Tuesday Brainstorming - part 1

The looming debt crisis in the EU is picking up speed as without much media coverage USA municipals are drifting towards their own collapse. The ECB is a junk bond buyer now as it has accumulated mostly Greece bonds to help out especially French banks - comes in cozy that Mr Trichet is one himself - and may be now rather a Spanish bond buyer as Spain needs to roll 16 bil the next few weeks plus new money they will need to fund their local banks who have lost all access to credit. It is only a matter of time until the inevitable happens and the other PIIGS go bust as well plus non PIIGS like UK or even USA.
The upcoming Lunar Eclipse 26th June on the Grand Cross will highlight debt problems and intensify the crisis within the next 3 months which will create high level of fear and volatility - even extreme levels are possible. Expect big drops in bond markets - except the save heaven ones like German Bund in the EU - stocks will follow.

excerpt

Spain T-Bill Yields Jump; Doubts Emerge over Rating

Spain's Treasury raised 5.2 billion euros at its 12- and 18-month T-bill auction on Tuesday, but the substantial premium to the same auction a month earlier raised doubts over the country's credit rating.

Glowimages | Getty Images

The 12-month bill paid an average yield of 2.303 percent compared to 1.59 percent in the same auction in May, while the 18-month gave 2.837 percent, up from 1.951 percent.

"The bid/cover was respectable and they managed to get the bonds away. But this was hardly a success with about 5.2 billion euros sold, at the bottom end of the target," said bond strategist at Monument Securities in London Marc Ostwald.

"It also begs the question how Moody's can rate Spain triple-A when you have an auction result like this. While Spanish 12-month yield was 2.30 percent, France's equivalent is 0.4 percent and below the ECB's policy rate of 1.0 percent. This must now put pressure on Moody's to downgrade Spain."

Moody's has kept Spain's debt rating at its highest level, while Fitch last month cut to one notch below top and S&P's has Spanish sovereign debt at two steps below it's highest rating.

On Thursday, the government hopes to raise up to 3.5 billion euros through a 10- and 30-year bond issue.

"(This) comes ahead of the more significant - in terms of Madrid's ability to raise cash on the open market - 10- and 30- year sale on Thursday," 4Cast said in an investors note.

Spain must redeem 16.2 billion euros in bonds by the end of July, a payoff the government has said it will have no problem meeting.

2. Iran seems to be ready to go all in with its confrontation against Israel as it launches a massive anti Israel campaign. This also falls into the same astro time frame and can trigger plenty of escalations especially early July with Uranus going stationary and Mars being opposite can trigger a war like scenario this summer.

excerpt

Iranian Speaker Larijani plans to reach Gaza-Israel border Saturday
DEBKAfile Exclusive Report June 14, 201
0, 11:12 PM (GMT+02:00)

Tags: Iranian Speaker Larijani Gaza Egypt

Aims to challenge Israel from Gaza border

Majlis Speaker Ali Larijani and foreign affairs and security committee chairman Alaeddin Boroujerdi are preparing an epic descent on the Gaza Strip next Saturday, June 19 and a tour of the Israeli border debkafile's Iranian sources reveal. Tehran has applied to Cairo for visas for 200 Iranian lawmakers, leaning hard on Cairo for its assent - up to and including President Hosni Mubarak.
Monday, June 14, Iran submitted a formal request for Egypt's permission to land an Iranian passenger plane at Cairo International Airport or at El Arish in northern Sinai, carrying this large parliamentary delegation and a consignment of food and medicines for Gaza
debkafile's intelligence sources note that if Cairo allows the delegation to enter Gaza, it would be the first time a high-ranking Revolutionary Iranian delegation was ever permitted to tour the Gazan-Israeli border under the eyes of IDF border positions. Larijani is planning to stand up at some point on the border fence, flanked by the enclave's Hamas rulers, and deliver a message of hate for Israel and support for the Palestinian Hamas extremists.
Tehran has another ulterior motive for grandstanding in this style. One is to steal the international limelight Turkish prime minister Recep Erdogan attracted by his blockade-breaking flotilla of May 31 - and go one better. The scenario Larijani has scripted will take his flock of Iranian lawmakers right into the Gaza Strip and show themselves on the Israeli border as a provocative challenge for the Israeli patrols on the other side.
Meanwhile, the first Iranian aid ship for Gaza set sail from Khomanshahr Monday, with a second due to leave port Saturday.
To build up the pressure on Cairo to allow his visit, Larijani Monday instructed four Majlis members to set out for Egypt without delay to try and reach the Gaza Strip and prepare the delegation's grand tour - that is if they receive visas and permission from Cairo.