With all the European sovereign debt downgrades and the possibility of some countries going under, the euro and its related exchange traded funds (ETFs), have been sinking under the pressure. It may be counterintuitive, but some feel that the time is right to buy the euro.
Maybe not now, but someday soon, there could be a buying opportunity in the euro, opines Matt Hougan for IndexUniverse. Why? [ETFs Lifted on Hopes of an Imminent Greece Bailout.]
All the bugs and kinks in Greek’s financial situation are coming out. In response, the European bailout package has increased from $58 billion over one year to $130 billion-$156 billion over three years. International Monetary Fund Chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn believes it’s “impossible” to know the total amount needed in the bailout package.
Hougan outlines a dismal possibility. The EU could prevent Greece from defaulting on May 19 with a $58 billion package, and Greece would enact more unpopular austerity measures. In a few months, Greece would announce it is in more debt than previously thought, be rejected a second bailout by EU political pressure and finally be forced to more austerity concessions.
Notwithstanding the dreary depiction, the euro may emerge stronger, comments Hougan. The EU economic agreement requires all eurozone countries to maintain low debt loads, and this makes it impossible to inflate away debt by increasing money supply – Greece is stuck with the euro for the time being.