Another European county, Greece, goes bankrupt!

[tkuanhoo]

European countries that went bankrupt in just the past 5 years alone ->

Greece, Hungary, Romania, Latvia, Belarus, Serbia, Moldova! Bulgaria, Portugal, Spain and Italy are looking shaky.

Why do European countries have a tendency of going bankrupt?

[Splatted]

Serbia was bombed to nothing not that long ago,.. so they have not had a great economy since.

[tkuanhoo]

Oh dear, I am sorry to hear your country was bombed. Sorry.

But yeah, many European countries are very poor. Singapore is richer than 2/3 of European countries, I think you will be fine in Singapore.

Even the rich ones have a lot of problems with debt, social problems and their economies are obviously in decline.

Are you on a spouse visa?

[Splatted]

Oh dear, I am sorry to hear your country was bombed. Sorry.

thanks. The last time Australia was bombed was when the Japanese bombed Darwin... probably also the stray mini-sub round about the same time in Sydney harbor too.

ANZAC day was a few days ago, so it's the right time of year to remember the fallen soldiers.

[Strong Eagle]

European countries that went bankrupt in just the past 5 years alone ->

Greece, Hungary, Romania, Latvia, Belarus, Serbia, Moldova! Bulgaria, Portugal, Spain and Italy are looking shaky.

Why do European countries have a tendency of going bankrupt?

Possibly because they are doing a shitty job of balancing their budgets? But, it's not just a European phenomenon. Try South America, Africa, and Asia as well.

Having the Euro as a common currency is a problem because it eliminates the ability for a country to devalue its currency, thereby bringing bubble excesses back in line.

[tkuanhoo]

European countries that went bankrupt in just the past 5 years alone ->

Greece, Hungary, Romania, Latvia, Belarus, Serbia, Moldova! Bulgaria, Portugal, Spain and Italy are looking shaky.

Why do European countries have a tendency of going bankrupt?

Possibly because they are doing a shitty job of balancing their budgets? But, it's not just a European phenomenon. Try South America, Africa, and Asia as well.

Having the Euro as a common currency is a problem because it eliminates the ability for a country to devalue its currency, thereby bringing bubble excesses back in line.

Why are they doing a shitty job og balancing their budgets?

[aster]

Problem is that some of the southern members of the EU think that they can live a lavish life much beyond their means (on credit)... and when it comes to paying up (finally that day has come!) they come crying about how they need more yet credit to stay afloat.

They pretty much expect Germany to foot the bill, who I'm sure aren't too happy about bailing out entire nations after they themselves have had to spend massive amounts of money to stimulate their own economy during this recent downturn.

I say kick them out of the Euro-zone because it's not like they're ever going to be a real part of the pan-European economy...

[aster]

I actually have a better idea. Since Greece (according to wikipedia) has around 1,400 islands, 227 of which are inhabited, give the Greeks all the credit they desire as long as they put up some of these islands as collateral. So, pay up by this date or hand over the land. Then let's see how eager they are to enter into loan agreements...

[earthfriendly]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_co ... ublic_debt

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/ar ... gvH_Idf_XQ

Japan has the highest debt to GDP of any industrialized countries and I read that it runs the risk of going bankrupt. Both SG and Japan have higher debt level than Greece and why is Greece more risky than them? Trying to understand the economics here.

[tkuanhoo]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_co ... ublic_debt

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/ar ... gvH_Idf_XQ

Japan has the highest debt to GDP of any industrialized countries and I read that it runs the risk of going bankrupt. Both SG and Japan have higher debt level than Greece and why is Greece more risky than them? Trying to understand the economics here.

Japan has a high level of debt but it has a lot of money in the bank at the same time, second highest amount of foreign reserves. And most of its debt are owned by citizens, that makes it safe.

This public debt measurement is very misleading. Singapore has a high debt because of the CPF government owes to the citizen (35% of everyone's total salary for life). Singapore's debt is 113% of GDP (including all the cpf money that needs to be paid to citizens), that means it is around 150 billion.

Singapore has around 260 billion in CASH right now. Not including Temasek and all the non cash assets which total TRILLIONS of dollars.

If Singapore draws out all its reserves today, everyone in Singapore can stop working for 3 decades while receiving still 5k sgd a month. That is how much money singapore has.

[raden888]

Japan has the highest debt to GDP of any industrialized countries and I read that it runs the risk of going bankrupt. Both SG and Japan have higher debt level than Greece and why is Greece more risky than them? Trying to understand the economics here.

Well, the Greek situation is quite simply linked to productivity.The Greek economy has been stagnant for a long time, only propped up by EU funding, the same applies to Portugal and Spain as well as French farmers.45 billion is lot a lot of money to be thrown away.That is what is actually happening especially if the Greeks do not change they ways. I don't see them changing.

Despite huge public debt, Japan and SG have active economies. In SG case, the private sector depends on public initiatives to stay alive hence the huge public debt.Having a huge public debt is not always a concern..It becomes a concern if the debt is due to spending on the wrong essentials i.e military, bonuses to buy votes etc. Here, a lot of the spending is on infrastructure which will pay itself in the long run.

[sundaymorningstaple]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_co ... ublic_debt

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/ar ... gvH_Idf_XQ

Japan has the highest debt to GDP of any industrialized countries and I read that it runs the risk of going bankrupt. Both SG and Japan have higher debt level than Greece and why is Greece more risky than them? Trying to understand the economics here.

Japan has a high level of debt but it has a lot of money in the bank at the same time, second highest amount of foreign reserves. And most of its debt are owned by citizens, that makes it safe.

This public debt measurement is very misleading. Singapore has a high debt because of the CPF government owes to the citizen (35% of everyone's total salary for life). Singapore's debt is 113% of GDP (including all the cpf money that needs to be paid to citizens), that means it is around 150 billion.

Singapore has around 260 billion in CASH right now. Not including Temasek and all the non cash assets which total TRILLIONS of dollars.

If Singapore draws out all its reserves today, everyone in Singapore can stop working for 3 decades while receiving still 5k sgd a month. That is how much money singapore has.

Which kind of makes this crap look pretty sad. And I've seen worse during the 28 years I've been here.......

http://forum.singaporeexpats.com/ftopic69303.html

[Plavt]

The Greek economy has been stagnant for a long time, only propped up by EU funding, the same applies to Portugal and Spain as well as French farmers.45 billion is lot a lot of money to be thrown away.

............and just guess who's paying for it?

[raden888]

and just guess who's paying for it?

Just read that the rescue package might be around the 100-120 billion mark.WTH???? Let Greece fail..it is a bitter pill to swallow but a lesson well learned.

[Strong Eagle]

and just guess who's paying for it?

Just read that the rescue package might be around the 100-120 billion mark.WTH???? Let Greece fail..it is a bitter pill to swallow but a lesson well learned.

Can't fail... Euro goes with it.