The Triumvirate of Wall Street/ the Fed/ and US Politicians is Crumbling Pt 2 : Phoenix Capital... : 02/17/2012 - ‘One thing is for certain, the litigation is beginning to shift from minor players to major players at the core of the Financial Crisis. , Greek CAC Trigger Walk Thru Durden 2-17-12 While we have done our best to explain what the implications are of the actions of the various parties in the Greek/German/ECB/Euro swap/default/CAC/PSI/Austerity events, it is perhaps worth one more try to address how we see this playing out and exactly what the ECB just did. The weakness in GGBs today along with the rise in the cost of Greek basis packages (a hedged bond trade that looks to profit from a credit event or compression) suggest markets are beginning to wake up to reality but the dead-currency-walking behavior of the EUR (and ES) since last night's close suggests many remain sidelined or have all their chips on the constantly-tilting table. In the end every private holder will write-off 50 percent permanently and those that live in a mark to market world (fewer and fewer live in that world in Europe) probably lose another 20 points or so. CDS will be triggered and we will be told how great it was that Greece avoided a default and that it is an isolated case. Is that scenario priced in? , Could ECB Greek Bond Swap Trigger Ratings Default?at The Wall Street Journal , Greek 1 Year At 629%, Biggest One Day Jump In Yield Ever Durden 2-17-12 , The equities market is acting like we know Greece's default will be orderly and no threat to financial stability. It is also acting like we know the U.S. economy can grow smartly while Europe contracts in recession. Lastly, the high level of confidence exuded by market participants suggests we know central bank liquidity is endlessly supportive of equities. What do we really know about the coming default of Greece? Whether we openly call it default or play semantic games with "voluntary haircuts," we know bondholders will absorb tremendous losses that are equivalent to default. We also suspect some bondholders will refuse to play nice and accept their voluntary haircuts. Beyond that, how much do we know about how this unprecedented situation will play out? , Dave’s Daily: http://www.etfdigest.com ‘Speaking of defaults Americans and Europeans dissatisfied with bailing out banks and countries should examine what has happened with Iceland. The country defaulted, banks failed, bankers were prosecuted and jailed. This was in 2008 as you may recall. The country is now on the mend and Fitch just upgraded the country’s credit rating to investment grade (BBB+) with a stable outlook. You see, you don’t need bailouts and money printing. Iceland is the anti-Keynes Bernanke/Geithner/Paulson/Bush/Obama story.’ , 'Dow Theory' Suggests Caution Ahead The Wall Street Journal ‘Transportation stocks are once again flashing a warning signal to the broader stock market. , Commercial Bank Consumer Credit Declines Sharply In January Forbes  Charles Biderman, Contributor , Christine Lagarde Is Done Being Greece’s Sugar Momma Getting A Grip On Rising Costs Of Grub And Gas Forbes / John Debosz , Earnings Prepped To Fall Off A Cliffat The Wall Street JournalThe Latest Market Craze: Stock Trading Robots Reacting To Stories Written By... Robots Durden 2-17-12 It appears that while we were busy over the past month spreading the Greek pre- and post-bankruptcy balance sheet, and otherwise torturing Excel (something we urge other financial journalists to try once in a while - go ahead, it doesn't bite. In fact, it is almost as friendly as your favorite Powerpoint) our peer at such reputable financial publications as Forbes, and many others, were laying off carbon-based reporters and replacing them with... robots. As Mediabistro reports, "Forbes has joined a group of 30 publishers using Narrative Science software to write computer-generated stories. Here’s more about the program, used in one corner of Forbes‘ website: "“Narrative Science has developed a technology solution that creates rich narrative content from data. Narratives are seamlessly created from structured data sources and can be fully customized to fit a customer’s voice, style and tone. Stories are created in multiple formats, including long form stories, headlines, Tweets and industry reports with graphical visualizations.”" In other words, with well over 70% of stock trading now done by robots, we have gotten to a point where robots write headlines and stories read, reacted to and traded by robots. Surely, what can possibly go wrong. And here we were this morning, wondering why the market is not only broken but plain dumb. , Guest Post: Exploring The Not-So-Altruistic Aspects Of The "Buffett Rule" Durden 2-17-12 [While he formerly got help from that incestuous bunch of frauds on wall street who wanted this bumpkin from Omaha to suckceed, he now as always needs the inside help from d.c. to make up for what greater scrutiny precludes from fraudulent wall street. The guy’s a shill / complicit scammer like the rest of them. ] Although no one can be sure of Buffett's motives, it would be naïve to believe that .. Buffett has not considered the benefits of pushing through this tax structure. Higher taxes are always problems for entrepreneurs and regular people in the economy. However, they're often beneficial to the well-connected, who receive government bailouts and favors. And with Buffett even on the president's lips, he is becoming more connected to the power mechanism in D.C. every day. With many of Berkshire's companies, your loss as a taxpayer will be their gains. , China: ‘World Bank president should be selected on merit – not nationality’ AP/Washington Post | China now hinting it would like a seat at the VIP club table in New York City , A Depressed World Economy is Here To Stay: Bob Chapman Reports Prisonplanet.com | By decree, by the privately owned Federal Reserve, zero interest rates are here to stay. , Banker Occupied Europe and America Stephen Lendman | Money power rules. Across Europe and America, governments follow banker diktats. They demand economies and people suffer to assure they’re paid. , Gas Hts $3.99 in San Diego 10News.com | Average Price Of Gallon Of Gas Is $3.99. , CBO: Longest Period of High Unemployment Since Great Depression US News | After three years with unemployment topping 8 percent, the U.S. has seen the longest period of high unemployment since the Great Depression.