The guys at Brown Brothers Harriman said this morning that we shouldn’t expect much from the G-20. They seem pretty pessimistic about the politics in Greece too.
Headlines from Greece are still likely to dominate price action ahead of the weekend. The political wrangling in Greece continues with the announcement overnight by Prime Minister George Papandreou that he will call off the referendum if the opposition agrees to the bail-out package. The opposition party appears to have little interest in a government of national unity, preferring to position itself against Papanderou’s strict austerity measures. They appear to be willing to negotiate but are still calling for Papandreou to step down and early elections. From here there seems to be two main scenario’s for tonight’s vote. One, Papandreou manages to come to an agreement with the opposition over a new government that could get the latest debt deal agreed. Two, if Papandreou loses the confidence vote, the president will lead negotiations for a transitional government and there will also be early elections. With several of Papandreou’s own lawmakers defecting this seems the most likely option. Either way an agreement will have to be found quickly, as Greece’s Finance Minister stressed that Greece needs the bailout funds by Dec. 15, and Merkel and Sarkozy have made clear that Greece will not see additional aid until it has fully backed the Oct. 26 deal.
If you want a visual representation of what they’re saying, here you go.
Source: Ed Stein, Go Comics