Collapse of the euro is 'inevitable': Bailing out the Greek economy futile, says FRENCH banking chief
By Sam Fleming and Tim Shipman
Last updated at 1:07 PM on 13th February 2010
The European single currency is facing an 'inevitable break-up' a leading French bank claimed yesterday.
Strategists at Paris-based Société Générale said that any bailout of the stricken Greek economy would only provide 'sticking plasters' to cover the deep- seated flaws in the eurozone bloc.
The stark warning came as the euro slipped further on the currency markets and dire growth figures raised the prospect of a 'double-dip' recession in the embattled zone.
Claims that the euro could be headed for total collapse are particularly striking when they come from one of the oldest and largest banks in France - a core founder-member.
In a note to investors, SocGen strategist Albert Edwards said: 'My own view is that there is little "help" that can be offered by the other eurozone nations other than temporary, confidence-giving "sticking plasters" before the ultimate denouement: the break-up of the eurozone.'
He added: 'Any "help" given to Greece merely delays the inevitable break-up of the eurozone.'
The alarming claim came a day after European Union leaders promised 'determined and co-ordinated' action to shore up Greece's tattered public finances, but disappointed traders by failing to provide specifics.
Further details are expected early next week, but markets were in high anxiety yesterday amid fears political divisions among rich eurozone members could derail any rescue.
The euro slid almost 1 per cent to $1.357 yesterday, meaning it has lost 10 per cent of its value since November. The pound rose to 1.14 euros.
Earlier this week Business Secretary Lord Mandelson's claimed that the single currency had been a 'remarkable success' and that it remained in Britain's interests to join.
David Cameron ridiculed that claim yesterday.
Read more:
Soros More Than Doubled Gold ETF Stake in 4th Quarter (Update1)
Feb. 17 (Bloomberg) -- Billionaire George Soros’s Soros Fund Management LLC more than doubled its holding in the biggest gold exchange-traded fund in the fourth quarter after bullion advanced 8.9 percent to a record.
The $25 billion New York-based firm became the fourth- largest holder in the SPDR Gold Trust, adding 3.728 million shares valued at $421 million, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission yesterday. Its investment was worth about $663 million, the fund’s largest single investment, as of Dec. 31.
Soros joined China Investment Corp. and central banks including those in China and India in acquiring gold. China Investment, the $300 billion sovereign wealth fund based in Beijing, took a 1.45 million-share stake in the SPDR Gold Trust worth $155.6 million, according to a SEC 13F filing posted on Feb. 5.
“The dollar is weak and people are just shifting their money into a safer haven,” Tetsuya Yoshii, vice president for derivative products at Mizuho Corporate Bank Ltd., said from Tokyo today. “Central banks are adding gold to their reserves and we’re going to see more people adding gold to their investment portfolio as they shift into safer stuff.”
Gold for immediate delivery traded little changed at $1,118.35 an ounce at 2:48 p.m. in Singapore. It rose for a ninth straight year in 2009, reaching a record $1,226.56 an ounce on Dec. 3, as the dollar dropped 4.2 percent against a basket of six major currencies.
‘Ultimate Bubble’
India bought 200 metric tons from the International Monetary Fund in October, while China’s holdings have expanded 76 percent to 1,054 tons since 2003, it said in April.
SEC filings are done quarterly, with a 45-day lag, so Soros could have sold some or all of the position since then. Soros, speaking last month at the World Economic Forum in Davos, called gold the “ultimate asset bubble” and said the price could tumble, according to a report in the U.K.’s Daily Telegraph newspaper.
Money managers who oversee more than $100 million in equities must file a Form 13F listing their U.S.-traded stocks, options and convertible bonds. The filings don’t show non-U.S. securities or how much cash the firms hold.
Michael Vachon, a spokesman for Soros, declined to comment on Soros’s investments.
Comments:
When we review reports in the press, we must compare what the elite say versus what they do.
Soros is investing in gold.
Paulson is investing in gold.
Central Banks are investing in gold.
The Chinese have reduced the amount of treasuries they are buying.
The Euro is in trouble and may collapse at some point in the longer term.
The ultimate bubble is not gold, it is fiat currencies that irresponsible governments and their citizens insist in flooding the world with supply.
Where will the demand come from for all this fiat paper?
Our view remains bullish for gold for the long term.
By Sam Fleming and Tim Shipman
Last updated at 1:07 PM on 13th February 2010
The European single currency is facing an 'inevitable break-up' a leading French bank claimed yesterday.
Strategists at Paris-based Société Générale said that any bailout of the stricken Greek economy would only provide 'sticking plasters' to cover the deep- seated flaws in the eurozone bloc.
The stark warning came as the euro slipped further on the currency markets and dire growth figures raised the prospect of a 'double-dip' recession in the embattled zone.
Claims that the euro could be headed for total collapse are particularly striking when they come from one of the oldest and largest banks in France - a core founder-member.
In a note to investors, SocGen strategist Albert Edwards said: 'My own view is that there is little "help" that can be offered by the other eurozone nations other than temporary, confidence-giving "sticking plasters" before the ultimate denouement: the break-up of the eurozone.'
He added: 'Any "help" given to Greece merely delays the inevitable break-up of the eurozone.'
The alarming claim came a day after European Union leaders promised 'determined and co-ordinated' action to shore up Greece's tattered public finances, but disappointed traders by failing to provide specifics.
Further details are expected early next week, but markets were in high anxiety yesterday amid fears political divisions among rich eurozone members could derail any rescue.
The euro slid almost 1 per cent to $1.357 yesterday, meaning it has lost 10 per cent of its value since November. The pound rose to 1.14 euros.
Earlier this week Business Secretary Lord Mandelson's claimed that the single currency had been a 'remarkable success' and that it remained in Britain's interests to join.
David Cameron ridiculed that claim yesterday.
Read more:
Soros More Than Doubled Gold ETF Stake in 4th Quarter (Update1)
Feb. 17 (Bloomberg) -- Billionaire George Soros’s Soros Fund Management LLC more than doubled its holding in the biggest gold exchange-traded fund in the fourth quarter after bullion advanced 8.9 percent to a record.
The $25 billion New York-based firm became the fourth- largest holder in the SPDR Gold Trust, adding 3.728 million shares valued at $421 million, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission yesterday. Its investment was worth about $663 million, the fund’s largest single investment, as of Dec. 31.
Soros joined China Investment Corp. and central banks including those in China and India in acquiring gold. China Investment, the $300 billion sovereign wealth fund based in Beijing, took a 1.45 million-share stake in the SPDR Gold Trust worth $155.6 million, according to a SEC 13F filing posted on Feb. 5.
“The dollar is weak and people are just shifting their money into a safer haven,” Tetsuya Yoshii, vice president for derivative products at Mizuho Corporate Bank Ltd., said from Tokyo today. “Central banks are adding gold to their reserves and we’re going to see more people adding gold to their investment portfolio as they shift into safer stuff.”
Gold for immediate delivery traded little changed at $1,118.35 an ounce at 2:48 p.m. in Singapore. It rose for a ninth straight year in 2009, reaching a record $1,226.56 an ounce on Dec. 3, as the dollar dropped 4.2 percent against a basket of six major currencies.
‘Ultimate Bubble’
India bought 200 metric tons from the International Monetary Fund in October, while China’s holdings have expanded 76 percent to 1,054 tons since 2003, it said in April.
SEC filings are done quarterly, with a 45-day lag, so Soros could have sold some or all of the position since then. Soros, speaking last month at the World Economic Forum in Davos, called gold the “ultimate asset bubble” and said the price could tumble, according to a report in the U.K.’s Daily Telegraph newspaper.
Money managers who oversee more than $100 million in equities must file a Form 13F listing their U.S.-traded stocks, options and convertible bonds. The filings don’t show non-U.S. securities or how much cash the firms hold.
Michael Vachon, a spokesman for Soros, declined to comment on Soros’s investments.
Comments:
When we review reports in the press, we must compare what the elite say versus what they do.
Soros is investing in gold.
Paulson is investing in gold.
Central Banks are investing in gold.
The Chinese have reduced the amount of treasuries they are buying.
The Euro is in trouble and may collapse at some point in the longer term.
The ultimate bubble is not gold, it is fiat currencies that irresponsible governments and their citizens insist in flooding the world with supply.
Where will the demand come from for all this fiat paper?
Our view remains bullish for gold for the long term.
Comments
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