After six years of headlines, threats, fears, worries, jitters, hopes, dreams (fill in your favorite Greek Crisis term here) Greece has joined the likes of Haiti and Zimbabwe in failing to pay back the IMF.
In the response to this final act of defiance, indebtittude, ignorance, arrogance, or perhaps even brilliance, stock futures tumbled some .000013%.... give or take a quadrillionth of a percent. Below is detailed visual analysis of that reaction:
The Greek Crisis will not be remembered for that market crash that everyone seemingly was calling for. It will be remembered for one 2% sell-off for equities that was likely going to happen anyway. If you are Greece, be happy that you matter enough to be an excuse for stocks to pull back. You are important Greece. Don't ever forget that. You are just as important as Cyprus, Syria, Ukraine, and any other small country that comes up in the future. These pull backs for the stock market wouldn't be the same without a name to label them with. We will miss you Greece Fears. Greece Hopes. Greece Jitters.
I guess that's really what this all comes down to... It's just Greece. But if it becomes Spain a few months from now, Portugal, Italy.... its the contagion that we have to be mindful of.
If everyone you know was getting their money for nothing and their chicks for free by not paying the IMF back? Ignoring the fact that its immoral and dishonest to ignore debts you promised to pay , wouldn't you get the "What about me?" type of attitude. Hey if they aren't paying back their debts and they are still getting the chicks for free.... than why the heck am I going to pay back my debts? I want my chicks for free too.
That is what we need to watch for. Money for nothing and chicks for free sounds great.... until everyone is getting it and there aren't enough chicks around and/or the money isn't worth anything anymore. That will be the ugly duckling event, you know, the Black Swan everyone has been calling for the last six years. Turns out it will be in the form of a Chick.... and they'll be all over the place. This Black Swan event might not be so bad after all.
I Want My...
I Want My...
Greek Default...
Today you got it. It is done. It is finished.
Who is the next contestant on name that excuse for the market to pull back in a healthy manner?
I enjoy this graphic from the WSJ. Next to over 1.5 billion euros in debt is the term OVERDUE. Like its a late library book or something.
Obama spends that much on his Vacations.