This piece from the Telegraph has a URL that includes the phrase “European-banks-may-need-16.3-trillion-bail-out-EC-dcoument-warns”, but that figure appears nowhere in the article. It also links to another article titled, ‘Toxic’ EU bank assets total £16.3 trillion, but that one appears to have been removed entirely.
Apparently, all references to this figure from some “confidential European Commission document” have been pretty much scrubbed by the Telegraph. A copy of the deleted article is available here. Maybe we should all save a copy.
Mildly interesting.
Stop it, Nemo. You’re scaring everyone.
Well, the figure is for total assets, I think. Not all of them are worth zero… So the headline number is needlessly dramatic.
Still…
Damn. You know, I don’t want to be a “doomer”. I don’t want to be suspicious of everyone and everything. I want to have something to contribute beyond cynical and sarcastic humor. But somewhere along the way, I think something kind of broke on the inside. Even agnostics believe in something. For me, it was my country and its principles of political and economic freedom.
But since the bail-outs began — starting with Bear Stearns — I have felt like the basic principles of my entire world view have been knocked out from under me. The country I believed in no longer exists. I wonder if it ever did.
It’s just a bunch of stupid human tricks. Enjoy the show and just pretend everyting is going to work out. Think of all the pleasure you give to the CR faithful with your quips — we’d miss that if you got all maudlin on us.