hawker has a huge debt load stemming from its 2007 leveraged buyout and was hit especially hard by a sharp decline business jet sales after the financial crisis.
One of the sources familiar with Hawker's management thinking said that the company's business plan had projected a recovery in the business jet market beginning in 2010, but that had only started to materialize this year.
Earlier this year, Hawker lost a contract to build 20 light attack planes for the U.S. Air Force, losing out in the bid to U.S. defense contractor Sierra Nevada Corp and Embraer.
The Air Force later cancelled that contract citing inadequate documentation for the decision, giving Hawker -- which had challenged the contract award -- a chance to compete. But no details have been released on the follow-on competition and it remains unclear whether the financially distressed company has a better chance of winning this time.
"We view this as a positive development for Cessna and Embraer business jet orders," said Morgan Stanley analyst Heidi Wood in a research report responding to the Reuters story.
"Our discussions with our industry sources... have indicated increasing reluctance by business jet buyers to order jets from an OEM in serious financial straits," Wood said. "We expect both Cessna and Embraer to pick up share ceded by Hawker."
(Additional reporting by Nick Brown, Billy Cheung and Greg Roumeliotis in New York; Editing by Paritosh Bansal, Andre Grenon, Phil Berlowitz and Bernard Orr)
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Abandon ship..
Interesting perspective on the Euro.
The Euro has always been a doomed product, many said that back in the 90's, however it is now coming to fruition. This is one turd that cannot be poliched.
Tick tock.
Lyons: Europe Crisis to Return `With a Vengeance' - Video - Bloomberg
The Euro has always been a doomed product, many said that back in the 90's, however it is now coming to fruition. This is one turd that cannot be poliched.
Tick tock.
Lyons: Europe Crisis to Return `With a Vengeance' - Video - Bloomberg
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2004 -Tulips Of Stone
Tulips Of Stone Posted below.
Tulips Of Stone Part II
Nigel H Maund
BSc(Hons)Lond., MSc, DIC, MBA, MIMMM, SEG
Consultant Economic Geologist
Mineral Consulting International (NZ) Ltd.
Today, on 1st September 2004, we stand amidst the greatest real estate over-valuation that the world has ever seen. It dwarves, both in scale and geographic extent, the "Tulip mania" experienced in Holland in the 18th Century. This state of affairs is far from limited to the United States of America as there are even worse examples such as the UK and Australia, where valuations in places such as London have reached unprecedented extremes. The process is a global phenomenon, accentuated amongst the economies of the developed world, and in the affluent sectors in developing countries and third world states. This astonishing financial bubble, the largest in human history by an entire order of magnitude, has been primarily created by the "munificent", if not to say recklessly profligate, Federal Reserve Bank of the world's richest state, the USA, which has oiled the wheels of speculative fever with an unparalleled exercise in FIAT money creation. Of course, DIGIMONEY or DIGICASH is better than "MONOPOLY" money. Monopoly money has to be printed and put into a box with the game. DIGIMONEY can be created out of thin air by the click of a mouse; so much more convenient and efficient. How jealous would have been the Kings and Princes of yesteryear, who spent all that money on unsuccessful alchemists whose job it was to turn lead into gold. All they needed was a computer, a loose legislature, a totally compliant government and a financial wizard like Alan Greenspan, and "Hey Presto", instant wealth! EEEZY MONEY!!? .......or, so it seems. However, never in human history has the FIAT experiment stood the test of time. In the end the laws of finance and economics, like the immutable laws of physics, such as gravity, exert their inevitable influence.
The post 2000 market correction wiped several trillion US$ off the NYSE and other world bourses. However, the full-blown bear market was successfully averted, as the US Fed funded everyone's personal bank..... their house, to support the consumer at a critical juncture. Interest rates were savagely cut from 6% to 1%, a 45-year low, with unseemly speed in order to stave of the healthy correction of speculative excess. Mortgage financing went into hyperspace with everyone jumping on the bandwagon to purchase their first homes, move "upmarket", or to simply purchase a new car, jet ski, boat, holiday, get back into the equity markets or just settle those worrisome credit card debts as their home valuations and relative equity increased. Refinancing turned into an "all out binge" which has kept the US and World economy afloat through 2002, 2003 and 2004.... so far so good. In the past 2 years, the Mortgage Finance companies have been offering even cheaper "Adjustable Rate Mortgages" or "ARM's" to give the market more legs as the inevitable rise in interest rates looms like the rising sun over the murky horizon. These ARM's are fraught with danger if the upward trend in interest rates, which has already begun, continues and accelerates.
The real estate market has produced "year upon year" increases in home valuations of anywhere from 8% to 20% or more, dependent on local factors. These increases have outstripped rental increases in most countries by a factor of several hundred percent, and the highly tampered with and thoroughly debased CPI by a factor of between 5 and 10. However, this happy state of affairs (for house owners and real estate agents) cannot go on ad infinitum. The economic distortions created in societies around the world are immense, as the increasing misallocation of human, financial and economic resources becomes more acute, and the cost of housing goes completely out of reach for workers in essential services. Furthermore, high property and rental prices spill over through the entire monetary system, generating huge inflationary pressures throughout the entire economy. This may be fine for the haves, but for those on middle and lower incomes life is going to get tougher by the day. The "Illusion of Wealth" thus created is little other than a poisoned chalice when prices inevitably head south and one's personal equity versus the loan is the declining factor . One's home is, after all, an abode and nothing more unless you are rich enough to afford more than one in which case you should be looking at cashing in your winnings now.
Given the immense scale of debts: Government, State, Municipal, Corporate and Personal, and rising liabilities in such essential services as medical care and education as inflation starts to make a serious impact, it would be prudent to expect cash-strapped governments and states to raise taxes. Some idea of the real rate of inflation may be gained from a perusal of top executives pay awards in such countries as the US and UK where these have been averaging between 11% and 13%, and by looking at increases in utility prices. Of course, to control the ignorant masses at the bottom or even middle pay scales, industry and government cynically wave around the "doctored" CPI, claiming that wage rises must be kept in line with inflation. This piece of amazing claptrap is perpetuated by the syndicated media in order to successively reduce labor costs whilst maximizing profits. Many people realize that they are being duped, but scarcely understand the full extent and pernicious nature of this complicated little game. The inevitable outcome of inflation and reduced real wages will be to further impoverish the middle and lower wage and salaried employees, whilst their liabilities increase in line with real inflation, interest rates and additional debt servicing costs. Any serious correction to the world economy will result in an increase in unemployment particularly in service related industries. Many of those affected will most probably lose their homes.
The world's largest economy, comprising more than 25% of the global economy, is now utterly dependent upon Chinese and Japanese support for the very first time in its history. The entire lopsided global economy is dependent upon the credit "maxed out" US and European consumers and Asian trade surpluses buying US Equities and Bonds. The longer this bizarre situation is sustained, the greater will be the resultant adjustment, or bust. A collapse of the mighty US economy would create a global economic tsunami of epic proportions from which none will survive without serious economic and social damage. Indeed, it would be folly to regard the remaining worlds' currencies as having any more real worth than the intrinsically worthless greenback. When the collapse of the entire FIAT exercise finally eventuates, the entire house of cards will come crashing down with the dollar. Already the precious metals are responding, albeit painfully, due to massive intervention and market manipulation to control their now inexorable rise, to the colossal inflationary pressures now making their way through the pipeline. As the Aden sisters and Jim Puplava so correctly pointed out some months ago, when inflation really takes off then there will be no stopping the precious metals. AD 2005 promises to be a very interesting year for gold and silver. Gold will indeed have the last laugh. Nothing on this earth can stop it. No one in history has succeeded in ultimately supplanting the yellow metal as a basis for money. Those that try, live to regret their hubris and folly.
As with all human manias, this one, like all the others, will end in disillusionment and impoverishment when reality brings the mass psyche back to earth with an appalling crash. Often such manias start off on some rational basis, but very soon enterprising individuals see a wonderful opportunity for personal or collective enrichment, and, as the greed of the masses knows no bounds their psyche can be readily whipped up to a state of mind where rational analysis completely escapes them. Such opportunists as Adolf Hitler fully understood this weakness of the mass of humanity, and tuned into the collective psyche in organized rallies to capitalize on it, much to everyone's eventual loss. So it is with real estate, shares and other forms of ephemeral financial investments.
NHM
14 September 2004
Tulips Of Stone
Tulips Of Stone Part II
Tulips of Stone
Nigel H Maund
BSc(Hons)Lond., MSc, DIC, MBA, MIMMM, SEG
Consultant Economic Geologist
Mineral Consulting International (NZ) Ltd.
Today, on 1st September 2004, we stand amidst the greatest real estate over-valuation that the world has ever seen. It dwarves, both in scale and geographic extent, the "Tulip mania" experienced in Holland in the 18th Century. This state of affairs is far from limited to the United States of America as there are even worse examples such as the UK and Australia, where valuations in places such as London have reached unprecedented extremes. The process is a global phenomenon, accentuated amongst the economies of the developed world, and in the affluent sectors in developing countries and third world states. This astonishing financial bubble, the largest in human history by an entire order of magnitude, has been primarily created by the "munificent", if not to say recklessly profligate, Federal Reserve Bank of the world's richest state, the USA, which has oiled the wheels of speculative fever with an unparalleled exercise in FIAT money creation. Of course, DIGIMONEY or DIGICASH is better than "MONOPOLY" money. Monopoly money has to be printed and put into a box with the game. DIGIMONEY can be created out of thin air by the click of a mouse; so much more convenient and efficient. How jealous would have been the Kings and Princes of yesteryear, who spent all that money on unsuccessful alchemists whose job it was to turn lead into gold. All they needed was a computer, a loose legislature, a totally compliant government and a financial wizard like Alan Greenspan, and "Hey Presto", instant wealth! EEEZY MONEY!!? .......or, so it seems. However, never in human history has the FIAT experiment stood the test of time. In the end the laws of finance and economics, like the immutable laws of physics, such as gravity, exert their inevitable influence.
The post 2000 market correction wiped several trillion US$ off the NYSE and other world bourses. However, the full-blown bear market was successfully averted, as the US Fed funded everyone's personal bank..... their house, to support the consumer at a critical juncture. Interest rates were savagely cut from 6% to 1%, a 45-year low, with unseemly speed in order to stave of the healthy correction of speculative excess. Mortgage financing went into hyperspace with everyone jumping on the bandwagon to purchase their first homes, move "upmarket", or to simply purchase a new car, jet ski, boat, holiday, get back into the equity markets or just settle those worrisome credit card debts as their home valuations and relative equity increased. Refinancing turned into an "all out binge" which has kept the US and World economy afloat through 2002, 2003 and 2004.... so far so good. In the past 2 years, the Mortgage Finance companies have been offering even cheaper "Adjustable Rate Mortgages" or "ARM's" to give the market more legs as the inevitable rise in interest rates looms like the rising sun over the murky horizon. These ARM's are fraught with danger if the upward trend in interest rates, which has already begun, continues and accelerates.
The real estate market has produced "year upon year" increases in home valuations of anywhere from 8% to 20% or more, dependent on local factors. These increases have outstripped rental increases in most countries by a factor of several hundred percent, and the highly tampered with and thoroughly debased CPI by a factor of between 5 and 10. However, this happy state of affairs (for house owners and real estate agents) cannot go on ad infinitum. The economic distortions created in societies around the world are immense, as the increasing misallocation of human, financial and economic resources becomes more acute, and the cost of housing goes completely out of reach for workers in essential services. Furthermore, high property and rental prices spill over through the entire monetary system, generating huge inflationary pressures throughout the entire economy. This may be fine for the haves, but for those on middle and lower incomes life is going to get tougher by the day. The "Illusion of Wealth" thus created is little other than a poisoned chalice when prices inevitably head south and one's personal equity versus the loan is the declining factor . One's home is, after all, an abode and nothing more unless you are rich enough to afford more than one in which case you should be looking at cashing in your winnings now.
Given the immense scale of debts: Government, State, Municipal, Corporate and Personal, and rising liabilities in such essential services as medical care and education as inflation starts to make a serious impact, it would be prudent to expect cash-strapped governments and states to raise taxes. Some idea of the real rate of inflation may be gained from a perusal of top executives pay awards in such countries as the US and UK where these have been averaging between 11% and 13%, and by looking at increases in utility prices. Of course, to control the ignorant masses at the bottom or even middle pay scales, industry and government cynically wave around the "doctored" CPI, claiming that wage rises must be kept in line with inflation. This piece of amazing claptrap is perpetuated by the syndicated media in order to successively reduce labor costs whilst maximizing profits. Many people realize that they are being duped, but scarcely understand the full extent and pernicious nature of this complicated little game. The inevitable outcome of inflation and reduced real wages will be to further impoverish the middle and lower wage and salaried employees, whilst their liabilities increase in line with real inflation, interest rates and additional debt servicing costs. Any serious correction to the world economy will result in an increase in unemployment particularly in service related industries. Many of those affected will most probably lose their homes.
The world's largest economy, comprising more than 25% of the global economy, is now utterly dependent upon Chinese and Japanese support for the very first time in its history. The entire lopsided global economy is dependent upon the credit "maxed out" US and European consumers and Asian trade surpluses buying US Equities and Bonds. The longer this bizarre situation is sustained, the greater will be the resultant adjustment, or bust. A collapse of the mighty US economy would create a global economic tsunami of epic proportions from which none will survive without serious economic and social damage. Indeed, it would be folly to regard the remaining worlds' currencies as having any more real worth than the intrinsically worthless greenback. When the collapse of the entire FIAT exercise finally eventuates, the entire house of cards will come crashing down with the dollar. Already the precious metals are responding, albeit painfully, due to massive intervention and market manipulation to control their now inexorable rise, to the colossal inflationary pressures now making their way through the pipeline. As the Aden sisters and Jim Puplava so correctly pointed out some months ago, when inflation really takes off then there will be no stopping the precious metals. AD 2005 promises to be a very interesting year for gold and silver. Gold will indeed have the last laugh. Nothing on this earth can stop it. No one in history has succeeded in ultimately supplanting the yellow metal as a basis for money. Those that try, live to regret their hubris and folly.
As with all human manias, this one, like all the others, will end in disillusionment and impoverishment when reality brings the mass psyche back to earth with an appalling crash. Often such manias start off on some rational basis, but very soon enterprising individuals see a wonderful opportunity for personal or collective enrichment, and, as the greed of the masses knows no bounds their psyche can be readily whipped up to a state of mind where rational analysis completely escapes them. Such opportunists as Adolf Hitler fully understood this weakness of the mass of humanity, and tuned into the collective psyche in organized rallies to capitalize on it, much to everyone's eventual loss. So it is with real estate, shares and other forms of ephemeral financial investments.
NHM
14 September 2004
Tulips Of Stone
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The Gold-Oil Ratio
The Link Between Gold and Oil
Gold and crude oil prices tend to rise and fall in sympathy with one another. There are two reasons for this:
Gold Price History
The chart below starts with the Yom Kippur war between Israel and its neighbors in 1973 -- and the resulting Arab oil embargo when crude oil rocketed from $3 to $12/barrel. This was followed by the 1978 revolution in Iran and the Iran-Iraq war in 1980 which lasted until 1988. Iraq then invaded Kuwait in 1990, but the ensuing Gulf War had a limited effect on gold prices.
Data Source: Global Financial Data
Gold went into a decline until awakened from its slumber on September 11, 2001. The invasion of Iraq followed in 2003, initiating a strong up-trend, and prices have lately spurred even higher as tensions escalate over Iran's nuclear program.
Oil Price History
Yom Kippur started a huge spike in oil prices with the Arab oil embargo in 1973. This was followed by another spike in 1978 at the time of the Iranian revolution, culminating with the subsequent invasion by Iraq and the start of the Iraq-Iran war. The Saudis substantially increased production in 1985 and the Iraq-Iran ceasefire further eased shortages in 1988. The invasion of Kuwait and ensuing Gulf war caused a brief spike in 1990, but a relatively stable period then followed -- until 1998 when OPEC increased production while demand was falling due to the Asian financial crisis, causing a slump in prices. Subsequent production cuts saw price recover, before September 11 and the 2003 invasion of Iraq heightened fears of further shortages.
Data Source: Global Financial Data
Readers need to bear in mind that the above prices are not adjusted for inflation. In today's dollars, oil traded at close to $100/barrel and gold above $2000 during the 1980 crisis.
The Gold-Oil Ratio
The easiest way to eliminate inflation from the above charts is to express the two prices as a ratio. How many barrels of oil you can buy with an ounce of gold:
Gold-Oil Ratio = Price of Gold (per oz.) / Price of Crude Oil (per barrel)
The gold-oil ratio helps us to identify overbought and oversold opportunities for gold. The chart below shows solid support between 8 and 10 barrels/ounce of gold over the last 30 years, with occasional spikes carrying above 20 but seldom holding for any length of time.
Gold-Oil Ratio Signals
The gold-oil ratio identifies:
Examples
The Gold-Oil Ratio displayed a buy signal, with values below 10, for most of 2006 to 2008.
A sharp drop in crude prices in late 2008 distorted the ratio, causing an incorrect sell signal. Since then, from mid-2009 to 2011, the ratio has oscillated in a narrow range betweeen 12 and 18.
Gold and the DollarGold is generally quoted in US dollars per ounce of gold; so any fluctuations in the strength of the dollar are likely to be reflected in the dollar priceof gold.
The Link Between Gold and Oil
Gold and crude oil prices tend to rise and fall in sympathy with one another. There are two reasons for this:
- Historically, oil purchases were paid for in gold. Even today, a sizable percentage of oil revenue ends up invested in gold. As oil prices rise, much of the increased revenue is invested as it is surplus to current needs -- and much of this surplus is invested in gold or other hard assets.
- Rising oil prices place upward pressure on inflation. This enhances the appeal of gold because it acts as an inflation hedge.
Gold Price History
The chart below starts with the Yom Kippur war between Israel and its neighbors in 1973 -- and the resulting Arab oil embargo when crude oil rocketed from $3 to $12/barrel. This was followed by the 1978 revolution in Iran and the Iran-Iraq war in 1980 which lasted until 1988. Iraq then invaded Kuwait in 1990, but the ensuing Gulf War had a limited effect on gold prices.
Data Source: Global Financial Data
Gold went into a decline until awakened from its slumber on September 11, 2001. The invasion of Iraq followed in 2003, initiating a strong up-trend, and prices have lately spurred even higher as tensions escalate over Iran's nuclear program.
Oil Price History
Yom Kippur started a huge spike in oil prices with the Arab oil embargo in 1973. This was followed by another spike in 1978 at the time of the Iranian revolution, culminating with the subsequent invasion by Iraq and the start of the Iraq-Iran war. The Saudis substantially increased production in 1985 and the Iraq-Iran ceasefire further eased shortages in 1988. The invasion of Kuwait and ensuing Gulf war caused a brief spike in 1990, but a relatively stable period then followed -- until 1998 when OPEC increased production while demand was falling due to the Asian financial crisis, causing a slump in prices. Subsequent production cuts saw price recover, before September 11 and the 2003 invasion of Iraq heightened fears of further shortages.
Data Source: Global Financial Data
Readers need to bear in mind that the above prices are not adjusted for inflation. In today's dollars, oil traded at close to $100/barrel and gold above $2000 during the 1980 crisis.
The Gold-Oil Ratio
The easiest way to eliminate inflation from the above charts is to express the two prices as a ratio. How many barrels of oil you can buy with an ounce of gold:
Gold-Oil Ratio = Price of Gold (per oz.) / Price of Crude Oil (per barrel)
The gold-oil ratio helps us to identify overbought and oversold opportunities for gold. The chart below shows solid support between 8 and 10 barrels/ounce of gold over the last 30 years, with occasional spikes carrying above 20 but seldom holding for any length of time.
Gold-Oil Ratio Signals
The gold-oil ratio identifies:
- Buying opportunities (for gold) when the gold-oil ratio turns up at/below 10 barrels/ounce; and
- Selling opportunities when the gold-oil ratio turns down at/above 20 barrels/ounce.
Examples
The Gold-Oil Ratio displayed a buy signal, with values below 10, for most of 2006 to 2008.
A sharp drop in crude prices in late 2008 distorted the ratio, causing an incorrect sell signal. Since then, from mid-2009 to 2011, the ratio has oscillated in a narrow range betweeen 12 and 18.
Gold and the DollarGold is generally quoted in US dollars per ounce of gold; so any fluctuations in the strength of the dollar are likely to be reflected in the dollar priceof gold.
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Cha ching $$
The below is taken from an internet website. It is a very basic breakdown but helps paint a basic picture (I get quite a number of people sending PM's and asking for more information). The reason for posting it is because all the ongoing and future financial issues do and will play an ever increasing risk to Aviation's future, and the financial concerns will also play a big part in determining our industries direction and ability to adapt and change with the changing environment, so there is relevance.
Appreciation is extended to the MODS for keeping this thread open is there is a connection between the world's economy and our aviation future.
45 Important Facts About . . .
The European and U.S. Debt Crisis
Appreciation is extended to the MODS for keeping this thread open is there is a connection between the world's economy and our aviation future.
45 Important Facts About . . .
The European and U.S. Debt Crisis
- The euro is the sole currency of 17 European Union members and six non-EU members.
- The European Union is a political union of 27 European countries with the goal to create a single market for goods and service without economic barriers. Ten members of the EU do not use the euro.
- The Eurozone or euro area is a fiscal union made up of 17 EU countries that have adopted the euro as their national currency.r
- The biggest single-day loss ever in the history of the Dow occurred on September 29, 2008, when it dropped 777.68 points, or approximately $1.2 trillion in market value.
- The United States has $2.7 trillion as its monetary base. This amount would be able to pay off only a small fraction of the over $15 trillion of U.S. debt.
- If a person spent $1 every second, that would equal to $1 million dollars in 12 days. At this rate, it would take 32 years to spend $1 billion dollars. It would take 31,000 years to spend $1 trillion dollars.
- In 1971, the national debt was $75 million. In 2010, that rate rose that much once an hour.
- In 2008, U.S. households lost an estimated 18% of their net worth, equaling approximately an $11.2 trillion loss. This collapse was the largest since the Federal Reserve began tracking household wealth after WWII.
- Five years prior to 2008, 11 banks failed. In 2008, 25 banks failed and were taken over by the FDIC. In 2009, 140 failed.
- Today the national debt is $15.2 trillion. This amounts to $48,380 for every person living in the U.S., or $127,431 for every household in the U.S.
- As of September 30, 2010, the federal government has $56.5 trillion ($56,529,800,000,000) in debt, liabilities, and unfunded obligations.
- On August 3, 2011, the national debt rose $238 billion, the largest one-day increase in the history of the U.S. The previous one-day record increase was n June 30, 2009, when the debt increased $186 billion.
- The U.S. government borrows approximately $5 billion every business day.
- A trillion $10 bills end to end would wrap around the globe 380 times. This would still not be enough pay off the national debt.
- The youth unemployment rate in the EU is extremely high at 20%. In Spain, it is 48%. The European Commission said that not only do young people remain the hardest hit by the crisis and its aftermath, but also that “income shocks may prove permanent.”
- In context to the Eurozone crisis, the “contagion effect” refers to the fear that one country’s financial problems will cause financial crisis in another country.
- The IMF claims that WWII will overtake the U.S. as the world’s leading economic power in 2016.
- For the first time since WWII (1947), U.S. debt reached 100% of the country’s GDP (gross domestic product, the measure of the entire economy) after the debt ceiling was lifted in August 2011. After WWII, the debt equaled 122% of the GDP. In the 1970s it was 38%.
- When the U.S. debt reached 100% of its GDP in 2011, it joined Japan (229%), Greece (152%), Jamaica (137%), Lebanon (134%), Italy (120%), Ireland (114%), and Iceland (103%) as other countries whose public debt exceeds their GDP.
- China, the largest foreign holder of U.S. debt, chastised the U.S. on August 6, 2011, admonishing the United States to cure its “addiction to debts” and “live within its means.” A Chinese newspaper said that the issue of the U.S. dollar needed international supervision and questioned whether the U.S. dollar should continue to be the global reserve currency.
- At $400 billion, Apple’s market cap is higher than the entire domestic product (GDP) of Greece.
- The U.S. government pays more than $1 billion each day just on interest on its debt. It spends $10 billion a day for all the services it provides.
- Over the next 10 years, the U.S. government expects to pay out $45.7 trillion; however, it expects to bring in only $39 trillion. To make up this difference, the government will likely need to raise taxes on much of the population, cut its spending, and cut back on Medicare and Social Security.
- The U.S. debt ceiling was created in 1917 at a limit of $11.5 billion during WWI to allow greater simplicity and flexibility during the war by allowing the Treasury to borrow any amount it needed as long as the amount was below this limit. Prior to this, Congress had to approve each issuance of debt. To change the debt ceiling, Congress needs to enact specific legislation and the President must approve the legislation.
- During the 2011 fiscal year, the U.S. government brought in $2.4 trillion. However, it spent $3.7 trillion.
- The U.S. was in debt even in its first yearly report on January 1, 1791, in the amount of $75,463,476.52. Every president since Truman has added to the national debt. The debt ceiling has been raised 72 times since 1962, including 18 times under Reagan, eight times under Clinton, seven times under Bush and, as of August 2011, three times under Obama.
- The only democratic country besides the U.S. with a debt ceiling is Denmark. However, it’s ceiling is so high it is it unlikely to ever be reached. The Danish set the ceiling so high to avoid slowing the process of borrowing money and to avoid political conflicts similar to those current in the U.S.
- Many economists consider the global financial crisis (GFC), or the late-2000s financial crisis, to be the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. The crisis was caused by a complex interplay of subprime lending, growth of the housing bubble, easy credit conditions, poor underwriting practices, predatory lending (e.g., Countrywide Financial would swap a low interest rate for a more expensive one the day of closing), deregulation, and increased debt. The immediate trigger, however, was the bursting of the housing bubble, which had peaked between 2005 and 2006.
- Time Magazine identified 25 people who are at most to blame for the U.S financial crisis, including Alan Greenspan, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, the CEO of Merrill Lynch, and the American consumer.
- It is estimated that Bill Gates and Warren Buffet lost a collective $43 billion in 2008. However, they were not the only billionaires to have a rough year. The number of billionaires dropped from 1,125 in 2008 to 793 in 2009.
- From August 2007 to October 2008, an estimated 20%, or $2 trillion, disappeared from Americans’ retirement plans.
- The 2011 debt ceiling crisis, which nearly brought the U.S. to the brink default, has sent disapproval of Congress to the highest levels on record. An estimated 82% of Americans disapprove of the way Congress is handling its job.
- Simply put, the European debt crisis happened because some countries in Europe have too much debt and are at risk of not being able to pay it back. If one or more of the Eurozone countries defaults on its debt or pull out of the Eurozone, it may cause investors to panic, triggering a massive banking shock in Europe and possibly the U.S.
- Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece, and Spain have been assigned the acronym “PIIGS” and are some of most indebted Eurozone countries. Researchers note that if a disaster happens, it will start with one of these countries.
- Ireland is in massive debt because it experienced a large real estate bubble in which the government had to bail out Ireland’s banks. Its debt is now 121% of its economy.
- Even though countries such as Germany and France have high output and manageable debt, the size of other countries’ debt is putting the whole Eurozone in trouble. Consequently, investors don’t want to buy bonds from any European country because even those who have manageable debt might have to assume responsibility for those weaker countries.
- Some economists note that Germany and France, which have the strongest economy in the Eurozone, encouraged the PIIGs (Portugal, Italy, Ireland, Greece, and Spain) to go into debt. German and French banks lent money to the PIIGS so that the PIIGS could buy German and French goods and services, just like a junkie setting up an addict.
- Some critics blame the Euro currency for the European debt crisis, arguing that a single currency to meet the needs of 17 different economies is inherently flawed. Nations yoked under one currency cannot adjust a particular nation’s money supply to encourage or inhibit growth in response to economic turmoil.
- In 2011, investors in global stock markets lost $6.3 trillion in wealth mainly due to fears of a Eurozone breakup.
- When Reagan took office, U.S. debt was under $1 trillion. After he left eight years later, debt was $2.6 trillion and the U.S. had moved from being the world’s largest international creditor to the world’s largest debtor nation.
- The European debt crisis exploded after Greece admitted that its 2009 budget deficiency would be 12.7% of its GDP, which was far higher than the Eurozone limit of 3%. After Greece revealed its number, investors panicked, the country could not fund itself, it was forced to take a €110 billion bailout from the IMF, and it is due to receive a second bailout package in 2012.
- Troubled European nations, such as Greece, have implemented austerity measures in an attempt to control massive debt. Some austerity measures include cuts to public sector pay and pensions, reduced benefits, and increased taxes. However, austerity economics have been met not only with public opposition but also speculation that spending cuts and higher taxes will reduce demands for goods and services just when an increase is needed.
- The majority of EU member states have agreed on a new treaty that could stave of a Eurozone collapse. The intergovernmental treaty would deepen the integration of national budges, turn over Europe’s bailout funds to a central European bank, and add €200 billion to the IMF. Only Britain refused to sign the deal.
- In 2004, Greek admitted that it gave misleading financial information to gain admission into the Eurozone.
- The euro is used by over 332 million people daily and is the official currency of the Eurozone as well as six other countries that are not part of the Eurozone or the EU. After the U.S dollar, the euro is the second largest reserve currency as well as the second most traded currency in the world. (45 Important Facts about the European and U.S. Debt Crisis).
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The troops are revolting.........tick tock
Tick tock indeed. Only a small article but another link in the chain in how society is sick of being sodomized financially by banks, big business, governmental squeeze and a minority of elitists.
LHLisa, is your name a reflection of the strength in that sweet manicured lotion softened left hand of yours?
BankWest added to Maurice Blackburn class action over excessive fees
From: AAP
April 18, 20121:15PM
BANKWEST has been added to a list of financial institutions targeted by what is claimed to be the nation's biggest class action suit, aimed at recouping unfair and excessive bank fees.
The bank is the eighth to be added to the suit after ANZ, Commonwealth,
Westpac, NAB, Citibank, St George (owned by Westpac) and BankSA.
Legal firm Maurice Blackburn says it will file a claim against the West
Australian bank, which is owned by the Commonwealth Bank, in the Federal Court today seeking what it claims is more than $10 million in illegal fees.
The legal firm says BankWest overcharged about 6600 customers over six years.Maurice Blackburn senior associate Paul Gillet says the legal firm has already issued proceedings against eight banks on behalf of 170,000 Australian customers claiming around $220 million in fees.
He says the case is "by far and away the largest joint legal action in
Australian history".
Read more: BankWest added to Maurice Blackburn class action over excessive fees | News.com.au
From: AAP
April 18, 20121:15PM
BANKWEST has been added to a list of financial institutions targeted by what is claimed to be the nation's biggest class action suit, aimed at recouping unfair and excessive bank fees.
The bank is the eighth to be added to the suit after ANZ, Commonwealth,
Westpac, NAB, Citibank, St George (owned by Westpac) and BankSA.
Legal firm Maurice Blackburn says it will file a claim against the West
Australian bank, which is owned by the Commonwealth Bank, in the Federal Court today seeking what it claims is more than $10 million in illegal fees.
The legal firm says BankWest overcharged about 6600 customers over six years.Maurice Blackburn senior associate Paul Gillet says the legal firm has already issued proceedings against eight banks on behalf of 170,000 Australian customers claiming around $220 million in fees.
He says the case is "by far and away the largest joint legal action in
Australian history".
Read more: BankWest added to Maurice Blackburn class action over excessive fees | News.com.au
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Gee you are making me blush! I am actually an overweight bald gay guy. I was told that if I was going to post here I should pic a name that hid who I really am. I could have gone with fatsmallwillyallan but that was already taken. I am right handed with most things.... Are you flirting ? My hands are a bit rough from my part time brick laying job. You are welcome to check out my profile on grindr
I was also disgusted to see what bank west - but really under the guise of the com bank - has done to its customers , as per the abc report two weeks ago. Bloody unaustralian, if such a concept even exists anywhere except in our collective consciousness.
I was also disgusted to see what bank west - but really under the guise of the com bank - has done to its customers , as per the abc report two weeks ago. Bloody unaustralian, if such a concept even exists anywhere except in our collective consciousness.
Last edited by LHLisa; 18th Apr 2012 at 11:37.
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Of course I am flirting, short overweight right handed bald guys are just my thing!!
Hang on, you're not an airline CEO by chance??
Hang on, you're not an airline CEO by chance??
