It’s a balmy September evening in Zuccotti Park in Lower Manhattan. I’m standing near a tall fellow I know only as Mike from Ohio. Our left elbows are touching (in a getting-to-know-you game). We’re asked what our favourite sign was from last year’s Occupy Wall Street protests-slash-encampment. “If money is speech, then debt is censorship,” says Mike, smiling.
The group of about 40 people has gathered to practise tactics for an upcoming demonstration. Early Monday, some of them plan to don corporate camouflage – suits, dresses – and, together with hundreds of other protesters, move as close as they can to the New York Stock Exchange. There they will sit until the police tell them to leave, or they are forcibly removed or arrested.
If you thought Occupy Wall Street had disappeared, think again. After months of internal wrangling and low morale, the campaign is staging a return to the spotlight. Sept. 17 is the first anniversary of the movement that took over a slice of downtown Manhattan for two months, spawned offshoots in cities from Toronto to Hong Kong, and coined its own slogan to direct attention to inequality: “We are the 99 per cent.
Read More: The comeback of Occupy Wall Street - The Globe and Mail
Showing posts with label Occupy Wall Street Movement. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Occupy Wall Street Movement. Show all posts
5/1/12
May 1 Labor Day: ‘General strike’ to hit the US today
In more than 100 cities from Washington State to the District of Columbia, protesters are orchestrating a massive country-wide demonstration on Tuesday, May 1, and their plans call for what could be the biggest event of its like in recent memory.
In locales like New York City, San Francisco, California and at least 100 cities in between, thousands of demonstrators are expected to take to the streets on Tuesday for a national day of protest.
Originating out of the Occupy Wall Street movement, what began as just a gathering of a few like-minded individuals in Lower Manhattan last year has spawned protests from coast to coast and in cities and countries across the world. Now nearly seven months after OWS first took hold in New York’s Zuccotti Park, occupiers across the nation and even abroad will be assembling on May 1 for a massive general strike being advertised as “a day without the 99 percent.”
Although the Occupy movement is one that lacks any formal leadership, OccupyWallStreet.org has acted as a major source of OWS-related bulletins since the protests took hold in September. On the site this week, the webmasters call for protesters to avoid attending both work and school and call for demonstrators to avoid making purchases as well.
For more: General strike’ to hit the US on May First — RT
In locales like New York City, San Francisco, California and at least 100 cities in between, thousands of demonstrators are expected to take to the streets on Tuesday for a national day of protest.
Originating out of the Occupy Wall Street movement, what began as just a gathering of a few like-minded individuals in Lower Manhattan last year has spawned protests from coast to coast and in cities and countries across the world. Now nearly seven months after OWS first took hold in New York’s Zuccotti Park, occupiers across the nation and even abroad will be assembling on May 1 for a massive general strike being advertised as “a day without the 99 percent.”
Although the Occupy movement is one that lacks any formal leadership, OccupyWallStreet.org has acted as a major source of OWS-related bulletins since the protests took hold in September. On the site this week, the webmasters call for protesters to avoid attending both work and school and call for demonstrators to avoid making purchases as well.
For more: General strike’ to hit the US on May First — RT
3/21/12
USA: Feel Cheated by Wall Street? Look in a Mirror -- Not to Washington! - by Marty Robins
The most recent kerfuffle involving the alleged depredations of Goldman Sachs illustrates a fundamental cause of our recent economic problems. No, not Goldman and other institutions taking advantage of innocent consumers, although some of the latter undoubtedly occurred. I'm talking about major institutions doing nothing to protect their own interests, even though they possessed the knowledge and resources to do so.
All the regulation in the world will be useless if people don't take responsibility for themselves and ask necessary questions, and walk away from deals if they don't get sensible answers. Certainly, there are those who lack the education and/or mental capacity to protect themselves, and are in need of government guidance or more. However, the Goldman Sachs' of the world rarely, if never deal with such persons, and should not be expected to treat their counterparties like ignorant consumers.
For more: Marty Robins: Feel Cheated by Wall Street? Look in a Mirror -- Not to Washington!
All the regulation in the world will be useless if people don't take responsibility for themselves and ask necessary questions, and walk away from deals if they don't get sensible answers. Certainly, there are those who lack the education and/or mental capacity to protect themselves, and are in need of government guidance or more. However, the Goldman Sachs' of the world rarely, if never deal with such persons, and should not be expected to treat their counterparties like ignorant consumers.
For more: Marty Robins: Feel Cheated by Wall Street? Look in a Mirror -- Not to Washington!
2/22/12
Nothing wrong with inequality - until it starts limiting opportunity
There is nothing wrong with inequality ... until it starts limiting opportunity.
It is certainly one thing to live in an unequal society where the chances of changing places with the rich, of seeing your children move on and upward, are high. Indeed, if this is the case we may even want a certain degree of inequality: people would have both the incentive and the possibility to better their situation.
But it is another thing altogether to live in an unequal society where there is little chance of moving on, where there are barriers preventing our talents and energies from being rewarded, where the accident of birth determines a child's life chances.
This type of inequality should worry Occupiers and the 99 per cent because it cuts sharply against what we commonly understand to be the American Dream.
For more: Message of the Occupiers: American Dream is vanishing - The Globe and Mail
It is certainly one thing to live in an unequal society where the chances of changing places with the rich, of seeing your children move on and upward, are high. Indeed, if this is the case we may even want a certain degree of inequality: people would have both the incentive and the possibility to better their situation.
But it is another thing altogether to live in an unequal society where there is little chance of moving on, where there are barriers preventing our talents and energies from being rewarded, where the accident of birth determines a child's life chances.
This type of inequality should worry Occupiers and the 99 per cent because it cuts sharply against what we commonly understand to be the American Dream.
For more: Message of the Occupiers: American Dream is vanishing - The Globe and Mail
1/31/12
How Swedes and Norwegians Broke the Power of the '1 Percent'
While many of us are working to ensure that the Occupy movement will have a lasting impact, it’s worthwhile to consider other countries where masses of people succeeded in nonviolently bringing about a high degree of democracy and economic justice. Sweden and Norway, for example, both experienced a major power shift in the 1930s after prolonged nonviolent struggle. They “fired” the top 1 percent of people who set the direction for society and created the basis for something different.
1/21/12
USA: Disgusting: Wall Streeters Mock Occupy and Poor People at Fancy Frat Party
One of the things that makes Wall Streeters so unsympathetic is that, even when disdain for their greed has not just spread across America but across the world, they don't seem to realize it. And if they do? Well, they don't give a flying fuck.
For more: Disgusting: Wall Streeters Mock Occupy and Poor People at Fancy Frat Party | AlterNet
Last week, an exclusive Wall Street fraternity, Kappa Beta Phi, held a super-fancy black-tie dinner at the St. Regis Hotel in Manhattan, and a New York Times reporter was able to witness it. What he saw was behavior so appalling and unsympathetic to the plight of the poor it was almost a parody of itself.
Kappa Beta Phi was formed in 1929 by top Wall Street barons, and the rest of the Times piece sounds like we haven't left that year. In one paragraph listing attendees, you half expect F. Scott Fitzgerald to show up on there. It's absolutely necessary reading. Another special excerpt: "Some jokes took aim at industry outsiders like Representative Barney Frank, the Democrat of Massachusetts who has been an advocate of financial regulation." It's a sneak peek into the psychology of Wall Street during this tumultuous time, and clearly they're all still telling the rest of America to fuck off.
1/7/12
Molly Katchpole: One woman and a Pet behind corporate protests in America - by Chris Taylor
Meet Molly Katchpole. The 22-year-old Washington, D.C. resident has recently tangled with a couple of billion-dollar corporations, and cowed them into submission without breaking a sweat.
Take Verizon Wireless, which had planned a $2 "convenience" charge for the privilege of paying a bill by phone or online. Katchpole, a Verizon user for eight years, was offended by the very idea that loyal customers could be penalized for paying what they owed. So she went on the website - organized a petition - and watched as it quickly racked up more than 165,000 signatures. As consumer outrage went viral, Verizon backpedaled within hours.
And how about Bank of America's infamous $5 monthly usage fee for debit cards? It too was kiboshed, partly thanks to another Katchpole petition and 300,000 of her outraged brethren, at a time when the Occupy Wall Street movement had been pressuring banks.
"I'm not exactly sure what these companies are thinking," says Katchpole, who only graduated last spring from Roger Williams University in Rhode Island and now works as a fellow at the nonprofit Rebuild the Dream, an organization that lobbies against income inequality (her petitions are personal ventures, unrelated to her job).
For more: Analysis: Molly, Crackers and consumer power gone viral | Reuters
1/3/12
US Politics: Despite Occupy and Arab Spring, Washington remained in gridlock - by Arriana Huffington
Though the Occupy movement started only three months ago, the inspiration for the movement began in the waning days of 2010. On Dec. 17 of that year, a 26-year-old fruit vendor named Mohamed Bouazizi set himself on fire in the Tunisian town of Sidi Bouzid to protest the ongoing harassment and mistreatment by corrupt government officials. His fiery protest - and his death 18 days afterward - later sparked a revolution.
And on Sept. 17, a few hundred US activists gathered at a little-known park in the Financial District of New York City called Zuccotti Park. But instead of becoming a one-off item buried deep in a news roundup, the protesters stayed. As their numbers grew, so did their influence. The movement spread far outside the park - to Oakland, to San Francisco, to Atlanta, to Chicago, and to Washington.
The latest data released by the Census Bureau puts the spotlight on some of these problems: nearly half of all Americans are either living in poverty or classified as low income. More than 97 million are in the latter category, while nearly 50 million are living below the poverty line. This total of 146 million is 4 million more than just two years ago.
And though the media will continue to be sidetracked by the Beltway sideshow, a national conversation about the real issues finally began to take root at the end of 2011. For example, the phrase "income inequality" was used fewer than 91 times in the media the week before the Occupy movement started, but got nearly 500 mentions the second week in November. And this month, Fred Shapiro, the associate librarian at Yale Law School, came out with his sixth annual list of the most notable political quotes of the year. Topping the list for 2011: "We are the 99 percent."
For more: Occupy Arab Spring Washington gridlock: Despite Occupy and Arab Spring, Washington remained in gridlock - South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com
And on Sept. 17, a few hundred US activists gathered at a little-known park in the Financial District of New York City called Zuccotti Park. But instead of becoming a one-off item buried deep in a news roundup, the protesters stayed. As their numbers grew, so did their influence. The movement spread far outside the park - to Oakland, to San Francisco, to Atlanta, to Chicago, and to Washington.
The latest data released by the Census Bureau puts the spotlight on some of these problems: nearly half of all Americans are either living in poverty or classified as low income. More than 97 million are in the latter category, while nearly 50 million are living below the poverty line. This total of 146 million is 4 million more than just two years ago.
And though the media will continue to be sidetracked by the Beltway sideshow, a national conversation about the real issues finally began to take root at the end of 2011. For example, the phrase "income inequality" was used fewer than 91 times in the media the week before the Occupy movement started, but got nearly 500 mentions the second week in November. And this month, Fred Shapiro, the associate librarian at Yale Law School, came out with his sixth annual list of the most notable political quotes of the year. Topping the list for 2011: "We are the 99 percent."
For more: Occupy Arab Spring Washington gridlock: Despite Occupy and Arab Spring, Washington remained in gridlock - South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com
12/2/11
US economy: One Percenter Peter Schiff Talks to NewsBusters About OWS Experience, Financial Press and Next Economic Crisis - by Noel Sheppard
For conservatives, one of the bright spots of the Occupy Wall Street protests was when millionaire investor Peter Schiff went down to Zuccotti Park with video camera and a sign reading "I Am The 1% - Let's Talk."
11/20/11
Polling: 73% Think Most Bailout Money Went To Those Who Caused Economic Crisis
Americans believe more strongly than ever that most of the government bailout money for the financial industry went to those who caused the economic meltdown and that the government hasn’t tried hard enough to bring Wall Street criminals to justice.
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 73% of American Adults now think most of the bailout money went to the people who created the economic crisis.
For more: 73% Think Most Bailout Money Went To Those Who Caused Economic Crisis - Rasmussen Reports™
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 73% of American Adults now think most of the bailout money went to the people who created the economic crisis.
For more: 73% Think Most Bailout Money Went To Those Who Caused Economic Crisis - Rasmussen Reports™
11/16/11
The US Autumn revolution: Occupy Wall Street: - Billionaire Mayor Michael Bloomberg's nightmare scenario
The Mayor might think differently but Occupy Wall Street could become his public-relations nightmare. It could even make him go down in history as another public official who caved in to his own moneyed interests. Bloomberg could very well be remembered as a desperate mayor who bowed to the will of his wealthy citizens — the very population group that Occupy Wall Street demonstrators have targeted.
Bloomberg should know better than most people that whenever a figure in a position of authority resorts to an overt public demonstration of force, people who find themselves in a lose, lose situation can and will react with powerful emotions and often with violence.
A blogger wrote: "Perhaps New York Mayor Bloomberg, much like the obnoxiously rich plutocrats and right-wing puppets in the media paid to tout their corporate bottom line, fears this truly people-inspired movement might end in a Egyptian style revolt in which the 99 percent plebeians reclaim their country. After all, you can only beat the living crap out of your wife before she eventually rises up and runs you down with her car."
A blogger wrote: "Perhaps New York Mayor Bloomberg, much like the obnoxiously rich plutocrats and right-wing puppets in the media paid to tout their corporate bottom line, fears this truly people-inspired movement might end in a Egyptian style revolt in which the 99 percent plebeians reclaim their country. After all, you can only beat the living crap out of your wife before she eventually rises up and runs you down with her car."
EU-Digest
11/15/11
Lessons from Iceland: the people can have the power - Birgitta Jónsdóttir
The Dutch minister of internal affairs said at a speech during free press day this year: "Law-making is like a sausage, no one really wants to know what is put in it." He was referring to how expensive the Freedom of Information Act is, and was suggesting that journalists shouldn't really be asking for so much governmental information. His words exposed one of the core problems in our democracies: too many people don't care what goes into the sausage, not even the so-called law-makers, the parliamentarians.
If the 99% want to reclaim our power, our societies, we have to start somewhere. An important first step is to sever the ties between the corporations and the state by making the process of lawmaking more transparent and accessible for everyone who cares to know or contribute. We have to know what is in that law sausage; the monopoly of the corporate lobbyist has to end – especially when it comes to laws regulating banking and the internet.
The Icelandic nation only consists 311,000 souls, so we have a relatively small bureaucratic body and can move quicker then in most countries. Many have seen Iceland as the ideal country for experimentation for new solutions in an era of transformation.
It is obvious we are all thinking along the same lines. All systems are down: banking, education, health, social, political – the most logical thing would be to start a fresh system based on values other than consumerism, which maximises profit and self-destruction. We are strong, the power is ours: we are many, they are few. We are living in times of crisis. Let's embrace this time for it is the only time real changes are possible by the masses.
For more: Lessons from Iceland: the people can have the power | Birgitta Jónsdóttir | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk
If the 99% want to reclaim our power, our societies, we have to start somewhere. An important first step is to sever the ties between the corporations and the state by making the process of lawmaking more transparent and accessible for everyone who cares to know or contribute. We have to know what is in that law sausage; the monopoly of the corporate lobbyist has to end – especially when it comes to laws regulating banking and the internet.
The Icelandic nation only consists 311,000 souls, so we have a relatively small bureaucratic body and can move quicker then in most countries. Many have seen Iceland as the ideal country for experimentation for new solutions in an era of transformation.
It is obvious we are all thinking along the same lines. All systems are down: banking, education, health, social, political – the most logical thing would be to start a fresh system based on values other than consumerism, which maximises profit and self-destruction. We are strong, the power is ours: we are many, they are few. We are living in times of crisis. Let's embrace this time for it is the only time real changes are possible by the masses.
For more: Lessons from Iceland: the people can have the power | Birgitta Jónsdóttir | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk
Poll: New York voters support anti-Wall Street protesters occupying public parks
Most New York voters don’t believe the Occupy Wall Street movement has a clear message or represents 99 percent of Americans, but they support the demonstrators’ right to stay in public parks around the clock, according to a poll released Tuesday.
The Siena College poll showed 45 percent of voters statewide have a favorable view of the movement, whose encampment was removed from a New York City park Tuesday by police. Forty-four percent have an unfavorable view, up six percentage points from a month earlier. However, 57 percent of those polled said the demonstrators should be able to stay in the parks all day and all night, while 40 percent say they should not.
“Voters clearly support First Amendment rights,” Siena pollster Steven Greenberg said.
For more: Poll: New York voters support anti-Wall Street protesters occupying public parks | syracuse.com
The Siena College poll showed 45 percent of voters statewide have a favorable view of the movement, whose encampment was removed from a New York City park Tuesday by police. Forty-four percent have an unfavorable view, up six percentage points from a month earlier. However, 57 percent of those polled said the demonstrators should be able to stay in the parks all day and all night, while 40 percent say they should not.
“Voters clearly support First Amendment rights,” Siena pollster Steven Greenberg said.
For more: Poll: New York voters support anti-Wall Street protesters occupying public parks | syracuse.com
11/5/11
US Autumn Revolution: Koch Group Gathering Disrupted by Occupy DC Protesters
Time was when David Koch could bring his Americans for Prosperity Foundation convention to our nation's capital, and conventioneers could feel pretty secure in the notion that Washington, D.C., was theirs for the taking. No longer
.
The triumphant glow of hagiography that usually marks the convention's annual Ronald Reagan tribute dinner tonight gave way to the heat of confrontation with the Occupy D.C. movement.
Apparently, the AFP Foundation was prepared for shenanigans, as there seemed to be a readily available cadre of Metropolitan Police throughout the Walter E. Washington Convention Center where the event took place, a sprawling complex of glass and stone that takes up a full city block.
For more: Hot News & Views | AlterNet
Occupy Wall Street and the global trend against inequality. - by Joseph E. Stiglitz
The protest movement that began in Tunisia in January, subsequently spreading to Egypt and then to Spain, has now engulfed Wall Street and cities across America. Globalization and modern technology now enable social movements to transcend borders as rapidly as ideas can. And social protest has found fertile ground everywhere: a sense that the “system” has failed, and the conviction that even in a democracy, the electoral process will not set things right—at least not without strong pressure from the street.
In May, I went to the site of the Tunisian protests. In July, I talked to Spain’s indignados. From there, I went to meet the young Egyptian revolutionaries in Cairo’s Tahrir Square. And last month I talked with Occupy Wall Street protesters in New York. There is a common theme, expressed by the OWS movement in a simple phrase: “We are the 99 percent.”
That slogan echoes the title of my recent article "Of the 1 Percent, for the 1 Percent, and by the 1 Percent", the enormous increase in inequality in the United States: 1 percent of the population controls more than 40 percent of the wealth and receives more than 20 percent of the income. And those in this rarefied stratum often are rewarded so richly not because they have contributed more to society—bonuses and bailouts neatly gutted that justification for inequality—but because they are, to put it bluntly, successful (and sometimes corrupt) rent-seekers
.For more: Occupy Wall Street and the global trend against inequality. - Slate Magazine
In May, I went to the site of the Tunisian protests. In July, I talked to Spain’s indignados. From there, I went to meet the young Egyptian revolutionaries in Cairo’s Tahrir Square. And last month I talked with Occupy Wall Street protesters in New York. There is a common theme, expressed by the OWS movement in a simple phrase: “We are the 99 percent.”
That slogan echoes the title of my recent article "Of the 1 Percent, for the 1 Percent, and by the 1 Percent", the enormous increase in inequality in the United States: 1 percent of the population controls more than 40 percent of the wealth and receives more than 20 percent of the income. And those in this rarefied stratum often are rewarded so richly not because they have contributed more to society—bonuses and bailouts neatly gutted that justification for inequality—but because they are, to put it bluntly, successful (and sometimes corrupt) rent-seekers
.For more: Occupy Wall Street and the global trend against inequality. - Slate Magazine
11/1/11
Occupy Wall Street Movement: Former Marine's injury spurs vets to join Occupy movement
Wednesday on Wall Street, the New York City chapter of Iraq Veterans Against the War and dozens of other uniformed veterans known as "Veterans of the 99%" are expected to mass near Wall Street, where Occupy began Sept. 17.
Although they've been participating in Occupy protests throughout the country, vets say their ranks have been swelling since last week, when former Marine and Iraq War vet Scott Olsen sustained a skull fracture when he was hit by a police projectile at an Occupy Oakland protest . Although still hospitalized, Olsen, 24, is expected to make a full recovery.
Former Marine's injury spurs vets to join Occupy movement – USATODAY.com
US Banking Industry: Public revolt gets results - Bank of America Backs Off From Plan to Charge Debit-Card Fee
Bank of America Corp., the second- biggest U.S. lender by deposits, abandoned plans to charge $5 a month for debit cards after a nationwide backlash from consumers and lawmakers. “For a lot of consumers, this was the last straw,” said Jean Ann Fox, director of financial services for the Washington- based Consumer Federation of America. “Banks have been making a lot of changes to accounts, adding fees and raising the minimum balance needed, and consumers were clear that they objected to one more fee.”
For more: Bank of America Backs Off From Plan to Charge Debit-Card Fee - BusinessWeek
The bank canceled the fee, which would have started in January, afteras they said listening “to our customers very closely,” David Darnell, co-chief operating officer, said in a statement today. The lender also cited competitive pressure.
Bank of America reversed course after rivals including JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Wells Fargo & Co. decided against similar charges, leaving the Charlotte, North Carolina-based firm the only U.S. lender among the biggest five with plans to introduce the fee. Citigroup Inc. and U.S. Bancorp had already rejected the idea, while SunTrust Banks Inc. and Regions Financial Corp. eliminated their check-card fees yesterday.
Note EU-Digest: once again an example that Public Revolt will eventually have results against unfair business practices and corporate manipulation.
10/31/11
Occupy Wall Street Deserves Our Respect - by Ralph Gomory
There is something about Occupy Wall Street that makes me think of the American Revolution. Not the fully developed American Revolution complete with an army, George Washington, and Valley Forge; I'm thinking of the earlier days, when there were only sporadic protests and occasional clashes. George Washington was against having political parties; he thought that people could simply vote and elect those they thought best suited to run the government. This was easier to imagine in the agriculture-dominated world in which he lived than in today's complex society. However, even in that simpler world, political parties sprang up almost immediately and they have been with us ever since.
The US is no longer a nation of farmers; today the US is a nation of corporations. In today's world, unlike the world of 1776, there are many centers of economic power. And those centers, such as the major banks and great corporations, use the power of money on a large-scale to affect the actions of government.
Occupy Wall Street has brought to our attention the goal of lessening the concentration of economic and political power. In short form, they are for Democracy not Plutocracy. Doing something about the concentration of power is not a subject discussed in Washington. But sometimes a country needs worthwhile goals, even worthwhile goals without a plan. It is up to us to find ways to get there.
For more: Ralph Gomory: Occupy Wall Street Deserves Our Respect
The US is no longer a nation of farmers; today the US is a nation of corporations. In today's world, unlike the world of 1776, there are many centers of economic power. And those centers, such as the major banks and great corporations, use the power of money on a large-scale to affect the actions of government.
Occupy Wall Street has brought to our attention the goal of lessening the concentration of economic and political power. In short form, they are for Democracy not Plutocracy. Doing something about the concentration of power is not a subject discussed in Washington. But sometimes a country needs worthwhile goals, even worthwhile goals without a plan. It is up to us to find ways to get there.
For more: Ralph Gomory: Occupy Wall Street Deserves Our Respect
10/28/11
USA: Wall Street protesters prepare for winter weather - by ERIKA NIEDOWSKI
Wall Street protesters around the country who are vowing to stand their ground against the police and politicians are also digging in against a different kind of adversary: cold weather.
For more: Wall Street protesters prepare for winter weather - Yahoo! News
With the temperature dropping, they are stockpiling donated coats, blankets and scarves, trying to secure cots and military-grade tents, and getting survival tips from the homeless people who have joined their encampments.
"Everyone's been calling it our Valley Forge moment," said Michael McCarthy, a former Navy medic in Providence. "Everybody thought that George Washington couldn't possibly survive in the Northeast."
10/27/11
EURO Summit - banks received an offer they could not refuse- "but do the political leaders have the backbone to control Financial Industry?" - by Nicholas Comfort, Gavin Finch and Liam Vaughan
European bank stocks jumped after leaders agreed to bolster lenders’ capital and boost the region’s rescue fund in a bid to stem the debt crisis. European leaders agreed to boost the firepower of the region’s rescue fund to 1 trillion euros ($1.4 trillion) and persuaded bondholders to accept a 50 percent loss on their holdings of Greek government debt. Banks will, as part of the plan, need to raise capital to insulate themselves against losses on government debt. Still to be decided are the details of the haircut, what assets banks can count as capital, how banks will raise it, and whether future bank debt is backed by a national or European guarantee.
The world’s biggest banks bowed to what German Chancellor Angela Merkel called the “last word,” agreeing to write down their Greek government debt by half in the pivotal piece of the euro area’s bid to stem the financial crisis. The Institute of International Finance, which represents 450 financial firms, agreed to “develop a concrete voluntary agreement” on a 50 percent haircut on Greek debt, Managing Director Charles Dallara said in a statement e-mailed at 4:26 a.m. in Brussels.
Euro-area leaders who called Dallara into a meeting at about midnight, forcing a break in their 10-hour summit, said that while the bond transaction will be voluntary, the decision resulted from an offer he couldn’t refuse. “It was the fiercely delivered wish by Merkel, Sarkozy, Juncker, that if a voluntary agreement with the banks was not possible, we wouldn’t resist one second to move toward a scenario of the total insolvency of Greece,” Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker told reporters. That “would have cost states a lot of money and would have ruined the banks.”
Note EU-Digest: European Political leaders must understand they will be held accountable if they let the World Banking and Financial Industry try and maneuver out of this agreement. Up front the Financial Industry must also be made very conscious of the fact that any possible future bank debt can in no way or form be propped up by taxpayers supported Government guarantees.
If once again the political leadership and the financial industry make a mess of things, the results will be catastrophic and the public reaction violent to the point where the Wall Street Occupation Movement will look like a "baby shower party" in comparison.
For more: Bank Stocks Jump as EU Deal Eases Debt Crisis Concern - Bloomberg
The world’s biggest banks bowed to what German Chancellor Angela Merkel called the “last word,” agreeing to write down their Greek government debt by half in the pivotal piece of the euro area’s bid to stem the financial crisis. The Institute of International Finance, which represents 450 financial firms, agreed to “develop a concrete voluntary agreement” on a 50 percent haircut on Greek debt, Managing Director Charles Dallara said in a statement e-mailed at 4:26 a.m. in Brussels.
Euro-area leaders who called Dallara into a meeting at about midnight, forcing a break in their 10-hour summit, said that while the bond transaction will be voluntary, the decision resulted from an offer he couldn’t refuse. “It was the fiercely delivered wish by Merkel, Sarkozy, Juncker, that if a voluntary agreement with the banks was not possible, we wouldn’t resist one second to move toward a scenario of the total insolvency of Greece,” Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker told reporters. That “would have cost states a lot of money and would have ruined the banks.”
Note EU-Digest: European Political leaders must understand they will be held accountable if they let the World Banking and Financial Industry try and maneuver out of this agreement. Up front the Financial Industry must also be made very conscious of the fact that any possible future bank debt can in no way or form be propped up by taxpayers supported Government guarantees.
If once again the political leadership and the financial industry make a mess of things, the results will be catastrophic and the public reaction violent to the point where the Wall Street Occupation Movement will look like a "baby shower party" in comparison.
For more: Bank Stocks Jump as EU Deal Eases Debt Crisis Concern - Bloomberg
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