Europe in Risk

[French jurist]

Commodities and especially gold is your only safe bet against inflation and devaluation

Well, gold could be discussed for pages : it's a commodity but it's not one, it's a currency but it's not one.
The gold market is highly fluctuant, it could indeed keep on raising but once the crisis would be over, investors would very quickly sell their gold provoking a very quick decline of its market.
There are the gold mines too (but they already are overpriced).
The safest bet with gold, if someone has strong assets, is to invest about 5% in it, "just in case".
It seems quite hard to speculate with gold for individuals.

 

[orwellian]

The gold market is highly fluctuant, it could indeed keep on raising but once the crisis would be over, investors would very quickly sell their gold provoking a very quick decline of its market.

Unfortunately the crisis is not going to be over until a very long time.

 

[perry]

Unfortunately the crisis is not going to be over until a very long time.

French jurist since 2001 gold has increased in value over 30 percent in real terms while the US dollar has lost over 38 percent . Anyone who believes that paper has more value than hard assets will be proven wrong as shown by history numerous times.

 

[French jurist]

French jurist since 2001 gold has increased in value over 30 percent in real terms while the US dollar has lost over 38 percent . Anyone who believes that paper has more value than hard assets will be proven wrong as shown by history numerous times.

Did I say that paper has more value than assets ?

 

[mendozanow]

The problem countries are the PIGS, i.e. Portugal, Ireland, Greece, and Spain.

Actually it is PIIGS, Portugal, ITALY, Ireland, Greece, and Spain.

 

[French jurist]

Actually it is PIIGS, Portugal, ITALY, Ireland, Greece, and Spain.

And soon the PIIIGS (adding Iceland now that they have finally decided to join the EU after getting hit hard by the crisis...)

 

[bigbadwolf]

GouchoBob Pigs is a terrible terminology but I beg to disagree that its so isolated. The Euro is in very high risk pig or no pig

Why? The Eurozone is collectively running a trade surplus vis-a-vis the rest of the world (unlike the profligate USA).

Meanwhile another take on the situation in Greece.

 

[bigbadwolf]

And soon the PIIIGS (adding Iceland now that they have finally decided to join the EU after getting hit hard by the crisis...)

The situation is fluid: now it's PIIIGSU (add the UK, which will have a bigger deficit nthan Greece this year).

 

[orwellian]

Iceland and the U.K are not in the euro-zone though

 

[gouchobob]

Here's an interesting article comparing the situation in Greece today, with Argentina back in 2001.

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/gr...tinas-2001-fiasco-2010-02-20?siteid=rss&rss=1

Of course the European problem goes beyond Greece but it's the one that's reached the critical stage at this point.