Wednesday, July 10, 2013

Don't rush to repay that money

A Wall Street Journal editorial on Greece's EU/IMF program with an appropriately negative verdict on its prospects and an interesting hint about implications of a debt restructuring scenario for Ireland --

For Greece, the end of this rescue can't come soon enough. And the end may have to begin with an acknowledgment that loaning Greece the equivalent of 100% of its GDP to address its excessive debt problems was never going to work out as intended. Writing off the loans to Greece would be politically difficult—one reason that Angela Merkel doesn't even want to discuss the matter until after September's elections in Germany. It would raise questions about equal treatment of countries like Ireland, which is facing a crushing EU debt burden of its own. And Greece is responsible for having gotten itself into a mess in the first place.

UPDATE: Portugal is likely to need a 2nd bailout and if so ...

Some analysts also think that when Portugal needs more help from Europe, it is likely to include some element of losses for debt holders, or private sector involvement (PSI), especially as it is set to happen after Germany's election in September.