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IMF sees 200 billion euro capital gap at European banks
BRUSSELS — The International Monetary Fund has estimated European banks could face a capital shortfall of 200 billion euros (US$287 billion), a European source said on Wednesday.
The figure has prompted a fierce response from European officials who said the analysis was misleading, according to the Financial Times.
The newspaper, citing two officials, said the 200 billion euro figure was one estimate of the impact of marking sovereign bonds to market.
The IMF will Read more…
World Bank Head Warns Markets Heading to New Danger Zone
United States and Europe, coupled with a fragile economic recovery have pushed markets into a new danger zone, something that policymakers have to take seriously, the head of the World Bank said on Sunday.
(Photo: REUTERS / Tim Wimborne)
World Bank Chief Robert Zoellick gestures while speaking at the Asia Society’s annual dinner in Sydney August 14, 2011.
Speaking at the Asia Society dinner in Sydney, Australia, Robert Zoellick also said the global economy was going through a multi-speed recovery, with developing countries now the source of growth and opportunity.
“What’s happened in the past couple of weeks is there is a convergence of some events in Europe and the United States that has led many market participants to lose confidence in economic leadership of some of the key countries,” he said.
“I think those events combined with some of the other fragilities in the nature of recovery have pushed us into a new danger zone. I don’t say those words lightly … so that policymakers Read more…
Europe is heading towards a severe water crisis
Image by flaum (source: stock.xchng)A recent study by Matthias Huss, glacier expert at the University of Fribourg, confirms that glaciers play a mayor part in providing water for the major rivers in the Alps.
Although we are not really aware of it, as many other regions of the world, Europe depends greatly on melt water from glaciers for fresh water. The Swiss Alps for example are often called the “water towers of Europe”. With sixty billion of cubic meters of water, Switzerland holds an important part of European fresh water, essential for large rivers and overall water management.
Glaciers store water during wet, cold winters in the form of ice and release that ice during hot summer months in the form of fresh melt water.
With the rise of temperatures the glaciers grow smaller every year and the water shortages in Europe during hot summer months are steadily increasing. Between 1996 and 2006 each year Read more…
Missile system aimed at Russia? ‘US can’t guarantee it’s not’
Defence cuts will leave China as the world’s policeman, warns Nato chief
DEFENCE cuts across Europe will diminish Nato’s global role and leave China as the world’s policemen, the alliance chief warned yesterday.
Anders Fogh Rasmussen praised Britain and France for taking the lead on the Libya conflict but said they could not have done it without US help.
And he claimed the slashing of troops by European leaders will hit military transport and intelligence.
Mr Fogh Rasmussen spoke out just days after Defence Secretary Liam Fox unveiled plans to cut the Army by 17,000.
The director general said: “For the first time in the history of Nato we have seen an operation not led by the Americans.
“The Europeans couldn’t do this on their own and in that respect it is of course a matter of concern that we have seen substantial defence cuts in nearly all Nato allied nations. If the current development continues, the influence of Europe on the international scene will decline because of lack of critical transport capabilities, critical intelligence gathering capabilities and Read more…
As The Dollar And The Euro Continue To Collapse, How High Is That Going To Push The Price Of Gold?
Right now, the global financial system is facing a crisis that is really unprecedented. The reserve currency of the world (the U.S. dollar) is collapsing and the second most powerful currency on the planet (the euro) is also collapsing. As the major paper currencies of the globe crumble, the hunger that investors around the world have for gold continues to grow. Today, the price of gold hit an all-time record of $1607.90 an ounce. But that record surely will not live for long. The truth is that gold has been steadily climbing for quite some time now. A year ago, the price of gold was hovering around $1200 an ounce and and many “mainstream economists” scoffed at the idea that the price of gold could go significantly higher. Well, nobody is laughing now. As colossal debt loads continue to crush both Europe and the United States, the euro and the dollar are Read more…
This Vehicle Registration Plate Surveillance System Is a Warning to Us All
No CCTV has teamed up with Privacy International and Big Brother Watch to challenge the legality of the Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) [also known as ALPR in North America] camera network in the UK. A complaint has been sent to the Information Commissioners Office (ICO) against a so-called ANPR “Ring of Steel” that is being constructed around the town of Royston in Hertfordshire — but for Royston read any town in the UK.
Background
The Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) has constructed a network of cameras across the country without any public or parliamentary debate. These cameras record the number plate of each and every vehicle that passes, sometimes taking a photograph of the car and its occupants. The number plate is then compared to a “hotlist” of vehicles of interest, and whether or not the plate is on that list (ie a “hit”), all information gathered is stored for between two and five years. A Hertfordshire Police Authority report reveals the details of the data retention periods:
Currently number plate pictures are held for 2 years. Car pictures are held for 90 days. “Hits” information on text and number pictures are held for 5 years and car pictures are held for 2 years.
[‘Final report of the Topic Group on Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) Technology use within Hertfordshire Constabulary’, p. 9]
The data collected from number plate cameras can be linked to multiple databases such as the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) database and the Motor Insurance Database Application System (MIDAS) which in turn can be used to identify the owner of the vehicle. The resulting database of Read more…
Currencies dropping like stones
The markets have not yet thought about it, but the biggest threat to the Euro is not Greece, Ireland or Portugal, but the dangers posed by the fourth largest economy in Europe, which is also the third largest in the Eurozone, that of Italy. Italy is passing austerity measures but the measures may not be enough. The problem that the Euro faces is that there is little central control over the EU economy, control that exists affects states within Europe that have not adopted the Euro, as well as those that have.
Eleven years ago when the merits of the Euro were debated I argued against it. I was not fondly wishing to hold on to the pound sterling for sentimental reasons. I felt that there was a Read more…
Earthquake hits English Channel ‘Largest since 1734’
The earthquake was the biggest in the area for nearly 300 yearsAn earthquake with a magnitude of 3.9 has struck in the English Channel, the British Geological Survey (BGS) said.
The quake had a depth of 10km and its epicentre was south of Portsmouth, according to the BGS.
Residents in parts of West Sussex reported buildings shaking for a few seconds at about 0800 BST.
Sussex Police, Solent Coastguard and West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service said they had not been called out to any incidents related to it.
‘Largest since 1734′
David Kerridge, from the BGS, said it was the biggest incident of Read more…
Melting glaciers store up trouble
by Julia Slater, swissinfo.ch
As the alpine glaciers shrink they will affect the flow of Europe’s biggest rivers, impacting areas of the economy ranging from shipping to power generation.
Glaciologist Matthias Huss of Fribourg University has discovered that right down to the sea, the Danube, Rhine, Rhone and Po contain a larger proportion of water from glaciers than previously thought.
For example, more than a quarter of the water that flows from the Rhone into the Mediterranean in August has its origin in alpine glaciers. At its mouth in the Netherlands seven percent of the water in the Rhine is Read more…
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