Posted on 11/01/2011 1:38:15 PM PDT by Signalman
NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- How does one say "Oy vey!" in Greek?
I'm starting to think that the nasty NBA lockout will end -- or in related news, Kim Kardashian will meet, marry and divorce another out-of-work hoops player -- before the Europe financial soap opera finally ends.
Greece dropped a major bombshell on the markets late Monday. Greek prime minister (and Cliff Clavin look-alike ... Norm!) George Papandreou announced there would be a national referendum vote on the bailout agreement reached last week by European leaders.
"I am surprised by this development. It seems to have come out of left field," said David Joy, chief market strategist with Ameriprise Financial in Boston.
The fear is that Greek citizens, who are already unhappy with the austerity measures in place, may reject the debt deal because they don't want the government to force even more belt-tightening.
World markets plunged on the news. U.S. stocks followed suit, with bank stocks unsurprisingly taking it on the chin.
The bankruptcy of MF Global (MF), largely due to exposure to bad sovereign debt in Europe, has investors wondering who else could get hurt by the PIIGS of Portugal, Italy, Ireland, Greece and Spain.
(Excerpt) Read more at money.cnn.com ...
—Greece lightning: Default fears return—
Ha! When did they leave? Did anybody take the deal seriously?
Greece already defaulted and has been repudiating some of its debt with the generosity of the north, including handouts. Maybe northern Europe should cut southern Europe loose and build some fences.
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