EU: GOVERNMENT THEFTS FROM BANK ACCOUNTS MAY HAPPEN IN OTHER COUNTRIES
March 17th, 2013The Washington Post took the words right out of my mouth:
The best the rest of the world can hope for is that Cyprus’s case is sufficiently unique that it won’t spark panic in Athens and Madrid (or in Lisbon, Dublin and Rome).
Via: New York Times:
In a move that could set off new fears of contagion across the euro zone, anxious depositors drained cash from automated teller machines in Cyprus on Saturday, hours after European officials in Brussels required that part of a new 10 billion euro bailout be paid for directly from the bank accounts of ordinary savers.
The move — a first in the three-year-old European financial crisis — raised questions about whether bank runs could be set off elsewhere in the euro zone. Jeroen Dijsselbloem, the president of the group of euro area ministers, declined early Saturday to rule out taxes on depositors in countries beyond Cyprus, although he said such a measure was not currently being considered.
Although banks placed withdrawal limits of 400 euros, or about $520, on A.T.M.’s, most had run out of cash by early evening. People around the country reacted with disbelief and anger.
“This is a clear-cut robbery,” said Andreas Moyseos, a former electrician who is now a pensioner in Nicosia, the capital. Iliana Andreadakis, a book critic, added: “This issue doesn’t only affect the people’s deposits, but also the prospect of the Cyprus economy. The E.U. has diminished its credibility.”
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Proceed with caution:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=YDXtHsz2q6Q#!
At least this Brit is fully awake.
You many want to turn down the volume or wear headphones when playing the video. The F bombs are many and said with genuine anger and outrage.
Happy St. Patrick’s day world … this is
Georgie Markides @georgiemark
MT @ReutersJamie Despite EU claims #Cyprus is a one-off,it’s a”worrying precedent with potentially systemic conseq.”-MorganStanley #econcy
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