[Boiler]

Seriously though, what a bunch of imbeciles, getting so worked up about such an issue.

Even fifteen years ago we were told not to bring up Macedonia in conversation with the locals. But 100,000 people? That's a *lot*. Must be the snow on the beaches in Athens last week got to them.

And is that huge flea market in Monastiraki still there?

[Kreuzberger]

Seriously though, what a bunch of imbeciles, getting so worked up about such an issue.

Even fifteen years ago we were told not to bring up Macedonia in conversation with the locals. But 100,000 people? That's a *lot*. Must be the snow on the beaches in Athens last week got to them.

And is that huge flea market in Monastiraki still there?

100k is the cops' estimate and, considering temps being in single figures this afternoon, that as close to absolute zero as yer average Athenian is ever likely to come.

In truth, I don't know what the Monastiraki flea market used to be like in pre-crisis times. I guess it has changed anyway, regardless of the hardships.

Remaindered Beckham jerseys vie for space with carefully foxed repro Gina Lollobrigida posters but the back shop in so many of these places is just breathtaking. Especially lighting, beds, fin du siècle upholstery, pianos and anything else that can't be easily punted on ebay to the north of Europe.

Moreover, there are tons of chinz. A keen eye, €5,000, and an LWB Sprinter would gross probably ten to fifteen times that with access in to the UK gay market and the hip young things of Brighton, Hamburg and Copenhagen.

That, or just pass the time of day listening to people. Both are pretty cool.

[Boiler]

Well, to all the detractors who point at Greece as an example of failure:

IMF: Greece among best performers in eurozone

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-47547065

[Tubby Isaacs]

They need to follow through on that debt relief for Greece. Ought to have been done already. Could become politically more difficult if you get a bunch more bad figures for the rest of the Eurozone.

[youngian]

I’ve never fully understood why Greece couldn’t just default like US cities which make no difference to the performance of the Dollar. The size of the bailouts are staggering but much of it are defacto bank bailouts.

[Kreuzberger]

The problem was that those banks were often foreign banks in which those states had a healthy stake. I.e. Sophie and Jürgen being ultimately lumbered with the tab

[Tubby Isaacs]

Indeed.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-euro ... 6H20150106

Over half of the German proportion was owed to a state-owned development bank.

[Peter Howe]

It's pretty absurd, though, if you consider greek citizenship by investment program is working well for them right now. It's absurd to talk about a Grexit in these conditions, I mean when you are deep in dept and making good profit just with the name of the EU.