Polish banks have to pay for losses on Swiss Franc mortgages

Though the exchange rate of the Swiss franc was floated by the Swiss National Bank in January 2015, yet in Poland the problem that arose in connection with it regarding housing loans taken out in Swiss francs is far from being solved. The deadline for the final decision in this respect has again been extended, which further heightens the tension both on the part of some half a million of the borrowers and on the part of the lending banks. The chances are that the banks may sustain a cost of up to 50 bn PLN or approximately 12 bn euros, which is equivalent to three times as much as the whole profit made by the banks for the year 2014.

On 15 of January 2015 the Swiss floated the exchange rate of the Franc: prior to this day the exchange rate was PLN 3,57 to CHF 1, thereafter it rose to PLN 4,33 to CHF 1. During the following months the rate settled at PLN 3,92 to CHF 1. What does that mean for 560 thousand families that pay the Swiss franc loans back? Taking into consideration that the average exchange rate when the loans were taken out stood at PLN 2,4 to CHF 1, it means for an average debtor a loss of PLN 1,5 for each Swiss franc borrowed¹. Continue reading →

Portugal’s anti austerity government

Portugal is one of the European countries that was the most affected by the financial and Euro crisis. In 2012 interest rates on Portuguese bonds reached more than 17% and public debt reached 124% GDP. The Portuguese financial crisis led to an international rescue plan agreed upon by the Portuguese government on the one hand and the European Union, the European Central Bank and the IMF on the other. Portugal is a Euro-Zone member which is why the country cannot devalue its currency. With fiscal devaluation, tax cuts on labor that is compensated for by an increase in VAT, Portugal and European authorities try to improve Portuguese competitiveness. The troika pushed for labor market reforms such as lower wages and the reduction in unemployment benefits. The reforms were carried out by the Partido Social Democrata PSD and the Centro Democratico Social CDS (both members of EPP), a coalition government headed by Passos Coelho, who took over from the Socialists in 2011.
Continue reading →

Negative interest rate will not boost inflation

Low inflation or deflation is a feature of our times. The central banks in Sweden and in Switzerland have already reacted by decreasing the interest rates below zero. How have prices responded?

Continue reading →

The end of the nation-states: new challenge to aviation security

National security agencies are failing to protect their airline carriers. Travel agency and airline carriers can not rely on traditional security information and security agencies. As states disintegrates, traditional governmental organization do not provide safeguards for reliable operations anymore.

We mentioned back in July that there is a full blown war in the Sinai. The Egyptian authorities do everything in their power to downplay the facts in order to hold the image of them being in full control. To protect their economical interest they do not share information about the situation. Hundreds of people have been killed in the Sinai last year alone. In September 12 Mexican tourists were accidentally shot by the Egyptian army and in august of this year a passenger airliner was targeted by a missile. The British plane was landing at Sharm el Sheikh airport when a rocket was launched in their direction the pilot barely managed to dodge it. This serious event did not result in appropriate actions by the UK’s or Egyptian security authorities.

Jihadist captured SA-8 system in Syria. SA- 8 systems have a range of 40.000 ft. This is within the cruising altitude (30000ft) of commercial airlines

Continue reading →

Erdoğan electoral victory is a humiliation for the European Union

While paying a visit to Europe in October, Erdoğan addressed an AKP rally in Strasbourg. Thousands of Turks turned up, waving Turkish national flags and listening to Erdoğan’s speech full of nationalistic references to epic wars that Turkey waged against Europe, a speech fraught with religious rhetoric. Europe should be on its guard and take this religion-driven Turkish nationalism very seriously, since history teaches that such statements may not end well.

European politicians had better take notice of the fact that so many AKP supporters showed up in Strasbourg, so much so that the city is not a Turkish rural area nor are the Turks present at the rally simple villagers: to the contrary, the participants of the mass meeting have been living in Europe, the center of the western cosmopolitan world, for decades. Analysts should not downplay the symbolism used by the president of Turkey as meaninglessness. Erdoğan’s reference to the Battle of Gallipoli¹, when the Ottomans defeated the Europeans, was chosen with care as a strong and unambiguous message. A direct parallel between the said historic event and the defeat of the European Union by the AKP can easily be drawn, and Erdoğan’s visit to Brussels could be interpreted as an intended humiliation of the European Union, with the subsequent visit of Chancellor Merkel to Ankara as an act of Europe’s capitulation. Continue reading →

AKP: War on PKK and Kurdish party HDP cost Turkish nationalist 50% of the Votes.

Source: Based on Anadolu Agency

The first map shows where Erdogan’s AKP gained a number of deputies in elections of 1st November in comparison to the elections of 7th June. The second map shows these provinces where the far-right party MHP lost deputies in comparison to the elections of 7th June. MHP lost half of deputies between June and November elections (from 80 to 40). Continue reading →

Is Spain Falling Apart?

Separatist or secessionist tendencies have been present in Spanish history for centuries. In recent years it has been the provinces of Galicia, the Basque Country, Navarre, and Catalonia with their demands for a breakaway from, and independence of, Spain that have drawn much international attention.