WILL THE €750BN BAILOUT PACKAGE FIX EUROPE’S DEBT WOES?
NICK KOUNIS | FORTIS BANK
“It’s a very impressive package and it distinctly reduces the chances of a Lehman-type scenario in Europe because it’s large enough to take care of the financing needs of Spain, Portugal and Ireland over the next few years, aside from what’s already in place for Greece. The Eurozone is sending out a strong message.”
MICHAEL HEWSON | CMC
“On the surface it’s definitely a ‘shock and awe’ package – it’s the equivalent of the US carpet bombing Baghdad on the first night of the Iraq invasion. But in terms of the euro it’s just delaying the inevitable. What Greece and the other weak countries need is a lower euro, so this is a bit of a sticking plaster.”
JENNIFER MCKEOWN | CAPITAL ECONOMICS
“We’ve seen a fairly positive reaction from market so far, but when we first had announcements about Greece we saw similarly positive reactions and those were reversed quickly. There’s still a risk of reversal in the short term. And further out, it doesn’t reduce the difficulties of severe fiscal tightening in the peripheral Eurozone countries.”