FT | Shares in Bankia, the Spanish bank that was part-nationalised last week, plunged by more than a quarter on Thursday morning, after a report that customers had withdrawn €1bn from the bank over the past week. The shares fell 27 per cent in morning trade to €1.21 in an initial reaction to reports in El Mundo, a national Spanish newspaper, that customers had withdrawn the large amount, citing information from a recent board meeting. Spain’s stock market regulator placed the shares “under auction”, a process used to allow market participants to cope better with heavy trading volumes.

ZeroHedge.com | While the long-term decline in bank deposits over the past 3 years has been well documented both on Zero Hedge and elsewhere, it is the most recent, acute post-election phase that has not gotten much coverage. Minutes ago Bloomberg sent out a notice that things in Greece may be on the verge of the final collapse.

Infowars.com | The Bilderberg Group is terrified that Greece’s potential exit from the eurozone could lead to a dramatic economic recovery and provide a template for other countries to follow suit, threatening to torpedo the euro single currency and the entire agenda for a European federal superstate. One of the primary discussion topics at this year’s upcoming Bilderberg Group meeting in Chantilly, Virginia will revolve around how the elite plan to address the issue that threatens to bring their agenda for global governance crashing down – the euro crisis.

TheEconomicCollapseBlog.com | The results of the elections in France and Greece have made it abundantly clear that there is a tremendous backlash against the austerity approach that Germany has been pushing.  All over Europe, prominent politicians and incumbent political parties are being voted out.  In fact, Nicolas Sarkozy has become the 11th leader of a European nation to be defeated in an election since 2008.  We have seen governments fall in the Netherlands, the UK, Spain, Ireland, Italy, Portugal and Greece.

AP |  U.S. stock market futures fell Wednesday after disappointing data on Europe's economy and a report showing slowing job growth at home. A day after the Dow Jones industrial average closed at its highest point in four years, Dow index futures slipped 0.38 percent to 13,168. Standard & Poor's 500 futures fell 0.46 percent to 1,394, and Nasdaq 100 futures edged down 0.43 percent to 2,706.75.

Telegraph | More than £122.3bn was wiped off the value of Europe's biggest companies on Monday amid fears that the eurozone's commitment to austerity was being swept away by political rebellion - just as its debts hit record levels. Stockmarkets plunged as traders panicked that Angela Merkel could lose her key allies in France and the Netherlands and that the debt crisis rescue plans could unravel. The Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte, who is one of the eurozone's "hardliners" on fiscal discipline, dramatically quit in the wake of his coalition's refusal to accept Europe's debt pact. Snap elections could be called as early as June.

Economic Blog | In recent days, the fact that Mitt Romney has millions of dollars parked down in the Cayman Islands has made headlines all over the world.  But when it comes to offshore banking, what Mitt Romney is doing is small potatoes.  The truth is that the global elite are hiding an almost unbelievable amount of money in offshore banks.  According to shocking research done by the IMF, the global elite are holding a total of 18 trillion dollars in offshore banks.  And that figure does not even count any money being held in Switzerland.  That is a staggering amount of money.  Keep in mind that U.S. GDP in 2010 was only 14.58 trillion dollars.

AFP | IMF managing director Christine Lagarde implored the United States to help back-stop debt-ridden European countries Tuesday, wading neck-deep into bubbling US political waters. Speaking in the US capital, Lagarde said the 187-nation International Monetary Fund needed more firepower to tackle financial crises raging around the globe, arguing it was in the US interest to pitch in and help Europe.

Daily Mail | Greece is trying to sell off a huge slab of land on the holiday island of Corfu to raise cash to tackle its debts, it emerged today. Government officials revealed a tender has been launched for the exploitation of a large seaside plot on the western resort island. The Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund said it is seeking to sell the 'right of surface' for up to 100 years.

Net Right | Sometimes, government officials tell the truth, and when they do, watch out. It might be a good idea to hold on to your wallet. A recent example is International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde commenting on the European debt crisis in Berlin on Jan. 23.  Even though the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) has already committed €440 billion, the European Central Bank (ECB) €220 billion, and the IMF €78.5 billion to propping up troubled sovereigns Portugal, Italy, Ireland, Greece, and Spain (PIIGS) — some €738.5 billion, or almost $1 trillion in total — Lagarde said, “these moves form pieces, but pieces only, of a comprehensive solution.”

TheEconomicCollapseBlog.com | The central banks of the world are acting as if it is 2008 all over again.  Desperate times call for desperate measures, and right now the central bankers are pulling out all the stops.  The Federal Reserve, the European Central Bank, the Bank of England, the Bank of Canada, the Bank of Japan and the Swiss National Bank have announced a coordinated plan to provide liquidity support to the global financial system.  According to the plan, the Federal Reserve is going to substantially reduce the interest rate that it charges the European Central Bank to borrow dollars.  In turn, that will enable the ECB to lend dollars to European banks at a much cheaper rate.

CNN Money | The International Monetary Fund issued a report Thursday on a possible replacement for the dollar as the world's reserve currency. The IMF said Special Drawing Rights, or SDRs, could help stabilize the global financial system. SDRs represent potential claims on the currencies of IMF members. They were created by the IMF in 1969 and can be converted into whatever currency a borrower requires at exchange rates based on a weighted basket of international currencies. The IMF typically lends countries funds denominated in SDRs

WSJ | The European Central Bank said it would coordinate with the US Federal Reserve, Bank of England, Bank of Japan and Swiss National Bank to ensure banks unlimited dollar funding through the end of the year. The rare coordinated move buoyed markets. European financial stocks, which have been battered in recent weeks, surged as concerns eased over some banks ability to raise enough dollars to meet their obligations.

Telegraph | Josef Ackermann, the chief executive of Deutsche Bank, Germany's biggest bank, has warned that "numerous" European lenders would collapse if they were forced to book their losses on stricken sovereign bonds. Mr Ackermann said that the value of billions of euros of loans has plunged to a level that could overwhelm smaller banks.