Cash in the bank? No thanks!
Cyprus banks opened today for the first time since March 16, 2013. That is 13 days of the banks being closed. The banks opened with some restrictions which includes a 300 euro per day withdrawal and restrictions on transferring money outside the country. For now it is said that these controls will be on place for the next 7 days to avoid panic.
Moody’s Investors Service yesterday lowered the highest rating that can be assigned to a domestic debt issuer in Cyprus to Caa2, citing a growing risk that the country would exit the euro.
Obviously, the Cyprus matters have sent shockwaves throughout the financial world. Most say, it can’t happen to us…
- In the US, contracts governing bond seniority were abrogated when GM went bankrupt.
- A case could also be made that the US bank bailouts were a blatant theft of taxpayer cash.
It seems like the average person is paying for big banks or governments mistakes and miscalculations. Some future crisis will be big enough to lead the ECB or some other country to try to take away financial accounts from the ordinary person.
Although the precious metals market hasn’t reacted to this news, this is significant as precious metals are a store of value and wealth.
In news in the U.S. First-time jobless claims rose by 16,000 to 357,000 in the week ended March 23, the highest level in more than a month.
We wish you a Happy Easter and a safe long weekend!
