US bank warns of eurozone breakup 'pandemonium'

[Dover]

Source: AFP

Citigroup economist and former central banker Willem Buiter warned Thursday that a fully blown breakup of the eurozone could spell a global depression with unemployment of 20 percent and economic pandemonium.

Sketching a stark picture of the stakes facing European leaders as they gather in Brussels to discuss how to save the single currency, Buiter said a breakup would unlikely be planned, orderly or gradual.

Buiter, a former Bank of England policy maker, predicted in a research note that a breakup would be "disruptive, destructive and without any winners."


Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/us-bank-warns-eurozone-breakup-pandemonium-172633943.html

[russspeakeasy]

1. I read the post and the link. I need someone to explain it to me.

Buiter says, "there would be no winners". Couldn't you just sell it short and come out a winner ? What am I missing ? Or is this pure "fear mongering" ?

[Javaman]

3. Of course you can, but they won't tell you that. Only that have even mores

want that kept secret.

Disaster capitalism at its finest.

they still win even when everyone else loses.

All this statement by citigroup is: is them trying to sound like they know what they are doing, when that's far from reality.

They helped this mess, now they are trying to sell us that it's bad.

fuck them. I would still look up if they told me the sky was blue.

[russspeakeasy]

4. That was my impression. I guess I was just looking

for some confirmation..

[uncle ray]

17. the winners have already cashed out.

they've taken their profits and already reinvested elsewhere, likely several times over.

[HereSince1628]

2. Potential banking failure frightens bankers?

Oh, My! Tighten those belts!

It's pretty clear that banks can't handle the responsibility with which they've been entrusted. Time to find some shareware that reboots the economy without them.

[dipsydoodle]

5. Golly gosh that's a posh word

'pandefuckingmonium'

[Renew Deal]

6. This sounds like "too big to fail" all over again.

Facing the pain of the breakup will be bad, but it's still better than keeping a bad system floating forever.

[russspeakeasy]

8. Too big to flush, so let's just let it float.

Punch anyone ?

[pam4water]

7. Marked for later.

[Po_d Mainiac]

9. No big deal

After 99 weeks all the banksters wood no longer rank as un-employed, and the rate wood fall to the mid single digits.

We already got economic pandemonium, it just ain't reached their pampered asses...YET!

[Daemonaquila]

10. Then let it break.

Bankers, financiers, large corporations, and most economists keep missing the point: all systems crumble or morph into something unrecognizable, eventually. Of course the Eurozone may break up - since it began, the only options were breakup (via failure or selective dismantling) or change into a single regional government. The only question was when. The Euro system was set up to avoid catastrophic breakup, but such systems fail. As usual, if one looks deep enough into the reasons for that failure, there are going to be key decisions by and for the good of banks and multinational corporations.

The outcry regarding breakup has less to do with potential unemployment or depression, than losses by the banks that have been gambling (as usual).

If a system is failing, let it fail. The longer we try to prop up a failing system because it's "too big to fail," the bigger and more prone to failure, and with greater catastrophic outcome, it becomes. If we had let certain failures happen in the U.S., we would have been better off, and could have avoided the unstoppable collapse we're currently reeling under. The Eurozone is, unfortunately, in the same boat. The same fixes will be tried, and they will fail just the same way, and we will still have worldwide depression. The only difference that massive intervention will make, is that some of the banks will come out golden.

[greyghost]

12. SPOT ON! eom

[socialist_n_TN]

15. Failures and crises are built in to the capitalist system

Since Milton Freidman, they've just found a way to USE the crises for their own benefit. Nationalize the fuckers WITHOUT COMPENSATION and use their assets to benefit the 99%.

[watajob]

11. Ya' know...

... this is the same shit we heard in '08. Are we that much better off because of saving the banks? I dunno. But, at this stage of the game, I'd be willing to let it crash and burn so we could start out fresh.

[AnneD]

13. Banks don't want that...

they want to keep getting bailed out. That only encourages their irresponsible behavior. They want to privatize the profits and socialize the risk. And instead of holding a gun to your head, they threaten you with a bank collapse.

[sarcasmo]

14. Those bankers need to pull themselves up by their boot straps.

[unkachuck]

16. "...breakup of the eurozone could spell a global depression..."

....then it's time we fire wall street and the banksters and create a people-friendly economic system....

....why should the Eurozone remain intact? It only advantages crapitalists....why should people have their governments held hostage to markets?

....instead of begging corrupt crapitalists to invest, TAX the motherfuckers....

[T_i_B]

18. Try explaining that very slowly to some of our Euro-sceptics

Many of whom are cheering the disintegration of the Euro, even though it will inevitably screw everyone over, including the UK.

[DCKit]

19. So, let's throw another few trillion at them? Is that the answer? nt

[sarcasmo]

20. The bankers version of begging.

[coalition_unwilling]

21. I think this is panic-mongering of the worst sort. From my perspective, the

principal losers would be those folk who own stock in European banks or who own Euro-denominated bonds. Now granted, systemic bank failures might make banks more reluctant to lend to one another (a reprise of the dark days of 2008), but that is a crisis of the elite, by the elite and for the elite and I fail to see how it would have much negative impact on people who work for a living, provided European governments are prepared to step up and secure their social safety nets.

[AlecBGreen]

22. how is this different from 'business as usual?'

..."disruptive, destructive and without any winners."

Oh thats right. Crisis capitalism has a small group that wins. So yeah, I guess this would be different.

[lovuian]

23. Spain Italy Greece Ireland Portugal have a choice

to loose their nation or to keep their nation

the sword and threat that they must bow down to the domination of the New World Order
and make no mistake that is what is hanging over their heads

but hopefully the people won't fall for the threat