Catalan Parliament Votes To Declare Independent State

More updates

• SPANISH SENATE APPROVES ARTICLE 155 MEASURES
• SPANISH SENATE GIVES RAJOY THE POWER TO OUST CATALAN GOVERNMENT
• FOR EU NOTHING CHANGES TUSK SAYS IN TWEET
• SPAIN REMAINS OUR ONLY INTERLOCUTOR, TUSK SAYS

Update

Ok, folks here you go:

• CATALAN PARLIAMENT VOTES TO IMPLEMENT INDEPENDENT STATE

There’s your geopolitical black swan that “can’t happen.”

Rajoy is not amused:

Spanish stocks have moved lower still.

And EURJPY is at a new low:

Here’s yields:

And here’s thousands of people running around in the streets:

DEVELOPING: A protest is underway in Barcelona as Catalonia’s regional parliament declares independence from Spain https://t.co/8YSuI1k824 pic.twitter.com/JOQT90gBdZ

— CBS News (@CBSNews) October 27, 2017

En Girona gritos de Independencia, "fuera, fuera la bandera española" y se cantan Els Segadors pic.twitter.com/9gWiMx7CfK

— Marta Rodríguez Font (@MartaRodriguezF) October 27, 2017

Sí. Hem guanyat la llibertat per construir un nou país.

— Oriol Junqueras ?? (@junqueras) October 27, 2017

what i said last weekend about Catalonia and Article 155 for some comic relief.. pic.twitter.com/2YkVLn0ckr

— Heisenberg Report (@heisenbergrpt) October 27, 2017

Stay tuned…

Earlier

Just a quick note: in case you were wondering whether things are “fixed” in Spain, the answer is definitively no.

After a truly absurd session on Thursday, the IBEX is now down something like 1.4%, its worst day since the immediate aftermath of the referendum with lenders including Sabadell, CaixaBank and BBVA leading the non-charge:

As Bloomberg sums up, the Spanish senate is “due to vote later today on measures that will give Rajoy the constitutional power to forcibly eject the Catalan leadership [while] lawmakers in Catalonia are preparing to vote on a declaration of independence.” This pretty much captures the mood:

• TODAY IS A SAD DAY, DRAMATIC IN CATALONIA: CIUTADANS’ CARRIZOSA

You’ve got to like that assessment, because it’s got something for everyone. Even if you don’t think it’s #sad, you’d have to agree it’s dramatic.

“Addressing the senate on Friday morning, Rajoy said Carles Puigdemont’s decision to flout the Spanish constitution by holding a unilateral independence referendum earlier this month had forced the central government to take the unprecedented step of imposing direct rule,” The Guardian recounts, adding that the speech was “punctuated by loud applause,” as Rajoy “requested permission to remove Puigdemont’s administration, saying recent events in Catalonia represented ‘a clear violation of the laws, of democracy, of the rights of all — and that has consequences.'”

Yes, “that has consequences,” and it kind of seems like some politicians are reconsidering whether they’re willing to suffer those “consequences” alongside Puigdemont. But then again, he’s caught between a rock and a hard place because now his supporters are like “yeah, what the actual fuck man? we’re ready to roll, son!” Here’s Bloomberg:

Catalonia’s tumultuous push for independence is on a knife edge after separatists turned on Puigdemont on Thursday when he was moments away from capitulating to pressure from Spain. The Catalan leader is seeking a way to avoid the chaos of an illegal secession without provoking the anger of hardcore supporters.

Sorry Carles, seems like you’re damned if you do, damned if you don’t.