Weren't we told Greece was "bailed out," "backstopped," or whatever word you care to use? That's all I've heard all week on ToutTV.
Greece could seek IMF funding to help overcome its debt crisis if its EU partners do not provide "clear support" next week, a government spokesman said Wednesday.
eorge Petalotis said the March 25-26 European Union summit on how to deal with a potential bailout for Greece will be crucial, as the country struggles to reduce a bloated budget deficit and public debt.
"I believe the summit is when it will become evident whether the European partners want to support a country ... or whether we have to resort to some other solution," Petalotis said.
Doesn't sound "done" to me!
“The idea that Greece can go from a 12% deficit now to a 3% deficit two years from now seems fantasy,” Feldstein, an adviser to U.S. presidents since Ronald Reagan, said in a March 13 interview in Geneva. “The alternatives are to default in some way or to leave, or both.”
Of course it's a fantasy. So tell me this: Why are the markets going up in the belief that the Greece problem is in fact fixed, when:
- Mathematically it is basically impossible to do so given the constraints that exist AND
- Germany's Constitution prohibits a bailout using German public funds in any way, shape or form (including a backstop of their banks if they "help privately.")
So now we're back to the old "Bazooka" argument, eh?
“We would like to have a loaded gun on the table and hope never to have to use it,” Papaconstantinou told reporters today in Brussels. “It’s clear that the terms of refinancing the Greek debt improve as the markets and European partners see the determination of the Greek government.”
Ah, the old Paulson argument.
Remember the tape folks and Paulson's "Bazooka": (Click to enlarge)
Remember folks, the "Paulson Bazooka" was good for one hundred S&P 500 handles in less than a month (hmm... isn't that what we've seen here?) but in the end it failed, because, as is always the case, the market called the bluff.
But this time it's different. I think you should believe our fine friends over in Greece, even though Germany says they won't violate their Constitution (Merkel has repeated this enough times now that she's got to be blue in the face) and the news reports that trickle out say that indeed, Greece has no deal - not in the bag, not on the table, just plain not.
