Turmoil in Cyprus Over a Bailout Rattles Europe

[TruthOut10]

NICOSIA, Cyprus — Europe’s surprising decision early Saturday to force bank depositors in Cyprus to share in the cost of the latest euro zone bailout set off increasing outrage and turmoil in Cyprus on Sunday and fueled fears that the trouble will spread to countries like Spain and Italy.
Facing eroding support, the new president, Nicos Anastasiades, asked Parliament to postpone until Monday an emergency vote on a measure to approve the bailout terms, amid doubt that it would pass. The euro fell sharply against major currencies ahead of the action, as investors around the world absorbed the implications of Europe’s move.

In an address to the nation, Mr. Anastasiades painted an apocalyptic picture of what would happen if Cyprus did not approve the strict terms: a “complete collapse of the banking sector”; major losses for depositors and businesses; and a possible exit of Cyprus from the euro zone, the 17 countries that use the euro as their currency.

He said he was working to persuade European Union leaders to modify their demands for a 6.75 percent tax on deposits of up to 100,000 euros, a move that would hit ordinary savers.

“I understand fully the shock of this painful decision,” he said, speaking with a grim look on his face as he stood between the Cypriot and European Union flags in the presidential palace. “That is why I continue to fight so that the decisions of the Eurogroup will be modified in the coming hours.” The Eurogroup is made up of the 17 euro zone finance ministers.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/18/b...?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=edit_th_20130318&_r=0

 

[editec]

Yeah, this is TRULY an amazing development.

Usually when a government seeks to rip off SAVERS, they do so through monetary policy.

But as cyprus cannot maniulate its currency to pull that off?

They have to steal money honestly, this time around.

The dishonest economic system that drives the world appears to be unraveling rather quickly.

Apparently a whole lot of EUROS who are slated for abject poverty by AUSTERITY are angry and hell and aren't going to take it any more.

Governments that are dealing with this public outrage are getting DESPERATE.

 

[Book of Jeremiah]

Obamacare gives the Obama adminstration the same permission to empty your bank accounts without your permission. It is just one more of the unconstitutional ideas of Obamacare. -Jeremiah

 

[martybegan]

Yeah, this is TRULY an amazing development.

Usually when a government seeks to rip off SAVERS, they do so through monetary policy.

But as cyprus cannot maniulate its currency to pull that off?

They have to steal money honestly, this time around.

The dishonest economic system that drives the world appears to be unraveling rather quickly.

Apparently a whole lot of EUROS who are slated for abject poverty by AUSTERITY are angry and hell and aren't going to take it any more.

Governments that are dealing with this public outrage are getting DESPERATE.

I love how spending money you actually have, as opposed to money you are borrowing (stealing) from the future is called "austerity"

In the real world its called "budgeting."

This is the first time a government has had to do a direct money grab. Its going to be interesting to see how it plays out.

 

[Circe]

This is the first time a government has had to do a direct money grab. Its going to be interesting to see how it plays out.

Whoa, I'll say it's going to be interesting! I started a thread elsewhere on this, but I see TruthOut got the news earlier this morning.

Could be "The Big One".....

The amazing thing to me is that this is a European Union idea, not just some scheme cooked up by a dishonest third-world government. And this is known, so suddenly savers who use banks from Amsterdam to Madrid are very, very worried: what a precedent!

So.....the government can just reach into your bank account and TAKE THE MONEY OUT??

And this is everyone: small savers, large savers, you got a bank account the Cyprus government will raid it!

How does that idea make you all feel about your bank accounts? Like lining up to take out all the money? Yeah.........I think officials are scrambling right now to try to somehow make this palatable to the people, but ha, I don't think so.

They've closed the banks in Cyprus for the entire week so they can raid them before everyone gets their money out. This looks bad to me.

 

[martybegan]

This is the first time a government has had to do a direct money grab. Its going to be interesting to see how it plays out.

Whoa, I'll say it's going to be interesting! I started a thread elsewhere on this, but I see you got the news earlier this morning.

Could be "The Big One".....

The amazing thing to me is that this is a European Union idea, not just some scheme cooked up by a dishonest third-world government. And this is known, so suddenly savers who use banks from Amsterdam to Madrid are very, very worried: what a precedent!

So.....the government can just reach into your bank account and TAKE THE MONEY OUT??

And this is everyone: small savers, large savers, you got a bank account the Cyprus government will raid it!

How does that idea make you all feel about your bank accounts? Like lining up to take out all the money? Yeah.........I think officials are scrambling right now to try to somehow make this palatable to the people, but ha, I don't think so.

They've closed the banks in Cyprus for the entire week so they can raid them before everyone gets their money out. This looks bad to me.

They call it a "tax" and that allows them to do it.

I also doubt that the money taxed will be at the time they pass the law. It will probably be retroactive to a few weeks ago, so they get the full amount and not be "cheated" by people withdrawing money. They also imposed a withdrawl limit.

 

[Circe]

Yeah, this is TRULY an amazing development.

Usually when a government seeks to rip off SAVERS, they do so through monetary policy.

But as cyprus cannot maniulate its currency to pull that off?

They have to steal money honestly, this time around.

The dishonest economic system that drives the world appears to be unraveling rather quickly.

Apparently a whole lot of EUROS who are slated for abject poverty by AUSTERITY are angry and hell and aren't going to take it any more.

Governments that are dealing with this public outrage are getting DESPERATE.

Well said. It's the openness and rawness of this move that is astonishing me, and the fact that the European Union government itself is backing it. Your post suggests the reason: austerity has so very not worked, and look at Italy just this past month --- they had to choose between a comedian and a totally disgraced 76-year-old who got them into the deficit in the first place, they split the vote and cannot now form a government! Italy's economy is so bad no one has any real idea how to fix it so the voters simply went nuts. Okay, that's not looking good.......

So they can't do austerity anymore because they are losing rational, democratic governments. So maybe they figure losing the banking system is......less bad?

Jeepers.

 

[iamwhatiseem]

This is an amazing set of circumstances.
I wouldn't expect this even out of Venezuela or Cuba.
Just incredible.

 

[Circe]

Really, this vampire craze is spreading everywhere ----

Reuters 4 PM 3/19: With hundreds of demonstrators facing riot police outside parliament and chanting "They're drinking our blood", the ruling party abstained and 36 other lawmakers voted unanimously to reject the bill, bringing the Mediterranean island, one of the smallest European states, to the brink of financial meltdown.

Wow. Who'da thunk it? Now Cyprus faces bank collapse with nothing, supposedly.

I wonder if the EU can put this genie back in the bottle.

EU policymakers balked at giving more than 10 billion Euros to Cyprus: but why??

The primary course of action thus far has been a series of bailouts for Europe’s troubled economies. In spring, 2010, when the European Union and International Monetary Fund disbursed 110 billion euros (the equivalent of $163 billion) to Greece. Greece required a second bailout in mid-2011, this time worth about $157 billion. On March 9, 2012, Greece and its creditors agreed to a debt restructuring that set the stage for another round of bailout funds. Ireland and Portugal also received bailouts, in November 2010 and May 2011, respectively. The Eurozone member states also created the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) to provide emergency lending to countries in financial difficulty. What is the European Debt Crisis?

Okay, they've given out hundreds and hundreds of billions of euros already, over 300 billion to Greece alone..........................and they won't give Cyprus 18 billion???

They must be trying to sabotage the Russian tax haven. This can't have much to do with the amount of money, which is relatively trivial.

So often it is the regulators themselves who end up causing what they are trying hard to prevent, as when the Federal Reserve so nearly caused the Crash in the summer of 1928. The market plunged when the Fed tried to stop the frantic speculating, but recovered ....until fall 1929. I wonder if this will happen now to the European Union, the regulators collapsing it by their own actions and mistakes.