Europe Wasn't Destroyed In A Day

By Marc Chandler:Following the Greek PSI in March, one would have thought Greece is out of the news until next month's election. However, the risk of another near-term default has increased, putting it back in the spotlight.Investors who hold Greek bonds that are government by foreign (non-Greek) laws are balking at "voluntary" debt forgiveness that private sector that held Greek bonds governed by Greek law provided.

EUROPEAN leaders came out of a late-night summit meeting with a statement that exceeded expectations for once, and markets are ecstatic. Spanish and Italian equities are up over 4% today, and yields on long-term sovereign debt are down by even more. Charlemagne describes the nature of the agreement:

For weeks we have been hearing "agreement soon" on Greek bond haircuts. The theme for the day today as it was yesterday and as it was a week ago is "tomorrow". One problem with all of these "deal is close" announcements is none of the have included agreement from those who stand to benefit if there is a credit event. Until those CDS holders are made whole, or at least the CDS holders are satisfied, there is no deal, just noise.

(me and the sysop)

MOSCOW — A big question in Russia in 2013 may be “How do I get a beer around here?” Under a law that took effect on New Year’s Day, selling beer at the ubiquitous kiosks that mushroomed along Russian sidewalks and roadsides after the collapse of the Soviet Union has been banned. Though the tiny makeshift shops lost their importance as conventional stores got more of a foothold, new laws could deal a finishing blow to a symbol of the country’s lively and disorderly post-communist free market.

Amazingly, smack in the midst of deal to save Greece from bankruptcy, the ECB not only insists on taking no losses on Greek bonds its holds, it wants a profit on them because it bought them at what seemed at the time to be a substantial discount. The discount was imaginary. The bonds were trading at 7% at the time. Uncomfortable Days for ECB The Financial Times reports Uncomfortable days for ECB

A Greek default appears likely soon as Greece Dispatches Officials to US Over Default Fears. Greece sent senior officials to Washington on Monday for meetings with the International Monetary Fund as it raced against the clock to break a deadlock in debt swap talks that has raised fears of an unruly default.

If you're out drinking with college students, you're more likely to play beer pong than quarters, according to a new study from Loyola Marymount University that looked at the most popular drinking games students play around the country.