Is it spreading? So it would seem....
Every country for itself as European unity collapses in an attack of jitters
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/new...cle4888286.ece





Is it spreading? So it would seem....
Every country for itself as European unity collapses in an attack of jitters
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/new...cle4888286.ece
I loved going to strip clubs; I actually made some friends there. Now things are different for the clubs and for me. As a result I am not as happy.
Customers are not entitled to grope, disrespect, or rob strippers. This is their job, not their hobby, and they all need income. Clubs are not just some erotic show for guys to view while drinking.
NOTE: anything I post here, outside of a direct quote, is my opinion only, which I am entitled to. Take it for what you estimate it is worth.





^^^ one big difference between Germany and America though. There are many Americans who would be very happy to see 1930's American economic and political policies return !





Besides the beer consumption and the above, there are a lot of other differences between the two countries. I believe this may spread to other EU countries.
Last edited by threlayer; 10-06-2008 at 01:46 PM.
I loved going to strip clubs; I actually made some friends there. Now things are different for the clubs and for me. As a result I am not as happy.
Customers are not entitled to grope, disrespect, or rob strippers. This is their job, not their hobby, and they all need income. Clubs are not just some erotic show for guys to view while drinking.
NOTE: anything I post here, outside of a direct quote, is my opinion only, which I am entitled to. Take it for what you estimate it is worth.





no 'may' about it ... this is serious s#!t ... and arguably explains some of the TRUE motivation for last week's 'bailout' measure
(snip)"This news is very important. It clearly shows that in a crisis, the European Union is not a union at all but will instantly scatter and run for shelter. This includes betraying each other, stabbing each other in the back and in general, acting like Europeans have acted for the last 2,000 years since the fall of the Roman Empire. The sole thing binding Europe is the NATO/US/UK ties. This allowed the market consortium to grow under the shadow of the global empire.
The US is the protector of this consortium and as it fails, they all fail with the US. The inability to form a true united front is plainly obvious in this banking crisis. Europe used the Basel based Bank of International Settlements which was set up by Europe during the Great Depression. It was launched in 1930 in response to Germany's rising refusal to pay reparations for WWI. The BIS system was a total failure when Germany simply declared war on its financial creditors. But after WWII, it was useful for pulling all the former European empires and their satellite allies out of total economic ruin. This was done because Russian-inspired revolutionaries would take over all of Europe if nothing was done to restart the pre-WWI status quo.
Now that the latest imperial umbrella is hit by lightning and rain is pouring through all the holes, the European Union is falling into disunity. This will only worsen as the stronger industrial powers cut off the weaker economies which will then struggle to attach themselves even harder to the US empire. Which is rapidly going bankrupt and can't afford to take on even more client nations that seek to suck up as much money and economic advantages as possible.
The US has tried to fix all this by strengthening and enlarging NATO to these economic train wreck nations which are happily shoving us all towards a MILITARY confrontation with Russia. The Hypo mess in Germany is the second stage of the economic collapse of Germany, the world's #1 or #2 export profit nation. This giddy position has been held alternately by Germany and Japan the last 5 years. Both nations are opposite indicators in international banking, Japan opting for the super-cheap currency backed by 0% interest banking and Germany, the super-strong currency backed by high interest rates. Now, Germany is going to move aggressively into a new phase as they finally realize that the easy days when the euro meant cheap vacations in other nations and the buying up of world natural resources, real estate and businesses is ending.
Now, they must imitate their dire rivals in Japan and China and weaken the currency. This pleases all of Europe which has been very restive under the German/French strong-euro regime. But this isn't working well since the US currency and systems is shrinking.
World on the edge
Banks used to borrow from each other at about 0.08 percentage points above official rates; on September 30th they paid more than four percentage points more. In one auction to get dollar funds overnight from the European Central Bank, banks were prepared to pay interest of 11%, five times the pre-crisis rate. Astonishingly, rates scaled these extremes even as the Federal Reserve promised $620 billion of extra funding.
Bankers have always earned their crust by committing money for long periods and financing that with short-term deposits and borrowing. Today, that model has warped into self-parody: many of the banks’ assets are unsellable even as they have to return to the market each day to ask for lenders to vote on their survival. No wonder they are hoarding cash.
This is why those politicians who set the interests of Main Street against those of Wall Street are so wrong. Sooner or later the money markets affect every business. Companies face higher interest charges and the fear that they may one day lose access to bank loans altogether. So they, too, hoard cash, cancelling acquisitions and investments, in order to pay down debt.
I find all of this utterly hilarious. Why are interest rates in the REAL world so much higher than in the fantasy world of central bankers of the G7 nations? HAHHAHA. This is because one is real and the other isn't real! Easy to understand! The bastards running the G7 central banks conspired to pretend that inflation was low and interest rates should all drop to Japanese levels. After all, the Bank of Japan maliciously and utterly ignores inflation reality when setting rates! Greenspan and Bernanke totally ignore this and the US even fakes inflation data to enable super-cheap lending!
But finally, reality is biting hard. And attempts at faking rates are failing due to two things: the inability of corporations, properties and consumers as well as nations to take on even more debt even at super-low rates and the need to attract savings. Where, oh where has that legendary 'savings glut' gone? HAHAHA.
From day one, I said this 'glut' was the trade deficit with the US. And when the US couldn't expand this deficit beyond $700 billion a year, the whole 'savings glut' business would vanish in a flash even as the US still has an awful large trade deficit. For it has ceased GROWING. Movement is most important when talking about money. Money that ceases to be used rapidly becomes more valuable as it sits and if lending stops, cash is king, but this kills trade. And there are no global savings if trade falters or fails."(snip)
from





And now it is worldwide. An unstable situation, not watched and regulated, causing worldwide instability. Such is the legacy of the Bush administration, the worst presidency probably so far. And I told you so!!!
Last edited by threlayer; 10-08-2008 at 01:06 PM.
I loved going to strip clubs; I actually made some friends there. Now things are different for the clubs and for me. As a result I am not as happy.
Customers are not entitled to grope, disrespect, or rob strippers. This is their job, not their hobby, and they all need income. Clubs are not just some erotic show for guys to view while drinking.
NOTE: anything I post here, outside of a direct quote, is my opinion only, which I am entitled to. Take it for what you estimate it is worth.
Wait a minute. How is this ALL Bush's fault ?
The current mess was caused by Fannie and Freddie which Bush tried to regulate.
It mushroomed because a LOT of banks in a LOT of countries ( over which Bush had ZERO influence and control ) lent out too much money to people unlikely to be able to pay it back.
Credit Default Swaps were bought and sold PRIVATELY and in SECRET so how was Bush supposed to know how much money was at risk ?
I hate defending a man I consider to be a total and complete asshole but facts are facts.
Last edited by Eric Stoner; 10-09-2008 at 08:37 AM.





The SEC wasn't watching and in fact told the securities industry to police itself. As in an article I've posted recently. Bush was in charge of all that. The buck stopped THERE. I hate hearing from the apologists for Bush.
I loved going to strip clubs; I actually made some friends there. Now things are different for the clubs and for me. As a result I am not as happy.
Customers are not entitled to grope, disrespect, or rob strippers. This is their job, not their hobby, and they all need income. Clubs are not just some erotic show for guys to view while drinking.
NOTE: anything I post here, outside of a direct quote, is my opinion only, which I am entitled to. Take it for what you estimate it is worth.





I only learned of some of the specifics very recently, as have many of the rest of us. If you are serious, I can look over my many posts in the last several months and find exactly where I've referred to Bush's inadequacy (domestic stuff, beyond the war), but that will be in several places. As I'm sure you dont want to do it yourself.
--------------------------
Looks like I posted first observations in early July (will look in earlier postings if you'd like) and a lot more in early-mid September. But I've been posting warnings about GWBs general incompetence about things governmental all along, for years.
Last edited by threlayer; 10-08-2008 at 10:45 PM. Reason: added last para
I loved going to strip clubs; I actually made some friends there. Now things are different for the clubs and for me. As a result I am not as happy.
Customers are not entitled to grope, disrespect, or rob strippers. This is their job, not their hobby, and they all need income. Clubs are not just some erotic show for guys to view while drinking.
NOTE: anything I post here, outside of a direct quote, is my opinion only, which I am entitled to. Take it for what you estimate it is worth.
Fannie and Freddie were NOT under the authoriity of the SEC. They were under the authority of Congress and Melonie and I have detailed Republican and Bush attempts to tighten up oversight and regulation of both all of which was blocked by the DEMOCRATS.
Credit Default Swaps were PRIVATE, usually secret transactions and NOBODY had any regulatory power. So was most of the derivative trading.
Bush had ZERO authority over what foreign banks did OUTSIDE the U.S.
The one area where the Republicans were directly responsible was permitting commercial banks and investment banks to do both after Glass-Steagall was amended. Likewise, Chris Cox was a total failure as head of the SEC and he's pretty much admitted it
Btw, the Wall Street whizzes that helped to cook up this mess are overwhelmingly Democrat and have supported Democrats. Especially Dodd and Schumer.





I knew most of that info. Still it's hard to believe that Democrats in general were in favor of de-regulation or no regulation. I know Schumer and Dodd could easily have been influenced by their Wall St constituents. This is particularly the case since de-regulation has failed badly in several other important areas too.
I loved going to strip clubs; I actually made some friends there. Now things are different for the clubs and for me. As a result I am not as happy.
Customers are not entitled to grope, disrespect, or rob strippers. This is their job, not their hobby, and they all need income. Clubs are not just some erotic show for guys to view while drinking.
NOTE: anything I post here, outside of a direct quote, is my opinion only, which I am entitled to. Take it for what you estimate it is worth.
Generally, deregulation has been very successful. I don't know about you but I remember wht it was like to fly BEFORE deregulation. After deregulation, there was much more competition and airfares went down dramatically.
After Ma Bell was broken up, there were plenty of phone companies and consumers could shop for the best deals. Same thing in trucking and in gas and electricity.
The problem with Wall Street is that there has to be SOME regulation to protect investors and the economy.
The Democrats certainly were NOT in favor of regulating Fannie and Freddie.





REALLY? Far as I know only the Ma Bell breakup benefitted consumers.
BTW how's your power bill these days? Mine went from 5.3 /kwh to 13.5/kwh due exactly from the NYS 'de-regulation.' Let's see, how many airlines are there now? etc.....
I loved going to strip clubs; I actually made some friends there. Now things are different for the clubs and for me. As a result I am not as happy.
Customers are not entitled to grope, disrespect, or rob strippers. This is their job, not their hobby, and they all need income. Clubs are not just some erotic show for guys to view while drinking.
NOTE: anything I post here, outside of a direct quote, is my opinion only, which I am entitled to. Take it for what you estimate it is worth.
And how much better do you think a regulated utility would be ? Your rates and everyone else's went up because ENERGY costs went way up. Thank the Dems. for blocking more nuclear plants and some wind farms in some areas.
Consumers definitely benefitted from the deregulation of the airlines and trucking companies. Airfares and trucking rates went down.
My cable bill went down and I got a lot more channels because Verizon was permitted to compete with Time Warner. And I'm getting much better service.





Except for fuel adjustment, I estimate about 6.5-7.5 cents per. I am very familiar with what happened to power in NYS, upstate; it was requiring the utilities to buy power from the NUGs at a fixed rate that was way above their average generating cost and then essentially requiring them to divest from their own generating units including the hydro ones they built early in the 20th century that were still working, at book values which were far below their actual market values. So the process and cost of deregulation there was a disaster to power-intensive upstate industries which, thereupon, immediately started moving out of state. Predictably too, I might add.
I agree about the Environmentalists and Democrats and the random Not-In-My-Backyard-ists about nuclear power, and even power levelling transmission lines. And the regulators knee-jerk reactions to such pressures; that has cost us greatly as a country. We're using a LOT more oil (and domestic coal) as a result. And we don't yet have an energy policy that makes sense.
Prices went down in some places to an extent but services and availability of flights went down too. Eventually resulting in prices going back up. Way up. But you NYC region people didn't notice that. As usual.Consumers definitely benefitted from the deregulation of the airlines and trucking companies. Airfares and trucking rates went down.
Up here it has not gone down a single cent; in fact it has raised, and Verizon has raised its initial FiOS rated to be at parity with Time-Warner's.My cable bill went down and I got a lot more channels because Verizon was permitted to compete with Time Warner. And I'm getting much better service.
So in reality what de-regulation was supposed to do, it has completely failed at in Upstate NY and many other places. The cost to use here is the loss of industrial tax base, jobs, families, hopes for significant improvement. So there's no used in telling me that things are better because of that. That's the problem with a lot of theoretical economics and the regulators that believe in it. Now, I admit the Democrats were a big part of de-regulation up here -- Cuomo, Kahn, etc.
I loved going to strip clubs; I actually made some friends there. Now things are different for the clubs and for me. As a result I am not as happy.
Customers are not entitled to grope, disrespect, or rob strippers. This is their job, not their hobby, and they all need income. Clubs are not just some erotic show for guys to view while drinking.
NOTE: anything I post here, outside of a direct quote, is my opinion only, which I am entitled to. Take it for what you estimate it is worth.





I'm also very aware of the upstate New York electricity situation. There are three major reasons that electricity prices have increased dramatically in the last few months. And all of these are the result of INCREASED GOV"T MANDATES !
A- the NYSDEC's tightened regulations on coal fired power plant emissions caused two large power plants in the Albany area to shut down rather than spend billions to scrub 'every last decimal point' of emissions from their stacks. As a result, that 4 cent/kWh cost coal fired power was replaced by 8+ cent/kWh cost natural gas fired power.
B - Federal regulations enacted as a result of the regional blackout a few years back increased the transportation of power between regional system operators. A major increase has been in the area of Ontario power exports (which has a permanent generation surplus) into the Pennsylvania / Jersey / Maryland region (which has a permanent deficit of generation). However, that power travels between Ontario and Pennsylvania via passing through central NY ... and on it's way through it greatly increases transmission line 'congestion and line loss' charges for central NY electricity customers as well.
C - The states of MA and CT have enacted state 'green power' laws that guarantee 'green' generators an extra 1/2 cent/kWh price premium over the normal market price. NY does not (yet) offer a guaranteed price premium for 'green power' generators. Thus all of the newly built wind farms in central NY are exporting their 'green power' across the MA / CT border where it can be sold for an extra 1/2 cent/kWh. But like the Ontario power travelling through NY transmission lines, the NY 'green power' being exported to MA and CT also increases transmission line 'congestion and line loss' charges for upstate NY electricity customers.
However, all of this is way off topic - other than the fact that well intentioned new regulations resulted in unintended negative consequences. This is the same situation i.e. the well intentioned but unintended negative consequences of 'new' HUD directives to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, as well as 'new' CRA directives to private lenders, cannot be interpreted in any manner other than the actual fact ... that both imposed new 'regulations' which forced these mortgage lenders to make shaky 'subprime' loans that they did not make prior to these 'regulations' being put into effect.
Last edited by Melonie; 10-09-2008 at 03:00 PM.





A - The older Albany units have been oil-based since the late 70s, the gas turbine units ther have always been oil-fired. Two causes: emissions and the conversion of the coal storage land then to be used for the oil tanks. Nothing new there.
B - Cross-state power limits, as well as UPNY and SENY limits, combined with the usual limits into NYC and LI have been problemmatic since the 60s. Land use limits and system stability limits will always dominate unless restrictions are lifted to allow more power import. The extended blackout that NYC/LI had in August 2003 was predominately due to the NUGs (that used to belong to ConEd) not being ready to provide emergency startup power and inadequate maintenance and operator training. The PSC cleared all other utilities of culpability. Hey, I read the books on it; it is one of my serious hobbies.
C - The power dispatch programming will always favor the supply with the lowest marginal cost, considering the power limits imposed by wheeling. This is a traditional method in any kind of dispatch. The green power thing is similar that way to imposed costs from the NUGs back in the 80s and continuing today; those are done to subsidize desirable sources. NUGs were born from de-regulation, which really is a different kind of regulation because of artificially imposed costs.
Power was cheaper when knowledgable utilities controlled generation. De-regulation deviates how they are able to operate. I guess this means de-regulation is just another type of regulation, but one that makes less economic sense.
In general the two cases are not the same at all, but different in several senses. No private utility executives make remotely near the salaries of finance company executives, and their corporate motivation is to service power needs, not make excessive profit, as that is heavily regulated. The companies cannot hide mistakes in operating their facilities without everyone knowing (large equipment damage and power outages). They cannot make up new games, as their existing facilities limit what they can do because of its continuous operation and because of acceptable limits imposed by the regional and national power coordinating councils.
I loved going to strip clubs; I actually made some friends there. Now things are different for the clubs and for me. As a result I am not as happy.
Customers are not entitled to grope, disrespect, or rob strippers. This is their job, not their hobby, and they all need income. Clubs are not just some erotic show for guys to view while drinking.
NOTE: anything I post here, outside of a direct quote, is my opinion only, which I am entitled to. Take it for what you estimate it is worth.





here's the NY state regulation in question ...
and the result on central new york coal generators ...
absolutely NOT the case when X percent of power demand MUST, by law / regulation, come from 'green power' sources regardless of relative marginal cost of generation and regardless of 'distance' between generator and consumer.The power dispatch programming will always favor the supply with the lowest marginal cost
true but they now pose a 'new' limitation. Whereas in the past power from any source could be imported from MA into NY when NY generation reserves were low, today's 'green power' incentives now require NY wind power to be exported into MA even if NY as a whole is 'short' of power for its own consumption. Of course NY will address this problem by mandating the same 1/2 cent/kWh 'green power' price premium be paid by NY electricity customers as by MA and CT electricity customers to stop the export incentive (raising our electric bills even higher in the process).Cross-state power limits, as well as UPNY and SENY limits, combined with the usual limits into NYC and LI have been problemmatic since the 60s.
This is the real truth of the situation !I guess this means de-regulation is just another type of regulation, but one that makes less economic sense.





Actually there are no coal-fired power plants in CNY proper. There are several small plants south of here. The two big ones they mentioned are in western NY. Also the first regulation you noted was about limiting mercury emissions from coal-fired plants, resulting in a few units being shut down until retrofits can be made by that earlier date.
Marginal cost for mandated power supplies likely is added into the unit (a boiler-turbine-generator is a unit)) marginal cost parameters by 'adjusting' its value lower. I believe that the marginal cost is not calculated in real time based on unit operations, but is set numerically and then adjusted as actual plant parameters unit operating conditions change (such as fuel quality, cooling water temperature, pump outages etc.) That way the control system is not screwed up in the way it operates. I would have to ask the Independent System Operator (ISO), successor to the New York Power Pool, just how it works. But there is strong, almost continuous coordination between the plant operator, the utility's system operator, and the ISO.
I loved going to strip clubs; I actually made some friends there. Now things are different for the clubs and for me. As a result I am not as happy.
Customers are not entitled to grope, disrespect, or rob strippers. This is their job, not their hobby, and they all need income. Clubs are not just some erotic show for guys to view while drinking.
NOTE: anything I post here, outside of a direct quote, is my opinion only, which I am entitled to. Take it for what you estimate it is worth.
The two biggest reasons for the Severe recession in Upstate New York are: Out of control State spending and high State taxes. Instead of supporting industries that employ people, N.Y.S. policy has been to build prisons we do not need. Starting under Carey and becoming a spree under Cuomo.





Heavy industry has suffered under high electric power bills too. We know it caused some to move out. Some even announced it.
I loved going to strip clubs; I actually made some friends there. Now things are different for the clubs and for me. As a result I am not as happy.
Customers are not entitled to grope, disrespect, or rob strippers. This is their job, not their hobby, and they all need income. Clubs are not just some erotic show for guys to view while drinking.
NOTE: anything I post here, outside of a direct quote, is my opinion only, which I am entitled to. Take it for what you estimate it is worth.
Yep. I was right. There is a 2005 law pushed by a strange coalition of New York energy producers and environmental extremists PROHIBITING importation into NYS of power generated by new mega hydroelectric generating plants in Quebec.
And there used to be import duties on Quebec power that were supposed to be done away with under NAFTA.
You're 100 % WRONG about airfares. Adjusted for inflation and even taking into account higher fuel costs; fares went DOWN. Markets that used to be served by one or at most two airlines; now are served by several. We would NEVER have seen discount airlines like Southwest and JetBlue without deregulation.





Actually, since Ontario passed a 'carbon tax' law earlier this year, Ontario Hydro has been shutting down oil fired generators close to large cities and shipping their own hydropower a couple of hundred miles from Niagara Falls / St. Lawrence to replace it. This resulted in a large savings for Ontario Hydro because the cost of transmission line 'congestion and line losses' was far lower than the cost of the carbon tax on an oil fired power plant !!!Isn't there a connection to restrictions on importing cheaper hydro power from Quebec ?
But this also meant far less Ontario hydropower was available for export - which allowed New York spot market power prices to rise unexpectedly in June through September when statewide demand was high (air conditioning load).
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