11 Quotes That Show How Worried The Financial World Is About Europe Right
Now
The following are 11 quotes that show how worried the financial world is
about Europe right now....
#1 Tres Knippa of Kenai
Capital Management: "What is going on in Europe is an absolute disaster…the
risk-on trade is not the place to be. I want to be out of equities and very,
very defensive because the situation in Europe just got worse after those
elections."
#2 Mark McCormick,
currency strategist at Brown Brothers Harriman: "We’re going to have higher
tensions, more uncertainty and most likely a weaker euro."
#3 Nick Stamenkovic, investment strategist at RIA Capital Markets
in Edinburgh: "Investors are questioning whether Greece will be a part of the
single currency at the end of this year."
#4 Jörg Asmussen, a European Central Bank executive board member:
"Greece needs to be aware that there is no alternative to the agreed reform
program if it wants to remain a member of the eurozone"
#5 Tristan Cooper, sovereign debt analyst at Fidelity Worldwide
Investment: "A Greek eurozone exit is on the cards although the probability and
timing of such an event is uncertain."
#6 Art
Cashin: "Here’s the outlook on Greece from Wall Street watering holes. If a
coalition government is formed or looks to be formed, global markets may rally.
Any coalition is unlikely to make progress on goals, since austerity is
political suicide. There will likely be another election around June 10/17. A
workable majority/plurality remains unlikely, so back to square one. Therefore,
Greece will be unable to attain goals by the deadline (June 30). Lacking aid
funds, pensions are suspended and government workers are laid off. Protestors
take to the streets and government is forced to revert to drachma to avoid
social chaos. Pass the peanuts, please."
#7 John Noonan, Senior
Forex Analyst with Thomson Reuters in Sydney: "Sentiment is very bearish, The
euro is under a lot of pressure right now. I get the feeling that it’s going to
be a nasty move lower for the euro finally"
#8 Kenneth S. Rogoff, a professor of economics at Harvard: "A
Greek exit would underscore that there’s no realistic long-term plan for Europe,
and it would lead to a chaotic endgame for the rest of the euro zone."
#9 Chris Tinker of Libra
Investment Services: "It’s a binary decision. If Greece gets itself to the point
where the European administration says, ‘We can’t play this game anymore,’ that
starts a domino effect"
#10 Nicolas Véron, a senior fellow at Bruegel: "France has very
limited fiscal space and actually has to engage in fiscal consolidation"
#11 80-year-old Greek citizen
Panagiota Makri: "I'm
confused. I feel numb and confused. Only God can save us now"
All of this comes at a time when much of Europe is already descending into a
new
recession. Economies all over Europe are contracting and unemployment rates
are skyrocketing. Until things start improving, there is going to continue to
be a lot of civil unrest across Europe.
Meanwhile, things are not so great in the United States either.
JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon claims that the U.S. economy is holding a "
royal straight flush", but the only part of that he got right
was the "flush" part.
There are
100
million working age Americans that do not have jobs, the
middle
class continues to shrink, the rising cost of food and the rising cost of
gas are severely stretching the budgets of millions of American families and the
federal government continues to run up
gigantic
amounts of debt.
When Europe descends into financial chaos, the United States is not going to
escape it. The financial crisis of 2008 deeply affected the entire globe, and
so will the next great financial crisis.
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