When a Black Swan Flies Over Wall Street’s House of Cards By Jerry Kroth

A black swan is Wall Street lexicon for an unpredicted event. The author of that concept, Nassim Taleb, opines that most of the major moves in stock market history originated as black swan events coming out of nowhere, with a random, stochastic disorderliness that pushes markets into wild gyrations and implosion. But subliminally, everyday, CNBC and Bloomberg market mavens reassure …

Defying Troika, Greece Chooses ‘Democracy Over Fear’ With ‘No’ Vote on Austerity by Deirdre Fulton

News outlets are officially reporting that the ‘No’ side has won a decisive victory in Greece, rejecting a bailout offer from foreign creditors that would have imposed further austerity and economic hardship. Reuters reports that government officials “immediately said they would try to restart talks with European partners,” perhaps as soon as Sunday night. 25% of votes in, #oxi leading by 60%. Estimates that this will …

The Greek Debt Interim Agreement: Necessary Step or Sell-Out?

By Jack Rasmus –

Last Friday, February 20, Greece’s Syriza government agreed to a four month extension of the current debt package that has been in effect since Greece’s last debt renegotiation in 2012, thus agreeing to the main demand of the Troika that it do so as a condition for further negotiations. Some have read this as a ‘sell-out’ by Syriza of its election promises to reject the austerity measures the Troika established in 2010 and 2012, which have kept Greece in a condition of perpetual economic depression for the past half decade. By agreeing to continue current debt arrangements for another four months, critics say Syriza has also reneged on its promise to reject the Troika’s previous debt deal. The same critics argue that Syriza should have simply declared ‘no’ to extending both the current debt package and related austerity measures by the February 28 expiration date. And if the Troika didn’t like it, so be it; Greece should just leave the Euro currency zone.