“The Dangers of Printing Money” via Time:
Forget toys: with as many as 4.2 trillion marks to the dollar by late 1923, German children played in the streets with worthless money.
German gold dealers have stopped taking new orders for the precious metal as demand has skyrocketed. Gold is seen as a safe investment during the market turmoil.
As they promised, the German government forced its way, via Bloomberg:
The German government and the country’s banks and insurers agreed on a 50 billion euro ($68 billion) rescue package for commercial property lender Hypo Real Estate Holding AG after an earlier bailout faltered.
The government and the Bundesbank have said that Hypo Real Estate, Germany’s second-biggest property lender, is too big to fail. They met with banks and insurers in Berlin all day yesterday to discuss a revamped rescue package after private banks on Saturday withdrew their support for a 35 billion-euro rescue package brokered a week ago.
Hypo Real Estate spokesman Hans Obermeier declined to comment on any details of the new bailout.
![Silliness on the rampage quickly becomes serious. See “Germany Races to Save Hypo Real Estate After Government Deal Fails” via the WSJ:
Chancellor Angela Merkel vowed Sunday that Germany’s government would not let the failure of any company disrupt Europe’s biggest economy as feverish talks to keep Hypo Real EstateAG afloat moved forward.
“We will not allow the distress of one financial institution to distress the entire system,” Ms. Merkel told reporters while talks between government and business leaders continued in the capital. “For that reason, we are working hard to secure Hypo Real Estate.”
Ms. Merkel said the plan would ensure that anyone who made reckless market decisions would be made to answer for their actions. “The federal government will make sure of that,” she said. “That is our debt to the taxpayers.”
“The federal government will make sure of that,” she said. “That is our debt to the taxpayers.” Wow. The statement “our debt to the taxpayers” is an affront. Also notice that all power will be exercised on behalf of “the system,” interests of private taxpayers and enterprises be damned. A crisis of political economy, indeed.
When private interests declined to participate in this doomed government scheme, the German government charged ahead:
The talks at the Finance Ministry came a day after a €35 billion (US$48.4 billion) rescue plan for the blue chip company that was approved by the European Union on Thursday unraveled at the seams.
“The intended rescue package involved a liquidity line to be provided by a consortium of several financial institutions,” the company said in a statement released Saturday. “The consortium has now declined to provide the line.”
The German finance ministry doesn’t believe that the rescue of Hypo will only involve the government, a finance ministry spokesman said Sunday.
“The minister has made it clear: We won’t refrain from having the private banks participate in an adequate way,” finance ministry spokesman Torsten Albig said. A solution must be found by the stock exchange opening early Monday, Mr. Albig added.
The German finance ministry “doesn’t believe [the bailout] will only involve government” and they “won’t refrain from having the private banks participate in an adequate way.”
Do not let euphemisms hide the meaning of what’s happening in Germany this weekend. With government interventions continuing to fail faster and at bigger scale, these ministers are already resorting to total coercion of private individuals.
I will ask yet again: what if the ideas of the Austrian economists are correct?
[photo source]](http://27.media.tumblr.com/Anhohk1saepdsfsgUtTwVbUEo1_400.jpg)
Silliness on the rampage quickly becomes serious. See “Germany Races to Save Hypo Real Estate After Government Deal Fails” via the WSJ:
Chancellor Angela Merkel vowed Sunday that Germany’s government would not let the failure of any company disrupt Europe’s biggest economy as feverish talks to keep Hypo Real EstateAG afloat moved forward.
“We will not allow the distress of one financial institution to distress the entire system,” Ms. Merkel told reporters while talks between government and business leaders continued in the capital. “For that reason, we are working hard to secure Hypo Real Estate.”
Ms. Merkel said the plan would ensure that anyone who made reckless market decisions would be made to answer for their actions. “The federal government will make sure of that,” she said. “That is our debt to the taxpayers.”
“The federal government will make sure of that,” she said. “That is our debt to the taxpayers.” Wow. The statement “our debt to the taxpayers” is an affront. Also notice that all power will be exercised on behalf of “the system,” interests of private taxpayers and enterprises be damned. A crisis of political economy, indeed.
When private interests declined to participate in this doomed government scheme, the German government charged ahead:
The talks at the Finance Ministry came a day after a €35 billion (US$48.4 billion) rescue plan for the blue chip company that was approved by the European Union on Thursday unraveled at the seams.
“The intended rescue package involved a liquidity line to be provided by a consortium of several financial institutions,” the company said in a statement released Saturday. “The consortium has now declined to provide the line.”
The German finance ministry doesn’t believe that the rescue of Hypo will only involve the government, a finance ministry spokesman said Sunday.
“The minister has made it clear: We won’t refrain from having the private banks participate in an adequate way,” finance ministry spokesman Torsten Albig said. A solution must be found by the stock exchange opening early Monday, Mr. Albig added.
The German finance ministry “doesn’t believe [the bailout] will only involve government” and they “won’t refrain from having the private banks participate in an adequate way.”
Do not let euphemisms hide the meaning of what’s happening in Germany this weekend. With government interventions continuing to fail faster and at bigger scale, these ministers are already resorting to total coercion of private individuals.
I will ask yet again: what if the ideas of the Austrian economists are correct?
[photo source]
