SteveR Posted April 27, 2010 Share Posted April 27, 2010 Greek bonds rated 'junk' by Standard & Poor's Greece's debt has been downgraded to junk status by rating agency Standard & Poor's amid concern it could not take steps to tackle its economic crisis. Portugal next? Or Ireland/Italy/Spain? Place your bets! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jagman Posted April 27, 2010 Share Posted April 27, 2010 Portugal, then Ireland ,then italy, then Spain/Uk its a bit like dominoes:) A race to the bottom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustGav Posted April 27, 2010 Share Posted April 27, 2010 Here's the thing, I'm no financial genius that's for sure, but if outside money isn't available, doesn't that force the country to rely on it's own resources which I would have thought in a slightly twisted way would be at least a positive. It will encourage local industry and yes a life of cheap (imported) goods might be a thing of the past. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveR Posted April 27, 2010 Author Share Posted April 27, 2010 Here's the thing, I'm no financial genius that's for sure, but if outside money isn't available, doesn't that force the country to rely on it's own resources which I would have thought in a slightly twisted way would be at least a positive. It will encourage local industry and yes a life of cheap (imported) goods might be a thing of the past. Problem is the locals are already rioting - government has to make cuts, but that would make lots of peope unemployed/reduced pay (sound familiar?), so they have been kicking off. They are a bit stuck as they can't [easily] back out of the euro, but can't in a million years afford their debts. I'm not really sure what happens if they default on their debts. Well, france and germany would be 'a bit' pissed off, but I mean what happens to greece of they did that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Multics Posted April 27, 2010 Share Posted April 27, 2010 I don't think they'll default or drop out of the Euro currency. I want to believe that the EU club wouldn't allow it, can you imagine the blow for the whole Euro project if that happened? I think the EU already took too long to react, they should get their act together and act like a synergy. Merkel has her own political agenda though as it's soon election time in Germany and the general public do not want to bail out "the lazy Greeks"... Funny, comparing the real net working hours of EU citizens, Greeks top the list and in fact they even surpass those of US and are in level only with Asiatic countries such as China but anyway... Fair enough Greece is an economic mess but they should bail them out, impose tough sanctions and make sure realistic austerity measures are put in place. Speculators can't wait to move towards their next victim and they will unless the EU acts real fast. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wez Posted April 27, 2010 Share Posted April 27, 2010 Maybe the single currency isn't such a great idea Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jagman Posted April 27, 2010 Share Posted April 27, 2010 Maybe , there are more currencies that are not so great,and are mathmatical diasters waiting...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
penguin Posted April 27, 2010 Share Posted April 27, 2010 Possibly Ireland... Then Mexico Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imi Posted May 6, 2010 Share Posted May 6, 2010 I don't think they'll default or drop out of the Euro currency. I want to believe that the EU club wouldn't allow it, can you imagine the blow for the whole Euro project if that happened? I think the EU already took too long to react, they should get their act together and act like a synergy. Merkel has her own political agenda though as it's soon election time in Germany and the general public do not want to bail out "the lazy Greeks"... Funny, comparing the real net working hours of EU citizens, Greeks top the list and in fact they even surpass those of US and are in level only with Asiatic countries such as China but anyway... Fair enough Greece is an economic mess but they should bail them out, impose tough sanctions and make sure realistic austerity measures are put in place. Speculators can't wait to move towards their next victim and they will unless the EU acts real fast. Its a country where for example taxi drivers declare an income of 15K euros, first 12K of which are tax exempt while in reality they are making 100K.....this practise of tax evasion is not limited to just taxi drivers, restaurants, shops even within public sector where army personnel are allowed to retire at 42 and claim a full pension.... No wonder the Govt has simply run out of money due to the fact that they were reluctant to do anything about of over the past 10 years. Greece is the 1st of many; Spain and Italy have similar issues but no doubts are larger economies. For the sake of the Euro and our currency, lets hope that they hold out somehow. imi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snooze Posted May 6, 2010 Share Posted May 6, 2010 They......can't in a million years afford their debts. I'm not really sure what happens if they default on their debts. Well, france and germany would be 'a bit' pissed off, but I mean what happens to greece of they did that. I'm most interested in what happens if when this situation eventually ends up hitting the US too. What happens if they default on their ($1 trillion-ish) debt with China. I wouldn't like China to be "a bit" pissed off with me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whitesupraboy2 Posted May 6, 2010 Share Posted May 6, 2010 But what real difference does it make....they cant import / export goods...but the country defaults on debts and builds itself back up from inside out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snooze Posted May 6, 2010 Share Posted May 6, 2010 Just read this article about Greece passing the Austerity bill (ie. to accept the EU loans). Am loving this paragraph: Fears of Greek default have undermined the euro, and while the current package should keep Greece from immediate bankruptcy its long term prospects are unclear. Its growth prospects are weak, and the population's willingness to accept cutbacks may wane, leading some economists to predict an eventual debt restructuring somewhere down the road. "The population's willingness to accept cutbacks may wane". Of course - they're currently accepting cutbacks happily. It's going to wane from it's current position of violent rioting! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imi Posted May 6, 2010 Share Posted May 6, 2010 Only if they had their own currency today to inflate it as much as they wanted....like the Venezuelans...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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