MidnightWatcher – Prophecy in Motion

“Financial markets are hastily making preparations for a Greek exit from the euro after a day of political and economic turmoil ended with Europe’s policy elite admitting for the first time that it may prove impossible to keep the single currency intact.

With attempts in Athens to form a government after last week’s election looking increasingly doomed, European leaders abandoned their taboo on talking about the possibility that Greece might have to leave the euro.

Shares, oil, and the euro were all sold heavily on Monday in anticipation that anti-austerity parties would garner support in a second Greek election likely to be held next month, bringing the row between Greece and its European creditors to a climax.

Critical talks are scheduled to continue in Athens between all party leaders, although President Karolos Papoulias’s decision to prolong the negotiations came despite widespread signs the talks were heading towards collapse. He has until Thursday, when the Greek parliament reconvenes, to broker a deal.

The British chancellor, George Osborne warned that the prospect of Greece crashing out of the euro was damaging economies across Europe.

Uncertainty over the future of struggling eurozone nations was having a ‘real impact’ on growth, he said…

Markets are braced for figures due out on Tuesday to show that the eurozone is officially in a double dip recession, and fear that the events of the past few days will intensify the slump.” Read more.

Greece Faces Big Debt Payment Tuesday: Now What? – “As if the Greek situation wasn’t messy enough, a missing paragraph from a key legal document is throwing a wrench into a debt deadline. Greece has a 436 million euro principal repayment due Tuesday. So far, the country has not decided what to do. Under normal Greek-debt contracts, if Greece doesn’t pay, it would have only a seven-day grace period. But experts who have pored over all of this have found that one of the key paragraphs from the normally boiler-point language is missing. As a result, Greece will have a 30-day grace period, leading to the possibility of an extended, ‘Will they?’ or ‘won’t they?’ drama.” Read more.