Finance Matters

Archive for February 27th, 2010

Jorgo Chatzimarkakis, a German member of the European Parliament, announced in a TV interview Saturday night that France, Germany, and the Netherlands would snap up Greek bonds in an effort to bail the country out, according to Reuters.

But who is Jorgo Chatzimarkakis?

He’s a low-level, 43-year old politician of Greek descent, and even Reuters is forced to wonder how he would possibly be aware of such a plan.

We’re not sure if this is connected to the forthcoming Greek bailout that the WSJ just announced, if so we’d remain highly dubious.

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See Also:

• Bailout For Greece! (Again)
• TARP 2.0: German Parliament Trying To Stop The Greece Bailout
• Don’t Be Fooled By Greek Bailout Optimism, This Is TARP 2.0

According to the WSJ, French and German leaders are close to finalizing the details of a $30 billion bailout for Greece.

Of course we’ve heard this before, so in the meantime, back to the Tsunami!

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See Also:

• Think The Greece Budget Cuts Were Painful? Now The EU Wants Them Doubled
• Careful Euro Bears, Greece Will Try To Dropkick You Next Week
• How To Watch The Hawaiian Tsunami Live Online

The tsunami is expected to hit in a little over half an hour.

Right now, most people seem to be watching this somewhat dicey Ustream of a local TV. But it’s better than nothing. If you’ve got links to better feeds, please post them in the comments.

Though not embeddable, here’s an excellent local news feed if you have Silverlight on your computer. (Thanks to @courtenaybird for the heads up)

Broadcasting Live with Ustream.TV

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See Also:

• "We Dodged A Bullet"
• Hawaii To Sound Tsunami Sirens At 6:00 AM To Wake Everyone Up And Warn Them
• Here’s What We Know Right Now About The Earthquake’s Effect On The Chilean Copper Industry

Update 2: Tsunami warning is lifted. Everyone back in the water.

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Update: It’s 4:00 PM ET. Nothing major yet, but we’re getting to where something could happen.

4:04: News reports say sirens have just gone off.

4:15: Nothing significant yet.

4:22: On CNN they’re reporting that the water is receding, which is the precursor to a wave.

4:23: Also of note, there’s apparently someone in the water on the KITV camera.

4:33: What’s clear is that if you thought some gigantic wall of water was going to hit the island right at 4:05, that was definitely not the right idea. Things still look calm.

4:42: Reports seem pretty definitive that water is receeding. Still nothing big coming in. In the meantime, check out the report from this buoy showing a 20ft spike in the water level off the coast.

4:55 Now reports are coming in that the water is coming in. See here.

4:56: CNN just declared, citing local news reports: “The Tsunami Has Begun”

5:03: For some really excellent coverage, check out CBSNews’ Ustream here.

5:06: The general theme right now is undulations. The water has come in and out at least two times according to CNN. So far no reports of major damage.

5:12: According to MSNBC there are waves at least 5′ tall.

5:30: Still nothing new. Higher water, but no widespread damage.

6:20: Says one expert at the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, according to MSNBC: “We dodged a bullet”

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Original post: In just over an hour — 11:05 AM local time, 4:05 ET — a tsunami is expected to hit Hawaii. Right now it’s all about waiting and evacuation.

Here’s a quick guide to what we we’ve covered

• The initial quake in Chile
• The impact of the quake on the Chilean copper industry
• How to survive a Tsunami (lessons from 1960)
• The entire tsunami warpath.
• We’ve embedded a Ustream of local news here.

Meanwhile, here’s how you can follow the situation in Hawaii elsewhere.

• The Honolulu government has various live cameras (slow).
• Here’s a live cam from Hilo Beach (slow)
• For the best news check out the Honolulu Advertiser.

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See Also:

• Here’s What We Know Right Now About The Earthquake’s Effect On The Chilean Copper Industry
• How To Survive A Tsunami: Abandon Belongings, Head For Higher Ground, And Climb A Tree
• Chile Struck By Massive 8.8 Magnitude Quake

The copper market re-opens tomorrow evening, and earthquake-struck Chile is the world’s major player.

Here are some key background facts courtesy of Mbendi.com:

• Chile accounts for 30% of the world’s reserves. 
• Its share of global production is even higher, at 35%. 
• 17% of the countrys’ exports go to China. The US, France, and South Korea account for another 30%.
• Copper accounts for 40% of the nation’s exports.

Now, here’s some of what’s known right now, courtesy of Reuters:

• About one-fifth of the country’s production has already been suspended.
• The mines closest to the epicenter of the quake are Anglo-American’s Los Bronces and El Soldado. They produce 280,000 tons per year.
• The main state-owned firm Codelco is only expected to be closed for two days. (Wikipedia: Codelco).

Bloomberg also has an assessment and notes that most mining is done well to the north of the quake, and that so far, miners are saying they’re largely unscathed. Rio Tinto says its prize Escondido copper mine (the world’s biggest) is not affected.

As for oil, Platts is reporting that all refining has been shut down, taking 230k b/d off the market.

So the initial flash doesn’t sound too bad. But here’s what we’re waiting to hear: What is going to be the effect on transportation of copper? To what extent will the destruction and various waves effect sea-based exports?

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See Also:

• Tsunami Fears In Hawaii Following Massive Earthquake In Chile
• Chile Struck By Massive 8.8 Magnitude Quake
• Copper Traders Nervously Await Sunday 6:00 PM