Greece is about down for the count, Spain is not far behind, and currency speculators may be throwing most of the punches aimed at the EU’s soft underbelly – its weakest economies. The news that Greece’s economy is about toast may have shocked the average man, but there is little doubt hedge fund wolves and other investors are doing everything they can to profit from their pain. The same is true for all the other european economies drowning in debt.
In an article from Das Speigel this morning, the Spanish Intelligence Agency is investigating what amounts to economic espionage which it termed “speculative attacks” made by Anglo Saxon media. Spain’s banks may be sound, but 20 percent unemployment and 11 percent deficit reveal big problems for Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero. Some say the contentions of the Spanish leadership are just excuses, but Spain is not the only economy under apparent attack. By who? The same people who always profit from destroyed systems.
Spain’s Infrastructure Minister Jose Blanco stated last week that; “Spain is the victim of an international conspiracy to destroy the country’s economic status, and then, the euro. Nothing that is happening, including the apocalyptic editorials in foreign media, is just chance.” I don’t know how much more plain it can get than this. Looking at people like George Soros and John Paulson, among many others, it is actually more amazing other government’s officials hve not “spilled the beans” on what is happening.
Thousands of these hedge funds control something on the order of two trillion dollars which is slated for making quick profits just like George Soros did in the Bank of England scenario. You do not have to completely understand currency speculation to understand the types of investors who win no matter what. These funds, and their leaders, basically borrow money to buy low and sell high. It is not that complicated really. Using the tools at their disposal (like cheap media coverage) these “forces” exact extreme pressure on governments like that in Spain. As for even smaller and more sensitive governments like Latvia and the Ukraine?
If you think for some odd reason Spain’s leaders are delusional consider this, as of Friday there were something on the order of $80 billion dollars bet on the Euro taking a plunge. That’s a lot of zeroes in case math is not your thing. To understand how these “speculators” really work, think of a three dimensional chess game that is rigged. They do not wait for things to happen, they make them happen. How would you do it in their shoes?
Looking at John Paulson as a for instance, Goldman Sachs has been ushering he and his lieutenants around Greece these last days poising for a strike against that currency situation. Interestingly, the western press has hardly muttered a word about Golman Sachs and Paulson’s Greek adventures, while Greek dailies seem to understand the situation on another level. As I sit here typing these words I cannot but be amazed at how these people are allowed to operate with relative impunity. When banks fall, and currencies devalue, people suffer – millions of them. Soros, Goldman Sachs, Paulson? These people win at our loss, all of ours. Then, with unmitigated audacity, they do it again and again. For another insight into Soros and Paulson, a rare instance where two billionaires are flung together is as investors in OneWest Bank Group.
I wish I had the resources to take the snapshots needed to ensnare these people. By now they surely are empowered to make more mistakes, feeling so untouchable you know. Of course my editorials are based to a degree on speculation and circumstantial things, but I really do hope all those mentioned take these commentaries really personally. I honestly think about those of you out there struggling at some arduous reality while wolves like these play a chess game with money they stole from another one. Maybe Spain’s government will just come out and hammer those involved? Let’s hope so.
About Phil Butler
