Ireland and the EU are in trouble

[Creeping Death]

Ireland and the EU are in trouble
The G7 Needs To Act, This Weekend, On Ireland

Look at the latest Credit Default Swap spreads for European sovereigns (these are the data from yesterday’s close). As we’ve discussed here before, CDS are not a perfect measure of default probability but they tell you where things are going - and changes within an asset class (like European sovereigns) are often informative.

European CDS have been relatively stable - albeit at dangerously high levels - for the past month or so. But now Ireland has moved up sharply (the green line in the chart). We’ve covered Ireland’s problems here before (banking, fiscal and - big time - real estate); type “Ireland” into our Search box for more.

My point today is simple: a key warning sign just moved from orange to red.

I keep thiking there must be a silver lining somewhere, but I don't see it.

Hmmmm The silver lining - Maybe a major war may be inevitable and a lot of liberals will die.

[SwordoftheVistula]

Seems like overexaggerated panic to me, in this particular case.

[Red Skull]

According to a poll by Quantum Research 55 per cent of respondents would support the proposed common body of law for members of the European Union (EU) in a new vote, while 37 per cent would oppose it.

Most Irish Now Favour Lisbon Treaty

[Freomæg]

Most Irish Now Favour Lisbon Treaty

Like hell they do. I'd be willing to bet that a legitimate poll would show more Irish oppose it than previously.

[stormlord]

Like hell they do. I'd be willing to bet that a legitimate poll would show more Irish oppose it than previously.

I'd like to think so too, but nations, like men, often respond differently to the same shocks; when people get mugged some are enraged and fight, and some collapse in fear and simply give in, in much the same way, hard times embolden some countries, while cowing some into abandoning their liberty in the hope of gaining some measure of safety. Unfortunately it looks like the people of Ireland are moving towards the second response.

[Treffie]

The start of things to come?

----------------------------

Huge Protest Over Irish Economy

Up to 100,000 people have gathered in Dublin city centre to protest at the Irish government's handling of the country's recession.

Many are angry at plans to impose a pension levy on public sector workers.

Trade union organisers of the march said workers did not cause the economic crisis but were having to pay for it.

In a statement, the Irish government said it recognised that the measures it was taking were "difficult and in some cases painful".

The pension levy was "reasonable", the government said. reflecting "the reality that we are not in a position to continue to meet the public service pay bill in the circumstances of declining revenue".

High unemployment

There were conflicting estimates of the numbers of people at the march, which began on the north side of Dublin in the mid-afternoon.


Police said 100,000 people were on the streets, while organisers said they expected 200,000 to protest in total.

The Irish Congress of Trade Unions (Ictu), which organised the march, said it was campaigning for "a fairer and better way" of dealing with the economic crisis.

"Our priority is about ensuring that people are looked after, the interests of people are looked after, not the interests of big business or the wealthy," Sally-Anne Kinahan, Ictu's secretary general, told the BBC.


I've a mortgage to pay, I've children to put through school, and now I'm being told I have to take cut back, after cut back, after cut back
Irish protester
One protester said he was "sick and tired of the way this government conducts itself and what it's doing to this country."

"I've worked all my life, I've never broke the law, never walked out on strike. Instead I've went to work and done my job," he said.

"I've a mortgage to pay, I've children to put through school, and now I'm being told I have to take cutback, after cutback, after cutback."

Ireland, which was once one of Europe's fastest-growing economies, has fallen into recession faster than many other members of the European Union.

The country officially fell into recession in September 2008, and unemployment has risen sharply in the following months.

The numbers of people claiming unemployment benefit in the Irish Republic rose to 326,000 in January, the highest monthly level since records began in 1967.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/7903518.stm

[Cenél nEógain]

The 'No' sentiment to Lisbon is even worse than it was the last time. Don't believe their bullshit, its more unpopular than ever. Such is the hubris of trying to force feed it.

[SwordoftheVistula]

So...what happened with that 'impending disaster! urgent action needed this weekend!'