Breakup of the eurozone is now under way

[suityou01]

SchminkyPinkyLinky

Fears that Europe's sovereign debt crisis was spiralling out of control have intensified as political chaos in Athens and Rome, and looming recession, created panic on world markets.

Reports emerging from Brussels said that Germany and France had begun preliminary talks on a break-up of the eurozone, amid fears that Italy would be too big to rescue.

French bonds soared today

AnotherSchminkyPinkyLinky

After the ECB is rumored to have bought €1.7 billion in Italian (70%), Spanish and Portuguese bonds this morning, spreads across the continent stabilized... however briefly. Since then, confirmed speculation of an Austrian downgrade and an unconfirmed rumor that Egan Jones and/or other rating agencies will put France on downgrade review has just sent the French(OAT)-Bund spread to new record highs. And so, the ECB just used up even more firepower to achieve absolutely nothing, especially since the market will now expect Draghi to buy double or €3.4 billion tomorrow, or else it will get very, very angry. In the meantime, we urge the ECB to promptly buy all French bonds it can. Wait, what's that, the ECB can't buy French bonds (yet)? Oh... Oops.

This is descending into a fire fight now.

[BlasterBates]

no there isn't

Sorry, there is no euro break-up plan – yet – Telegraph Blogs

Someone got hold of the wrong end of the stick.

[suityou01]

no there isn't

Sorry, there is no euro break-up plan – yet – Telegraph Blogs

Someone got hold of the wrong end of the stick.

Is this the 5 minute, the 10 minute or the full half hour?

[DodgyAgent]

no there isn't

Sorry, there is no euro break-up plan – yet – Telegraph Blogs

Someone got hold of the wrong end of the stick.

I think that may be you who has got hold of the wrong end of the stick. What is your point?

[BlasterBates]

I think that may be you who has got hold of the wrong end of the stick. What is your point?

That someone at Reuters understood that France and Germany were plotting the break-up of the Euro, but got the wrong end of the stick, as Ambrose Pritchard pointed out, i.e. they misinterpreted a comment from some minor official. This (as usual) got blown out of proportion in the British media.

Never mind. It will probably blow over over the next few weeks.

The only reason a country would leave the Euro would be to print money to pay their civil servants, and that wouldn't be Germany or France who decides that would be up to the country who wants to leave it.

[Doggy Styles]

What do the Lib Dems say about all this? Or Ken Clarke, Tony Blair and Michael Heseltine? Or the Trade Union Council?

That lot would have had us in the euro at the drop of a hat.

And it was only because New Labour knew they'd lose the promised referendum that Gordon Brown invented five unproveable tests as a public excuse to delay it.