[url]http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8647441.stm[/url]
[quote]Global stock markets tumbled after Greece's debt was downgraded to "junk" by rating agency Standard & Poor's over concerns that the country may default.
It makes the struggling nation the first eurozone member to have its debt downgraded to junk level.
Portugal's debt was also lowered on fears of "contagion", adding to the markets' rout and a fall in the euro.
Germany immediately said it would not "let Greece fall", and there were signs that an aid package could be increased.
Greece wants 40bn euros (£34bn) from eurozone governments and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to shore up its finances.
But there are fears it will not meet conditions needed to access the funds it needs to make looming debt repayments.[/quote]
don't worry guys, we're going to default on china and gonna go to war with them in Red Dawn.
we're with ya.
and anyone living in Greece, is it really that bad?
Anyone hear about the strikes going on over there? I've not been following them but I've heard it's pretty serious.
G'yad dayum Greece! Get yo shit together!
Why does Germany want to help Greece in the first place?
Sounds like poor leadership to me. Any idea what caused this?
Pretty damn insulting right there.
"Standard and Poor" has to be the most apt name for a rating agency ever.
[QUOTE=Fables;21601334]Why does Germany want to help Greece in the first place?[/QUOTE]
Because the economy is global and whether you like it or not, realize it or not, every country relies on every other country to survive. Every country should be helping every country out of the issues ideally.
[QUOTE=HumanAbyss;21601497]Because the economy is global and whether you like it or not, realize it or not, every country relies on every other country to survive. Every country should be helping every country out of the issues ideally.[/QUOTE]
Well I thought that at first, but why aren't others helping?
[QUOTE=Shugo589;21601155]Anyone hear about the strikes going on over there? I've not been following them but I've heard it's pretty serious.[/QUOTE]
It's been like that for the past few months but unfortunately it's lost steam. Regardless the people are pissed.
[QUOTE=Fables;21601334]Why does Germany want to help Greece in the first place?[/QUOTE]
Greece, among other countries like Portugal, Spain, and Ireland, are causing issues with the value of the Euro and the general performance of the Eurozone. Germany has big interests in the performance of the Eurozone for their own ambitions in international markets.
[QUOTE=ProboardslolV2;21601335]Sounds like poor leadership to me. Any idea what caused this?[/QUOTE]
The past few years under the "New Democracy" government saw tremendous economic growth, the largest in the Eurozone at one point. Greece however relied way too much on this growth and did not accommodate for the fact when they would cause their bubble to burst (similar to Spain's over reliance on real estate which led to its own issues).
New Democracy then announced plans to enact austerity plans (IE Raise taxes, cut public spending), as well as the conditions that would come with securing a loan from either the EU or the IMF which would also entail cutting spending.
This got many ordinary people pissed off because they felt they were paying for a crisis they did not cause.
In 2008 there were already protests on the streets. Notably one of these resulted in the death of a teenager which led to further distrust of the government.
[url]http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2008-12-07-greece-protests_N.htm[/url]
To that end at the end of 2009 Greek had their legislative elections and voted in the opposition party, PASOK, and hoped PASOK would not resort to austerity and asking for a bail out. PASOK tried to weigh their options but ultimately declared the economy to be unsustainable and took the same path.
People then swore off the political system and took to the streets. Most of these have taken place in Athens, and have been organized by the major unions as well as the KKE (Greek Communist Party).
The Greek taxation system is pretty screwy as well. There's a number of people who don't pay into it fully, from all segments of society.
[QUOTE=Fables;21601525]Well I thought that at first, but why aren't others helping?[/QUOTE]
Because countries are in a rut of their own and voters would not approve of them giving out money while their countries are trying to recover from the recent economic meltdown. Merkel had been hesitant to secure a loan because of this pressure, as has other nations, like France. Eventually they hammered out a deal but again stipulate strict standards and want the Greeks to get a loan from the IMF too.
Both France and Germany however realize they have to deal with issues in Greece so that confidence is restored in the Eurozone, and this will probably force them to rethink the standards they set for countries who operate in the Eurozone.
[url=http://www.facepunch.com/showthread.php?t=930060]Apparently, armed thugs roam the streets and the police is sitting ducks.[/url]
[QUOTE=lulzbocks;21601782][url=http://www.facepunch.com/showthread.php?t=930060]Apparently, armed thugs roam the streets and the police is sitting ducks.[/url][/QUOTE]
A lot of that is the vacuum being created with the collapse in the police funding and criminals taking advantage of that. It's an unfortunate mess.
In the midst of this, there was a nutty ultra-nationalist group carried out bombings against certain organizations, and in turn this ultra-nationalist group got themselves bombed.
[url]http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8576532.stm[/url]
[quote=from source thingy DUDET]Germany immediately said it would not "let Greece fall", and there were signs that an aid package could be increased.[/quote]
Awww, Germany sounds like the big brother of Greece :3:
[QUOTE=lulzbocks;21601782][URL="http://www.facepunch.com/showthread.php?t=930060"]Apparently, armed thugs roam the streets and the police is sitting ducks.[/URL][/QUOTE]
Yeah I saw that. I'm surprised that Greece is still holding together even slightly if that is common place.
Looks like Greece is in a slippery situation.
Greece is the name of the country, Greek is the language and a person from that country, OP mixed them up.
why don't they just bail out of the EU? the euro has caused so many problems.
Isn't Greece the place that was dealing with all those riots recently?
[QUOTE=Mr. Someguy;21603480]Isn't Greece the place that was dealing with all those riots recently?[/QUOTE]
There are riots happening all over the globe.
Well i have an opinion about Portugal's shit economy
You see, everyday i see no evidence of a recession or a economic crisis, the people are spending money like retards, buying cars they don't need. Cars, and other things of course, but i think Not saving money is the prime culprit in Portugal.
[QUOTE=DrBreen;21604416]Well i have an opinion about Portugal's shit economy
You see, everyday i see no evidence of a recession or a economic crisis, the people are spending money like retards, buying cars they don't need. Cars, and other things of course, but i think Not saving money is the prime culprit in Portugal.[/QUOTE]
If people are buying things, then that's generally a good thing for an economy.
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