Can Peter pay Paul so Paul can pay Peter?

[Gordon Booth]

I must admit I despair of capitalism sometimes(hope Mancie and cmon don't see this).
Germany won't let the European Central Bank buy Government bonds from Greece, Spain etc to help them out of trouble.
So the ECB prints 489 billion non existent euros and lends them to the(privately owned) banks at 1%.
This is so the banks can buy Government bonds from Greece, Spain etc and charge them 5,6 or 7% interest.Thus the Germans aren't upset.
A good profit for the banks on money which they never had in the first place!
If the countries default, the 489 billion which never existed will disappear but the banks can't pay it back to the ECB(they never had it) so the 17 EU countries will have to make it up with another 489 billion which doesn't exist. That stops the banks going bust again .
Alternately the EU can write off the 489 billion because it never existed anyway, so not a problem.
In the meantime the (privately owned) banks make 24.5 billion euros a year profit for three years! Which will pay a lot of bonus's.
In the end every one is happy-the Germans, they got their way.
The Greeks, Spanish etc.-they were bailed out with money they didn't have to pay back.
The banks-heads they win, tails you lose.
The ECB-well, the money didn't really exist anyway.

Is that right or am I loosing my sanity?And why can't I run my finances that way?

[jaysay]

Originally Posted by Gordon Booth

I must admit I despair of capitalism sometimes(hope Mancie and cmon don't see this).
Germany won't let the European Central Bank buy Government bonds from Greece, Spain etc to help them out of trouble.
So the ECB prints 489 billion non existent euros and lends them to the(privately owned) banks at 1%.
This is so the banks can buy Government bonds from Greece, Spain etc and charge them 5,6 or 7% interest.Thus the Germans aren't upset.
A good profit for the banks on money which they never had in the first place!
If the countries default, the 489 billion which never existed will disappear but the banks can't pay it back to the ECB(they never had it) so the 17 EU countries will have to make it up with another 489 billion which doesn't exist. That stops the banks going bust again .
Alternately the EU can write off the 489 billion because it never existed anyway, so not a problem.
In the meantime the (privately owned) banks make 24.5 billion euros a year profit for three years! Which will pay a lot of bonus's.
In the end every one is happy-the Germans, they got their way.
The Greeks, Spanish etc.-they were bailed out with money they didn't have to pay back.
The banks-heads they win, tails you lose.
The ECB-well, the money didn't really exist anyway.

Is that right or am I loosing my sanity?And why can't I run my finances that way?

If ya did Gordon they'd probably throw you in jail

[Margaret Pilkington]

Because you aren't a bank Gordon.

[mobertol]

It's called the "Money-go-round" Gordon -the faster it goes the sicker it makes you feel

[garinda]

Originally Posted by Gordon Booth

And why can't I run my finances that way?

The answer, my friend...

Peter, Paul & Angela - 'Blowin' in the Wind'.

[andrewb]

Originally Posted by Gordon Booth

I must admit I despair of capitalism sometimes(hope Mancie and cmon don't see this).
Germany won't let the European Central Bank buy Government bonds from Greece, Spain etc to help them out of trouble.
So the ECB prints 489 billion non existent euros and lends them to the(privately owned) banks at 1%.
This is so the banks can buy Government bonds from Greece, Spain etc and charge them 5,6 or 7% interest.Thus the Germans aren't upset.
A good profit for the banks on money which they never had in the first place!
If the countries default, the 489 billion which never existed will disappear but the banks can't pay it back to the ECB(they never had it) so the 17 EU countries will have to make it up with another 489 billion which doesn't exist. That stops the banks going bust again .
Alternately the EU can write off the 489 billion because it never existed anyway, so not a problem.
In the meantime the (privately owned) banks make 24.5 billion euros a year profit for three years! Which will pay a lot of bonus's.
In the end every one is happy-the Germans, they got their way.
The Greeks, Spanish etc.-they were bailed out with money they didn't have to pay back.
The banks-heads they win, tails you lose.
The ECB-well, the money didn't really exist anyway.

Is that right or am I loosing my sanity?And why can't I run my finances that way?

Arguably this isn't proper capitalism. It's crony capitalism. Central banks printing money devalues a currency and hits the middle class with inflation while the bankers run all the way to the.. bank.

[cmonstanley]

it hits any class and it was encouraged by thatcher who invited the private equity firms with the yuppie mentality to buy up utilities ,bt, british gas ,norweb etc,the europeans thought they saw a way out of their weak economies by copying thatcher policies and it created a monster which got out of control.name a company which expanded 10 fold without getting bought over by private equity firms which kept borrowing and bled the companies dry by keeping all the money for the shareholder before moving onto the next company to bleed them dry.

[Margaret Pilkington]

Originally Posted by cmonstanley

it hits any class and it was encouraged by thatcher who invited the private equity firms with the yuppie mentality to buy up utilities ,bt, british gas ,norweb etc,the europeans thought they saw a way out of their weak economies by copying thatcher policies and it created a monster which got out of control.name a company which expanded 10 fold without getting bought over by private equity firms which kept borrowing and bled the companies dry by keeping all the money for the shareholder before moving onto the next company to bleed them dry.

This thread is not about companies...it is about the way banks conduct themsleves, but you just have to get your penny worth in.

[Gordon Booth]

Originally Posted by Margaret Pilkington

This thread is not about companies...it is about the way banks conduct themsleves, but you just have to get your penny worth in.

I must admit, Margaret, I was struggling to work out what cmon was on about.

I still am.

[Margaret Pilkington]

and Gordon, you will continue to do so....this man knows how to cut and paste but very little else...or that is how it seems.......he certainly doesn't punctuate.

[cmonstanley]

but the shareholder society with insider trading and the banks on a mission to make as much money as they can for their shareholders.then they get their fingers burnt and we pay for it.

[Margaret Pilkington]

for goodness sake .......go to bed!

[cmonstanley]

no

[Margaret Pilkington]

Originally Posted by cmonstanley

but the shareholder society with insider trading and the banks on a mission to make as much money as they can for their shareholders.then they get their fingers burnt and we pay for it.

This was not the point of what Gordon originally posted.
What he posted was about banks and non-existent money...a money go round......it is NOT about insider trading, or shareholder profits...it is about the illusory nature of banking.

[jaysay]

Originally Posted by Gordon Booth

I must admit, Margaret, I was struggling to work out what cmon was on about.

I still am.

Gordon don't let it bother you C'Mon doesn't know what he's on about 99% of the time