If they auction off the Parthenon,

[Solon]

...

[Indy Coug]

Why? That's kind of a fixer-upper, isn't it?

[Solon]

Why? That's kind of a fixer-upper, isn't it?

Legitimate LOL. Thanks for the laugh, Indy.

[creekster]

will CUF stake me the cash to put in a bid?

http://www.economist.com/business-fi...tures_box_main

Greece's sovereign bonds have been reclassified to "junk" status. Ouch.

Can CUF's financial whizzes inform me what a Greek default would mean for the Euro and for the US economy?

It means cheap european vacations again!

[Katy Lied]

will CUF stake me the cash to put in a bid?

No, but if you win, I'll go protest in front of the British Museum, demanding that Lord Elgin give back his marbles.

[Moliere]

Why? That's kind of a fixer-upper, isn't it?

Which Parthenon are you talking about? This one looks to be in good shape..

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...nenssee.01.jpg

[New Mexican Disaster]

If Greece defaults then the global banks who loaned them the money are going to suffer enormous losses. And the hardest hit will be the European banks. The European banks may well be then hit with the same type of contagion that happened here in the U.S. in 2008 when Lehman Bros. went out.

Of course, right behind Greece on the potential default parade are Portugal, Ireland and Spain. This a very dangerous situation for the Euro and the global markets.

[Moliere]

If Greece defaults then the global banks who loaned them the money are going to suffer enormous losses. And the hardest hit will be the European banks. The European banks may well be then hit with the same type of contagion that happened here in the U.S. in 2008 when Lehman Bros. went out.

Of course, right behind Greece on the potential default parade are Portugal, Ireland and Spain. This a very dangerous situation for the Euro and the global markets.

What he said ^^^

The banks with the largest amount of lending to Greece are France ($79B), Germany ($45B) and UK ($15) and the rest at $10B or below. Portugal ($10B) and Ireland ($9B) all have a stake in this and like noted above are all teetering on not being able to refinance debt so if Greece goes bankrupt it could really impact these other guys. If Greece bankrupts these European banks get nothing and some capital vanishes, causing another crisis that will snowball under the whole earth smelts.....well not that bad but you get the picture.

As far as effect on the Euro, I really have no idea as I don't deal in foreign currency but I'd wager a guess that it would devalue the Euro compared to the dollar but I have no idea why that works that way.

Germany has stated multiple times that they (the EU) is going to help out Greece. This means Germany and others will lend them money at reduced rates, which is not a popular idea in Germany of course. It's not quite fair that Germans have to pay for the welfare state of Greece, but then again it was Europe's fabulous (sacrcasm) idea to have one currency.

This could well spell the demise of the Euro, or at least force the EU to kick out countries that are not interested in keeping a relatively safe debt to GDP ratio.

[DapperDan]

Which Parthenon are you talking about? This one looks to be in good shape..

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...nenssee.01.jpg

It's cool, but it doesn't look quite as good up close.

[Solon]

It's cool, but it doesn't look quite as good up close.

Really? I want to get in a drive-by this summer. It's supposed to be a 1:1 replica.

[Uncle Ted]

It means cheap european vacations again!

Yes, that is my guess as well. The dollar would gain strength on the euro. Unfortunately, that doesn't help with Obama's State of the Union address goal of doubling exports in the next five years. A stronger dollar would make U.S. exports more expensive.

[DapperDan]

It's worth seeing if you happen to be in the area. The interior is pretty cool with the giant Athena Parthenos statue and copies of the Elgin Marbles. However the concrete it's made out of is really cheap looking and took a lot away from the experience.

[Uncle Ted]

The Germans offer a suggestion to Greece.... liquidate assets.

[Moliere]

The Germans offer a suggestion to Greece.... liquidate assets.

This whole thing is a huge mess. Mark your calendars for May 10th, which appears to the be the day that Germany and others will decide whether to extend aid or not. It's porbably 90% sure they will help out since not doing so will result in their own investments failing and the euro dropping and thus their whole economy tanking, but it would be interesting if they just kicked Greece out and told them to get their own currency again.

One thing I don't know is whether or not Greece's debt has acceleration provisions if they miss payments. Meaning, if they miss paying off the bonds on May 19th, does that also allow all debt holders to call all outstanding debts even if they are not due yet. Most corporate bonds have this provision so it would be interesting to see if Greece's debt also has such provisions.

[Tim]

It means cheap european vacations again!

I'll tell you this, though: Greece was one of my finalists when considering destinations for my honeymoon -- there was a house in Mykonos that I was looking at renting for the week -- but I decided against Greece and we're going elsewhere. The current situation has me feeling more and more grateful I didn't choose to go down that route. Who knows what the stability of the country will be like if this refinancing doesn't work out. And it's not like Greece has a stable history over the past century.