The workers in the public and private sector stike today, 8 July, the day that the government decided to dismantle at once the whole social security system, that the modern, post-dictatorial country was based on. The hospitals will function only for emergencies, the buses, metro, tram remain halted in Athens and are their timetables are modified in Thessaloniki, the ferries remain at the ports the whole day, the trains remain halted, all air flights are cancelled during the 4-hour-long strike of this sector. Even the workers of the parliament are stiking, making the government furious, as without staff even the voting for the new law will be a trouble.

via From the Greek Streets › #329 | July 8: Strike in all sectors / The dismantling of the social security system is a reality.

At a time when the country is deeply divided over the proper role of government, what is Capitol Hill's appetite for a new, independent agency with broad power to police the financial industry and protect consumers from the risky lending practices that contributed so much to the financial crash of 2008?

It looks like they misled some people, and planted others. Altogether, it’s quite impressive. I like how they completely avoid mentioning what CFPA stands for (Consumer Financial Protection Agency).

via The CFPA: How a crusade to protect consumers lost its steam – washingtonpost.com.

Full profit taking in everything. Now even gold is plunging, but it is likely an LBMA “intervention.” EURUSD just broke through 1.23 and has no further realistic supports for a long time. The money has no option but to go into gold or money markets. For now it is not going into gold, which means it is a relatively good buying opportunity. Liquidity in stocks is now gone as volume picks up. Two of the desk traders we have spoken to are all wearing fireman's hats, bracing for Flash Crash part 2.

via Freefall: EURUSD 1.2388 And Plunging, Market Liquidity Disappears Again, Traders Brace For Another Flash Crash | zero hedge.

Apparently, Goldman Sachs would be in trouble if it were a Vegas casino.

The issue deals with things called front-running and derivatives trading against its own investors. For the rest of us, “derivatives” is a general term used on Wall Street to describe any kind of securities trading that is done off the market and is consequently unregulated.

Oh, and these are always the types of deals that cause market crashes.

The Securities Act of 1934 specifically defines a class of “qualified” investors who are supposed to have enough assets and enough savvy to make their own mistakes, God bless ‘em. Yet in Vegas, where there is a sucker born every minute and capitalism is at least as popular as it is in New York, section 465.070 of the Nevada Gaming Law makes it a felony “to place, increase or decrease a bet or to determine the course of play after acquiring knowledge, not available to all players, of the outcome of the game or any event that affects the outcome of the game or which is the subject of the bet or to aid anyone in acquiring such knowledge for the purpose of placing, increasing or decreasing a bet or determining the course of play contingent upon that event or outcome. ”

via Adam Smith Money World.

The incomes of the very rich in the US grew phenomenally between 1992 and 2007, while their tax rates plummeted, according to recently uncovered IRS statistics.

via US super-rich get five times more income than in 1995.

Saudi Arabia’s oil exports to the US last year sank below 1m barrels a day for the first time in two decades just as China’s purchases climbed above that level, highlighting a shift in the geopolitics of oil from west to east.

via FT.com / Global Economy – China taps more Saudi crude than US.

Dubai’s sovereign credit-default-swap spreads soared to their highest level in a year this week, amid concern about the terms of a debt restructuring by a state-owned conglomerate. There is increasingly shrill commentary arguing that Greece is the start of a far bigger problem. “A Greek crisis is coming to America”, blared the headline on a recent Financial Times article by Niall Ferguson, a financial historian.

via Sovereign-debt theories: Domino theory | The Economist.

God bless MATT TAIBBI. He got it right again!

This is the most important issue in America right now and the only magazine to deal with it right is Rolling Stone?

Goldman Sachs and other big banks aren’t just pocketing the trillions we gave them to rescue the economy – they’re re-creating the conditions for another crash.

I have to admit, I do have a soft spot for Jann Wenner.

Incidentally, America’s ruling class should be hopping mad they’re getting fleeced by this corrupt executive compensation system. The bankers run their businesses into the ground because their bonuses are based on year-on-year performance.

That is to say, the easiest way for me to double profits from one year to the next is to crash the company first. Then I can do a mediocre job and look like a rockstar.

via Wall Street’s Bailout Hustle : Rolling Stone.

Seven things about the economy that everyone should be more worried about than they are

via Nieman Watchdog > Commentary > Seven things about the economy that everyone should be more worried about than they are.