Meanwhile in Greece . . . .

Yesterday   Greece debt: Austerity-hit Spartans resent Athens

Vasilis's restaurant and catering business faces bankruptcy

"I feel very angry inside," he says.
"When you try to do the best for your country and your children and your neighbours, you still get treated like garbage by the authorities," he says.
"It is psychological violence. Maybe the terrorists we see on the television - this is the process they have gone through."
His words are greeted with nods around the table.


A week ago Greece urges citizens to repatriate money held in foreign banks

Greek money moved mostly to banks in Switzerland and Cyprus. Greeks eager to offload deposits have also been reported flying to the UK with "suitcases full of cash" used to snap up prime properties in central London.
Estate agents in the capital said that over the course of the past year Greeks had scaled the rich list of foreigners acquiring £2m plus properties in Britain "often closing deals in less than a week."

Recently the Greek media reported the case of a man in Crete who had hidden a vast amount of cash in his home only to discover that it had been destroyed by mice.

mouse eaten money

*      *      *      *      *      *      * 

It seems to me that the concept of the Euro is basically flawed. It assumes that all member countries have a similar attitude to material wealth. 

What happens when some contries don't trust their banks and the govenment controlling the purse strings?

What's happening in Greece and now the States

I was shocked to hear on the news that United States is close to defaulting on its commitment to keep down its debt.


What is the debt ceiling exactly? It's a cap set by Congress on the amount of debt the federal government can legally borrow. The cap applies to debt owed to the public (i.e., anyone who buys U.S. bonds) plus debt owed to federal government trust funds such as those for Social Security and Medicare. 


Read here 
 

"The European debt crisis has threatened the very existence of the Euro, but the United States has had its own potentially cataclysmic event lying in the weeds: the potential of a default if the debt ceiling is not raised by August 2. If such an outcome occurs, the most profitable positions to take would be long gold, long Swiss Franc against currencies such as the Australian Dollar, New Zealand Dollar, and Canadian Dollar.

 

The prospect of a default by the United States would destabilize the global economy. With both political parties deeply entrenched in their respective doctrines, and the Euro-crisis temporarily put on hold, the market’s collective eye is now set to fixate itself on the debt crisis evolving in the United States. 

Does anyone understand how serious this is - presumably what will happen on Aug 2 is that Congress will again raise its ceiling. "

Sounds like the world's finances are skating on thin ice .

Should we be taking precautions regarding our finances and the health of our banks to deal with collapse.

Can anyone enlighten me?

I suggest that the markets are jumpy as illustrated by the 25% rise in the price of gold over the last year