…Calmly observing the changing world

One of the realities of life is that debt skews a relationship.  Mostly because the lender wants his money back, and assurances of repayment only work for so long. And if the lender is Germany and the debtor is Greece, the time has come for something even more drastic in Germany’s eyes.  Jokes about island [...]

It’s both heartening and unsettling to see one of MarkOnMarket’s key issues come to its initial fruition.  Greek bonds – never the bedrock of stability – have finally been shown to be worth just about nothing.  Interest rates soared passed double digits after S&P belatedly rated the bonds as “junk” which caused a wave of [...]

As surely as the dollar seems doomed to decline in status, one might assume that the Euro would be preparing to take its place. And while some in Europe would love for this to happen, the problem with the Euro is simply that it’s impossible to set a European-wide policy that works for the various [...]

We’ve been watching Greece teeter on the brink for what now seems like an eternity. In another trend, we’ve been watching Fitch attempt to get tough with its ratings, in an effort to brand itself as the good rating agency. Both trends continued today, as Fitch downgraded Greece’s debt rating to BBB+. The Hellenic Republic [...]

Just a quick post detailing the relentlessly rising spread among Euro-denominated bonds. I believe this is an extremely important development and I hope to have a new sidebar with this information soon.  For a previous look at the situation, see Greek Ire. Remember, all of these European nations are selling bonds in Euros. The only [...]

If troubles in Iceland reveal our civilization fraying a bit around the edges, the Greek uprisings do the same with a slightly more ominous overtone. While the Icelanders have kept their cool even while protesting their government, the Greeks are given to a little more passion. Today, Athens is no longer a pillar of our [...]