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Ireland ‘could default on debt’.
The Sunday Times (UK) ^ | February 15, 2009 | Iain Dey

Posted on 02/15/2009 5:39:41 PM PST by PotatoHeadMick

FEARS are mounting that Ireland could default on its soaring national debt pile, amid continuing worries about its troubled banking sector.

The cost of buying insurance against Irish government bonds rose to record highs on Friday, having almost tripled in a week. Debt-market investors now rank Ireland as the most troubled economy in Europe.

Simon Johnson, the former chief economist of the International Monetary Fund, called for this weekend’s meeting of G7 finance ministers to put Ireland’s troubles at the top of the agenda.

Johnson said: “Don’t, please, tell me more about the basic principles of financial reform unless and until you have addressed the Irish problem. And don’t tell me the Irish have to sort this out for themselves. Eventually, the world always comes to help; check your notes on Iceland.

(Excerpt) Read more at business.timesonline.co.uk ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Foreign Affairs; Miscellaneous; News/Current Events
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Sadly the once roaring Celtic Tiger is looking a bit moth eaten these days.
1 posted on 02/15/2009 5:39:41 PM PST by PotatoHeadMick
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To: PotatoHeadMick

What the hell happened?


2 posted on 02/15/2009 5:41:34 PM PST by Army Air Corps (Four fried chickens and a coke)
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To: Army Air Corps

I think they went on the Euro.....


3 posted on 02/15/2009 5:45:01 PM PST by Trteamer ( (Eat Meat, Wear Fur, Own Guns, FReep Leftists, Drive an SUV, Drill A.N.W.R., Drill the Gulf, Vote)
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To: PotatoHeadMick
They (Irish) have run out of options. Unlike the US, they cannot fund their obligations in the Markets.

The bigger question is when do the Markets start refusing US borrowing? Or, at what interest rate will they accept them?

IMO we are headed for a day of reckoning. Higher interest rates, Global Inflation and skyrocketing Gold.

4 posted on 02/15/2009 5:45:14 PM PST by TCats
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To: PotatoHeadMick

Sadly, reading the comments indicates that the whole world is in panic mode, including the US.


5 posted on 02/15/2009 5:47:40 PM PST by richardtavor (Pray for the peace of Jerusalem in the name of the G-d of Jacob)
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To: TCats

Is this country going to sell treasuries to pay for the stimulus charade?We may find the answers to your questions pretty quickly.


6 posted on 02/15/2009 5:50:18 PM PST by Farmer Dean (168 grains of instant conflict resolution)
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To: PotatoHeadMick
They need to start selling hard assets like gold reserves or go bankrupt.

In either case, it might be a cheap place to vacation this summer....

7 posted on 02/15/2009 5:51:56 PM PST by 2banana (My common ground with terrorists - they want to die for islam and we want to kill them)
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To: PotatoHeadMick

Oh...great. Now that the UNSINKABLE Titantic is sinking, the ship S.S.Californian has a fire on board, Arnold needs one more vote and the ship Mt. Temple, Ireland won’t be able to help. NO LIFE rafts are available, and the dogs in the kennel have been opened, no reason for them to die locked up in a cage when the ship goes down. Captain Obama wants to bring more WATER into the hull.


8 posted on 02/15/2009 5:53:20 PM PST by rovenstinez
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To: PotatoHeadMick
Failure To Save East Europe Will Lead To Worldwide Meltdown

The unfolding debt drama in Russia, Ukraine, and the EU states of Eastern Europe has reached acute danger point.

By Ambrose Evans-Pritchard If mishandled by the world policy establishment, this debacle is big enough to shatter the fragile banking systems of Western Europe and set off round two of our financial Götterdämmerung.

Austria's finance minister Josef Pröll made frantic efforts last week to put together a €150bn rescue for the ex-Soviet bloc. Well he might. His banks have lent €230bn to the region, equal to 70pc of Austria's GDP.

"A failure rate of 10pc would lead to the collapse of the Austrian financial sector," reported Der Standard in Vienna. Unfortunately, that is about to happen.

[snip]

9 posted on 02/15/2009 5:54:41 PM PST by blam
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To: PotatoHeadMick

I thought Ireland was a pillar of prosperity. Did Democrats win a couple of elections there, too?


10 posted on 02/15/2009 5:59:51 PM PST by Past Your Eyes (Some people are too stupid to be ashamed.)
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To: richardtavor
Roubini Tells Geithner To Nationalise US Banks

Tim Geithner must nationalise some of America's biggest banks and take the total toll of the US bail-out to around $2 trillion, according to one of the world's most prominent economists.

By James Quinn Wall Street Correspondent
Last Updated: 1:12AM GMT 16 Feb 2009

Nouriel Roubini – the man feted with having foreseen the financial crisis before almost any of his peers – has warned that the US Treasury Secretary must go significantly further than his detail-light bail-out plan delivered last week, and argues that the Obama administration should move swiftly to take public ownership of those major US banks which are failing.

Professor Roubini, who worked with Mr Geithner in the Clinton administration, told The Daily Telegraph: "Many US banks are insolvent, even the major ones." While nationalisation is "a politically- charged decision" which needs to handled carefully, he said it needs to take place "sooner rather than later" for the sake of the wider economy.

Professor Roubini calculated that, on top of the existing $700bn (£491bn) of American taxpayers' money allocated to solving the banking crisis, Mr Geithner may need to ask the US Congress for between $1,000bn and $1,250bn in extra funds. "Sooner rather than later, they'll need more money," he added.

[snip]

11 posted on 02/15/2009 6:00:23 PM PST by blam
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To: Army Air Corps

As in the US the Irish banks went on a crazy binge of lending to property developers and like all bubbles the Irish property bubble burst, rather spectacularly.

It’s actually worse than that though, there is an unmistakable stench of corruption reeking out of the near collapse of one of the banks, Anglo-Irish, where a golden circle of prominent businessmen and the directors of the bank were lending and re-lending each other sweetheart loans, the horrific scale of which is only now becoming clear (a wee bit too complex to go into in detail).

There is no actual hard evidence of criminality, yet, but the whole thing stinks to high heavens and the Irish people are in a state of shock at the cataclysm that has hit them.


12 posted on 02/15/2009 6:00:49 PM PST by PotatoHeadMick
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To: Farmer Dean
Like any respectable Ponzi Scheme, I expect a good portion of the increased borrowing will find its way to the Fed (i.e., Thinly concealed creation of money). And make no mistake about it, this whole Global Finance thing IS a Ponzi with one exception, the Perps cab actually print money!

Bernie is jealous I'll bet.

13 posted on 02/15/2009 6:03:50 PM PST by TCats
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To: TCats

Check it out come Tuesday morning when the markets got wind of this trillion dollar ‘bonus’ the government just gave itself.

I would not be surprised if we crashed on Tuesday.


14 posted on 02/15/2009 6:08:38 PM PST by autumnraine (Freedom's just another word for nothing left to lose- Kris Kristopherson)
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To: blam
Heilige scheiss! Das ist nicht gut!!!
15 posted on 02/15/2009 6:09:59 PM PST by April Lexington (Study the constitution so you know what they are taking away!)
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To: blam

And here will Sharia Financing come!

Duntduntaduuuuunnhhhh

Here I come to save the day!!

No problem, I’ll loan you some money, but just don’t loan any money for pork or porn!

Need some cash? Sharia Financing offers NO INTEREST! Yes, NO INTEREST! Fees are standard.


16 posted on 02/15/2009 6:11:08 PM PST by autumnraine (Freedom's just another word for nothing left to lose- Kris Kristopherson)
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To: Past Your Eyes

“I thought Ireland was a pillar of prosperity. Did Democrats win a couple of elections there, too?”

Yeah, me too. I thought Ireland was in fairly decent shape? They have the lowest corporate tax rate and a well educated work force.

My company is soon to open a new manufacturing facility there because of the economic advantages.


17 posted on 02/15/2009 6:13:08 PM PST by CapnJack
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To: blam
Nouriel Roubini is a genius. Think of it this way. Banks levered up to 40 to 1. Imagine a game of musical chairs where there are 40 people and only one chair. As long as the music is playing... nobody cares. But when the music stops, the 39 beat the crap out of the poor fool with the chair! Welcome to leveraged fractional banking. There is only 1 dollar for every $40 in debt. Better buy gold (but, can;t tomorrow... we need to celebrate presidents while the REST OF THE WORLD buys gold tomorrow.

Poop!

18 posted on 02/15/2009 6:14:08 PM PST by April Lexington (Study the constitution so you know what they are taking away!)
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To: Past Your Eyes

Apparently, those of us that thought that, were wrong.


19 posted on 02/15/2009 6:15:32 PM PST by stuartcr (If the end doesn't justify the means...why have different means?)
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To: autumnraine
Check it out come Tuesday morning when the markets got wind of this trillion dollar ‘bonus’ the government just gave itself. I would not be surprised if we crashed on Tuesday.

The rest of the world is OPEN tomorrow. I think we will be missing some opportunities to get into gold while the rest of the world scrambles. Gotta celebrate them presidents so the postal workers can practice animation.

20 posted on 02/15/2009 6:16:49 PM PST by April Lexington (Study the constitution so you know what they are taking away!)
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