what is the market reaction so far? i no longer trade so i have been using forexpros.com or finviz.com.

both sites are currently completely gone, no ping even.

Euro down, Aussie down, dollar up, /ES down about a percent along with the other indices, gold and oil both down (oil taking a big header, down another 2.3% or so)

Thanks Gen!

this may get interesting.

Pretty unusual that both these sites are down at the same time.

and not much fun for me!

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Someone needs to check where all the Deutsch Marks are kept. Why wait for all of these bankrupt countries to leave the EU? Merkel has no good political options left and neither does the German Economy.

I suspect the Germans have been minting and stockpiling brand new Deutsch Marks for quite some time now!

me thinks the ticker con 0 is fast on deck no?????????????

I think Hollande will cave to the Euros. The French haven't suffered or rioted enough yet and I think the Euros will persuade him more to their side than is thought right now.

The Greeks however are going to stick to their guns on their anti-Euro, Nationalist mood that they now have.

Does anyone know when Hollande and the new French government actually takes the reigns of power? Ditto for the new Greek parliament changes.

Could Sarkozy do a flying leap stick save at the last minute with Merkel and/or Bendover Ben?

Meh.

I have no idea what it will take to finally finish off the sick man that is Europe, but I doubt we'll see that happen anytime soon. The powers that be will just announce another LTRO or some other cockamamie, totally unsustainable scheme and European politicians will be pacified, bond yields will fall, European stock markets will recover and things will stabilize at their current horrific levels.

As far as the broader economic impact of uncertainty in Europe, let's just say I'm skeptical there will be any in 2012. U.S. equity markets have long since decoupled from unpleasant realities. Triple digit rallies predicated upon nothing are the norm rather than the exception, so just wait until collapsing fuel prices start having a positive impact on employment numbers, consumer confidence, and profit margins.

I had a disturbingly vivid dream about a week ago. Even went out and bought a Freud book on dreams because of it.

In the dream I was vacationing in Germany and was eating in a restaurant. A manager came and started yelling at me and several other Americans telling us our dollars were useless and we had to pay our bills in Deutschmarks. Shortly after that issue was resolved an army of crazed Russian infantry came in and started shooting everyone and everything except for us Americans. They tried to take us prisoner. It got crazier from there and involved German partisans.

So with the eurozone falling apart, how does that affect Russia?

Hollande takes power and moves in their version of the White House very soon. May 15

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Hollande, who has vowed to begin his reforms as soon as he takes office on 15 May, has accepted he will have "no state of grace" leading a country crippled by public debt and in economic crisis, with unemployment nudging a record 10%, a gaping trade-deficit, stuttering growth and declining industry. France's public debt is so high that interest repayments alone account for the second highest state expenditure after educati



François Hollande has won power in France, turning the tide on a rightwards and xenophobic lurch in European politics and vowing to transform Europe's handling of the economic crisis by fighting back against German-led austerity measures.

The 57-year-old rural MP and self-styled Mr Normal, a moderate social democrat from the centre of the Socialist party, is France's first leftwing president in almost 20 years. Projections from early counts, released by French TV, put his score at 51.9%.

His emphatic victory is a boost to the left in a continent that has gradually swung rightwards since the economic crisis broke four years ago.

Nicolas Sarkozy, defeated after one term in office, became the 11th European leader to lose power since the economic crisis in 2008.

They move quickly after an election, lame ducks are not part of their process.

In Greece the party that gets the most votes has 3 days to form a Gov. Edit:get 51% of parliament or so

If they can't then next party by votes has 3 days to try, on down the line.

If no one can form a Gov then they have to do the elections again.

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Pretty unusual that both these sites are down at the same time.

Finviz is up. Maybe your internet is acting weird?

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Finviz is up. Maybe your internet is acting weird?

that's quite possible, but those are the only two sites i can't get a ping back from. I'll try rebooting the router and see if it clears up.

thanks!

So will BOB's EU swap lines cause us to detonate too?

1. Invade Poland.
2. Invade France

Third times a charm...

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It got crazier from there and involved German partisans.

So with the eurozone falling apart, how does that affect Russia?

I can't answer the question, but loved the post thanks!

Ducarius,

Great post. I hope the German partisans were good looking females!

I'm quite stunned that germany hasn't already exited.

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"2. Invade France"

In the first round, I wonder how many votes a candidate from the 'Vichy' party would have gotten?

Asimov wrote..

I'm quite stunned that germany hasn't already exited.

I have read in many more-or-less reputable sources (e.g., Der Spiegel, other foreign publications, etc. - even Wiki (although that does not always qualify as reputable)) that accepting the Euro was a sine qua non imposed on Germany to obtain approval (primarily France and the UK) of the unification after the fall of E. Germany. Some sources state that it was merely a means toward progress for a unified Europe, while others strongly imply that it was imposed out of lingering post-WWII fears of Germany becoming an overwhelming power compared to the rest of Europe. I don't know exactly how this was imposed and what sort of teeth there might be to make certain that Germany does not renege (side letters to the NATO treaty??).

Admittedly I don't know much about euro military power. But if there were a conventional war over there I suppose the top 4 would be (1) UK (2) Germany (3) France (4) Italy w/ Spain a distant 5th. My guess is that Germany and France would be on opposite sides fer sure. When economies start to crumble within a geo-political structure like europe the chance for war goes expoentially higher. At what point push comes to shove as the ball of string starts to unravel is anyone's guess. Personally, I never thought that we could kick the can for as far as we have. So I've stopped making predictions. Now I just watch.

US exchange closed tomorrow?
How do you tourniquet your butthole when you can't
change positions?

Huh? Exchanges closed?

London closed tomorrow, everywhere else is open.

Today is the first Monday in May, which is a standard bank holiday in the UK. No tin here, sorry.