Greece...

Pont

CLAPTON wrote: »

no, as that would be most of the CBI, bankers, great and the good, captains of industry, lib dems, BBC pundits, FSA bosses etc

Sums it up in one short sentence. How are the above sooooo stupid whilst being soooo overpaid, and the rest of us........

Mrs_Bones

worldtraveller wrote: »

IMHO it's now becoming a more difficult call, maybe 50/50? Funding in V Default?

I think the heads of the EU are now working on the assumption that they have given themselves enough time and build up enough of a firewall to stop any contagion if Greece does default.

Time will tell if that is correct.

pqrdef

Mrs_Bones wrote: »

I think the heads of the EU are now working on the assumption that they have given themselves enough time and build up enough of a firewall to stop any contagion if Greece does default.

They might want to talk to the people who're arguing about the haircut. They could casually just ask them how they might feel about an immediate 100% write-off.

They probably won't want to be standing too close though.

ChiefGrasscutter

They don't care
They have insurance against a 100% haircut.
What they won't agree to is a partial haircut as the insurance won't pay out as it will deemed a voluntary agreement which the bond holders accepted.
They want a hard default.

gagahouse

The escalating brinkmanship came as fresh data showed that Greece's economy contracted by 6.8pc last year and at an accelerating 7pc rate in the last quarter, far worse than expected by the European Union (EU), the European Central Bank (ECB) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) "troika".
The country appears to be in a self-feeding downward spiral that is playing havoc with budget targets, leaving Greece with a Sisyphean task of ever deeper cuts.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financialcrisis/9082843/Greek-economy-spirals-down-as-EU-forces-final-catharsis.html

Greek economy is collapsing, the inevitable result of imposing austerity in a fixed currency union - internal devaluation is the only path Greece can take with that constraint

FWIW I think EU is prepared to let Greece go if necessary, ECB's LTRO has backstopped and insulated banks from contagion effects of a hard greek default

AndyGuil

Looks almost certain Greece are going under. Portugal will go too. The markets will continue and escalate the pressure on Italy and Spain and send them under too. The only reason Greece has been going so long is that it is small enough to bail out. Italy or Spain are too big to save.

BlondeHeadOn

AndyGuil wrote: »

Looks almost certain Greece are going under. Portugal will go too. The markets will continue and escalate the pressure on Italy and Spain and send them under too. The only reason Greece has been going so long is that it is small enough to bail out. Italy or Spain are too big to save.

Part of me thinks that this will be for the best in the long run anyway...

BUT I am not sure what effect that might have on the UK, as I don't suppose that just being outside of the euro currency is going to insulate us much against the fallout ??

AndyGuil

BlondeHeadOn wrote: »

Part of me thinks that this will be for the best in the long run anyway...

BUT I am not sure what effect that might have on the UK, as I don't suppose that just being outside of the euro currency is going to insulate us much against the fallout ??

It is good and healthy for the long term. The UK are tied into this and will get sucked in too but will be one come out of it without having to default. It will cause unemployment, credit crunch and high interest rates to borrow. We will see a lot of businesses go under and more than likely increased nationalisation of banks.

Graham_Devon

AndyGuil wrote: »

It is good and healthy for the long term. The UK are tied into this and will get sucked in too but will be one come out of it without having to default. It will cause unemployment, credit crunch and high interest rates to borrow. We will see a lot of businesses go under and more than likely increased nationalisation of banks.

Whether this will all happen or not is yet to be witnessed.

However, the quicker this happens, the quicker (and easier) we can come out the other side. It's going to be tough, but kicking the can time after time just makes the inevitable worse and worse.

No one wants the inevitable to happen on their watch.

Graham_Devon

EU Ministers want (actually, demand) a further 325m worth of cuts in Greece now....

The Greek people have been pushed to the limit by austerity measures demanded by the EU and IMF, the country's public order minister says.

Christos Papoutsis said Greece had made "superhuman" efforts to comply, and the people "can't take any more".
Eurozone chiefs cancelled a meeting with Greek officials earlier, demanding further cuts and reassurances.

International lenders have told Greece to make huge cuts in return for a 130bn euro ($170bn, £109bn) bailout package.

The Greek parliament approved an austerity package on the weekend, despite violent protests sweeping the country.

But eurozone ministers have demanded a further 325m euros of cuts.

They have also insisted that all major Greek parties give an assurance that the cuts will be enacted regardless of who wins a general election scheduled for April.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-17037267

Love the demand for the cuts to be enacted regardless of who takes office. Brilliant. These people are desperately fruitloop!!

It's got to be coming to a head hasn't it? What we have all been saying for ages now seems to be inevitable. Surely they won't find a way out of this one? The lack of trust / distaste between Greece and Germany / EU ministers is unmissable.

I can see Merkel donning her army gear and setting off in a tank soon! She'll blow a gasket!