Greek Default Inevitable, Experts Say

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Greek Default Inevitable, Experts Say

Published on: Thursday, September 15, 2011 Written by: Zeiler

All signs are pointing toward the inescapable conclusion of Greek debt default

and investors must start planning now to mitigate the damage. Market indicators

are already trending in favor of default, including spiking Greek bond yields

and a sharp increase in cost to insure Greek debt. Germany is preparing to

redirect funds away from the European Central Bank and into its own banks to

prepare for what is expected to be a domino effect among other EU nations

struggling with debt. The " PIIG " countries, Portugal, Italy, Ireland and Greece,

will likely not be able to gain economic stability without broader EU support,

which is expected to crumble once Greece collapses. Experts advise investors to

look at buying commodities and reverse ETFs and selling off weaker positions to

protect against the fallout. For more on this continue reading the following

article from Money Morning.

At this point a Greek debt default is virtually unavoidable, and it could happen

in a matter of weeks.

The ensuing chain reaction will upend markets around the world and will almost

surely lead to more defaults among the European Union's (EU) other debt-plagued

nations, collectively known as the PIIGS (Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece and

Spain).

The bond markets have already passed sentence, with the yield on two-year Greek

bonds spiking to an astronomical 76% yesterday (Tuesday). Yields on 10-year

Greek bonds rose to 24%.

By comparison, the 10-year bond yields of another PIIGS nation, Italy, rose to

5.74%. Meanwhile, bond yields for the EU's strongest economy, Germany, have

dropped below 2%.

The credit default swap (CDS) markets, where investors can insure their bond

purchases against default, agree with the bond markets' verdict. As of Monday it

cost $5.8 million and $100,000 annually to insure $10 million worth of Greek

debt for five years, which means the CDS market now considers default a 98%

probability.

Most European stock markets have been hammered over the past several weeks, with

some dropping as much as 25%.

" Default is inevitable, " said Money Morning Global Investment Strategist

Hutchinson. " Greeks are paid about twice as much as they should be, and that gap

can't be solved by austerity. "

How Soon is Now

In recent weeks Germany has shown more reluctance to dig deeper into its own

pockets to bail out Greece and the other PIIGS. At the same time, Greece has

struggled to implement the austerity measures that are required if it is to

continue receiving aid from the European Central Bank (ECB) and the

International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Greece's budget deficit has increased 22% this year, while its economy is

projected to shrink more than 5%.

Every new development appears to bring Greece closer to the brink of default -

and some see that happening in the very near future.

" My guess is there will be a Greek debt default by the end of this fiscal

quarter - yeah, that means very soon, " said Money Morning Capital Waves

Strategist Shah Gilani.

Gilani believes that Germany is about to stop sending money to the ECB to shore

up Greece and its fellow PIIGS so it can start " recapitalizing its own banks to

be ready to handle a Greek default and rolling contagion that may result. "

People fear a Greek debt default because of the likely domino effect among the

other PIIGS, Gilani added.

" The biggest problem I see is that the stability fund -- which is a lifeline to

all the member countries in trouble -- is supported by all of them, " Gilani

said. " If anyone falls down, the others have to kick in more. Ask yourself, if

you were about to default yourself and you see Greece default, are you going to

stick around to pony up more money to help the next guy, or are you going to

jump up and be the next guy? "

Worse than Lehman

Many analysts fear a Greek debt default will trigger a global banking crisis

worse than that unleashed by the failure of Lehman Brothers in 2008.

Carl B. Weinberg, chief economist at High Frequency Economics, believes a Greek

debt default would rapidly lead to the assumption that some or all of the other

PIIGS also would default.

A 50% loss on the PIIGS nations' total debt of 3 trillion euros would dock the

financial system by 1.5 trillion euros - less than half of Lehman's losses, the

equivalent of 600 billion euros.

" This is a shock that easily spread around the world quickly, as did the hit

from Lehman, " Weinberg told CNBC.

Weinberg saw no way out of the coming disaster.

" The combination of Greek economic and fiscal mismanagement and German

intransigence adds up to an intractable situation in euro land, " Weinberg said.

" The price will be a banking crisis of historic proportions, and a knock-on

economic depression. "

Prepare Your Portfolio

With the Greek debt default crisis nearly upon us, investors need to map out

their strategy now.

According to Money Morning Chief Investment Strategist Fitz-Gerald,

investors should take the following steps to protect themselves:

•Sell weaker positions and transition that money into companies you really want

to own -particularly if they are the " glocals " we talk about so frequently, and

especially if they have high dividend yields.

•Begin tightening up your protective stops so that you can both capture gains

and protect your capital as the market rolls over.

•Buy commodities including gold, silver, oil and pharmaceuticals.

•Invest in the specialized reverse exchange-traded funds (ETFs).

•And, most importantly, KEEP BUYING - but change up your tactics to include

dollar cost averaging. There's no sense in making all-or-nothing decisions when

that type of thinking doesn't fit market conditions.

" Remember, you miss 100% of the shots you don't take, so getting to the

sidelines is not a profitable plan, " Fitz-Gerald said. " Staying in the game

always has been, and always will be, the way to profit. "