The Charge of the Euro Brigade

This waiting really is getting tedious. TMM are now seriously wondering if European policy is based on Zeno's Paradox of Achilles and the Tortoise, the Tortoise being the Eurosummits and Achilles the markets. The time scales are now getting pretty compressed. We wait for the inevitable "reductio ad absurdum" to play out. In the meantime the pathos of the current situation has TMM wondering how history may recount today's European turmoils. Would Alfred, Lord Tennyson have immortalised it thus?

The Charge of the Euro Brigade.  

Half a year, half a year ,
  Half a year onward,
All in the valley of Debt
  Rode the unfunded
'Forward, the Euro Brigade!
Charge for the loans they said:
Into the valley of Debt
  Rode the unfunded

'Forward, the Euro Brigade!'
Was there a bond unpayed?
Not tho' the Eurocrats knew
  Some one had blunder'd:
Theirs not to make reply,
Theirs not to reason why,
Theirs but to do or die:
Into the valley of Debt
  Rode the unfunded

Spending  to the right of them,
Spending  to the left of them,
Spending in  front of them
  Follied and blunder'd;
Storm'd at, all rushing to sell,
Boldly they bought and well,
Into the jaws of Debt,
Into the mouth of Hell
  Rode the unfunded

Flash'd all their policies bare,
Flash'd as they turned into air
Shattering  the investors there,
Meetings and summits while
  All the world wonder'd:
With policy of mirrors and smoke
the global economy they broke;
Chinese and Russian
Reel'd from a rate cutting-stroke
Shatter'd and sunder'd.
Then they rode back, but not
Not the unfunded

Selling to right of them,
Selling  to left of them,
Selling behind them
  Follied and Blundered
Storm'd at, all shot up to hell,
While investors continued to sell,
They that had bought so well
Came thro' the jaws of Debt
Back from the mouth of Hell,
All that was left of them,
  Left and unfunded

When can their story fade?
O the wild charges they made!
  All the world wonder'd.
Honour the blunders they made?
Honour the Euro Brigade?
  Forever unfunded!
Previous
Next Post »

8 comments

Click here for comments
Anonymous
admin
October 21, 2011 at 10:42 AM ×

C says'
oh f...k I hate you. That was outstandingly funny.I want to see you on Jonathan Woss reading that poem !!

TMM are buying today .....

Reply
avatar
Lemmiwinks
admin
October 21, 2011 at 10:58 AM ×

We didn't want to buy but by Jingo now we do

We've got the hints, we've got the nerve, we've got the money too

Reply
avatar
Leftback
admin
October 21, 2011 at 12:27 PM ×

Nice one, TMM.

Agree that the Waiting is the Hardest Part.

The Waiting

Reply
avatar
Anonymous
admin
October 21, 2011 at 1:52 PM ×

http://www.kipling.org.uk/rg_normansaxon1.htm

Reply
avatar
CV
admin
October 21, 2011 at 4:04 PM ×

Cudos TMM, a very nice one. I guess that ginger/garlic cocktail helped or was it the Black JW perhaps?

On the markets, well ... if it was not for the EMU fudge factory rolling out the wedding cake over the weekend I would be shorting the hell out of this one. It all looks waay too stretched (and toppish) to me.

Claus

Reply
avatar
Polemic
admin
October 21, 2011 at 7:13 PM ×

Thanks folks.. Don't actually know if the original poem would be that well known in the States, can't see it being on all schoolboys of a certain age's compulsory lists like in Blighty.

Lemmiwinks.. great ref to that song also about the crimea.

Anon 1.52. I had never known that Kipling poem and was suitably impressed with its topicality.

CV .. right .. JW black all the way. But have to demure on your sell here thoughts. Running up higher on what should most probably be the most "sell on friday" fridays, and through some old highs is pretty bullish. Euro fatigue really kicking in, ever cut n pasted bit of bad news saw no new selling. Mkt still short risk but if it doesn't get its woe pretty soon I think it will soon be looking for a new toy to break.

Reply
avatar
Amplitudeinthehouse
admin
October 21, 2011 at 10:32 PM ×

I'm guessing this means our 2011 sucker bet has come and gone, bull or bear it doesn't matter to me ,but I'll stick to the plan that this year was all about shorting. For those with mandates ..we salute you.

Reply
avatar
But What do I Know?
admin
October 24, 2011 at 12:28 PM ×

Bravo! Can you do Angela Merkel as the Lady of Shallot?

Reply
avatar