RAY DALIO to CNBC

GERMANY'S TRADE SURPLUS AND THE INTRODUCTION OF THE EURO

I have been meaning to repost this from the Sudden debt blog by Hellasious.

It's a post that really makes you look at Eurozone crisis in a different light.
Despite all the PIIGS bashing going on, we often forget that German Exports did benefit greatly from the shift to the Euro!

Sudden Debt: One Picture Is Worth A Thousand Marks (or Merkels)...: Given what is going on in the eurozone at the moment, it is worth it to point out that the biggest beneficiary of the euro is Germany itse................

""""""A full 41% of Germany's surplus comes from France, Italy, Spain and (gasp!) Greece, where Germany is still exporting like gangbusters despite the poor country being in its fifth year of recession.  In fact, Germany's trade surplus per person with Greece is 3.6 times bigger than that with the U.S. (290 euro per Greek versus 81 euro per American)."""""""""

SPAIN - BANKING SYSTEM WORRIES

Graham Summers, Chief Market Strategist at Phoenix Capital Research came up with with this interesting chart in his Gains Pains and Capital Newsletter on May 5, 2012.

Here are some more details of the Spanish Banking System in his Newsletter,

Spain is about to enter a full-scale Crisis.

 A few facts about Spain:

 *    Total Spanish banking loans are equal to 170% of Spanish GDP.

 *    Troubled loans at Spanish Banks just hit an 18-year high.

 *    Spanish Banks are drawing a record €316.3 billion from the ECB (up from €169.2 billion in February).

Overall, I remain wary of news that the situation over there is improving. Unlike its smaller neighbours like Greece, Spain is a large economy whose stability is important for the long term survival of the EURO.

Watch this space!