Soros cranks up pressure on Greece and the Euro

Posted by admin in Risk & Regs on Mon, 01/03/2010 - 15:22
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George Soros, the international financier who it’s claimed helped bring about the infamous ‘Black Wednesday’ in 1992, has warned that dark days lie ahead for the Eurozone. The billionaire spoke to CNN’s Fareed Zacharia GPS programme, and derided the multinational currency because whilst it has a common central bank but not a common treasury.

The Euro’s performance is at its weakest against the US dollar since November 2008, and is currently trading at $1.35, down from $1.50 in December last year. The ongoing situation in Greece (alongside the other ‘PIIGS’ countries of Portugal, Italy, Ireland, and Spain) has left the Euro embroiled in one of the most pessimistic times since its creation, with hedge fund investors believed to have made massive bets the currency will end in parity with the US dollar.
 
It’s believed a European aid package for Greece, led by Germany, is currently being crafted, but Soros remained wary of future aid to other PIIGS countries. “Makeshift assistance should be enough for Greece, but that leaves Spain, Italy, Portugal and Ireland. Together they constitute too large a portion of the Euroland to be helped in this way,” he warned.
 
Soros’ latest warning came just days after Jim Rogers, a former colleague of his, denied making comments in a press release in which he allegedly predicted the collapse of sterling.  Rogers has since worked hard to deny he made the comments, and in a statement to the Financial Times he said, “I did not issue this nor did I say any of it. I am trying to get it corrected. It is outrageous.”
 

The Bottom Line:If Mr Cable has his way...

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