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Greece Defaults on debt

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  • Schmidt
    2015-06-30 07:01:17 PM
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    RTE: IMF confirms Greece did not make repayment"

    "The International Monetary Fund has confirmed that Greece did not make a €1.5bn repayment due today.

    "The fund said it received a request from Greece for a repayment extension, which its board would consider in due course.

    "In a statement, the fund said: "We have informed our Executive Board that Greece is now in arrears and can only receive IMF financing once the arrears are cleared.

    "I can also confirm that the IMF received a request today from the Greek authorities for an extension of Greece's repayment obligation that fell due today, which will go to the IMF's Executive Board in due course."

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    So what does this mean? It depends. According to Paul Krugman as per Business Insider:

    "For the past seven years, Krugman argues, the financial noose Europe has placed around Greece's neck has strangled the Greek economy. Each time Europe has loaned Greece money, it has demanded spending cuts in return. And these spending cuts — austerity — have further damaged the Greek economy.

    "In the past, every time the situation has come to a head, Greece has caved. And, in the process, it has transformed itself into little more than a financial slave state mired in an economic depression.

    "There is no way Greece will ever be able to cut its way to prosperity, Krugman argues. And history suggests that any argument to the contrary is crazy.

    "Given that Europe refuses to restructure Greece's debt in a sustainable way and allow the country to try to grow its way out of its misery, Greece has no choice but to default and withdraw."

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    Should we worry?

  • jaredsxtn
    2015-06-30 07:20:15 PM
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    I think this has the potential to bring about a major global crisis, but it doesn't have to. If Greece goes then what's going to happen when another European country defaults? Greece is a relatively small country, but what happens when/if Spain defaults on her debts?

    I'm far more worried about Spain than I am Greece, but that doesn't mean I'm not fretting about what's going on in Greece. The world economy is more interconnected than it has ever been and Greece's default and withdrawal from the Eurozone can cause some serious economic trouble not just in Europe, but throughout the world.

    We should be listening to Paul Krugman far more than we are, but I have a feeling we won't and will only realize he's correct after it's already too late to do anything about it.
  • lonely bird
    2015-06-30 07:25:03 PM
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    The euro is toast. The idea that a nation would willingly give up one of the key components of being a nation-state, creating and managing its currency, is lunacy. Without a complete political economic merger creating the United States of Europe the euro was doomed to failure from the start.
  • TJ
    2015-07-01 12:05:14 AM
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    Today I heard that our little sister - Puerto Rico - is also defaulting on a major debt owed to the USA. Many Billions of dollars.

    Everybody knew Greece would fall. They seriously annoy me when they talk about all that they will not accept or do just because they owe a fortune to the IMF. Time for a yard sale. Sell all of their art and national treasures. Note to IMF........ when you loan ten billion and it doesn't get paid back......don't lend more.

    I am glad a thread was started on this topic as it is very important and has far reaching results.
  • Schmidt
    2015-07-01 07:49:12 AM
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    From the BBC quoting the Financial Times, "Greece's Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has offered new concessions to the country's creditors, media reports say."

    The BBC article has a list of the IMF demands and sticking points.

    Capitulation to the IMF demands may only delay the inevitable. You can read more about the debt in the BBC article. It appears to me at least that the terms are too onerous. Further austerity will not result in recovery. It only punishes those that are the most vulnerable.
  • L.A. Citizen
    2015-07-01 03:36:07 PM
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    The UN should just carpet bomb Puerto Rico and Greece.....who needs rum and salad
  • TJ
    2015-07-01 10:38:14 PM
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    Greece Prime Minister (or whatever his title is) advises they should vote no to the most recent set of terms and conditions. Says it won't negatively effect them. Then Greece wants to borrow another 29 BILLION. I wouldn't loan them 29 million let alone BILLION.
  • Dutch
    2015-07-02 08:25:39 AM
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    TJ Wrote: Greece Prime Minister (or whatever his title is) advises they should vote no to the most recent set of terms and conditions. Says it won't negatively effect them. Then Greece wants to borrow another 29 BILLION. I wouldn't loan them 29 million let alone BILLION.
    Tony, you disappoint me; if you want the "greek" yogurt flowing then at least sent them 5 bucks; or get a goat and make your own yogurt,
  • Schmidt
    2015-07-06 05:15:54 PM
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    Well we now know that the Greeks voted "No" to more austerity. The question is, what will the Eurozone leaders do now? From the public comments made after the vote, it would seem they are divided...more negotiating or shutting them down. It would appear to me that Greece may be on their own soon, in the short term suffering much pain, but maybe in the long term emerging as a stronger country with their own currency.
  • jaredsxtn
    2015-07-06 05:59:13 PM
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    Schmidt Wrote: Well we now know that the Greeks voted "No" to more austerity. The question is, what will the Eurozone leaders do now? From the public comments made after the vote, it would seem they are divided...more negotiating or shutting them down. It would appear to me that Greece may be on their own soon, in the short term suffering much pain, but maybe in the long term emerging as a stronger country with their own currency.

    I honestly think it could go either way. Part of me thinks this is just brinkmanship politics and that Germany (who we all know is pulling all the strings in these negotiations) will eventually cave and gives them a better deal. The other part of me wonders if Greece just bit off more than they can chew.

    The people of Greece are the ones I most worry about. It's not their fault that EU leaders are putting a gun to their heads and daring them to shoot. These are real people with real problems.

    I had a conversation with my fiances father about this crisis last night and I tried to frame the debate by asking him how America would handle a state that was bankrupt and needed help. Would we put a gun to their heads and force everyone in their state to adhere to arduous demands just to make it a few more months or would we work to help them pull out of their problems and make the union stronger?

    If Greece goes then who is next? Spain has an unemployment rate of 22.7% and a youth unemployment rate of 49.3%. Their debt is 93.9% of their GDP. Italy has an unemployment rate of 12.4% and a youth unemployment rate of 44.2%. Their debt is 132.6% of their GDP. If Germany continues to stay ornery then they might bring the entire EU down.

  • L.A. Citizen
    2015-07-06 11:24:26 PM
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    Greece goes broke...they get bailed out. Greece goes broke again.....they want more money.....but on their terms........Then go ask Zeus, Posedein and Apollo for some money.....or make cuts, pay more taxes, and take a little less vacation you lazy bastards. ENTITLEMENT
  • Dutch
    2015-07-07 09:13:08 AM
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    jaredsxtn Wrote:
    Schmidt Wrote: Well we now know that the Greeks voted "No" to more austerity. The question is, what will the Eurozone leaders do now? From the public comments made after the vote, it would seem they are divided...more negotiating or shutting them down. It would appear to me that Greece may be on their own soon, in the short term suffering much pain, but maybe in the long term emerging as a stronger country with their own currency.

    I honestly think it could go either way. Part of me thinks this is just brinkmanship politics and that Germany (who we all know is pulling all the strings in these negotiations) will eventually cave and gives them a better deal. The other part of me wonders if Greece just bit off more than they can chew.

    The people of Greece are the ones I most worry about. It's not their fault that EU leaders are putting a gun to their heads and daring them to shoot. These are real people with real problems.

    I had a conversation with my fiances father about this crisis last night and I tried to frame the debate by asking him how America would handle a state that was bankrupt and needed help. Would we put a gun to their heads and force everyone in their state to adhere to arduous demands just to make it a few more months or would we work to help them pull out of their problems and make the union stronger?

    If Greece goes then who is next? Spain has an unemployment rate of 22.7% and a youth unemployment rate of 49.3%. Their debt is 93.9% of their GDP. Italy has an unemployment rate of 12.4% and a youth unemployment rate of 44.2%. Their debt is 132.6% of their GDP. If Germany continues to stay ornery then they might bring the entire EU down.

    Jared, you've got it right again; the problem is if you help Greece then Spain, Italy, Portugal etc. want the same concessions; that will have a huge effect on the whole Euro zone. So this dilemma will continue for awhile; there is no real solution.
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