Wall St set to slide after Greek referendum call

Reuters via Fox Business ^ | November 01, 2011 | Rodrigo Campos

[Pan_Yan]

On Monday, U.S. stocks racked up their best month in 20 years in October.

Greek Premier George Papandreou said he will put Greece's bailout deal through a referendum, potentially undoing a long-awaited agreement struck just last week and sending European stocks down 4.4 percent. The region's bank shares fell 7.9 percent to $16.25.

Greek opposition parties said the referendum was putting Greece's European Union membership at risk and instead called for a snap election.

U.S. bank shares were expected to follow European lenders lower. The Financial Select Sector SPDR fell 4 percent with Bank of America down 5.9 percent and Morgan Stanley down about 7 percent.

"The market did not see this Greek referendum coming, which is potentially a killer and could knock the wheels off the bus of the whole (European rescue) plan," said Paul Mendelsohn, chief investment strategist at Windham Financial Services in Charlotte, Vermont.

"If the Greek people were to vote for this it would give it a lot more weight," he said. "It's just the uncertainty between now and then what puts the rally in question."

[Pan_Yan]

So the Greeks vote not to cut their spending, the whole deal falls through, Germany walks away from the bailouts, the EU Stabilization Fund dries up, PIIGS default and on the new season of Pawn Stars China buys half of Europe for a truckload of paper currency and a bucket of white rice.

Is that about right?

[Pan_Yan]

Dow Jones 11,721.04 -233.97 (-1.96%)

S&P 500 1,225.52 -27.78 (-2.22%)

Nasdaq 2,624.52 -59.89 (-2.22%)

[PBRSTREETGANG]

Beware of Greeks bearing gifts.

[Coldwater Creek]

I have BBT stock. It is on the rise this morning.........

[Red Badger]

Beware of Greeks bearing gRift..........

[the invisib1e hand]

No doubt a referendum is the right thing to do (assuming, of course, every dollar in debt was subject to a referendum as it accumulated). But why showboat about it right now? Surely everyone sitting around that great-big godamm oak table in Bruxels or wherever knew Greece would have to put it to a referendum, if for no other reason than to make a pretense at keeping protocol.

[BikerJoe]

So the Greeks vote not to cut their spending,

Not sure that's the whole issue. Some portions of the bailout loan are at 30 friggin' percent. They'll NEVER get it paid off. They'd be smarter to forgo the loans, default on everything, and try going cold turkey (govt. is cash-only for the forseeable future).

[proxy_user]

The US market is still pretty high. I don’t see any good buys on my watch lists.

I got some reasonable deals a couple of months back, INTC under 20, MRK at 30.5.

[youngidiot]

Buncha damn democrats over there. They won't go through with the necessary spending cuts because it might cost them political power. They'd rather let the whole damn thing crash. They decide to wash their hands of it by putting it up for popular vote (how do you think that will go? “hey guys, those checks were sending you, how’d you like to vote yourself a smaller check?”) of course their equivalent to our ignorant left will see to it that such an “outrage” never happens to the good people. When the shit hits the fan because their overspending scheme collapses, the cowardly politicians will just say, “what? This is what you voted for. Not our fault.” and the beat will go on. Any attempt to fix the problem with be met with demagoguery by the very bastards that caused the problem. The west might well be doomed. Useful idiots, indeed.

[Buckeye McFrog]

Hanging our financial survival on the whims of Greek politicians. Are these guys brilliant or what?

[Notary Sojac]

I for one am getting sick and tired of the US markets jumping up and down like a trampoline depending upon the aroma of that day’s farts from Greece, aren’t you?

[BubbaJunebug]

Look at it this way...the Germans and others get to work 5 years longer so the Greeks can get their retirement early...I’m sure the Germans et al will love this.

[AnAmericanAbroad]

I take it the “bucket of white rice” is strictly to pay for buying Greece?

If so, you’re right on the money.

[goldstategop]

The collapse of the Euro and bankruptcy is going to stare Greek voters in the face.

They can reject the bailout deal - that’s their prerogative but if they default on Greece’s debt its going to be very tough for Greece to recover - even if it reinstates the drachma.

If investors have to write off their losses, who in their right mind wants to invest in Athens again?

Greek voters have a big decision to make.

[John W]

And...

Wall St extends losses after ISM data
Stocks extended losses on Tuesday after data showed the pace of growth in U.S. manufacturing unexpectedly slowed in October.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Wall-St-cuts-losses-after-EU-rb-3043929755.html?x=0&.v=8

[KarlInOhio]

Look at it this way...the Germans and others get to work 5 years longer so the Greeks can get their retirement early...I’m sure the Germans et al will love this.

Maybe the German people should be the ones demanding a referendum on bailing out the Greeks. Nein! Nein! Nein!

Time to dust off the old Operation Marita & Mercury plans and run them by the German banks' repossession departments.

[Pan_Yan]

My little tongue in cheeck rant was strictly for self amusement. My ability to predict economic trends is dubious at best.

[BfloGuy]

But why showboat about it right now?

To get a better deal. Hush money if you will.

[Deo volente]

These are actual headlines from recent financial news (last 3 months), in chronological order from earliest to most recent:

Stocks Plummet on Greece Fears

Wall Street jumps on euro zone relief

Dow Sheds 200 Points As Greek Collapse Looms

Stocks up in relief rally over eurozone debt deal

Stocks set to drop on eurozone fears

Stocks rise as Greece nears debt solution

Stocks Hit Hard by Euro Zone Fears

Stocks rise as eurozone fears ease

Shares Tumble on Greece Fears

Market Snapshot: U.S. stocks surge on accord in Europe

Greek turmoil sends US and world markets lower

[mlo]

"If investors have to write off their losses, who in their right mind wants to invest in Athens again?"

Investors? We aren't talking about people investing in building Greek olive oil plants. We are talking about people who kept buying Greek government bonds long after it should have been obvious that the Greek government couldn't afford them, because they believed that government bonds would never be allowed to default. Those investors were enablers.

All these desperate deals are attempts to avoid government default at all costs. But if default happens it should teach everyone a valuable lesson. Don't ignore ability to pay when loaning money to governments. This would put a real damper on out of control government spending, not just in Greece.