Cash In Hand & A Rubber Band

I try to stay away from politics, unless I have a special vision about something, like the flare up in the Horn of Africa say, which might affect us all, as the oil price could suddenly jump. And I don’t want to do too many pieces on the stock markets or money. BUT…

The banks are in dire straights, most are insolvent. Here is a quote from Credit Swiss in Zurich, in a report put out yesterday….

Credit Suisse said…
“We seem to have entered the last days of the euro as we currently know it. That doesn’t make a break-up very likely, but it does mean some extraordinary things will almost certainly need to happen – probably by mid-January – to prevent the progressive closure of all the euro zone sovereign bond markets, potentially accompanied by escalating runs on even the strongest banks”.

Most of you have gold so you are okay, but it’s time to take a bit of cash out of the bank as well. You have to imagine the ATM cash machines closed for six months. So if you normally take out $200 a week, you’ll need 26 X 200 = $5200 cash in hand. If you have enough loot in the bank to cover that eventuality, great—get it out, and if you have less, then at least get some out.

The rubber band is to put round your testicolies when things get really heavy—saves ya from having to hang on to them!—tee. (Stuart Wilde)

Here is a bit from the bank supervisors in Australia about the imminent collapse of Eastern Europe, which will become a wasteland in years to come:

Austrian bank supervisors have instructed the country’s banks to limit future lending in their east European subsidiaries, a further sign of the potential knock-on effects of the eurozone crisis for economies around the world, reports the FT. The restrictions come as Austrian officials seek to defend the country’s AAA credit rating, amid concerns that the government might have to bail out its banks because of losses in central and eastern Europe, where they are the biggest lenders, and their exposure to Italy. The moves by Austria, which appear to be unilateral, show how even the eurozone’s strongest economies are feeling the pressure of the sovereign debt crisis. Neighboring Hungary on Monday officially requested precautionary financial help from the International Monetary Fund and the European Union, confirming a U-turn after it shunned further IMF support 18 months ago. The Austrian central bank said in a statement that Erste Group, Raiffeisen Bank International and Bank Austria, owned by UniCredit of Italy, would be prevented from loaning significantly more in CEE (eastern European countries) than what they raise in local deposits. Subsidiaries that are “particularly exposed” must ensure the ratio of new loans to local refinancing is not more than 110 per cent.

P.S. There was a bank run in Latvia today, here’s the link…see-wadda-mean-jelly-bean?

Bank run in Latvia