When you read our blog, 'Ants & Grasshoppers', you need to understand some truisms about us and just exactly where we stand when it comes to the global economy and financial markets:
When the markets are unhappy, we're joyful.
When the markets have a truly bad day, we're simply elated.
And when the markets fear and dread someone coming into power and knocking the proverbial 'apple cart', like they do France's Presidential candidate and potential victor Francois Hollande, we are that person's biggest supporters.
So let's see how the markets fared this lovely Monday.. Wall St down -102 pts.. OK good.. Britain's FTSE down -106 pts.. Super.. uh-huh.. and Germany's DAX down -227 pts.. OOh.. we could barely contain ourselves there.
It seems as of this writing, Asian markets are up minimally which means the soulless cockroach filth who make their living via investing will probably use today's trading day to turn a profit.
Seriously though, why all the financial hubbub, Bub?
"More than £122.3bn was wiped off the value of Europe's biggest companies on Monday amid fears that the eurozone's commitment to austerity was being swept away by political rebellion" (Telegraph UK)
Ahh.. So in other words, the markets want austerity, which is really a classy artsy-fartsy way of saying economic deprivation of the various populaces of Europe. And when money is going to the people to make their lives better instead of into the coffers of the banks and investors, this is "bad" and cause for a panic sell-off.
So what type of leaders make the markets in Europe and the US happy piggies? The type that not only pushes austerity but implements "trickle down'-like economic policy that caters to the 1% at the ultimate expense of the 99%.
And any leader who comes along and fucks with that status quo is Public Enemy #1, 2 And 3 rolled into one.
So what do the financial markets and Germany's Andrea Merkel have to fear from Hollande. He certainly seems like a quiet, unassuming clean-cut man; the type found in any lecture hall or public library.
Maybe it has something to do with Hollande's campaign pledge to buck the austerity trends of the current power brokers; his plans to increase spending, punish finance and undo labour reforms which buck the rest of Europe who have lockstep stated that deep austerity pain is the only way the save the system.
And how loud the markets bellow with rage! How dare Hollande seek to hire 60,000 new teachers, reverse Sarkozy's decision to raise the pension age from 60 to 62, and pledge to tax the Super Ultra rich in France at 75%.
Sacre Bleu! The Scoundrel!!
Maybe it has something to do with Mr Hollande's threat not to ratify a German-inspired eurozone "fiscal compact" and his dismissal of a constitutional debt brake – a sacred cow for Chancellor Merkel.
The powers that be may be forced to put up with Hollande but they will use every deceitful trick in their power to keep the Socialist in line.
For instance, new powers now give the European Commission the right to levy fines on countries that fail to comply with austerity measures to bring budget deficits to within the euro's 3pc target.
France is in breach of the rules, with an annual 5.2pc deficit.
Any threat of EU action against France would immediately push French borrowing costs to unsustainable levels, and the message from Fraulein Merkel for a new Socialist French President would be clear – any help with recapitalizing its banks or support against turbulent markets would be conditional on Mr Hollande submitting to the Germanic and EU fiscal orthodoxy.
So expect some battle royales ahead if Hollande officially wins after the May 6th run-off elections. Hopefully the man is strong enough in his convictions and powerful enough in his political support among France's political parties to withstand Germany's bullying and perhaps even inflict a few 'pops' to the noses of Europe's banks & market in the process.
We wrote on this yesterday but its worth repeating... Its really a Damn shame that in the US, we do not have an politician like Hollande. President Obama was supposed to be that man; someone who came into Washington in 2008 to kick up some dust and a few asses along the way. The President campaigned on Hope and Change.. and Power to the People and etc... etc...
And whether that person ever existed or was simply the imaginations of those who desperately hoped for something different after eight years of that dreaded Bush regime, the truth is that Obama 2012 is not that man... not by a long shot.
Obama either got quickly beaten down by the system, realized he had no chance at re-election without Wall St money and thus caved into his principles, or was/is an outright Liar who hoodwinked the people in '08 and is seeking to do so again.
And Romney.. Gawd.. let's not go there... What a truly awful candidate! Could the Republicans pick anymore more alienating to working people, the 18-21 voter and senior citizens??
The only chance people have is a leader who will take on the Evil and even if that person goes down, its swinging...
France seems to have a man like that.
Where is America's "Hollande"?
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