FTSE at 9 month low ...

[NorthWestPerm2Contr]

Sold my RBS and LLoyds near the top, waiting for the next bottom. My bets are on RBS: 30p, LLoyds: 40p and Barclays: £2.20. Will wait till they go up by 50 or 60% and then sell again before the next dip (probably some banking crisis in sweden or something).

[TimberWolf]

Sold my RBS and LLoyds near the top, waiting for the next bottom. My bets are on RBS: 30p, LLoyds: 40p and Barclays: £2.20. Will wait till they go up by 50 or 60% and then sell again before the next dip (probably some banking crisis in sweden or something).

I bet there are plenty of clued-up (or better, a source of inside information) people making fortunes at the moment doing this kind of thing. The volatile bank share prices of last year would have been an obvious one to them no doubt.

[PM-Junkie]

Time to buy back in. I just have done. Probably it's time to buy back into Europe but I haven't just yet. The end of the workd doesn't arrive just because Greece goes t*ts up. This is a classic contrarian buying opportunity. Fill yer boots.

If you seriously think this is just about Greece, you either have your head in the sand or you are taking the mick. There are serious macro-economic issues at play here - particularly in the eurozone....I still recall very clued up guys predicting that the euro would be the cause either the break up or reinventing of the EU back when the euro came to life.

I realise the level of economic awareness here is at kindergarten level - but the fact is that if you have a cross-border currency like the euro yet allow each country to individually set its own it's fiscal policy, sooner or later the whole thing breaks. Either the currency goes or you have one fiscal policy. So in the case of the euro - either there is one fiscal policy for the whole eurozone (which will lead to the breakup of the EU if that is attempted), or the EU goes (which could also lead to the breakup of the EU).

So couple that with the level of debt in most EU countries, and the fact that North and South Korea are playing handbags, and it is small wonder that the markets are in turmoil. I expect it will settle down....but it will take a while. As the markets have crashed, expect to see a small bit of good news make them go the other way - briefly.

[Fred Bloggs]

It's been obvious since day 1 that the euro would fail sooner or later. But that doesn't mean that economic power house companies in Europe (or the UK) are not going to quit making lots of profits any time soon. Companys like Siemens, Areva, Vodafone, Nokia, Shell, GSK, Novartis etc aren't goiong away anytime soon. In the big economic picture, Greece is a flea bite.

[snaw]

In the big economic picture, Greece is a flea bite.

I remember people saying something similar as the credit crunch started unraveling ...

[Fred Bloggs]

I like these threads, you keep selling and I'll keep buying. I think Greece defaulting on a few quids worth of dodgy debt is a pin p r i c k compared to Lehman Brothers going bump. In fact, I think that with 20:20 hindsight I really do not think that the US authorities would have allowed Lehmans to have gone bankrupt if they knew what the fallout would be.

[minestrone]

I don't think the euro can fail, adopting it was a one way process and I don't think they can ever go back. It will just be too difficult.

They will move towards a central fiscal policy, it may take years and it will not be by choice but the pain of cycles like these will force their arms.

I don't think the markets will grow until they are sure there will not be another Greece, Spain has to survive a year to prove that, I think, so I expect the markets to sit where they are after this cycle of panic is over.

[DodgyAgent]

If you seriously think this is just about Greece, you either have your head in the sand or you are taking the mick. There are serious macro-economic issues at play here - particularly in the eurozone....I still recall very clued up guys predicting that the euro would be the cause either the break up or reinventing of the EU back when the euro came to life.

I realise the level of economic awareness here is at kindergarten level - but the fact is that if you have a cross-border currency like the euro yet allow each country to individually set its own it's fiscal policy, sooner or later the whole thing breaks. Either the currency goes or you have one fiscal policy. So in the case of the euro - either there is one fiscal policy for the whole eurozone (which will lead to the breakup of the EU if that is attempted), or the EU goes (which could also lead to the breakup of the EU).

So couple that with the level of debt in most EU countries, and the fact that North and South Korea are playing handbags, and it is small wonder that the markets are in turmoil. I expect it will settle down....but it will take a while. As the markets have crashed, expect to see a small bit of good news make them go the other way - briefly.

Are you Simon Heffer by any chance?

The collapse of the euro would open the door to democracy - Telegraph

[DodgyAgent]

I don't think the euro can fail, adopting it was a one way process and I don't think they can ever go back. It will just be too difficult.

They will move towards a central fiscal policy, it may take years and it will not be by choice but the pain of cycles like these will force their arms.

I don't think the markets will grow until they are sure there will not be another Greece, Spain has to survive a year to prove that, I think, so I expect the markets to sit where they are after this cycle of panic is over.

Didnt "they" also say that banks could not fail?

[Fred Bloggs]

I don't think the euro can fail, adopting it was a one way process and I don't think they can ever go back. It will just be too difficult.

They will move towards a central fiscal policy, it may take years and it will not be by choice but the pain of cycles like these will force their arms.

I don't think the markets will grow until they are sure there will not be another Greece, Spain has to survive a year to prove that, I think, so I expect the markets to sit where they are after this cycle of panic is over.

That's a likely scenario, I agree. In the meantime, I'll just enjoy the 5% or so dividends.