Monday, January 30, 2012

The Germans Launch a Blitzkrieg on the Greek Debt Negotiations

By Marshall Auerback, a portfolio strategist and hedge fund manager
News stories continue to suggest that Greece once again appears on the verge of reaching a deal with its private sector creditors on how much of a loss they would be willing to accept on their bond holdings. The latest numbers suggest a 70% write-down. A pretty striking comedown for what is supposed to be a “voluntary default” and, hence, not subject to the triggers of a credit default swap on Greek debt.

Naturally, the spin surrounding the proposed agreement is that this is a “one-off” and that other troubled periphery nations shouldn’t even begin to think of securing a comparable deal. But the inherent tension between securing a write-down on Greek debt which more closely mirrors the disaster which is now the Greek economy, and the desire to minimise the potential contagion effect is rearing its ugly head already, and may help to explain some of Germany’s recent machinations.

Read more: http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2012/01/marshall-auerback-anschluss-economics-the-germans-launch-a-blitzkrieg-on-the-greek-debt-negotiations.html

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