Greece: Where To From Here?

It’s pretty hard keeping up with the rapid-fire developments in Greece. Things change every hour it seems; rumors abound and confusion runs deep.

At this point, it all depends on what Greece is prepared to accept and what the EU is prepared to offer. So from here, we could see anything from a full financial pardon from the EU (very unlikely) to a full Greek exit (still quite possible).

Most likely, after the financial carpet bombing conducted by the EU in their effort to sway the Greek vote to “yes,” would be capitulation by both sides — but a bit more on the Greek side than the EU side. After all, nobody wants to see Greek pensioners crying in the street or the prospect of massive food shortages…again. I meant: nobody wants to see that again.

Unless, of course, the EU financial elite have another point to prove. Then by all means, they will do it again. After all, money printed out of thin air and handed over to ne’er-do-well parties is a benefit strictly reserved for bankers, not the ordinary public.

Immediately after the "No" vote, there was turmoil in the markets (or I should say “”markets”” because these things are so constantly manipulated as to be quite unrecognizable), with the S&P 500 futures down 33 points and the euro bombing to new lows at just over 1.09 to the dollar.

Of course, this happened on Sunday, and there was always Monday morning for the fixers to show up and work their “”market”” magic. Which they certainly did.

Note that despite the fact that absolutely nothing changed in terms of news content between 1 and 2 a.m. EST, lots changed in the financial markets as buyers steadily showed up and bought everything that needed to be bought (stocks, euros and bonds) while gold got sold. It’s the exact same pattern we see every time the authorities wish to convey the idea that ‘investor’ confidence in the markets remains.

But which investors, exactly, were out heavily buying this situation all night long?

By the time the cash markets opened up and people were awake in most financial centers, the script for the day had already been cast. Financial markets were going to be supported, gold was going to be sold.