Greece

[Tattie]

Greece must be on the brink of defaulting. Italy, Spain and France on the slippery slope?

Time for another Euro-summit?

[Tattie]

Is it in the script that a disfunctional Europe should bring world economic growth to it's knees?

Or is it the rest of the world that's out of step?

[Lippytarian]

We call all of this a global crisis. But it isn't global at all. The Chinese more correctly call it the N. Atlantic crisis.

Countries are in trouble because they have:
a) a level of debt that looks too high for them to repay, or
b) they are owed money which it looks like won't be paid back to them because of others defaulting, which threatens to push them into category a)

And of course once one country goes down, that cause the domino-effect people talk about (although "snowballing" would be a better word for it). The stability of the system is a confidence trick - if the market chooses to believe debts can be repaid, they can. If the market believes debts can't be repaid the bond yields go up making it impossible for the debt to be services. It's brilliant - a system perfectly designed for self-destruction.

Anyway the question was, how will it affect other countries if indebted nations start defaulting. In some cases not much. In the case of countries like China which are major exporters they will see a slump in foreign orders.

[Lippytarian]

The Greeks are rioting, the rest of the Eurozone is having a really bad time. There has to be some desirable end-point to all of this. People must be suffering and striving to obtain some benefit somewhere down the track. The Greeks will not repay most of what they have borrowed. This "second huge bail-out" which is about to happen won't be paid back either. Why is it being done? The Greeks are being ruined by austerity. The longer this goes on the larger will be the default when it comes.

The only conceivable purpose of any of this pain is to postpone the day of reckoning - on the assumption that we will better ready for it later than we are now.

[John]

The only end point, desirable or not depending on your preferences, is the end of the Eurozone and eventually the demise of the EU.

[catfish]

I doubt the EU or the Eurozone will be here in ten years time
if they are  i believe they willl be  completly different from today and hopfully without us

[Lippytarian]

The only end point, desirable or not depending on your preferences, is the end of the Eurozone and eventually the demise of the EU.

I doubt the EU or the Eurozone will be here in ten years time
if they are  i believe they willl be  completly different from today and hopfully without us

At the moment it does look like a train-smash being played out in super-slow motion. At yet the time that is being bought by giving Greece more and more money that will not be repaid has allowed people to prepare for the consequences of the Greek default. Plans have been drawn. The markets have been able to adjust, to factor-in the invitable and everybody who is active in the market has now had 2 years to come to terms with what is going one day to happen to Greece. Currency traders now have a new column on their screens, as yet unused, ready for the expected re-introduction of the Drachma.

It remains to be seen, but the whole thing when it comes might be a damp squib.

[John]

The way the Greeks are being and have been treated by the Germans and to a lesser extent the French, lesser only because they don`t have the clout, is deplorable. Merkel is quite happy to cruise along strenghtening her grip on the Eurozone and the EU, and Sarkozy trails along in her wake like a mangy cur.
I dont have a lot of time for the Greeks. I`ve spent quite a lot of time there and got to know many of them. They are the architects of their own troubles. But they don`t deserve this.

[Jane]

 Hi John

This [ They are the architects of their own troubles.[/quote] is one of your sweeping generalisations

 Most Greeks,contrary to  the impression given by some, are not lazy and pay their taxes. The Government hid its debt burden to get into the EU and the E U officials were well aware of this. Now the EU or should I say Germany rule the cradle of Democracy by default. Businesses in  Greece are going to the wall ; the public and private sector are  collapsing . Thousands have lost their homes and/or are living on handouts, food parcels and in in the street In short they are refugees in  their own country .  But of course the current worldwide financial crisis and the errors of then Greek Government and the unsustainable  economic cuts imposed by the EU is the hardworking man in the streets fault.

Regards,
Jane H