Wall Street Journal
January 17, 2011
There is a tide in the affairs of men.
Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune;
Omitted, all the voyage of their life
Is bound in shallows and in miseries.
So spoke Brutus, urging action over inaction. Not a bad theme for the eurocracy in this new year.
A few things are clear. One is that the status quo is not sustainable: the markets won't have it. With the rating agencies calling even America's triple-A rating into question, not all the euro-zone summit meetings, of which there have been many and will be many more, can persuade lenders that it is a good idea to make capital available to Greece, or Portugal, or Ireland on terms that will not stifle growth in those countries and acerbate their downward spiral.
Another hard-learned lesson is that all the steps taken by Brussels have not created a fire-wall. The flames that consumed Greek sovereign debt have already burned through Ireland and are licking at the gates of Portugal. Only disciples of Rosy Scenario believe they can be contained, rather than moving on to consume Spain, government-less Belgium, and perhaps even Italy. International markets do not respect national boundaries, only facts.
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