12 scary quotes about the forthcoming systemic breakdown

[financeguy]

#1 George Soros: "Financial markets are driving the world towards another Great Depression with incalculable political consequences. The authorities, particularly in Europe, have lost control of the situation."

#2 PIMCO CEO Mohammed El-Erian: "These are all signs of an institutional run on French banks. If it persists, the banks would have no choice but to delever their balance sheets in a very drastic and disorderly fashion. Retail depositors would get edgy and be tempted to follow trading and institutional clients through the exit doors. Europe would thus be thrown into a full-blown banking crisis that aggravates the sovereign debt trap, renders certain another economic recession, and significantly worsens the outlook for the global economy."

#3 Attila Szalay-Berzeviczy, global head of securities services at UniCredit SpA (Italy's largest bank): "The only remaining question is how many days the hopeless rearguard action of European governments and the European Central Bank can keep up Greece’s spirits."

#4 Stefan Homburg, the head of Germany's Institute for Public Finance: "The euro is nearing its ugly end. A collapse of monetary union now appears unavoidable."

#5 EU Parliament Member Nigel Farage: "I think the worst in the financial system is yet to come, a possible cataclysm and if that happens the gold price could go (higher) to a number that we simply cannot, at this moment, even imagine."

#6 Carl Weinberg, the chief economist at High Frequency Economics: "At this point, our base case is that Greece will default within weeks."

#7 Goldman Sachs strategist Alan Brazil: "Solving a debt problem with more debt has not solved the underlying problem. In the US, Treasury debt growth financed the US consumer but has not had enough of an impact on job growth. Can the US continue to depreciate the world’s base currency?"

#8 International Labour Organization director general Juan Somavia recently stated that total unemployment could "increase by some 20m to a total of 40m in G20 countries" by the end of 2012.

#9 Deutsche Bank CEO Josef Ackerman: "It is an open secret that numerous European banks would not survive having to revalue sovereign debt held on the banking book at market levels."

#10 Alastair Newton, a strategist for Nomura Securities in London: "We believe that we are just about to enter a critical period for the eurozone and that the threat of some sort of break-up between now and year-end is greater than it has been at any time since the start of the crisis"

#11 Ann Barnhardt, head of Barnhardt Capital Management, Inc.: "It's over. There is no coming back from this. The only thing that can happen is a total and complete collapse of EVERYTHING we now know, and humanity starts from scratch. And if you think that this collapse is going to play out without one hell of a big hot war, you are sadly, sadly mistaken."

#12 Lakshman Achuthan of ECRI: "When I call a recession...that means that process is starting to feed on itself, which means that you can yell and scream and you can write a big check, but it's not going to stop."

Prophets Of Doom: 12 Shocking Quotes From Insiders About The Horrific Economic Crisis That Is Almost Here | ZeroHedge

 

[the iron horse]

A prudent person foresees danger and takes precautions.
The simpleton goes blindly on and suffers the consequences.

~Proverbs 22:3

 

[Kieran McConville]

I don't normally chip in here, but I'll say the sort of thing Financeguy normally says on topics like this: one reply?

 

[Pearl]

I don't normally chip in here, but I'll say the sort of thing Financeguy normally says on topics like this: one reply?

All I can say its very depressing. I believe a second recession is at hand, and what financeguy posted made it sound like another Dark Age is coming.
Perhaps an economic Dark Age, or worse.

 

[Knuckle]

A prudent person foresees danger and takes precautions.
The simpleton goes blindly on and suffers the consequences.

~Proverbs 22:3

By "precautions" do you mean plenty of extra ammo to guard your foodstocks?


Kieran, I post rarely, but read this board just about every day. I am mostly ignorant to the real workings of international banking and finance, but I've been reading the stuff FG posts on the course of this crisis for a long time. As far as I know, FG has not shared the nature of his background exactly, and I would not ask him (privacy); but he is obviously closely tuned in. The articles he finds and re-posts (this one especially) tell me there is much more to worry about than the regular news is sharing with us cattle. I read FG's post like this one, but have not responded -- too busy sucking my thumb and fretting.

 

[corianderstem]

Yeah, I don't post all that much in FYM for a variety of reasons (although I read or browse most of it), but for something like this, I just have no inkling of WHAT to say, how to respond besides returning to my waffling over whether to cower in fear or bury my head in the sand.

 

[Kieran McConville]

To be fair, neither do I (know how to respond, that is).

 

[maycocksean]

Well, when you've been raised with apocalyptic theology as I have been, such dire predictions don't faze one much.

I've heard this message in one form or another my entire life. (which is not at all to say that it's not true).

 

[Earnie Shavers]

Lack of replies? I'd say it's in part simply because the majority of people in here are from the US, and the attention there is on 'jobs' and the distraction of elections and everything associated. It seems there's only occasional input in FYM from Europeans, and anyway, they're probably right now all too busy making sure they know which exit is the closest to where they're sitting.

Actually, I was in Berlin last week and talking to various people there. My sister lives there, works for an NGO, and a lot of her friends are students, or student age, and fairly anarchic really. Good fun. Certainly under no illusions as to what the next little while will probably look like. Very much a kind of excitable tension there. Perhaps good that we're heading into winter, rather than summer, so things won't be quite so... mad?

(And yeah, I don't really know how to respond either - I work in media/entertainment. Not sure how it will all shake down. Just make sure you all keep sucking on the distracting/soothing Hollywood sugar, okay? Thanks!)

 

[I Move in Mysterious Ways]

Some of the quotes aren't exactly from top notch sources. (Ann Barnhardt? Really?)

 

[anitram]

Lack of replies? I'd say it's in part simply because the majority of people in here are from the US, and the attention there is on 'jobs' and the distraction of elections and everything associated. It seems there's only occasional input in FYM from Europeans, and anyway, they're probably right now all too busy making sure they know which exit is the closest to where they're sitting.

This is an excellent point. I think I probably read more of the things related to this topic than your average person, but this weekend when I was visiting my parents, I watched their satellite TV for a while. They have zillions of news channels from Europe and others like Al Jazeera, etc. Saw a bit of Greek news, and so on and there is very much a different emphasis than in North America (where let's face it, many news agencies are now providers of entertainment first).

My Dad, while watching coverage of the Greek protests and riots (and Greece really should default as its best option) said that he thinks most people are ignoring the reactions of the people on the street at their own peril. That it is hard to get people to go out in the streets but once they are there it is much more difficult to get them to go back inside.

Deep, deep discontent can only get deeper if even a fraction of these predictions plays out.

 

[Earnie Shavers]

Default would definitely be the best thing for Greece (although their issues extend well beyond the fiscal, the challenge for them to crawl out is significant, well beyond previous examples like Argentina) but Greece, obviously, isn't in isolation.

But in terms of the region ripe to go up in flames, check out, for example, Spain. Youth unemployment at a shade under 50%. There's no way that's not going to explode, whether they follow Greece or not. And that stretches across Europe, and is mixed with anger similar to the Occupy Group. The kids I was talking to in Berlin aren't that hard up in terms of employment etc, but they're furious about bailouts etc, 'we are the 99%' is what will ring out there. 'I can't eat' in Spain, Greece etc.

 

[the iron horse]

Pat Buchanan's New Book "Suicide of A Superpower" Laments the "End of White America" & Says Legislated Equality of Rights for Blacks Led to "Socialist Utopia" | The Moderate Voice

 

[maycocksean]

What was your point in posting this link? Genuine question.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

I just hope Bono's okay

 

[purpleoscar]

Pat Buchanan is a fringe bigot that gives fodder for Democrats to label Republicans as racist. Focusing on race when ideas are more important is a waste of time.

 

[BVS]

Pat Buchanan's New Book "Suicide of A Superpower" Laments the "End of White America" & Says Legislated Equality of Rights for Blacks Led to "Socialist Utopia" | The Moderate Voice

What's your point here?

 

[the iron horse]

What's your point here?

Adding something to the dicussion.

 

[BVS]

Adding something to the dicussion.

Do you think he has a valid point?

 

[Mrs. Garrison]

as long as they keep on making booze...we'll survive

Otherwise it will be chaos everywhere