Greek Voters Shatter Myth of Two-Party System to Defy EU Rules
“With the euro, all of Greece has gone down,” he said while seated at a table in his restaurant called “To Spitiko,” or “The Household,” which is a 20-minute drive from the ski lifts. “The question isn't whether you want to stay in the euro. It's whether you can. There's no money.”
If Europe offers no rescue concessions, said Lourantakis, the nation should reintroduce its own currency. He said Greece, dependent on tourism for about 17 percent of its economy, would regain a comparative advantage when seeking to attract foreign visitors instead of having to operate in a European framework tailored to Germany's high-technology businesses. “I don't have a Mercedes engine,” he said. “I have a tourism engine.”
Eoin Treacy's view Greece has been making headlines as political
parties refuse to cooperate in forming a national unity government. The potential
for additional elections represent another step on the road to an eventual euro
exit if the situation continues on its current trajectory. The Greek
10-year spread over German Bunds collapsed from 3500 to 1600 basis points following
the announcement of the bailout package in March, but has begun to expand once
more as the political impasse raises the risk premium. This has put upward pressure
on a number of other European government bond spreads.
The
Spanish 10-year spread broke upwards
to a new 23-year high today, suggesting investors perceive Spain to be at the
greatest risk of requiring assistance among the other peripheral countries.
Italian spreads found support in the
region of 280 basis points by late March and have since rallied back above 400
basis points. A clear downward dynamic would be required to check potential
for additional upside. By contrast, Irish
and Portuguese spread came under the
least pressure, not least because they do not have imminent funding requirements.
The
Spanish IBEX Index gave up Friday's rally
today but continues to hold in the short-term range below 7000 which also represents
the 2009 low. It is oversold in the short-term but a sustained break above 7200
will probably be required to initiate short covering.
Banco
Santander Central Hispano and BBVA
remain in relatively consistent downtrends, represented by a more than two-year
progression of lower rally highs. They have lost momentum in the region of the
2009 lows but will need to sustain rallies powerful enough to break the sequence
of lower highs to question medium-term supply dominance. Bankinter,
following an abrupt decline in April, has at least paused in the region of €3.
This article
may be of interest.
Banco
Popular Espanol and Banco Sabadell
are accelerating lower increasing the potential they are either going to go
bust or be nationalised.
Bolsas
y Mercados Espanoles is also accelerating lower but even in the worst case
scenario Spain is still going to need a stock exchange. The company could become
a takeover candidate.