Greeks
took to the streets again on Wednesday [video]to protest the crumbling of the national economy under the heel of austerity imposed by supra-national bodies. Police threw tear gas and concussion bombs and the protestors responded with Molotov cocktails. The nationwide general strike was hailed by unions as a triumph, bringing Greece to a virtual standstill. The three month-old coalition government is under intense international pressure to impose yet more cuts on its beleaguered citizens to keep the moribund economy afloat. A decision on €11.9 billion more in cuts is expected Thursday. That amount represents 5% of the country's GDP. The extreme measures will be sent to parliament for ratification, but more mass protests are expected against the budget measures. More than 90% of Greeks polled believe the measures are unfair and a burden on the poor.
Sixty people were injured according to emergency services in Madrid Tuesday night as riot police fired rubber bullets into the crowd attempting to surround the parliament building. Spain is struggling with a prolonged recession, twenty-five percent unemployment, and separatist sentiments in Catalan, the wealthiest region of Spain. The mob outside parliament Tuesday night was relatively small since parts of the "indignado" movement did not endorse the protest. Spain's 10 year bond yield rose .301% to almost 6% despite the ECB's pledge to buy sovereign bonds of eurozone countries experiencing financial difficulties. The liquidity being pumped into the system by both the US Federal Reserve and the ECB is clearly not
relieving the economic burdens of the masses but is being diverted into financial markets where assets prices are bid up.
