Greece: Somethings Gotta Give

The eruption of an active volcano in Alaska is causing local carriers to cancel some flights, and could impact commercial airline traffic if it the situation becomes more severe. The plume of ash spewing from Pavlof Volcano, on the Alaskan Peninsula, is currently reaching about 20,000 feet into the air, the altitude at which some small aircraft fly.

One of Iceland's most feared volcanoes, Hekla, looks ready to erupt, with measurement instruments showing likely magma movement, an Icelandic geophysicist told AFP on Wednesday."The movements around Hekla have been unusual in the last two to three days and have been recorded in five very precise metres placed around Mount Hekla," University of Iceland expert Pall Einarsson said, adding that while this might not necessarily mean an immediate blast, "the volcano is ready to erupt."

A mud volcano that has displaced more than 13,000 Indonesian families will erupt for at least a quarter of century, emitting belches of flammable gas through a deepening lake of sludge, scientists reported on Thursday.Underground pressure means the volcano "Lusi," in Sidoarjo, East Java, is likely to gush grey mud until 2037, when volumes will become negligible, according to their computer model.But gas will continue to percolate through it for decades and possibly centuries to come.

Marc Chandler submits:The Greek drama continues to be a key focus in the foreign exchange market. It is expected to rival financial regulation as key topics at G7 meeting and G20 meetings at the end of the week. Officials, Greek and others, continue to play down the risks of default. Even if Greece can muddle through this year, there is growing realization that that will also not mean closure.

By George Liu: Greek Drama Confusing signs continue to come out of Greece concerning its PSI (Private Sector Involvement) debt-swap, in which creditors are to accept around a 50% writedown in the value of their bond holdings. This issue is of paramount importance because the debt swap between creditors and the Greek government must be sealed before the troika will issue further financial aid for Greece.

By Cliff Wachtel: Part 1 of Weekly Review/Preview: Prior Week Market Movers & Their Lessons For the Coming Week

Greek default drama is much like the movie Groundhog Day. If you prefer a quote from Yogi Berra instead, then please consider It's déjà vu all over again. Every day for weeks we have heard a "deal is close". Moreover, on multiple occasions at the end of the week we were informed Greece "had" to reach agreement over the weekend or Greece would default. Let's hope this time someone really means it.

The drama began in Greece. Where is it going to end? Let me begin with some observations on the basic mechanics of sovereign debt default. If you borrow $1 at a 5% interest rate, next year you're going to owe $1.05. If you don't pay any of it back and just roll over the debt, you'd then have to borrow $1.05 next year, meaning you'd owe $1.10 at the end of the following year. It's hard to see how that game can go on forever, even if it's a sovereign government doing the borrowing.