EU Debt Crisis Spreads Worldwide

The technocratic governments in Italy and Greece are not off to a smooth start judging from the action in the bond market. A quick glance at the 10-Year note in Italy shows the yield is up 25 basis points to 6.70% and the Spanish 10-year note is up 24 basis points, soaring through the 6% mark to 6.09%.Meanwhile, Greek 1-year bonds are trading at a mere 250%. Any bets on when they exceed 300%?

The 2008-financial crisis left many countries on the verge of collapse, as their economies did not manage to retain a sustainable levels. However there is one big looser, that no one mentions, and more precisely the IMF.   

Europe has been on the "verge" of a deal for two weeks. However, a deal is meaningless if Germany insists on budget controls. Actually a deal now is meaningless even if Germany does back down because at some point Greek politicians will have had enough. Here are the latest stories. Yahoo! Finance reports Greece, creditors on verge of clinching debt deal

The absurdity of the Greek "bailout" setup is in the news once again. The New York Times reports Athens No Longer Sees Most of Its Bailout Aid In an elaborate payment system that began after the May 6 election that brought down the Greek government, and is meant to ensure that the Greeks do not touch the cash, the big three creditors are now wiring bailout payments to an escrow account in Greece.

Ambrose Evans-Pritchard at The Telegraph says Legal skull-duggery in Greece may doom Portugal. I suggest that Portugal is doomed whether or not there is "Legal Skull-Duggery". However, it's perfectly fair to suggest that LSD will indeed make matters worse. From Pritchard ...

Hold your horses on that "finalized" deal. There are still numerous austerity measures to implement, details to wrap up, ribbons to cut, and bows to tie. Thus, the Greek Race to Unlock Bail-Out is on. The Greek government is racing to complete a lengthy checklist of reforms demanded by international lenders before the end of February to unlock a €130bn bail-out agreed in the early hours of Tuesday morning after months of high-stakes bargaining.