Greek bonds rated 'junk' by Standard & Poor

[dipsydoodle]

Source: BBC News

Greece's debt has been downgraded to junk status by Standard & Poor's amid concern it was not able to take steps needed to tackle its economic crisis.

The struggling nation wants 40bn euros (£34bn) from eurozone governments and the IMF to shore up its finances and allow it to make debt repayments.

But there are fears it will not meet conditions needed to access the funds.

Earlier, Portugal's debt was downgraded as doubts intensified about countries with substantial debt relative to GDP.

Read more: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8647441.stm

[dixiegrrrrl]

1. roh oh......dominoes.

[liberation]

2. I listened briefly to Thom Hartmann on the radio yesterday and he put this crisis in perspective:

The amount of money Greece is requesting to keep itself afloat, is less than HALF the amount of the dollar figure of bonuses the Banksters in Wallstreet gave themselves at the beginning of the year.

Once I let that sink in I was just flabbergasted. A few thousand people made more than twice the amount of money that a country of millions needs in order to make it in the short term. And they made a lot of that money, by selling their junk debt packages to Greece to begin with.


Untold millions of people (and I count the 300+ million living in this country) are held hostage to a few thousand sociopaths, who really at the end of the day... produce absolutely nothing.

[Nihil]

10. You've got that right!

> The amount of money Greece is requesting to keep itself afloat,
> is less than HALF the amount of the dollar figure of bonuses the
> Banksters in Wallstreet gave themselves at the beginning of the year.

> Untold millions of people (and I count the 300+ million living in
> this country) are held hostage to a few thousand sociopaths, who really
> at the end of the day... produce absolutely nothing.

:grr:

[FLPanhandle]

3. Well, it might be the right time to plan a cheap trip to Greece now.

I wonder what the exchange rate is now.

[Doctor Cynic]

4. Unfortunately, no.

And that's precisely the problem. Greece is in the Euro and shares the same currency with France, Germany, Netherlands, etc, so while normally its Drachma would plummet to an insanely cheap rate and boost tourism and exports, this doesn't happen.

Sure, the Euro has suffered due to this debt crisis, but nowhere near to the extent needed to make Greece competitive again. The result: the country will need years of recession in order to deflate its way back down. Either that, or somehow find a way to leave the Eurozone, which will be a logistical nightmare and a political disaster.

This whole episode looks like the months before Argentina was forced to let go of its 1:1 Dollar/Peso peg back in 2001.

[FLPanhandle]

5. Got it, thanks.

Then the EU needs to step in and bail them out or guarantee their bonds at a minimum. Otherwise, their own people won't be able to afford the basics using the EURO.

[dipsydoodle]

6. Maybe

the US$ is apparently at its highest against the Euro for some years.

[dipsydoodle]

7. Greece crisis: Short-selling banned on Greek markets

Greek regulators have announced a ban on short-selling on Greece's stock market, following steep falls in bank shares.

The ban is designed to prevent investors betting on falls in share prices - believed to undermine confidence in the market.

On Tuesday, Greek bank shares fell 9% amid continued concern over Greece's public finances.

The move also follows big falls in Asian markets on Wednesday.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8648029.stm

[entanglement]

8. They needn't worry, the IMF's kneecappers are on their way with "aid"

:sarcasm:

[dipsydoodle]

9. Greece crisis: Euro markets hit again

European markets have continued to fall heavily amid speculation over the future of the Greek economy.

Stocks in both Paris and Frankfurt were down by more than 2% on Wednesday morning, following the downgrading of Greece's debt to "junk" status.

Spain's leading index is down 3.3%, while in Portugal, which has also suffered a downgrade, shares fell 4%.

Meanwhile the euro fell to a fresh one-year low against the dollar as investors fear a spreading crisis.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8648029.stm

[florida08]

11. Goldman Sachs handiwork

[Mudoria]

13. they have a share in the problem

but the facts are that the Greek government is the real culprits here.

[Javaman]

12. Good time to travel to Greece. nt