Obama, Dutch premier discuss European debt crisis

European nannycrats breathed a sigh of relief following the re-election of Dutch Liberal Prime Minister Mark Rutte on September 12.

The once taboo subject of a Greek departure from the eurozone cracked in the past couple of weeks, primarily with threats to Greece. Today the exit discussion dam broke wide open as Eurozone tells members to make contingencies for "Grexit" Euro zone officials have told members of the currency area to prepare contingency plans in case Greece decides to quit the bloc, an eventuality which Germany's central bank said would be "manageable".

Does Europe need more hedge funds? That was one of the more intriguing questions to come out of a one-day seminar on Europe's sovereign debt crisis I attended this week in Brussels. The event was co-sponsored by the IMF and Bruegel, the respected European think tank, and it was held under the Chatham House Rule, which means I can't tell you who said what. But I can give you a few headlines.