Deutsche Welle debates default by deceit.

A complicated series of different ruses are debated in this latest offering from the German state broadcaster, Deutsche Welle, while seeking to avoid a credit event, or paying out on the CDS purchased to protect investors from the event that the article discusses provoking.

A surreal experience to read.

It gives a fascinating insight into the murky minds of those supposedly responsible for our money!

At what point will a Greece default be a Credit Event?

The question in this post's headline is one that this blog has been posing for a very long time. Today via Orphans of Liberty and Rossa comes a Conversation/Interview which provides some detailed fascinating background.

Invest in the EU and voluntarily be forced to lose 70% and CDS costs against such loss.

The insane world of the European Union tonight appears to deliver investors to the nightmare world described in this posting's headline. Forbes describes the process in an article linked here.

Greece plans law to force private bondholders to take haircut

Bloomberg has the report here. It seems any dirty trick will be sought to avoid triggering the CDS payments that were purchased in good faith by their holders. Can the troika really believe that the markets will afterwards accept that Greece was a once off?

Playing poker over a Credit Event in Greece

Two articles worth considering this evening are linked here and here. The game for several months has been to avoid pay-out on the Credit Default Swaps due on a Greek bond default. It has been an ugly spectacle for those who believe in free markets and private enterprise.

I feel the end game is getting close.

Update from Reuters 1825 GMT here.

Europe's Sovereign Credit Default Swaps

It now costs more to insure German 5 year bonds against default than it does for those of the UK. See here. The joys of the Euro Currency eh?

Denmark's CDS jump 26%

The quiet on the Sovereign Credit Default Swaps market of late last week has broken this morning, with Denmark up 26% followed by France up some 12% see here.