Euro falls on rumours Greece is to quit the eurozone

[Gerald]

The euro has fallen by more than 1% against the dollar, following a report that Greece had raised the possibility of leaving the single currency.

German magazine Der Spiegel said eurozone finance ministers were holding a crisis meeting in Luxembourg.

The report has been denied vigorously by eurozone countries, including Greece and Germany.

However, the BBC has learned that ministers from four eurozone countries are indeed meeting in Luxembourg.

The countries - France, Germany, Finland and Netherlands - are said to be discussing EU issues, including the financial situation of Portugal, Ireland and Greece.

"The report about Greece leaving the eurozone is untrue," the Greek deputy finance minister Filippos Sachinidis told Reuters.

"Such reports undermine Greece and the euro and serve market speculation games."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-13317770

Note: 6 May 2011 Last updated at 18:45 GMT

[Gerald]

I'm glad we have a strong SEK, to lean to,

[the_tyrant]

hey vendor, so are you going to go to Denmark to spend your money?

Its what us Canadians often do, we go to the states to go shopping

[Gerald]

Originally Posted by the_tyrant

hey vendor, so are you going to go to Denmark to spend your money?

Its what us Canadians often do, we go to the states to go shopping

Denmark is okay to pass and check or make a voyage to, now, it was a while ago I sailed to the country, but it has happened, but our friends in the British Isles they will soon be joined,

[Bakkels]

Originally Posted by Vendor

I'm glad we have a strong SEK, to lean to,

I'm glad for you too, but I'm also glad alcohol here isn't as expensive as in your country

[Gerald]

Originally Posted by Bakkels

I'm glad for you too, but I'm also glad alcohol here isn't as expensive as in your country

Right, that's a big difference between these products,

[Bakkels]

Originally Posted by Vendor

Right, that's a big difference between these products,

Actually I heard a radio item a few weeks ago here about a ferry that goes from Sweden to Finland and is loaded with Swedish people that only take the trip to buy beer and alcohol in huge amounts (and I mean huge, like they take those trolly things with them used to load out the supply trucks at supermarkets). Especially on the way back that caused for some ... 'interesting' interviews I'd be doing exactly the same though

[Gerald]

Originally Posted by Bakkels

Actually I heard a radio item a few weeks ago here about a ferry that goes from Sweden to Finland and is loaded with Swedish people that only take the trip to buy beer and alcohol in huge amounts (and I mean huge, like they take those trolly things with them used to load out the supply trucks at supermarkets). Especially on the way back that caused for some ... 'interesting' interviews I'd be doing exactly the same though

True, in the past, not now, so where the BIG difference in price which is not today, but it is as you say there were large numbers who came in, and many had rubber legs as they walked or crawled off the ferry, with the enlargement of the EU, so we prefer to travel to the Baltic states to fill up the repositories,instead, the Finnish ferry time is a bit strained now...

[Happy Times]

Originally Posted by Vendor

The euro has fallen by more than 1% against the dollar, following a report that Greece had raised the possibility of leaving the single currency.

German magazine Der Spiegel said eurozone finance ministers were holding a crisis meeting in Luxembourg.

The report has been denied vigorously by eurozone countries, including Greece and Germany.

However, the BBC has learned that ministers from four eurozone countries are indeed meeting in Luxembourg.

The countries - France, Germany, Finland and Netherlands - are said to be discussing EU issues, including the financial situation of Portugal, Ireland and Greece.

"The report about Greece leaving the eurozone is untrue," the Greek deputy finance minister Filippos Sachinidis told Reuters.

"Such reports undermine Greece and the euro and serve market speculation games."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-13317770

Note: 6 May 2011 Last updated at 18:45 GMT

The Greeks are also at Luxenbourg and the lights are on trough the night at the Prime Ministers Office in Helsinki.

This week has been the beginning of the end of the eurozone and maybe even EU.

[Gerald]

Originally Posted by Happy Times

The Greeks are also at Luxenbourg and the lights are on trough the night at the Prime Ministers Office in Helsinki.

This week has been the beginning of the end of the eurozone and maybe even EU.

Almost the entire region within the EU've derailed, so it's just a matter of time before the house of cards collapses, at least it feels like, and hope they have lights in a long time, things like this get to suck on them..

[Bakkels]

Originally Posted by Vendor

Almost the entire region within the EU've derailed, so it's just a matter of time before the house of cards collapses, at least it feels like, and hope they have lights in a long time, things like this get to suck on them..

Well the EU hasn't derailed quite yet. Germany is economically on the way up again, and consequently so is Holland. The EU won't collapse, for the same reasons hardly any bank has collapsed since the crisis. Not even in America, where the free market is viewed as an even greater good than over here.
I'm not saying that's a good thing though, just an observation. If there's too much depending on an institution - be it a bank, or the monetary EU in this case - it will never collapse.
This is a time where we should rethink and redesign capitalism, but I see too little changes....
Anyway, I'm back to my movie

[Happy Times]

Originally Posted by Vendor

Almost the entire region within the EU've derailed, so it's just a matter of time before the house of cards collapses, at least it feels like, and hope they have lights in a long time, things like this get to suck on them..

Greece wants to get new terms for its debt or 200bn more finance from EU, they are probably threatening to quit otherwise.

It is all the same as the end result is the same, Greece will default and restructure its debts.

The same goes for Ireland and Portugal.

After that Spain, Belgium, Italy and France..

The reason that Netherlands and Finland are also present is that they are part of the triple A credit rated countries.

Probably EU comission asking us to pump more loans on this bubble.

[Bakkels]

You're probably right, but don't you think the Finnish or Dutch would pour money into it without getting anything back?

[Skybird]

Originally Posted by Happy Times

This week has been the beginning of the end of the eurozone and maybe even EU.

I doubt both, but I would love to be proven wrong on both. Better an end with terror than this terror without end.

Maybe the transfer union will collapse indeed, but not in the forseeable future, political stupidity still is too determined to keep the illujsion alive, no matter the cost. Maybe after Germany has been successfully brought down by transfering billions and billions and billions while accumulating it's own debt burden and deficits. What many people overlook is that in Germany the decisive treshhold criterions for state debts beyond which most economists and historians agree a state can never recover but instead falls into an accellerating spiral - has already been exceeded longer time ago.

Germany has a debt burden of over 2 trillion now (http://www.staatsverschuldung.de/schuldenuhr.htm ) Roughly 30% of that was accumulated in the past 24 months. Early 2008, Germany was on the way towards an at least balanced budget, no new debts. Currently, the budget has a deficit of 3.8%, with a dramatic dependence of German economy on good exports and energy imports (at least the first being a showstopper in the long run).

Since social cuts are not popular with politicians and the left is in a up-pohase over here, I fear that the future will hold higher and higher taxes, and growing spendings alike, which more and more translates into exporioriation over here. Adding open taxes (Einkommenssteuer, sozialabgaben etc) and hidden consumer taxes (Mehrwertsteuer etc) taxes altogether, most of the ordinary middle class employees have to pay already two thirds of their income to the state, not just those roughly 48% that usually are quoted by excluding the hidden taxes.

Damn, I realise how many of those English economic vocabulary terms I am missing.

Some numbers on public and external debts and GDPs.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...by_public_debt
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of..._external_debt

[UnderseaLcpl]

Originally Posted by Skybird

I doubt both, but I would love to be proven wrong.

You won't be. Currency does not bow to the whims of politicians or nations. Money recognizes no master other than free trade. The EU is just one in a long line of failed experiments in messing about with free trade. The E.U. will fall, however noble its intention. Their attempts to socialize it and the obvious resultant failures have doomed them, and this is just the start.