...we can screw up their economies!" - Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac

This must be what happened, because we all know it was because of these 2 institutions the economy collapsed, and not anything else...

Quote :

"Ireland would become the second country in the EU, after Greece, to seek outside help in stabilizing its finances... But analysts said capitulation was all but inevitable as unconvinced investors continued to dump the euro and push up the cost of borrowing not just for Ireland but also for other vulnerable EU nations such as Portugal and Spain... A number of major Irish financial institutions have collapsed in the last two years because of bad loans issued during Ireland's real-estate boom and bust."

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-ireland-bailout-20101122,0,276063.story

11/21/2010 3:07:55 PM

I thought it was all because Bush loosened all those banking regulations. If he hadn't have been president of Ireland and let those fat cats on Wall St have their way, we wouldn't in this situation.

11/21/2010 4:03:09 PM

The US sets the standard for everyone (regarding greed, profit, etc). If our banks are making money hand over fist on securitized loans of the most historically stable asset of the 20th century, don't you think the rest of the developed world wanted a piece of that action, risk be damned?

Note, I'm not considering what our low interest rates did to the rest of the world in terms of borrowing/lending. I suspect it's the same thing we're doing now, exporting inflation, in which case, it doesn't matter where the bank is chartered, if it is facing inflation it will take the same risks seeking yield as anywhere else in the world.

[Edited on November 21, 2010 at 4:31 PM. Reason : .]

11/21/2010 4:31:10 PM

Quote :

"In 1902, European nations responded to a Venezuelan government debt default with military force. German, Italian and British gunboats blockaded ports, seized customs houses and bombarded a Venezuelan fort. Venezuela caved, agreeing to restructure and pay its debts. These days, when European leaders see Greece and Ireland on the brink of default, they don't send gunboats--they send money."

http://www.aei.org/article/102891

12/13/2010 11:15:18 AM

A lot has changed between 1902 and today. WWI ruined the notion that war is a gentlemanly effort. And of course there is the obvious, Greece is part of the common economic community while venezuela was not

12/13/2010 11:24:54 AM