TELL THEM TO FUCK OFF

(h/t Atrios)

There is the Greek debt and there are the bets made on the Greek debt.  Guess which is larger?

Merkel warns against Greek debt restructuring

By JUERGEN BAETZ
Associated Press
Jun 22, 2:03 PM EDT

BERLIN (AP) -- A full-scale restructuring of Greek debt would have "completely uncontrollable" effects on financial markets and could threaten other countries' stability, German Chancellor Angela Merkel warned on Wednesday.

Imposing a so-called haircut on Greek debt - reducing the amount to be repaid - would endanger not only banks and other creditors who hold Greek bonds, but also institutions that sold insurance policies against a default, Merkel said.


Those credit default swaps have a "significantly higher" face value than the debt itself, and the consequences of them being called on can't be foreseen, she said.

"Nobody around the globe knows exactly who holds those papers and what it means if they come due," Merkel told a meeting of the German parliament's European affairs committee. She said it was also unclear "who will have to pay how much and who will need fresh capital in what way."