@Gromit
Thanks for the historical background. I do watch Newsnight etc but must have missed the edition where they explained it and they don't revisit the backstory, they expect viewers to be up to speed.
They behaved the same way any human would where a scarce (or tasty) resource is snapped up, in bulk, when its price is cut by a factor of 6!!
I strongly suspect that the banks knew this would happen or fell over themselves to get Greece hooked on their product but I can't state that, categorically, as there is no proof, only external resemblance. Cynical exploitation, if true.
I could suggest it should be written off, to teach the banksters a lesson but I don't know which investors that would have a knock-on effect on. The review of the papers (BBC News channel) zoomed in on a column saying that UK is in to the tune of a billion, if a write-off occurs but didn't see/hear which paper that was from.
@birdie
//
The Greek bail-out is simply delaying the inevitable. There's no way they can possibly pay back this loan. //
I suppose it all boils down to Greece's GDP? If they no longer manufacture cars, big domestic goods or electronics then they are left with tourism and speciality food. Not massive earners. You'd need dozens of tourists to finance the importation of one (likely German) car. Paying down the debt means stopping buying these imports - which then shafts most of its Euro neighbours.
(First draft of this post was lost and this bit was better written. What makes up its GDP. I speculated that its internal market (goods and services to its own citizens) do not effectively contribute to debt pay-back; only exports can.
//When (not if) Greece leaves the Euro, the Euro collapses
No matter how many times I hear this, I fail to see how the latter follows from the former. Is it as if such a large chunk of the gold, underpinning the currency, has evaporated that all the remaining cash loses value??
Or is it more macro than that - other members realising they too can have their debt written off?
//and with it the larger EU. //
Can't the governmental operation be maintained independently of currency issues? Again, I can't see how EU collapse necessarily follows currency collapse.
(First draft closing paragraph lost; can't recall what point I was trying to make)