Stuck between a moussaka and a hard frickadelle

Own Goal or levelling the score?

This has been going on for so long I'm getting a thumping headache from the endless to-ing and fro-ing. Heartily sick of it, actually.

It must be the Greek way to live in an endless stat of chaos, where tomorrow will look after itself and yesterday is something to be talked about and analysed "ad nauseam" !

Anglo Saxon observers outside the European Union may be regarding this as the Armageddon of policies and high minded but impractical ideals where it all  unravels...at last!

From the sides there is the deafening sound of silence as fellow members of the basket case coterie, Spain, Italy and Portugal watch the endless procession of concerned dignitaries and ministers traipse between  EU member countries.

When will it all end? Hopefully soon and peacefully; peace after all was one of the prime objectives of the Union.

Money,money,money

It's a rich man's/woman's world

They have an armed bicycle unit, knives, milk chocolate, cow bells, mountains, cheese fondu and cuckoo clocks. They are also very wealthy. It's one of the few places where I have seen a used Rolls Royce Silver Cloud for sale in a used car lot. 

Both admired and criticized for their long held position of neutrality in world affairs , the Swiss however, have been unable to avoid being dragged into the wild and whacky world of international finance.

This week, the Board of the Swiss Central Bank effectively muttered a collective "Bugger it!" and unpegged the Euro from it's Swiss Franc 1.20 counter value where it had been since 2011.

Briefly, investors have been looking for security and have been buying U.S.Government Bonds and Swiss Francs. The incoming tidal surge  of Euros put the country in an intolerable position according to economists, Switzerland's currency reserves accumulating to 70% of its GDP.

Panic set in and as well as banks being unable to handle the demand for Euro as the Swiss went on a buying spree (the value dropped to parity eg 1 on 1 a twenty percent appreciation against the Euro ) a number of hedge funds went belly up. In Freiburg , just across the border from Basle, locals vented their spleen on talkback radio at the hundreds of Swiss citizens whose cars filled all available parking spaces while they frolicked through department stores buying, buying, buying.

Long criticised by many, amongst them the Pope himself, for its inertia and sluggish approach to their economies, the Eurozone is beginning to see the light and talk of stimuli is rife in thousands of classy Michelin star restaurants ( over bottle of red  ) not just any old plonk but Chateau stuff .

With the Greek elections and much marking time as the reforms are considered, it would seem the Euro is in for another rough trot.

It's all Greek

In July 2012, the European Central Bank's president, Mario Draghi promised to do "whatever it takes" to stabilise the Euro. Since then the fears of a Euro break up have receded into the background. That is until now.


For some reason the current Greek government under Mr Samaros decided to bring forward the presidential election to later this month. The Presidency is a largely ceremonial role but if Samaros cannot get enough votes for his candidate Stavros Dimas, a general election will follow. It seems likely, fingers crossed for the Euro, that Mr Dimas will win the vote. However the uncertainty  ( and investors hate surprises unless they pop , buck naked , out of cakes ) has roiled the Euro .

In case there is  general election ,polls suggest that Alexis Tsipras, the populist party leader would win. Although he professes to he would like to remain in the Eurozone , Tsipras  is making promises on public spending and austerity measures that would make it hard for him to keep his aims intact.

The potential and political fall out from the GFC in 2007, made any alternatives to the Euro "scary biscuits"and most preferred to stick with austerity rather than risking meeting the devil they didn't know. Now that the world has not ended and the affected economies appear to be stable, although painfully slow and sluggish, the political risks seem less perilous. The inertia of Europe, economically, is a problem that is current and perhaps more urgent.

There are disgruntled murmurings within EU ranks over still  current austerity measures and apart from the discontent within the  PIGS (Portugal,Italy,Greece and Spain) there are also signs of ferment in France and Germany while the Anglo Saxon Press take pot shots at the "smudgy amalgam of European Politics" to quote Churchill.

It would seem that the nightmarish thrills that turn on business tycoons before they go to sleep is still around but being optimistic, the jitters

does present traders with "opportunities" to earn some extra moolah.

ΏΠΑ!