loveandgratitude
17th June 2011, 07:27
GREEK CRISIS
Renowned Eurosceptic and British Euro MP Nigel Farage says saving the banks is why politicians are so determined to bail out Greece and keep it in the Eurozone.
Rioting on the streets of Athens and the collapse of the Greek government has sent world markets into turmoil. Shares and oil prices plunged, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 180 points by midday in New York, while the price of West Texas crude had fallen by more than $2 a barrel. The hi-tech Nasdaq index was down by more than 1%.
"It's sell and ask questions later," said Steven Goldman of Weeden & Co in Greenwich, Connecticut.
Yields on two-year Greek bonds – or the interest rate the Greek government would have to pay lenders – soared to almost 28%, suggesting that investors believe the country is on the point of bankruptcy.
Fears that the contagion could spread to other European economies saw bond yields in Ireland and Portugal jump.
World markets have watched with rising anxiety in recent weeks as Europe's leaders have failed to resolve the mounting Greek debt crisis. An emergency meeting of eurozone finance ministers broke down without a resolution on Tuesday.
The German government is calling for holders of Greek bonds to be forced to bear some of the costs of a new bailout, but its stance has been publicly contradicted by the European Central Bank, which is concerned about the risk that any restructuring would create mass panic in financial markets.
The country's prime minister offered to resign and the yield on Greek two-year sovereign bonds hit 28%. Meanwhile, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 190 points at one stage. Markets are carrying a simple message: we fear politicians and policymakers are losing control of the plot. The long-feared "Lehman moment" – an uncontrolled debt default by Greece, with the impact being felt across the eurozone banking system – suddenly seems a horrible possibility.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YTBbcaNLccM
Renowned Eurosceptic and British Euro MP Nigel Farage says saving the banks is why politicians are so determined to bail out Greece and keep it in the Eurozone.
Rioting on the streets of Athens and the collapse of the Greek government has sent world markets into turmoil. Shares and oil prices plunged, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 180 points by midday in New York, while the price of West Texas crude had fallen by more than $2 a barrel. The hi-tech Nasdaq index was down by more than 1%.
"It's sell and ask questions later," said Steven Goldman of Weeden & Co in Greenwich, Connecticut.
Yields on two-year Greek bonds – or the interest rate the Greek government would have to pay lenders – soared to almost 28%, suggesting that investors believe the country is on the point of bankruptcy.
Fears that the contagion could spread to other European economies saw bond yields in Ireland and Portugal jump.
World markets have watched with rising anxiety in recent weeks as Europe's leaders have failed to resolve the mounting Greek debt crisis. An emergency meeting of eurozone finance ministers broke down without a resolution on Tuesday.
The German government is calling for holders of Greek bonds to be forced to bear some of the costs of a new bailout, but its stance has been publicly contradicted by the European Central Bank, which is concerned about the risk that any restructuring would create mass panic in financial markets.
The country's prime minister offered to resign and the yield on Greek two-year sovereign bonds hit 28%. Meanwhile, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 190 points at one stage. Markets are carrying a simple message: we fear politicians and policymakers are losing control of the plot. The long-feared "Lehman moment" – an uncontrolled debt default by Greece, with the impact being felt across the eurozone banking system – suddenly seems a horrible possibility.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YTBbcaNLccM