New kids on the block- Greece and Italy!

Well, in case you have not heard, Greece has a new prime minister and his name is Lucas Papademos who is an economist by training and former Governor of the Central Bank in Greece. He takes over from former prime minister George Papandreou, who decided to step down amidst pressure from Greece's- and now Europe's- well know debt crisis.

And in Italy, long time prime minister and Italian export, Silvio Burlesconi, has also decided to step down as prime minister of Europe's fourth largest economy amidst similar debt related issues. His successor is Mario Monti, who is also an economist by training as is his counterpart in Greece and was a former Goldman Sach's executive.

Very interesting things indeed...

Where is the people's money? American banks must find it!

Article from Thomas Friedman: Here.

Well, in not so many words, this is why I for one was not too upset when they started to come after the "tax havens"... the money is there somewhere. In a vault, under some one's basement floor, or in a Swiss/Cayman/Bermudian/Jersey Shore bank account- the latter is more likely.

The quicker the powers that be find out where the people's money went, the better off the entire world will be. We can do nothing about it except for hope, and pray, that a solution is found to the mess. Sure, some of it is in China, but that was a legitimate issue- a major chunk of the ill gotten gains were stolen by some people we don't even know. Makes you spitting mad, doesn't it?

Can Europe get right?

Odds are, no. They have- policy makers that is- have confused themselves on the matter. They don't know which way to go, who to turn to and what to do.

The European crisis is a fine mess, if I can say so. If you follow publications like the Financial Times and The Economist online, you would see that they have a series of articles that is continually compiling information on this crisis's origins, the issues that are happening currently as a result and also what policy makers and bankers are doing to stave off the worst!

I can list to you reams and reams of Internet files that document all of the problems and possible solutions. But it would be a waste of time.

Gaddafi is caught!

Apparently Muammar Gaddafi has been caught at his home town in Sirte, Libya. Sources from Sky News and The Daily Mail report that he has been shot in both legs and has been transported by ambulance to a hospital.

Don't know where Libya goes with this. I hope he is kept aliveand given exile. We will have to see!

I'm not fully impressed with how easily some people forget that Gaddafi was accepted in certain circles as the man who tried to keep things together in Libya. But I am more than thankful that this bloody era is over for Libya and the Middle East.

Kweku Adoboli is a man after many hearts!

Sort of an old story, but we know that every black man that don't have two cents to rub against the next cheered with glee when they found out this guy DID IT. LOL... but, he caused more problems than anyone could have ever imagined and thus it's a painful experience for persons in the UBS Group.

More importantly it shows you that we have not learned the painful lesson of the 2008 financial crisis at all. It's all happening all over again. These guys are just too greedy!

See story here:
BBC

It's going to come down to the actors!

Paul Krugman of the NY Times writes that The European Policymakers are unlikely to make reforms necessary to save the European Union.

He cites that recent pronouncements- most likely made during the Sept.,2011 IMF/World Bank Annual Board of Governors meetings- are extremely bland and scary at the same time.

I am not sure how Krugam is thinking, but is obvious that two things are happening simultaneously: 1. Just like the set of bankers/actors that created the financial collapse of 2008, most of them hedged their bets and bet wide on other people's money and bet tight with their own money, often against what they bet on with other people's money; and 2., that there will be more action for political instability, more so from policy think tanks and multi-lateral agencies, companies and actors, even more than from political pressures from the ground in terms of labour unrest and social upheaval.

It's that time where I'm quite sure, certain gaggles of elites, not necessarily from the legislative branches of the leadership community in Europe, are actively considering if not planning the downfall of many of the current and aspiring politicians who have the mindset that keeps the current state of affairs constant.

Sounds like a war is going to break out. This time, cash will be their fuel, the casualties will be dispersed and seemingly inconsequential to the scheme of things, think tanks and social-meetings will be the battle room and the social media will be their primary weapon of choice!

The time to make these decisions whether folks like it or not is here. And, to be fair, it's not like Europe has not had political instability in it's history at all. This time it will be more sophisticated, and hopefully more humane than other shifts in politics in Europe.

Speeches from the World Bank/IMF Board of Governors Meetings, 2011

Here are the speeches from the 2011 Annual Meetings of the Boards of Governors of the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund.

See available links to Chairman of The WB/IMF Group, Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham's speech:
Here.

President of The World Bank's speech, Robert Zoellick:
Here.

Managing Director of The International Monetary Fund Christine Lagarde's speech:
Here.

Just for your information!

Cheers!