Lloyd's of London ABANDONS
European banks!
"Banks could be taken down,"
says Lloyd's finance director.
Without warning, Lloyd's - the world's oldest insurance market - announced that it has withdrawn its money from European banks.
The reason? According to Lloyd's, the banks are in danger of failing as Europe's debt crisis continues to intensify.
The company's Finance Director, Luke Savage, put it simply:
"If you're worried the government itself might be at risk, then you're certainly worried the banks could be taken down with them."
Which European governments is Lloyd's talking about? They're not saying.
But it IS interesting to note that Lloyd's didn't just withdraw its money from Greek banks; it withdrew its money from banks all over Europe!
One thing you can be sure of, though:
When the world's oldest insurance company ...
A firm that for 323 years has made its living by accurately calculating the odds of future disasters ...
Lloyd's has every reason to worry. In addition to the government debt crisis that's threatening to destroy European banks, a huge credit crisis is spreading across the Continent as well.
Spanish and Italian banks are rejecting massive numbers of loans and charging customers more as the sovereign debt crisis continues to drive their own borrowing cost higher.
Any way you look at it, this shrinking of European credit markets is the worst kind of downward spiral:
The government debt crisis is making it harder and more expensive for banks to borrow money; the banks are passing those higher costs along to borrowers.
Corporations have to pay more to borrow; their cost of doing business is rising.
Consumers can't or won't borrow at higher rates, so corporate earnings plunge.
As corporate earnings evaporate, the taxes they pay also plummet.
Falling tax revenues cause the government's deficits to explode higher, driving the banks' cost of borrowing even higher.
And so, the death spiral continues
If you think Europe's woes aren't going to spill over onto our shores - THINK AGAIN!
In fact, we believe that the U.S. is about to get slammed harder than it did by the financial crisis of 2008.
Best wishes,
Weiss Research
http://dinaroutcast.forumotion.com/t8704-lloyd-s-of-london-abandons-european-banks
Sunday, 13 November 2011
Bloomberg: LLoyds of London (World's Oldest Insurance Company) Withdraws Money From European Banks
Bloomberg: LLoyds of London (World's Oldest Insurance Company) Withdraws Money From European Banks
October 5, 2011Kevin Crowley and Jeff Black report the following on Bloomberg:
Lloyd’s of London, concerned European governments may be unable to support lenders in a worsening debt crisis, has pulled deposits in some peripheral economies as the European Central Bank provided dollars to one euro-area institution.
“There are a lot of banks who, because of the uncertainty aroundEurope, the market has stopped using to place deposits with,” Luke Savage, finance director of the world’s oldest insurance market, said today in a phone interview. “If you’re worried the government itself might be at risk, then you’re certainly worried the banks could be taken down with them.”
European banks and their regulators are trying to reassure investors and customers that lenders have enough capital to withstand a default by Greece and slowing economic growth caused by governments’ austerity measures. Siemens AG (SIE), European’s biggest engineering company, withdrew short-term deposits from Societe Generale SA, France’s second-largest bank, in July, a person with knowledge of the matter said yesterday.
Lloyd’s, which holds about a third of its 2.5 billion pounds ($3.9 billion) of central assets in cash, has stopped depositing money with some banks in Europe’s peripheral economies, Savage said, declining to name the countries or institutions.
ECB Lending
“We have a very conservatively positioned balance sheet,” Savage said. Lloyd’s also holds about a third of its assets in mainly U.S. and U.K. government bonds and a third in corporate bonds, he said.
The ECB today allotted $500 million to one bidder in a regular seven-day liquidity-providing operation at a fixed rate of 1.07 percent. Last week, the Frankfurt-based ECB loaned $575 million to two euro-area banks, the first time financial institutions had requested the currency since Aug. 17. The ECB doesn’t identify the banks it lends to.
Today’s loan “is the rolling-over of previous lending of dollars and isn’t very significant,” said Christoph Rieger, head of fixed-income strategy at Commerzbank AG in Frankfurt. “The three-month dollar lending offered by the central banks is taking the edge off this problem to some degree.”
The premium European banks pay to borrow in dollars through the swaps market is close to the highest level in almost three years. The cost of converting euro-based payments into dollars, as measured by the one-year cross-currency basis swap, was 95.6 basis points below the euro interbank offered rate, or Euribor, at 11:13 a.m. in Frankfurt, indicating a premium to buy the dollar. It widened to as much as 112.5 basis points earlier this month, the most since Dec. 2, 2008, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
First-Half Loss
Lloyd’s, founded in a London coffee house in 1688, swung to a 697 million-pound pretax loss in the six months to June 30 after the most expensive first half for natural disasters on record. The market made a profit of 628 million pounds in the same period a year earlier, the London-based market said in a statement today.
“These are tough times for the insurance industry, but we are well positioned to handle them,” Chief Executive Officer Richard Ward said in the statement. “While interest rates are low and equity markets are volatile, we can’t rely on investment income to subsidize our underwriting. We must decline under- priced risks.”
Insurers’ profits have been hurt by natural catastrophes, including the earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan in March, causing record insured losses of $70 billion in the first half of the year, according to broker Guy Carpenter & Co. At the same time, record low interest rates are crimping investment returns.
Investment Income Falls
The insurance markets made 548 million pounds on its investments in the period, 8.2 percent lower than in the first half of 2010 as interest rates in the U.K., U.S. and the euro zone neared record lows.
“I cannot see any reasonable prospect of making decent investment income in the medium term,” Savage said.
Lloyd’s had a combined ratio of 113.3 percent in the first half, meaning for every pound it took in premiums, it paid out 1.13 pounds in claims. That worsened from 98.7 percent in the first half of 2010.
The loss was “much better than our peer group exposed to the same catastrophes,” Savage said. Bermuda insurers’ combined ratio was 117 percent for the period and U.S. reinsurers posted a ratio of 116 percent, Lloyd’s said.
To contact the reporters on this story: Kevin Crowley in London at kcrowley1@bloomberg.net; Jeff Black in Frankfurt at Jblack25@bloomberg.net
Lloyd’s of London, concerned European governments may be unable to support lenders in a worsening debt crisis, has pulled deposits in some peripheral economies as the European Central Bank provided dollars to one euro-area institution.
“There are a lot of banks who, because of the uncertainty aroundEurope, the market has stopped using to place deposits with,” Luke Savage, finance director of the world’s oldest insurance market, said today in a phone interview. “If you’re worried the government itself might be at risk, then you’re certainly worried the banks could be taken down with them.”
European banks and their regulators are trying to reassure investors and customers that lenders have enough capital to withstand a default by Greece and slowing economic growth caused by governments’ austerity measures. Siemens AG (SIE), European’s biggest engineering company, withdrew short-term deposits from Societe Generale SA, France’s second-largest bank, in July, a person with knowledge of the matter said yesterday.
Lloyd’s, which holds about a third of its 2.5 billion pounds ($3.9 billion) of central assets in cash, has stopped depositing money with some banks in Europe’s peripheral economies, Savage said, declining to name the countries or institutions.
ECB Lending
“We have a very conservatively positioned balance sheet,” Savage said. Lloyd’s also holds about a third of its assets in mainly U.S. and U.K. government bonds and a third in corporate bonds, he said.
The ECB today allotted $500 million to one bidder in a regular seven-day liquidity-providing operation at a fixed rate of 1.07 percent. Last week, the Frankfurt-based ECB loaned $575 million to two euro-area banks, the first time financial institutions had requested the currency since Aug. 17. The ECB doesn’t identify the banks it lends to.
Today’s loan “is the rolling-over of previous lending of dollars and isn’t very significant,” said Christoph Rieger, head of fixed-income strategy at Commerzbank AG in Frankfurt. “The three-month dollar lending offered by the central banks is taking the edge off this problem to some degree.”
The premium European banks pay to borrow in dollars through the swaps market is close to the highest level in almost three years. The cost of converting euro-based payments into dollars, as measured by the one-year cross-currency basis swap, was 95.6 basis points below the euro interbank offered rate, or Euribor, at 11:13 a.m. in Frankfurt, indicating a premium to buy the dollar. It widened to as much as 112.5 basis points earlier this month, the most since Dec. 2, 2008, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
First-Half Loss
Lloyd’s, founded in a London coffee house in 1688, swung to a 697 million-pound pretax loss in the six months to June 30 after the most expensive first half for natural disasters on record. The market made a profit of 628 million pounds in the same period a year earlier, the London-based market said in a statement today.
“These are tough times for the insurance industry, but we are well positioned to handle them,” Chief Executive Officer Richard Ward said in the statement. “While interest rates are low and equity markets are volatile, we can’t rely on investment income to subsidize our underwriting. We must decline under- priced risks.”
Insurers’ profits have been hurt by natural catastrophes, including the earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan in March, causing record insured losses of $70 billion in the first half of the year, according to broker Guy Carpenter & Co. At the same time, record low interest rates are crimping investment returns.
Investment Income Falls
The insurance markets made 548 million pounds on its investments in the period, 8.2 percent lower than in the first half of 2010 as interest rates in the U.K., U.S. and the euro zone neared record lows.
“I cannot see any reasonable prospect of making decent investment income in the medium term,” Savage said.
Lloyd’s had a combined ratio of 113.3 percent in the first half, meaning for every pound it took in premiums, it paid out 1.13 pounds in claims. That worsened from 98.7 percent in the first half of 2010.
The loss was “much better than our peer group exposed to the same catastrophes,” Savage said. Bermuda insurers’ combined ratio was 117 percent for the period and U.S. reinsurers posted a ratio of 116 percent, Lloyd’s said.
To contact the reporters on this story: Kevin Crowley in London at kcrowley1@bloomberg.net; Jeff Black in Frankfurt at Jblack25@bloomberg.net
http://www.imackgroup.com/mathematics/694119-bloomberg-lloyds-of-london-worlds-oldest-insurance-company-withdraws-money-from-european-banks/
Wednesday, 26 October 2011
ENTER THE STRAIT GATE
SPIRITUAL PREPARATIONS FOR HARD TIMES AHEAD (I)
ENTER THE STRAIT GATE
Main Text: Matthew 7:13-14 “Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.”
The result of the inordinate printing of money will lead to a series of economic events that will lead to hyperinflation resulting in poverty for great masses of the world population. The times of the Great Depression in the 1930s provide for us a good picture of the trouble to come. How can Christians prepare? Enter the Strait Gate and walk the narrow way with Jesus daily!
“Enter the Strait Gate” is God’s call to men throughout the ages to a life with God. The word “strait” means narrow, restrictive, expressing the difficulty to enter. What is the strait gate? It is the gate of salvation. It is the gate of conversion and regeneration. This entrance through the strait gate describes the beginning of this blessed life. And there is none more authoritative on earth and in heaven to represent God as His Son, who is God, the second Person of the Godhead, coming in human flesh, possessing the faculty of human speech, “opened his mouth, taught” the multitudes! What is the message in the heart of God that He wants to convey to mankind? It is to share the truth that there is no life lived that is more abundant than the life of true godliness that Jesus has just painted to the multitudes in Matthew 5-7. And here at the beginning of the conclusion of Jesus’ sermon in verse 13, He urged them to individually make a decision - “ENTER YE IN” if they have not entered.
It is God’s desire that all be saved. All who will hear this message are urged to hearken to the command to enter. Jesus is bidding His listeners by a command and by a determinate action to make the entrance – “ENTER YE IN”. And the answer to the question – “Where to enter?” is given emphatically by the preposition “at”. It is through this gate, the strait gate. There is a need of locating, finding, arriving and finally entering. The emphasis of the preposition “at” is upon the kind of place – enter ye in at the strait gate, not the wide gate, this place as opposed to another place, here at the STRAIT GATE and not there at the WIDE GATE. Do not enter without due consideration but make sure you locate the right gate – as it were, to ascertain it, it must fit this description – the strait gate. Be sure you are at the right gate before you enter. Jesus is making it crystal clear to his listeners so that there is no mistake as to the correct gate. He explains clearly why we are not to choose the wide gate in verse 13b and why we choose the strait gate in verse 14 by the two conjunctions “for” in verse 13b and because in verse 14.
(A) V13B – WHY MUST WE NOT CHOOSE THE WIDE GATE?
“For wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:”
The wide gate is all encompassing, anything goes. It is a description of this lawless and godless world. And verse 13b tells us it is a package deal – the wrong gate will lead to the wrong way and the wrong destination with the wrong company. The wide gate leads to the broad way and the end of the journey is destruction. You will find many walking that way but it is the wrong way.
Jesus illustrated life in the broad way by this account of that certain rich man in Luke 16. This rich man was clothed in purple and fine linen. He fared sumptuously every day all the days of his life. He did not know Christ, he was an unbeliever. He walked through the wide gate and treaded upon the broad way. When he died, the Bible recorded that he was buried and he ended up in hell and he lifted his eyes and cried for mercy that he may receive some water to cool his tongue because he was tormented by the flames of hell fire and there was no escape for him. This passage tells us the reality of hell and there is a gulf fixed between heaven and hell and death is the separation. This is the wide gate and the broad way that leads to destruction.
(B) WHY MUST WE CHOOSE THE STRAIT GATE? (V14)
14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.
Strait is the gate - There is only one entrance that leads to life. It is through the strait gate only. The word “strait” in verse 14 simply means narrow, restrictive, expressing the difficulty to enter. What is this strait gate? This is the gate of salvation. It is the gate of conversion and regeneration – All who entered must be Born Again! The change must come from the inside, old things are passed away and all things become new - A new heart and a new spirit. The old man is put off and the new man put on.
The gate is strait because it also expresses the difficulty to find. Why is it difficult to find? Because only Jesus saves! There is no other gate to salvation except in Jesus – The Bible tells us in Acts 4:12 “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” Jesus Himself says in John 10:9 “I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.” John 11:25-26 Jesus said, “I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?” Truly, the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness but unto us who are saved it is the power of God. The message that only Jesus saves is a message that we have the great privilege to proclaim. It is offensive to the world. Many will stumble at it and perish.
Jesus said in Luke 13:24, a parallel passage “Strive (agonize, it speaks of a conflict, it is a struggle) to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able.” Why is this so? Because it will cost us our pride! Jesus tells us at the beginning of the sermon “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:3) We need to have a poverty of spirit as opposed to a proud spirit to enter this gate. This is the struggle against the “I”, “me”, and “mine”, the self in us – self-seeking, selfish, self-righteous. We have to surrender our fallen self that it may be crucified with Christ on the cross. All who stand tall and proud cannot enter. They need to be lowly bent in humbleness of heart to enter this narrow gate.
When Jesus contrasted the wide gate and the narrow gate, he had in mind the broad main gate at the entrance into a city and the small ones that allowed only pedestrians and single animals to pass through. The width of the principal gate was about 13-14 feet. The other gates were low and narrow, permitting the entrance only of pedestrians and a single ass. [Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopaedia] This is the first criteria that Jesus gave at the beginning of the sermon – “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:3) The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit. (Psalm 34:8) A heart that recognizes its depravity will receive the blessings of entering the gate. This strait gate is the gate of new birth through Jesus Christ and it brings us into life with God. Therefore Jesus preached “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
Dearly beloved, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” This is God’s call to you. Today is the day of salvation, now is the accepted time. We must lay aside our excessive baggage to enter the strait gate. Dearly beloved, the Lord help us humble ourselves before Him. Jesus tells us “…Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel's, the same shall save it.” (Mark 8:34-35) This is the paradox of the strait gate and the narrow way – it is full of difficulty and yet full of satisfaction thereafter.
CONCLUSION
Dearly beloved, choose to enter the strait gate that leads to the city of God as opposed to the wide gate that leads to the city of destruction. Jesus gave the characteristic and the conduct of the citizens of this city of God as opposed to the characteristic and conduct of the citizens of the city of Destruction. If you are a Christian, Jesus bids you to examine your life for fruits that account for your salvation. Are we bearing forth the life that is described for us in Jesus’ portrait of the godly man? Is your Christian witness as light and salt, do you hunger and thirst after righteousness, after the things of God? Do you look forward to attend bible studies, to relish your quiet time with the Lord? Do you worry and have no peace in your hearts because of the lack of material things of this life? Are you trusting and seeking first the kingdom of God and His righteousness believing that He will take care to add all these to you?
If you have not received Jesus as Lord and Saviour, I urge you to enter the strait gate by believing in Jesus Christ today. Jesus lived a sinless life to die as a lamb on the cross for the remission of your sins and that He rose again on the third day for your justification to give to all who will believe eternal life. Dearly beloved, if you thought you were walking on the narrow way but in fact in closer examination you are walking on the broad way, may you pull out of the wide gate and choose to enter the strait gate and walk the narrow way. Choose rather to endure the troubled and afflicted way of the beggar Lazarus in Luke 16 even if we have to. Lazarus had nothing significant in this life, he eats the crumps that fell from the rich man’s table but Lazarus had entered the strait gate and walked the narrow way. When he died, he was found in safety in heaven.
Jesus persuades His listeners to enter the kingdom of heaven through the strait gate. This kingdom of heaven is the kingdom of God. All who enter begin this journey of walking with God. This is opposed to the kingdom of Satan, the prince of this world, which is called the wide gate. It is wide because it is all encompassing and anything goes, lawless and godless. It describes this fallen world that we live in. The kingdom of heaven is described as the kingdom of light as opposed to darkness. It is salt that retards the decay of this depraved world. It is the kingdom of righteousness as opposed to sin, shame and the self-righteousness of the Pharisees. And Jesus is asking the multitude to appreciate the heavenly wisdom that He is imparting to them and to make a decision to choose to enter this kingdom that leads to everlasting life as opposed to that kingdom that leads to everlasting destruction. May the Lord help you to choose God’s way!
HYPERINFLATION SURVIVAL GUIDE
You can find an American version of the Survival Guide in the following link. Working on "10 Survival Tips How Not To Get Your Savings Wiped Out In The Coming Mega Financial Tsunami - A Biblical Perspective".
http://media.tycoonu.com/portal/pdfs/HyperinflationSurvivalGuide.pdf
http://media.tycoonu.com/portal/pdfs/HyperinflationSurvivalGuide.pdf
PREPARATIONS FOR THE COMING FINANCIAL MELTDOWN
“Throw Out the Lifeline - Preparations for the coming Financial Meltdown” is a biblical perspective of the coming global financial crisis. It is an interpretation in the light of the Bible. How did it come about? How will it unfold? How to prepare for it? These are vital questions that this book attempts to answer. May you take time to read it so that you too can be prepared for this global financial deluge the world has never seen before!
“…the book “Throw Out the Lifeline”…found it informative and instructive. The testimony of the Christian brother is touching...” Mrs Law.
“…full of facts and information…enjoyed the word study…basic definition of money from biblical perspective sets the tone for understanding the unfolding events…” Dr Tan.
Content Page
THROW OUT THE LIFE-LINE
PREPARATIONS FOR THE COMING FINANCIAL MELTDOWN
PREFACE 4
CHAPTER 1 WHAT IS HONEST MONEY? 7
CHAPTER 2 IT ALL STARTED WITH BUBBLES 23
CHAPTER 3 THE IMPACT OF MONEY PRINTING 51
CHAPTER 4 DEMISE OF THE US DOLLAR 60
CHAPTER 5 THE NEW WORLD ORDER 67
CHAPTER 6 SPIRITUAL PREPARATIONS FOR HARD
TIMES AHEAD (I) – Enter the Strait Gate 77
CHAPTER 7 SPIRITUAL PREPARATIONS FOR HARD TIMES AHEAD (II) – God’s Word the Key 87
CHAPTER 8 MENTAL PREPARATIONS FOR HARD TIMES AHEAD - Testimony of God’s Faithfulness 103
CHAPTER 9 PHYSICAL PREPARATIONS FOR HARD TIMES AHEAD – Living Contentedly 119
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