By: Raul_I_Meijer

Fitch has given the ESM, which reportedly became “operational” today, even though the Eurozone members will take years to full its coffers from today’s €200 billion to the desired €500-600 billion, an AAA rating. The European (hey, what happened to Emergency?) Stability Mechanism needs this rating in order to sell bonds. Since eurobonds are not deemed acceptable by too many parties involved, the new pride of Europe will start selling … right, eurobonds, just under another name.

With which, for starters, it can fund the 7000+ policemen needed to protect Angela Merkel as she oversees the troika induced damages in Athens, riding in on some modern version of the milk-white steed that scorched earth conquistadores rode throughout history to assess the loot. Bad move, Angela, if only because the battle is not yet won.

Did you notice that the Troika report is still not out yet? Wasn’t that supposed to be presented ages ago? Shouldn’t those guys have been moved to Madrid over the summer? True, Spain still insists it neither wants nor needs a bailout. But that’s just bull, which makes the efforts to conceal it bull fighting. Spain will need much more money than anyone has admitted to date, as will Greece, new kids on the chopping block Cyprus and Slovenia, and old hands Portugal and Ireland. By the time the magnitude of the required bailouts can no longer be hidden, Italy will join the fray, followed by France.

Europe’s on a road to nowhere but down, for no better reason than the safeguarding of political careers and a bankrupt banking system. The best we can hope for is that in Athens tomorrow, October 9, the headlines will not be what Merkel and the Greek political class have to say, but the mass demonstrations that will take place despite the crackdown that has been announced.

full article at source: http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article36925.html

Sure, Merkel is smart enough to have something nice to say tomorrow, to not come empty handed. But Europe is stuck in a downhill Groundhog Day experience where every new day comes with new – higher – demands, new rounds of worse numbers and new measures that take away more of what little the people at the bottom have left.