World Financial Meltdown

The Independent this morning opens a report on the euro crisis as follows:

Markets suffered another day of wild swings yesterday amid continued concerns over the Greek debt crisis and its effect on the euro.

The latest round of selling was sparked by reports that the French President, Nicholas Sarkozy, had threatened to pull France out of the euro if Germany failed to get onside with a bailout of the heavily indebted Greek economy. The uncertainty was exacerbated when Josef Ackermann, the chief executive of Deutsche Bank, suggested in an interview that Greece might not ever pay back its debts The newspaper goes on to warn that the UK could be shortly in line for a speculative attack given the debt and deficit problems. Fifty days for a revised budget seems a delay factor that the markets may not be prepared to provide! A San Francisco source , linked here, reports that "Former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker said in a London speech Thursday that he's concerned the euro area may break up. Deutsche Bank AG Chief Executive Officer Josef Ackermann said Greece may not be able to repay its debt in full, according to an interview with Germany's ZDF television. The euro on Friday weakened to less than $1.24 for the first time since November 2008."