In the real world of global finance the reality is that any country that is forced to accept an IMF bailout is also blocked from issuing debt in the public markets. IMF (or other supranational debt) is ALWAYS senior to other indebtedness of the country. That’s just the way it works. When Italy borrows money from the IMF it automatically subordinates the existing creditors. Lenders hate this. They will vote with their feet and take a pass at Italian new debt issuance for a long time to come. Once the process starts, it will not end. There will be a snow ball of other creditors. That's exactly what happened in the 80's when Mexico failed; within a year two dozen other countries were forced to their debt knees. (I had a front row seat.)

As we have been saying all along, with every reincarnation of the idiotic "IMF to bailout [XXX]" rumor, there always is just one snag. A rather substantial one at that: US congressional approval for expanded IMF bailout capabilities.

That's exactly what happened in the 80's when Mexico failed; within a year two dozen other countries were forced to their debt knees. (I had a front row seat.)

The $2T it refers to is basically the amount that the ECB's balance sheet has expanded since the summer from secondary market purchases of peripheral debt and the LTRO operation (1% 3-year loans backed by very distressed collateral).

mcgowanjm wrote:March 20 was a white wash. Nothing's been fixed.

And something happened late Friday that has yet to be explained.

Picasso Moon wrote:

mcgowanjm wrote:March 20 was a white wash. Nothing's been fixed.

And something happened late Friday that has yet to be explained.

US Markets were closed Friday for Good Friday, this morning is the first chance for them to absorb the March unemployment report.

Picasso Moon wrote:The futures market never closes.

There are some people who also believe that the private Federal Reserve with the Treasury in tow has the ability to prolong the worst symptoms of the collapse indefinitely, or at least, until they have long since kicked the bucket and don’t have to worry about it anymore (the ‘pay-it forward to our grandkids’ crowd) . I can say with 100% certainty that most of us will live to see the climax of the breakdown, and that this breakdown is about to enter a more precarious state before the end of this year.