“No nation in history has ever printed its way to prosperity, borrowed its way to prosperity or spent its way to prosperity. The US will not be exempt from this truth”
– Trader Dan Norcini
Jim Sinclair’s Commentary
The major manufacturers of OTC derivatives outside of the US banksters is UBS!
The swaps with the Swiss National Bank were primarily to bail out UBS, but it came at a price.
Swiss warn UBS bank could collapse
GENEVA — Switzerland’s justice minister warned in an interview on Sunday that top bank UBS could collapse if sensitive talks with the United States over a high-profile tax fraud investigation fall through.
"The actions of UBS in the United States are very problematic. Not just because they are punishable but also because they threaten all of the bank’s activities," Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf told Le Matin Dimanche newspaper.
"The Swiss economy and the job market would suffer on a major scale if UBS fails as a result of its licence being revoked in the United States," she said.
Switzerland and the United States have negotiated an agreement under which UBS would hand over information on some 4,500 account holders to US tax police.
But a Swiss court ruling earlier this month put the deal in doubt.
Many in Switzerland, where banking secrecy is a source of pride and a key part of the economy, have accused the government of failing to protect UBS.
Jim Sinclair’s Commentary
Do not, by any account, rule out China’s use of economic weapons. They are livid.
Who makes these decisions on international behaviour unless they actually want to tank whatever is left of the US economy and the US dollar.
You had to know that dealing in military weapons with Taiwan would result in getting China extremely angry.
China suspends military ties with US
Sat, 30 Jan 2010 13:48:25 GMT
China suspends military exchanges with the US and threatens to impose sanctions on US arms companies over a Washington decision to sell weapons to Taiwan.
China’s Defense Ministry suspended military exchange visits with the US, saying the suspension was "in consideration of the serious harm and impacts [of the 6.4-billion-dollar US-Taiwan arms deal] on Sino-US military relations."
Chinese Foreign Ministry also threatened to impose sanctions on US firms that sell weapons to Taiwan amid straining relations between Washington and Beijing.
"China will also impose corresponding sanctions on US companies that engage in weapons sales to Taiwan," the ministry said on Saturday.
"The United States must be responsible for the serious repercussions if it does not immediately reverse the mistaken decision to sell Taiwan weapons," Chinese deputy Foreign Minister He Yafei told the US ambassador to China, Jon Huntsman.
Jim Sinclair’s Commentary
From a military standpoint this is understandable. From a practical economic sense it is impossible.
U.S. speeds up arms buildup with Gulf allies
Initiatives with Arab nations, military aimed at thwarting Iran attacks
By Joby Warrick
Washington Post Staff Writer
updated 3:37 p.m. MT, Sat., Jan. 30, 2010
DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES – The Obama administration is quietly working with Saudi Arabia and other Persian Gulf allies to speed up arms sales and rapidly upgrade defenses for oil terminals and other key infrastructure in a bid to thwart future military attacks by Iran, according to former and current U.S. and Middle Eastern government officials.
The initiatives, including a U.S.-backed plan to triple the size of a 10,000-man protection force in Saudi Arabia, are part of a broader push that includes unprecedented coordination of air defenses and expanded joint exercises between the U.S. and Arab militaries, the officials said. All appear to be aimed at increasing pressure on Tehran.
The efforts build on commitments by the George W. Bush administration to sell warplanes and anti-missile systems to friendly Arab states to counter Iran’s growing conventional arsenal. The United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia are leading a region-wide military buildup that has resulted in more than $25 billion in U.S. arms purchases in the past two years alone.
Middle Eastern military and intelligence officials said Gulf states are embracing the expansion as Iran reacts increasingly defiantly to international censure over its nuclear program. Gulf states fear retaliatory strikes by Iran or allied groups such as Hezbollah in the event of a preemptive strike against Iranian nuclear facilities by the United States or Israel.
For the Obama administration, the cooperation represents tangible progress against Iran at a time when the White House is struggling to build international support for stronger diplomatic measures, including tough new economic sanctions, a senior official said in an interview.
Jim Sinclair’s Commentary
Oil at $100. Here is the formula.
US beefs up military presence off Iranian shores
Sun, 31 Jan 2010 08:50:31 GMT
In addition to imposing new sanctions on the Tehran government, the US has reportedly begun beefing up its military presence and war paraphernalia off the Iranian coast.
US military officials told AP on condition of anonymity that Washington has taken silent steps to increase the capability of land-based Patriot missiles on the territory of some of its Arab allies in the Persian Gulf region.
Patriot missile systems were originally deployed to the Persian Gulf region to target aircrafts and shoot down missiles before they reach their target.
According to the officials, who were expounding on the classified information in a Sunday interview, the US Navy is also upgrading the presence of ships capable of intercepting missiles.
The officials claimed that details are kept secret, because a number of Arab states fear Iran’s military capabilities, but at the same time, are cautious about acknowledging their cooperation with the US.
Jim Sinclair’s Commentary
Do you get the feeling that a war with Iran is getting closer?
U.S. Speeding Up Missile Defenses in Persian Gulf
By DAVID E. SANGER and ERIC SCHMITT
The Obama administration is accelerating the deployment of new defenses against possible Iranian missile attacks in the Persian Gulf, officials said.
