Unexpected break.

I've cut myself in the finger while working in the kitchen and can't type for very long, but we go into the weekend with three observations: the general strike and riots in Greece stemming from the grassroots, the political chaos at the top (see the Prime Minister's attempted resignation, the inability to make a national unity government), incapable of taking a decision that will stick, and the general chaos in Europe. It is now Germany demanding haircuts, i.e. a partial default, versus the others. But Germany keeps delaying, which is worse than unwise. So good to see that the IMF put Germany in its place this week. None of this has stopped Greece from being downgraded to junk status. The Dutch Central Bank called this week for the emergency fund to be doubled. The Dutch are fairly stingy. If they are calling for more contributions, it means they're really concerned.

And for a good reason.  This is also significant because it shows a break between the traditional allied Netherlands and Germany on funding the stability mechanism.


I will be back to commenting as soon as I don't have to type everything three or four times (the bandage is rather clumsy). Have a good weekend.