Lies, damned lies and Greek financial statistics

I am almost dribbling with pleasure.  Schadenfreude is just so, so, delicious!  Each time the experts announce that the Greek debt crisis is solved the worth of Greek bonds drops like a stone and the yield demanded by the dealers goes up through the roof.  Everybody knows that the Greeks are born-again liars when it comes to business dealings and I for one never believed a word of all their assurances and economic statistics which they proudly gave to Brussels when they were first accepted into the 'exclusive' (heh, heh!) EU club.  But, as any good con-man will tell you, to sell a pig in a poke you first need a sucker, and the Euro-fanatics are the biggest suckers seen around for years.  You see, they really, really, wanted to believe, so that they could inveigle yet another nation into their Frankish empire - so now they will have to pay for it.  Oh dear, what a pity, never mind!

However, this plaintive whine from Brussells reported by Citywire has me whinnying with laughter:

Markets have certainly lost faith in Greece’s ability to tell the truth about the state of its finances. As the BBC’s Stephanie Flanders writes today, even the official statistical body of the European Union, Eurostat, has repeatedly expressed deep scepticism about Greece’s economic reporting.

In 2001, for example, the year it entered the single currency, Greece reported a budget deficit of 1.4%. And so it stayed until 2005, until the Greek government reported that in 2001 it had actually borrowed 6.1% - more than twice the official Euro limit.

Remember, Eurostat is part of an organisation whose own auditors have refused to sign off its accounts for year after year after year!

This cannot continue for too much longer, like a tension-packed, action film, the big car crash must come soon.  Either the Germans sign the cheque and Frau Merkel gets slaughtered in the local elections due in a fortnight, to say nothing of the bashing her reputation will take when the inevitable legal challenge ends up in the German Constitutional Court, or, they put their cheque-book away.  And anyway, even if they do 'splash the cash' it might not be over because it assumes that the Greek people will sit by quietly as their nation is taken over by Germany - again!  On the other hand, if the deal fails and the Germans walk away then Greece will default and the EU and their beloved Euro will take a massive blow perhaps leading to a two-tier system because if Greece goes then Portugal and Spain will surely follow - and if my prediction comes true, then Italy will not be far behind.

However, there is another possible scenario which I would dearly love to see, and that is, that the Euro fanatics take this chance to change the European constitution - again - and this time inflict fiscal rules on all countries so that the continent becomes a unified tax area with a Federal government.  That would definitely provoke a referendum here and perhaps, just perhaps, 'with one bound we will be free'.

Additional 27th April:  FTSE closes down 2.6 and S&P downgrades Greek debt to 'junk' level.  Dealers have been dumping Greek bonds.

Additional 28th April:  Sky reports the Lisbon stock exchange is down nearly 6.0 this morning.  Now it begins!  Or do I mean, now it ends?

Comments

[dearieme]

I think it's rude to exult just because the Greek government was even worse than Mr Brown's. If it was.

[David Duff]

No, no, 'DM', I'm not crowing over the Greeks but over the Euro fanatics. I would give the Greeks a prize on top of Mt. Parnassos for their excellent work in blowing the froth off the Euro lager!

[dearieme]

Mr Brown would dismiss you as "bigoted", Duffers.

[David Duff]

Well, 'DM', in a few days time I intend to dismiss him - for incompetence!

[Furor Teutonicus]

Greece. The only country so corrupt, that they make the Mafia look like Mother fucking Threresa.

Don't forget, mthe E.U cooked their books for them so they could join the Euro in the first place. NOW my so called fucking "Governmenmt" is set to give them 8,4 BILLION, as a STARTER, whilst our pensioners must go ANOTHER fucking year without an extra bloody Pfennig, because the "Government" can not afford it!

Shower of bastards.

[David Duff]

My dear 'FT', I 'feel your pain', I really do, but you must (to use a current TV ad punch-line) 'calm down, dear'! Easy to say, of course, when it's not your money being dished out to crafty Greeks.

[Umbongo]

"Easy to say, of course, when it's not your money being dished out to crafty Greeks."

Indeed - this time round - but, you know, cash is fungible. Money lent/squandered by members of the eurozone is money not sqandered elsewhere and one thing we know about the EU is that its spending/taxation is a ratchet. So - for the time being - the Treasury will not actually issue a cheque to Mr Papandreou but, rest assured, it will be issuing a cheque to take up the slack elsewhere. I suspect that next Friday (or the following Monday) - as the Portuguese and Spaniards join Greece on the bus to Carey Street - we'll be told that "it's in our interests" to help our "European partners".

[David Duff]

Quite right, 'Bongers', and I'm glad (if that's quite the word) you reminded me.

[Juri]

A "loan" of 120 000 000 000 €!!!!
As Zorba the Greek says in the clip, "C'mon my boy, together...lets-a-go....hop...hahahaha...hop....I have so much to teach you."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jeNsr_nQEfE&feature=player_embedded#!

Sadly, Denmark is not in the EMU so we're not "lending" directly to support this madness.

For some reason, my native people, the Finns, based on what I've read on their papers, do not sound too favourably impressed with this great opportunity to give their crooked brothers in Euro a "loan" that will never be paid back.

I wonder why: In Funland the age of retirement is being raised to 67 plus they have quite a lot of cutting to do after the next year's election to balance the budget. In Greece it is not uncommon to retire at 53 and pay a dead person's pensions to his/her relatives. The officials get a bonus for showing up at work etc. etc.

This bailout sends a wonderful signal to other Euro rogues.
"Teach me to dance"

The sooner I come up with good pyramid scheme and an escape plan the better.

[David Duff]

Juri, sorry for the delay in responding. Denmark, like Britain, might not be paying in to this pyramid scam but you can bet your life that eventually we'll be paying indirectly. An escape plan is prudent but the problem then becomes - where to?