Brits are now poorer than the French, Swiss, Belgians, Swedes, Austrians, Aussies and Canadians

Between 2005 and 2011 British household incomes have tumbled below those of rich-nation counterparts in Switzerland, Australia, Austria, France, Canada, Belgium and Sweden, according to a new analysis from the UK’s Office of National Statistics. Despite some decent recent news on industrial production, the UK economy remains quite weak….

Read more: http://qz.com/84658/uk-household-income/

First country in Europe considers making criticism of Islam a punishable crime

Six Belgian senators introduced a draft resolution in the Belgian Parliament that would make “Islamophobia” a crime punishable by fines and imprisonment. A person would be guilty if he “considers Islam to be violent, threatening or supportive of terrorism…” or “considers Islam to be a political ideology, used for political and military purposes to establish it hegemony.” If passed, the law would pose a devastating blow to the exercise of free speech in [...]

When GDP won’t grow, change the way you calculate it!

Those who have been following the US debt to GDP ratio now that the US officially does not have a debt ceiling indefinitely, may have had the occasional panic attack seeing how this country’s leverage ratio is rapidly approaching that of a Troika case study of a PIIG in complete failure. And at 107% debt/GDP no explanations are necessary. Luckily, the official gatekeepers of America’s economic growth (with decimal point [...]

Barroso Urges E.U. to Keep Cutting Debt

JAMES KANTER, STEPHEN CASTLE and NIKI KITSANTONIS
nytimes.com
March 11, 2013

The president of the European Commission on Monday called on E.U. leaders to stay the course on debt reduction and economic overhauls, as he sought to head off a rancorous debate on those issues when the leaders hold a summit meeting here this week.

“Steadfast implementation of reforms is beginning to deliver results in terms of current accounts and regaining competitiveness,” the commission [...]

Muslim ‘Sharia’ Patrols – now spreading from Britain to Denmark and Belgium and Spain

And they wonder why there is ‘white flight’ away from cities all over Europe with large Muslim populations? In Spain, the sharia patrols not only are harassing and intimidating non-Muslims, they are also poisoning dogs belonging to non-Muslims.

http://www.barenakedislam.com/2013/02/07/muslim-sharia-patrols-now-spreading-from-britain-to-denmark-and-belgium-and-spain/

This CNN reporter keeps emphasizing how it’s only a ‘tiny minority’ responsible for this abhorrent behavior. It’s only a ‘tiny minority’ who are terrorists, too, but what is a tiny minority of 1.5 [...]

BREAKING: Niger’s ambassador to Belgium and his wife have been found dead

“Niger’s ambassador to Belgium and his wife have been found dead at their residence, apparently the victims of carbon monoxide poisoning, the embassy says. The bodies of Issaka Djibo, 61, and his wife, Fatouma, 50, were found in their bedroom by their daughter, alerted by an embassy employee who had not heard from the ambassador. Initial findings suggested the couple died from carbon monoxide poisoning due to a faulty heater, the Belga [...]

Deaf twin brothers killed by euthanasia in Belgium after discovering they were going blind

Identical twin brothers euthanised by doctors in unique Belgium case
Twins, who were born deaf, made decision after learning they would go blind
The brothers, who spent their lives together, were unable to bear the thought of never seeing each other again

 

A pair of identical twins, who were born deaf, have been killed by Belgian doctors after seeking euthanasia when they found out they would also soon go blind.

In a unique case [...]

Ian Bremmer: European separatism is a red herring

from FT:

As the redesign of Europe churns along in 2013, some still fear that one or more eurozone states will take its leave. Others warn that individual European states will soon crack from within, as less familiar flags appear in places such as Catalonia, Scotland and Flanders. There are separatist pressures building within Spain and the UK, and Belgium’s unity remains fragile as well. But, at least for 2013, there [...]

France Looks Worse than Greece

armstrongeconomics.com / By Martin Armstrong / December 18, 2012

The French actor Gerard Depardieu has left France and was publicly ridiculed for not wanting to turn over 75% of his wealth. Gerard has fired back and is clearly pissed-off how he was treated in France and sent an open letter to the Prime Minister. He writes that he paid EUR 145 million taxes in 45 years and Belgium neither has wealth tax [...]

‘World’s Best Beer’ Finally Available

Beer aficionados are pouncing at the rare opportunity to buy one of the world’s most elusive and revered beers for the first – and perhaps only – time in the United States. It is called Westvleteren XII, and it is often hailed as the “world’s best beer” by reviewers and fans. Westvleteren XII is produced by Trappist monks in Belgium and sold at the abbey of Saint Sixtus in the [...]

5 EZ nations w gov debt >100% of GDP (Eurostat end-Q1): Greece (132.4%), Italy (123.3%), Portugal (111.7%), Ireland (108.5%), Belgium (102%)

http://www.twitter.com/lindayueh

REPORT: France’s Richest Man Wants To Flee To Belgium, Where Taxes Are Lower

According to an article in Le Monde (via Finans Akrobat), France’s richest man and head of the luxury goods company lVMH, Bernard Arnault is trying to move to Belgium.

 

From Le Monde, via Google Translate:

French first fortune, Bernard Arnault would become the man richest man in Belgium . According to Freedom of Belgium , the multibillionaire asked late August to be naturalized. His case is now on the table of the Committee on Naturalization s must ‘ ensure that the candidate has many “real ties” in Belgium.

The motivations [...]

Europe starts stockpiling oil as Iran conflict looms

European governments are rushing to boost stockpiles of crude oil and fuel, anxious to comply with new EU rules and amid reports that Israel is preparing to launch an attack on Iran.

Belgium and the Netherlands have issued tenders to import a total of around 250,000 tonnes of diesel and gasoline for delivery in September and October, their agencies said.

France has also bought diesel and awarded a crude oil tender this [...]

“All Nuclear Reactors In Belgium In Danger” – Partial Translation

Partial translation of an article in dutch that was posted early this morning:

http://www.hln.be/hln/nl/6756/Kernenergie/article/detail/1488198/2012/08…

20/08/12 – 04u48  Source: belga.be

Not just the reactor at Doel 3, but all seven nuclear power plants in Belgium are in danger, according to Eric van Walle of the centre for nuclear energy in Mol. “And more so: in all reactors of this generation – worldwide – defects can occur.” The problems with the reactor vessel in Doel [...]

Nuclear Reactor in Belgium shut down

http://thewatchers.adorraeli.com/201…ked-component/

Doel 3 nuclear reactor at Doel Nuclear Power Station in Belgium was shut down on August 8, 2012 under the suspicion that one of its components might be cracked. “We have found anomalies,” said Karina De Beule, spokesman for the ACFN, the federal agency for nuclear control.

The station is located in the most densely populated area of all nuclear power stations in Europe, with 9 million inhabitants within a radius of 75 [...]

Belgians – Is there a war on in Belgium now between men and women?

In a video message published on YouTube on Thursday, the fundamentalist group Sharia4Belgium launched a virulent attack on the film school student Sofie Peeters. Ms Peeters hit the headlines last week with her documentary ‘Femme de la rue’ (Woman of the street). ‘Femme de la rue’ chronicles the sexism and sexual harassment faced by many women in certain areas of Brussels as they try and go about their daily business.

http://www.deredactie.be/cm/vrtnieuws.english/news/120803_Sharia_Peeters

Average IQ of Countries

 

Rank
Country
IQ estimate

1
 Hong Kong
107

2
 South Korea
106

3 ^
 Japan
105

4
 Taiwan
104

5
 Singapore
103

6 *
 Austria
102

6 ^
 Germany
102

6 **
 Italy
102

6 *
 Netherlands
102

10
 Sweden
101

10
 Switzerland
101

12
 Belgium
100

12 **
 China
100

12
 New Zealand
100

12 **
 United Kingdom
100

16
 Hungary
99

16
 Poland
99

16 **
 Spain
99

19
 Australia
98

19
 Denmark
98

19 *
 France
98

19
 Mongolia
98

19
 Norway
98

19 *
 United States
98

25
 Canada
97

25
 Czech Republic
97

25
 Finland
97

28
 Argentina
96

28 ^
 Russia
96

28
 Slovakia
96

28
 Uruguay
96

32 ^
 Portugal
95

32
 Slovenia
95

34
 Israel
94

34
 Romania
94

36
 Bulgaria
93

36
 Ireland
93

36 *
 Greece
93

39
 Malaysia
92

40
 Thailand
91

41
 Croatia
90

41 ^
 Peru
90

41 * *
 Turkey
90

the full list : http://sq.4mg.com/NationIQ.htm

BELGIUM 10-YEAR BOND YIELD FALLS TO RECORD LOW 2.641%

http://www.twitter.com/zerohedge

Warning: These recent events are eerily similar to the triggers of World War I

From Azizonomics:

The whole world knows the name Gavrilo Princip, and that of the man he assassinated, Archduke Franz Ferdinand. Princip’s shot triggered the Austro-Hungarian invasion of Serbia that set in motion the chain of events leading to the Great War of 1914.

After Serbia appealed to Russia for help, Russia began moving towards mobilization of its army, believing that Germany was using the crisis as an excuse to launch war in [...]

Fitch warns it may downgrade entire Eurozone:

Credit rating agency Fitch put the whole of the euro zone on notice on Friday that wereGreece to leave the currency bloc as a result of its current crisis, the remaining countries could find their sovereign ratings at risk.

It said it was likely to put all euro area ratings on negative watch if Greece were to leave and that those countries which currently have a negative outlook on their ratings would [...]

Euro Zone Faces Downgrades If Greece Exits: Fitch

Credit rating agency Fitch put the whole of the euro zone on notice on Friday that were Greece to leave the currency bloc as a result of its current crisis, the remaining countries could find their sovereign ratings at risk.

It said those countries were France, Italy, Spain, Cyprus Ireland, Portugal, Slovenia and Belgium.It said it was likely to put all euro area ratings on negative watch if Greece were to leave and [...]

Why is the dollar valued less than the Euro? This is one country that has only one dysfunctional gov’t, the Euro has 23. Kill the Stock Market, Save the Dollar.

1) Andorra
2) Austria
3) Belgium
4) Cyprus
5) Estonia
6) Finland
7) France
8) Germany
9) Greece
10) Ireland
11) Italy
12) Kosovo
13) Luxembourg
14) Malta
15) Monaco
16) Montenegro
17) Netherlands
18) Portugal
19) San Marino
20) Slovakia
21) Slovenia
22) Spain
23) Vatican City

 

- Envey

European Confidence Tumbles To November 2009 Levels, Euro-Wide Double Dip Inevitable

Following this week’s ongoing battery of abysmal economic news out of Europe it will hardly come as a surprise that yet another indicator has been released and is pointing to a multi-year low in the deleveraging (elsewhere called incorrectly austere) continent, namely the Euro-area wide confidence index which just slide to the lowest leve since 2009, missing every single estimate and declining sequentially across the board.

Economic confidence 92.8, est. 94.2 [...]

EU countries (Or states within the United States of Europe.)

Austria public debt $306.5 Billion 72.1% of GDP External debt $883.5 Billion208% of GDP…Government surplus/deficit -$22.2Billion Trade deficit/surplus -$2.4 Billion Largestconsumer of exports Germany 32% Italy 7.9%…largest supplier of importsGermany 44% Italy 6.8% Oil deficit/surplus -248,310bbl/day

Belgium public debt $527.4 Billion 99.7% of GDP External debt $1,399 Trillion264% of GDP…Government surplus/deficit -$15Billion Trade deficit/surplus -$0.4 Billion Largestconsumer of exports Germany 19.1% France 17%…largest supplier of importsNetherlands 19.1% Germany 16.4% Oil deficit/surplus [...]

Iran To Be Dropped From Swift System in Belgium

February 17, 2012, at 5:01 pm
by Jim Sinclair in the category General Editorial

My Dear Friends,

Iran is to be dropped out of the Swift system in Belgium. That means Iran could neither send or receive bank money wires.

That would slam Iran’s economy.

This is economic war at the highest level of conflict. This could start a greater move of central banks with fears of the West to increase and retrieve their gold positions. It certainly [...]

Social Networks Don’t Have to Filter Content, EU Court Says

Chloe Albanesius
PCMag.com
February 16, 2012

A European court has ruled that social networks are not required to install filters to stop the sharing of copyrighted material.

The Luxembourg-based EU Court of Justice found that the installation of such filters would be too costly and complex and likely hamper the use of legitimate content.

The ruling comes after the Belgian Society of Authors, Composers, and Publishers (SABAM) sued Belgium-based social network Netlog over the distribution [...]

Quarter Reporting: Country Details Assets| Liabilities

Quarter Reporting

country Details Assets| Liabilities

2011-Q3 Belgium Reorganisation and transfer of activities of reporting bank. 14.8| 16.8

2011-Q3 Finland Changes in reporting practice. -40.2| -40.3

2011-Q3 Norway Changes in the reporting population. 5.2| 7.7

2011-Q3 United Kingdom Improvements in reporting practice and changes in the

reporting population 416.5 309.1

Quarters Reporting

country Details Assets Liabilities

2009-Q1 United States Revisions from reporting banks. -3.5| 15.2

2009-Q2 United States Revisions from reporting banks. -1.5| 5.2

2009-Q3 United States Revisions from reporting banks. [...]

FITCH: Don’t Be Surprised If We Actually Downgrade The 6 European Countries On Creditwatch Negative

by Sam Ro

Goldman’s Jim O’Neill said S&P’s downgrade of the eurozone countries was “one of the most widely anticipated moves of all time.”

But, if there could be an even more widely anticipated move, then this might be it.

Just days after S&P downgraded Europe, Fitch is warning that it will probably follow suit.  Earlier this morning, Fitch’s Edward Parker said this (via Bloomberg)

“We would expect the review will lead to downgrades of one [...]

Ratings Actions Out

From Peter Tchir of TF Market Advisors

Ratings Actions Out

Not sure why they felt the need to wait until 430 since most of it was leaked already.  Germany back to stable outlook is good. Austria and France chance EFSF but guess that is what LTRO is for.  Italy and Portugal would be in trouble in the real world but so long as ECB views them as money good the countries and [...]

Percent of GDP coming from Tax Revenue, by nation, and GDP per capita:

1)  Denmark – 48.3% - with a GDP per capita of $62,100  (#8 in the world)
2)  Sweden – 47.1% - with a GDP per capita of $51,950  (#14 in the world)
3)  Belgium – 44.3% - with a GDP per capita of $47,090  (#19 in the world)
4)  Austria – 42.9% - with a GDP per capita of $49,600  (#17 in the world)
5)  Finland – 42.8% - with a GDP per capita of $51,320,  (#15 in the [...]

From this week’s Economist Magazine Unemployme­­nt Rate, ranked from worst to best, among the 20 largest and most developed economies:

1)  Spain:  22.8% 2) Greece: 17.5% 3)  Finland:  9.9% 4)  France:  9.8% 5)  United States:  8.6% 6)  Italy:  8.5% 7)  United Kingdom:  8.3% 8)  Canada:  7.4% 9)  Germany:  6.9% 10)  Sweden:  6.7% 11)  Belgium:  6.6% 12)  The Netherland­­s:  5.8% 13)  Australia:  5.3% 14)  Japan:  4.5% 15)  Taiwan:  4.3% 16)  Denmark:  4.2% 17)  Austria:  4.1% 18)  Norway:  3.3% 19)  South Korea:  3.1% 20)  Switzerlan­­d:  3.0% 21)  Singapore:  2.0% +++++ The US [...]

Injury toll in Belgium gun and grenade attack now 64. 3 dead. Unconfirmed. Motive still unknown – @skytwitius

TERROR IN BELGIUM: City Attacked By Men With Grenades

(BBC News) A gun and grenade attack in the centre of the Belgian city of Liege has killed at least two people and wounded about 25 including a toddler, media say.

Witnesses say a man in his 40s threw grenades at a bus stop in Place Saint Lambert, a busy square. At least one other man is thought to be involved.

Reports say one of the attackers is among the dead.

Local media [...]

This is the euro announcement that set off today’s selloff

(ZH) What Mario Draghi did today is the worst of all possible worlds: on one hand he is allowing more financial risk-taking on the ECB’s dime courtesy of increased liquidity and relaxed collateral requirements as well as longer LTROs, on the other he essentially killed any provisional bailout rumors, saying that the ECB will not monetize, nor lend to the IMF. The result: sovereign risk is soaring, as seen by [...]