Şu anda 40 milyon kredi kartı, 15 milyon tüketicinin cebinde bulunuyor.

Bankalar, kredi kart alacakları için aylık %4,35 faiz alırken, bu ülkede yıllık enflasyon %11…

Bankaların topladıkları mevduata ödedikleri yıllık faiz %12 iken, nakit kredi için uyguladıkları faiz aylık %1,20…

Kredi kartından yapılan 1.000,00 YTL\’nin, asgari tutarı ödeyerek ancak 5,5 yılda ödenebildiği bir ülkede yaşıyoruz. 15 milyon kredi kart kullanıcının, 9 milyonu sadece asgari tutarı ödeyerek yani borcunu arttırarak ötelemektedir.

Obama\’yı bilen Bulgar kahin Vanga, \’Kıyamet\’ tarihini söyledi… Ona göre dünyanın sonu ne zaman gelecek?

ABD\’ye 11 Eylül 2001\’deki terör saldırısını 12 yıl öncesinden bilen Bulgar kâhin Vanga ölümünden iki yıl önce \”Rusya bir gün dünyaya hâkim olacak\” demişti. 11 Eylül saldırıları, Kursk faciası, ve Rusya\’nın Gürcistan\’ı işgal edeceğini bilen Baba Vanga Amerika\’ya dair şu kehanetlerde bulundu: \”Amerika Birleşik Devletleri\’nin 44\’üncü başkanı (Yani George Bush\’tan sonraki başkan) siyah olacak. Bu Amerika\’nın göreceği son lider olacak. Çünkü siyahi liderin göreve gelmesinden kısa bir süre sonra ülke büyük bir ekonomik krize girecek. Kuzey ve güney eyaletler arasında anlaşmazlık çıkacak. Endonezya karışacak. Tüm bunlar Üçüncü Dünya Savaşı\’nı başlatacak… Üçüncü Dünya Savaşı\’nda ilk kez atom bombası kullanılacak.\”

Birçok Şeyi Bilmişti

Hayattayken kehanetleri Bulgar hükümeti tarafından kaleme alınarak saklanan Baba Vanga\’nın kehanetlerinin yüzde 80\’i doğru çıktı. 1989\’da Rus televizyonuna \”İki çelik kuş kulelere çarpacak gökyüzü aydınlanacak, (11 Eylül saldırıları) Kursk (2000 yılında 118 Rus askerine mezar olan denizaltının adı) su altında kalacak bütün dünya arkasından ağlayacak\” dedi. Kahin 1994 yılında da \”Vladimir\’in zaferi dünyada herşeyi eritecek. (Gürcistan savaşı). İklimler değişecek (küresel ısınma). Rusya ayakta kalacak ve dünyaya hakim olacak\” demişti.

Bundan Sonraki Yıllar İçin Kehanetleri

2008: 4 ülkenin devlet başkanına suikast girişiminde bulunulacak, bu 3. Dünya Savaşı\’nın başlama sebeplerinden biri olacak.
2010: 3. Dünya Savaşı Kasım 2010\’da başlayacak ve 2014\’e kadar sürecek.
2011: Radyoaktif dalgaların yoğunlaşması nedeniyle hayvan ve bitkiler yok olma noktasına gelecek. Müslüman ülkeler kimyasal savaşla Avrupalıları yok edecek.
2014: İnsanlığın yarısı kanserle boğuşacak.
2016: Avrupa\’nın nüfusu azalacak.
2018: Dünyanın yeni hakimi Çin olacak, Çin ekonomik olarak güçlenecek.
2043: Müslüman bir devlet yeniden Avrupa\’nın tek hükümdarı olacak.
2046: Tedavi edilmeyecek organ kalmayacak, hastalıklı organın yerine yenisi yapılacak.
2076: Bütün dünyada \”sınıfsız\” komünizm sistemi yerleşecek.
2088: Bütün hastalıklar bir kaç saniyede tedavi edilecek.
2097: Çabuk yaşlanmanın önüne geçilecek.
2167: Yeni bir din.
2304: Ay\’ın sırrı, gizemi çözülecek.
3797: Dünyanın sonu. Başka bir gezegende insan yapımı yeni bir hayat başlayacak.

Eastern Europe has borrowed an estimated $1.7 trillion, primarily from Western European banks. And much of Eastern Europe is already in a deep recession bordering on depression. A great deal of that $1.7 trillion is at risk, especially the portion that is in Swiss francs. It is a story that could easily be as big as the US subprime problem.

In Poland, as an example, 60% of mortgages are in Swiss francs. When times are good and currencies are stable, it is nice to have a low-interest Swiss mortgage. And as a requirement for joining the euro currency union, Poland has been required to keep its currency stable against the euro. This gave borrowers comfort that they could borrow at low interest in francs or euros, rather than at much higher local rates.

But in an echo of teaser-rate subprimes here in the US, there is a problem. Along came the synchronized global recession and large Polish current-account trade deficits, which were three times those of the US in terms of GDP, just to give us some perspective. Of course, if you are not a reserve currency this is going to bring some pressure to bear. And it did. The Polish zloty has basically dropped in half compared to the Swiss franc. That means if you are a mortgage holder, your house payment just doubled. That same story is repeated all over the Baltics and Eastern Europe.

Austrian banks have lent $289 billion (230 billion euros) to Eastern Europe. That is 70% of Austrian GDP. Much of it is in Swiss francs they borrowed from Swiss banks. Even a 10% impairment (highly optimistic) would bankrupt the Austrian financial system, says the Austrian finance minister, Joseph Proll. In the US we speak of banks that are too big to be allowed to fail. But the reality is that we could nationalize them if we needed to do so. (And for the record, I favor nationalization and swift privatization. We cannot afford a repeat of Japan\’s zombie banks.)

The problem is that in Europe there are many banks that are simply too big to save. The size of the banks in terms of the GDP of the country in which they are domiciled is all out of proportion. For my American readers, it would be as if the bank bailout package were in excess of $14 trillion (give or take a few trillion). In essence, there are small countries which have very large banks (relatively speaking) that have gone outside their own borders to make loans and have done so at levels of leverage which are far in excess of the most leveraged US banks. The ability of the \”host\” countries to nationalize their banks is simply not there. They are going to have to have help from larger countries. But as we will see below, that help is problematical.

Western European banks have been very aggressive in lending to emerging market countries worldwide. Almost 75% of an estimated $4.9 trillion of loans outstanding are to countries that are in deep recessions. Plus, according to the IMF, they are 50% more leveraged than US banks.

Today the euro rallied back to $1.26 based upon statements from German authorities that were interpreted as a potential willingness to help out non-German (in particular, Austrian) banks.

However, this more sobering note from Strategic Energy was sent to me by a reader. It nicely sums up my concerns:

It is East Europe that is blowing up right now. Erik Berglof, EBRD\’s chief economist, told me the region may need €400bn in help to cover loans and prop up the credit system. Europe\’s governments are making matters worse. Some are pressuring their banks to pull back, undercutting subsidiaries in East Europe. Athens has ordered Greek banks to pull out of the Balkans.

The sums needed are beyond the limits of the IMF, which has already bailed out Hungary, Ukraine, Latvia, Belarus, Iceland, and Pakistan — and Turkey next — and is fast exhausting its own $200bn (€155bn) reserve. We are nearing the point where the IMF may have to print money for the world, using arcane powers to issue Special Drawing Rights. Its $16bn rescue of Ukraine has unravelled. The country — facing a 12% contraction in GDP after the collapse of steel prices — is hurtling towards default, leaving Unicredit, Raffeisen and ING in the lurch. Pakistan wants another $7.6bn. Latvia\’s central bank governor has declared his economy \”clinically dead\” after it shrank 10.5% in the fourth quarter. Protesters have smashed the treasury and stormed parliament.

\”This is much worse than the East Asia crisis in the 1990s\”, said Lars Christensen, at Danske Bank. \”There are accidents waiting to happen across the region, but the EU institutions don\’t have any framework for dealing with this. The day they decide not to save one of these one countries will be the trigger for a massive crisis with contagion spreading into the EU\”. Europe is already in deeper trouble than the ECB or EU leaders ever expected. Germany contracted at an annual rate of 8.4% in the fourth quarter. If Deutsche Bank is correct, the economy will have shrunk by nearly 9% before the end of this year. This is the sort of level that stokes popular revolt.

The implications are obvious. Berlin is not going to rescue Ireland, Spain, Greece and Portugal as the collapse of their credit bubbles leads to rising defaults, or rescue Italy by accepting plans for EU \”union bonds\” should the debt markets take fright at the rocketing trajectory of Italy\’s public debt (hitting 112pc of GDP next year, just revised up from 101pc — big change), or rescue Austria from its Habsburg adventurism. So we watch and wait as the lethal brush fires move closer. If one spark jumps across the eurozone line, we will have global systemic crisis within days. Are the firemen ready?

Herkes kapitalizmin öldüğünü söyleyip duruyor. Bu o kadar kolay değil. Ölmüş gibi yapıyor şu an, bireyleri sömüre sömüre bitirdi şimdi devletleri sömürüyor. Beleşten serum bağlatıyor kendisine ve günü geldiğinde (devletleri yeteri kadar sömürdüğünde) tekrar canlanacak, hatta hiç hastalanmamış gibi yapacak.

Kağıttan kaleler yıkıldı, gitti hepsi. Devlet baba hepsine ortak oldu yani devletler kapitalist oldu şimdi.

İleride olacakları şimdiden görebiliyorum, devletler bir gün tekrar özelleştirmelere başlayacaklar ve kasamıza şu kadar para koyduk diyecekler.

Peki bizim gibi her türlü devlet malını satmış olup üstüne birde kasası borçlular listesi ile dolu olanlar ne yapacaklar?

Bizim için olayın özü budur, gerisi teferruattır.

Sıradan yatırımcıların kafasını en çok karıştıran konulardan birisi de, spekülatörlerin yüklü pozisyon aldıkları bir tahtanın neden düştüğüdür. Bu durum, para kazanmanın tek yönlü düşünülmesinden ileri gelir. Halbuki, hiçbir gerçek spekülatör rüzgara karşı tükürmez. Bilakis, rüzgara yardımcı olur.

Krizlerin sevdiğim yanı, boğa piyasalarında piyasayı dolduran ve kendilerini spekülatör zanneden bol para sahiplerinin ortadan kalkmasıdır. Bir nevi kıyamet günüdür. Her krizde bütün piyasa fanileri temizlenir ve mahşer kurulur. Piyasada sadece gerçek sahipleri kalmıştır…

Bir spekülatör, diyelim ki bir hisse senedini önemli ölçüde ele geçirmiş olsun; bu durum o hissenin düşmesine engel midir? Bütün spekülatörler, piyasaya yağmur gibi satış emirleri yağarken kendi tahtalarını da aşağı çekerler. Toplamda payları değişmez, ama bu hareket sayesinde elde ekstra bir nakit, kar kalır. Aslında, size garip gelecek ama, spekülatörler esas kazancı bu şekilde sağlarlar.

Doğanın kanunudur. Boğa piyasaları, daima olması gerekenin çok üstüne varırlar. Elbette ki bu hareketlerde spekülatif alım satımların payı da ciddidir. Herkes tam da, yükselişin sonsuza dek süreceğine inanmış gibi, gözü dönmüşçesine borsaya sarılmışken, fiyatların artık kendi gerçeklerine dönme zamanı gelmiştir.

Borsada da mevsimler vardır. Borsada da her trend; doğar, büyür, yaşar ve ölür. Ama ne hikmetse trendlere ölümsüzmüş gibi bakılır.

Spekülatörün işi trend belirlemek değildir. Yine sanılanın aksine, spekülatörler tahta götürmezler. Spekülatörler, zaten gidecek olanın gitmesine, düşecek olanın da düşmesine yardım ederler.

Spekülatör, fiyatlar realiteden koptuğunda belirir.

Biz spekülatörler için çok karlı bir dönem oldu. Bütün dünya piyasaları yerle bir olurken, biz elimizdeki malları asla azaltmadık. Ama tahtalarımızı çekebildiğimiz kadar aşağı çektik. Bu arada da bir sürü nakit birikti hesaplarımızda.

Biz bunları yaparken, kimseler inanmadı düşüşün geleceğine. Datalar görülmeden ayı piyasası gerçeğini kabul etmediler. Şimdi ise, piyasa yerle bir olmuş ve taban oluşturuyorken, gelen datalara kanıp Ayı piyasasını keşfettiler. Halbuki spekülatörler Boğa piyasasının hazırlıklarına başladı ve bu hazırlık yaklaşık 1 yıl sürecek.

Elbette ki geç uyanan genel kitle, iyi datalar geldiğinde Boğa piyasasını keşfedecek ama biz o zamana kadar zaten tahtalarımızı bir kaç kat yukarı çekmiş olacağız.

Osmanlı Spekülatörü

There is a game of \’Pass the Parcel\’ happening in the world at the moment. The \’parcel\’ is filled with U.S. dollars. Just like little children at a birthday party, the governments who are holding vast reserves in the form of US paper dollars, are full of apprehension and nervous giggling lest they be left holding the \’parcel\’. They are jiggling the parcel up and down and frantically trying to pass it on to the government sitting next to them. The general hubbub is almost drowned by the din of bursting balloons.

The problem in the real world of course is that there are many, many parcels of U.S. dollars in the hands of foreign governments, and they are all trying to pass them to each other. No one wants the parcel they already have, let alone the one in the hands of the government sitting next to them. They all want to avoid being left with a vast wad of cash which they strongly suspect will end up not only worthless, but making them look like complete mugs.

All are hoping against hope that the storm will pass. All fear to be the first to start selling in large amounts, yet simultaneously fear to be the last. Each is regularly divesting itself of tiny amounts. As fast as they do manage to dump a part of their parcel those dollars head back to the U.S.. U.S. exports will start to look good for a while which will reflect the desperate desire to exchange the dollars for something, anything.

All money must eventually head back to the country of its issuance. That is the only way ultimately that value can be realized. Now is the time for that value to be realized, whilst there still is any. The trillions of U.S.$\’s in the world are returning home. As that money washes up into the US economy so it will continue to drive U.S. domestic prices higher and higher, placing ever greater strain on the economy, which is already at breaking point.

The period wherein the U.S. dollar was the official reserve currency of the western world is now over. That will neither be announced nor admitted by any government until they have finally dumped the dollars that they own. It is in everyone\’s interest to maintain the facade, at the moment. In reality they want almost anything except U.S.$\’s in their reserves.

Bernanke must dramatically raise interest rates to strengthen the U.S. dollar, that is a MUST. Of course that will mean the collapse of the whole U.S. real estate market within a month. That would lead to the absurd and sad situation of millions of empty houses within sight of millions of families living in cars and tents. Such an interest rise would take a Volcker on steroids which Bernanke most certainly is not, so of course he hasn\’t raised interest rates, and he won\’t.

His whole education and training make him more inclined to again drop interest rates in a forlorn attempt to re-start money flow into the asset area of the economy. Too late he has been disabused of some of his Ivory Tower notions and now knows that won\’t work any longer either. \’Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me\’. Dropping interest rates would also precipitate a panicked flight from the U.S. dollar which would see a faster flood of ever more worthless dollars turning up in the supermarket and energy area of the domestic economy. No matter what Bernanke does or doesn\’t do, the chickens are coming home to roost.

It is unlikely to be the Chinese or any of the other major holders of U.S. dollars who precipitate mass selling. They have so many that they would crash the currency just by opening their mouths. They also are damned if they do and damned if they don\’t. It will more likely come out of left field and be one of the smaller holders. Maybe one of the Arab mini-states will take the chance that they can dump all their dollars without anyone noticing. The likelihood is that it would be immediately noticed. Everyone has their beady eyes on everyone else at the moment. The awareness that the \’big dump\’ had started would lead to a stampede. How would the Fed handle that… print more dollars… tinker with interest rates?

Obviously, not selling at the moment is seen by the major holders of U.S. dollars as an option, albeit an enforced one. Becoming a buyer most definitely is not an option. Along with the game of \’Pass the Parcel\’ there is another concurrent game being played called \’First to Blink\’. The government who blinks first and tries to dump their wad at below market price just might win, immediately followed by everyone else losing. There may be some reservations about being the first seller, but there will be none about the desire to avoid being the last seller.

The unpleasant truth is that the mutually agreed selling truce is occasioned by the fact that there are no buyers of the amounts needing to be sold. All would dump their dollars now if they could, the fact that they would like to, but cannot, speaks loudly and eloquently of the problem.

Thus Bernanke will continue to procrastinate and do nothing with interest rates. It is the sanest approach, as it is the approach most likely to put off the inevitable for a while longer. Procrastination is contagious, which at this point may be a good thing. Any decision to do something will end in complete disaster as it forces the governments playing pass the parcel to blink and also do something. Whatever they do would be very bad for the U.S. dollar and curtains for the U.S. economy. For many decades there has been a very ugly reality underneath the attractive veneer of confidence in the U.S.$ and economy. That veneer of confidence has now completely gone. What lies exposed is not a pretty sight.

The only hope for America is that those governments holding U.S.$\’s will continue to hold them even though they are quite aware that they will at best drift down in value, and at worst collapse. It is a conspiracy of silence aimed at maintaining the status quo. I will hold mine and pretend that they are still valuable if you will do the same. All governments are using the borrowed time as best as possible to prepare their economies for the coming collapse of America. The U.S.$ will continue to be a currency for as long as that tacit agreement holds.

The End of the Party

I wonder how Bernanke is sleeping at the moment? I also wonder whether he and Paulson are personally buying gold and silver and secreting it away. Everyone who truly understands the situation has a survival plan. I find it hard to believe that Bernanke and Paulson still do not understand the real situation. Maybe they believe the government will look after them… maybe it will. What is for certain though is that the government will not look after Main Street. As always the common herd is pencilled in to foot the bill for this disaster. The bill is far larger for each household than each household owns in total assets. If it is any consolation the banks will go down as well.

For those who have not already lost everything, there is right now, possibly, one final chance to remove their capital from the cesspit that comprises the U.S. financial markets and exchange pseudo investments for real money… namely gold and silver. Not the paper variety of options or futures, but bullion. All paper is now suspect.

Even stock in mining companies is now suspect due to the vast amounts of naked short selling that has taken place. Many \’owners\’ of mining stock are going to find out, too late, that the statements of stock ownership in their filing cabinet are worthless. There are publicly listed companies on the major U.S. exchanges that have more stock sold than legally exists, a lot more. The situation on the minor boards is even more dire. An unknown at this time number of \’owners\’ of stock are going to find out too late that they in fact own fraudulently printed paper worth precisely zero.

Criminality in the U.S. financial markets is rampant and all pervasive. Corruption exists from the top to the bottom. A blind eye is turned by the regulators because they are afraid that to expose it now would topple the whole system. That gives an indication of how large the corruption is. It is the return of the Wild West (WW2), and at this point, the outlaws are running the show. Marshall Elliot Spitzer was the guy who rode into town on a white horse. He was almost immediately gunned down. Is there anyone else out there who will publicly challenge what is happening… preferably someone who doesn\’t mind going home to his wife at the end of the day?

Naked short selling is a great example of the type of \’mal-investment\’ created by showering a financial system with cash and credit and calling it economic growth. The past has, and the future will, show a direct parallel between the size of the inflation and the size of the ensuing criminality. What has been exposed so far is just the tip of the iceberg.

The economies of the world are on a knife\’s edge and we can but cross our fingers for the \’system\’ to hold together a while longer. The best hope is for a long, meandering collapse, much along the lines of the last 37 years, but at a greatly increased pace. It will end up with not just both parents being forced to work to survive, but the children as well. That will probably be spun as \’Children\’s Liberation\’.

America no longer has even the appearance of an expanding economy because the world will no longer lend the money to finance it. That is because they know now, as they should have known years ago, that the U.S. cannot hope to ever pay back the money that it has been borrowing.

The worst case scenario is for a sudden and calamitous fall with no time to adjust. The end result over whatever time frame it happens will be very unpleasant. It will be a profound shock for most people who have been conditioned to believe that whatever happens the government will look after them.

A Party Bag For Everyone

The transition from fear to panic when it comes will be remarkably fast. One moment people will be just sitting there eating their Prozac, the next they will have a party bag in their lap. Inside the party bag will be a parcel which has finally found its way to its real home. At that point the contents of the parcel will be exposed for what it really always was under our current banking system… debt… vast, unpayable debt.

Sam Mathid
July 4, 2008

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

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.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) says bad debts will top 10pc and may reach 20pc. The Vienna press said Bank Austria and its Italian owner Unicredit face a \”monetary Stalingrad\” in the East.

Mr Pröll tried to drum up support for his rescue package from EU finance ministers in Brussels last week. The idea was scotched by Germany\’s Peer Steinbrück. Not our problem, he said. We\’ll see about that.

Stephen Jen, currency chief at Morgan Stanley, said Eastern Europe has borrowed $1.7 trillion abroad, much on short-term maturities. It must repay – or roll over – $400bn this year, equal to a third of the region\’s GDP. Good luck. The credit window has slammed shut.

Not even Russia can easily cover the $500bn dollar debts of its oligarchs while oil remains near $33 a barrel. The budget is based on Urals crude at $95. Russia has bled 36pc of its foreign reserves since August defending the rouble.

\”This is the largest run on a currency in history,\” said Mr Jen.

In Poland, 60pc of mortgages are in Swiss francs. The zloty has just halved against the franc. Hungary, the Balkans, the Baltics, and Ukraine are all suffering variants of this story. As an act of collective folly – by lenders and borrowers – it matches America\’s sub-prime debacle. There is a crucial difference, however. European banks are on the hook for both. US banks are not.

Almost all East bloc debts are owed to West Europe, especially Austrian, Swedish, Greek, Italian, and Belgian banks. En plus, Europeans account for an astonishing 74pc of the entire $4.9 trillion portfolio of loans to emerging markets.

They are five times more exposed to this latest bust than American or Japanese banks, and they are 50pc more leveraged (IMF data).

Spain is up to its neck in Latin America, which has belatedly joined the slump (Mexico\’s car output fell 51pc in January, and Brazil lost 650,000 jobs in one month). Britain and Switzerland are up to their necks in Asia.

Whether it takes months, or just weeks, the world is going to discover that Europe\’s financial system is sunk, and that there is no EU Federal Reserve yet ready to act as a lender of last resort or to flood the markets with emergency stimulus.

Under a \”Taylor Rule\” analysis, the European Central Bank already needs to cut rates to zero and then purchase bonds and Pfandbriefe on a huge scale. It is constrained by geopolitics – a German-Dutch veto – and the Maastricht Treaty.

But I digress. It is East Europe that is blowing up right now. Erik Berglof, EBRD\’s chief economist, told me the region may need €400bn in help to cover loans and prop up the credit system.

Europe\’s governments are making matters worse. Some are pressuring their banks to pull back, undercutting subsidiaries in East Europe. Athens has ordered Greek banks to pull out of the Balkans.

The sums needed are beyond the limits of the IMF, which has already bailed out Hungary, Ukraine, Latvia, Belarus, Iceland, and Pakistan – and Turkey next – and is fast exhausting its own $200bn (€155bn) reserve. We are nearing the point where the IMF may have to print money for the world, using arcane powers to issue Special Drawing Rights.

Its $16bn rescue of Ukraine has unravelled. The country – facing a 12pc contraction in GDP after the collapse of steel prices – is hurtling towards default, leaving Unicredit, Raffeisen and ING in the lurch. Pakistan wants another $7.6bn. Latvia\’s central bank governor has declared his economy \”clinically dead\” after it shrank 10.5pc in the fourth quarter. Protesters have smashed the treasury and stormed parliament.

\”This is much worse than the East Asia crisis in the 1990s,\” said Lars Christensen, at Danske Bank.

\”There are accidents waiting to happen across the region, but the EU institutions don\’t have any framework for dealing with this. The day they decide not to save one of these one countries will be the trigger for a massive crisis with contagion spreading into the EU.\”

Europe is already in deeper trouble than the ECB or EU leaders ever expected. Germany contracted at an annual rate of 8.4pc in the fourth quarter.

If Deutsche Bank is correct, the economy will have shrunk by nearly 9pc before the end of this year. This is the sort of level that stokes popular revolt.

The implications are obvious. Berlin is not going to rescue Ireland, Spain, Greece and Portugal as the collapse of their credit bubbles leads to rising defaults, or rescue Italy by accepting plans for EU \”union bonds\” should the debt markets take fright at the rocketing trajectory of Italy\’s public debt (hitting 112pc of GDP next year, just revised up from 101pc – big change), or rescue Austria from its Habsburg adventurism.

So we watch and wait as the lethal brush fires move closer.

If one spark jumps across the eurozone line, we will have global systemic crisis within days. Are the firemen ready?