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Saturday, July 23, 2011

We need a bigger Umbrella !!!

Well, it seems that the screeming about the U.S.A. Rating Agencies has abated somewhat. Maybe somebody told the good "Finanzkommisar",  and her collegue the "Inland Trade Kommisar",  both officials of the European Union, to stop issuing such stupid statements and in future, think before talking.
Now the talk is all about starting a Rating Agency all of their own. This is not a bad idea.. A few minor considerations must, however, be taken into account:
First, it takes many years for such an Agency to establish a reputation of reliability, so in the short run nothing would be solved: Major investors will still be looking for Moody's et al for an opinion.
Second, and that is truly the important consideration: It may be assumed that a new, European Rating Agency, would be free and independant, not controlled by the E.U. or any other government, and would therefore,
Third, report pretty much the same truth as the well-established rating agencies are reporting. Namely that this company, or that country has its financial house in order and well under controll and is therefore a safe bet for an investor to park his money, or, that the other company or this other country are experiencing serious financial difficulties, due to their incompetence or other negative circumstances beyond their control...
Therefore, serious investors would not likely park their hard-earned currency in this firm or purchase bonds from that country. So, it seems that nothing would change fundamentaly.
There have been Rating Agencies for 150 years and nobody complained about them. All of a sudden, however, they become the bad boys because they report the truth about wastrel countries, who cheat their own citizens and try to cheat the rest of the world.
Since the beginning of this "Financial Umbrella" business, the European Union, the European Central Bank, and other sources have made available for Greece a total of 52.5 BILLIONS of Euros.
But inspite of all the promised saving measures, the Deficit AFTER THE FIRST 6 MONTH OF 2011
stands at 12.75 Billion Euros. Fully 2.4 Billion Euros more than planned and promised.
What will the next Rating issued by S & P et all say about Greece?
When they tell the truth listen to the screeming of some European Union Officials.

Cash me a cheque...
Bertstravels

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