Speculators betting to bring down the euro, still
What is the real game being played now by market speculators? Shining a light on the true origins of this week’s sudden crisis with the markets and the euro is a commentary yesterday by Massimo Giannini in Italy’s la Repubblica. English translation online from presseurop (“Playing poker with the euro”, April 28, 2010).
Excerpt:
But in the speculators’ cold-blooded logic, Athens is but a decoy. The real target, the moon we don’t see, is greater by far: it’s the euro. In the kitty on the green gaming table where the states and markets are playing their hands, is the monetary union. As a matter of fact, the offensive has already been launched against Portugal, a country whose sovereign debt rating has already been downgraded and which is headed down the same inexorable road as Greece. Portugal is the next sacrificial victim.
