Worries Grow About Breadth of Debt Crisis

Source: The New York Times

The tumult in the European monetary zone is spreading concern among investors of a broader crisis in financial markets from Ireland to Spain.

The worry is that the worst case, a Greek debt default, would lead to damaging losses for European banks and spur a global panic, replaying the events of September 2008. Then, investors fled all but the safest government debt, unloading everything from corporate bonds to American and emerging country stocks. Global markets froze.

As European officials headed into a long weekend of critical talks, the European Union and the International Monetary Fund said that they were confident of a deal to secure a vital 12 billion euros ($17 billion) in outside aid needed to stave off an imminent Greek default.

The comments, reflecting belated advances in negotiations that have been going on for weeks, were aimed at calming anxious financial markets. But so far, the deepening concerns are stopping short of transferring forcefully to the United States. For the time being at least, investors seem to believe enough shock absorbers have been built in to comfortably withstand any default by Greece or other highly debt-ridden nation.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/17/business/17debt.html

Because until some country defaults on the debt owed the very wealthy, we will not get any progress on resolving our economic problems.

When the rich begin to feel a little pinch, they might start to react to the need to get the economy going. They might actually start hiring and raising pay in order to create some demand in the economy.

We probably won't get any movement in the economy until the rich find their investments in serious jeopardy.

.....fucking xactly.

As usual. The Plutocrats (R - Global) are not like the rest of us.

against thew Greek workers.

The bankers are scared, and they have their lapdogs in the press out to undermine the Greek people's movement.

And needed huge bailouts each time. I believe they are going to keep defaulting until there are no more bailouts available. Once that happens the banks that have lent them all this bailout money are going to need to be bailed out or they will fail.

need to be gone to make room for those who actually perform useful services, and therefore, are going to last.

Actually, the worse other countries' bonds look, the better those US Treasury notes look, pushing down borrowing costs for our own government. Just a slight variation on the beggar thy neighbor model that these "capitalists" love.

Caught in a trap of their own making. Let 'em chew a leg off - it'll make them better people.



Or if not, I'll enjoy watching the bastards chew their own legs off.

It's European and American banks that need the cash because these banks loaded Greece up with absurd levels of debt and sold hundreds of billions in CDS contracts on top of it.

Should announce a program of quantatative easings patterned after what Ben Bernanke has put it place in this country. One way that would help is with exports as the Euro loses value. More important it would provide the liquidity to deflect the worst consequences of what is happening there now. Doing nothing is a far worse option.

i.e. America - that'll work well (for the players); the rest not so much.

Quantitative easing isnt secretive- its just a central bank purchasing debt in order to inject cash into the system to stimulate lending and getting the economy going. This is infact is supposed to help out the entire populace- not just the rich. Truthfully, credit crunches hurt the middle class more than the rich so anything that increases credit will help the middle class more.

but it does grease up the liquidity so the banks can keep their casinos going.

Enough is enough.

This link with present the choices governments face today. While it relates to this country, it applies to other governments facing a similar dilemma, such as the European community. In other words we/they are facing ugly and uglier. I'm saying try ugly in a lesser evil manner.