The Eurosceptics were right; the problem now is that in the best case scenario the region will undergo years of painful convulsions, precipitating a new treaty that imposes greater centralisation and restrictions on the fiscal independence of nation states. Such a move would outrage Eurosceptics, needless to say, and could lead to a collapse of the whole project if it is rejected by voters, but it is the only hope for the single currency’s long-term survival. Reopening treaties properly would create a major opportunity for the UK, albeit one that may come too late for David Cameron’s renegotiation. So what are the options after the Greek vote? If they vote No, it’s game over for Greece’s membership of the single currency. The country’s banks don’t have enough money to last for much longer, and there is little reason why the European Central Bank would wish to extend them billions more if it is snubbed by voters. Either the banks would have to stay shut, which means that the country will run out of food and essentials as it becomes impossible to pay for imports, or depositors would have to be bailed in, wiping out a large chunk of their wealth but recapitalising financial institutions.  The only other alternative would be for the Greek state to introduce IOUs and then a new physical currency, while re-denominating all Greek bank accounts into drachmas. The national debt, which is owed in euros, would explicitly be repudiated, triggering a major crisis and inflicting vast losses on the European Central Bank, IMF and other creditors. The new drachmas would, of course, plummet in value, and it would be hard to avoid widespread chaos and hyperinflation if the government is forced to crank up the printing presses to pay for its bills.

WHAT THE BRITISH PRESS REPORTS ....:

There is a way that Greece could agree a bailout programme and avoid defaulting on its payments to the European Central Bank in two weeks, if tonight’s negotiations go well.  If the option of a new bailout through the ESM gets a go-ahead, the best predictions of actual cash disbursements are mid-to end August, way too late to stop Greece defaulting big time on the €3.5bn in bonds it must redeem at the ECB on July 20.  But given a modicum of goodwill, something so far in very short supply (although the general temper today has been a lot better than when Yanis Varoufakis was doing the rounds), there is a fix available to the ECB problem.  When Greece’s 2nd bailout expired last Tuesday, some €3.3bn in ECB profits from its securities markets programme due to Greece also vanished [that’s money that the ECB made from bailing Greece out].  For 2014 the profits amounted to €1.85bn. These are held in an ESM account and could be released to the Greeks if the eurogroup so decided. There is also a further €1.5bn currently held by eurozone governments. This money could also be released to the Greeks -- meaning the ECB problem is effectively solved.  A eurozone source says:  “It’s not an easy solution, but probably the only solution,” The advantage here is that this money could be released without having to wait for any tiresome parliamentary procedures. But the fly in the ointment here is that both wads of cash need to be authorised by the eurogroup unanimously, meaning that a single country could veto the whole show. The German finance ministry, for example, has been sending negative signals on this, indeed it has been demanding back €500m of the money held by the ESM, the 2014 profits.

The EU however is an unelected septic tank.The Common Market (that we were given a vote on but deliberately and criminally lied- to by our own politicians who saw nothing but a huge trough to get their fat faces in) was actually a good idea. What we have actually got is a Fourth Reich....The EU "owns" about 200 billion in EFSF bonds it sold to finance Greece the past few years. The member states will have to pay the principal and interest as it comes due. Fortunately, were Greece to leave the EU, the money to do so is available since Greece is a net drag on the EU budget and the money the EU now sends to Greece through its various programs and agencies would be more than enough to cover the EFSF bonds. That the loss of these revenues would further crush the Greek economy is unfortunate but that is Greece's problem not Europe's!...That the Euro and the EU are a horrible construct is beyond doubt. Roger Bootle made a compelling case a couple of days ago that the EU, even if there were full political and fiscal union, has become a drag on economic growth with its regulatory apparatus and fixation on 'harmonizing' everything. However, the Euro and the EU do exist and they have to be managed as best as can be done. Greece is incompatible with either institution and, if it does not withdraw voluntarily from both the EZ and the EU, it must be expelled.  Greece is going to have revolving door governments for as far as the eye can see simply because the mess it is in is intractable. It is also the case that the EU cannot be ALL Greece ALL the time as it lurches from crisis to crisis and sends an increasingly bizarre cast of characters to EU summits and meetings. Europe needs to turn its back on Greece and deal with its own internal problems....The structural weakness of the EU has been exposed. An even "closer union" will not fix the Problem and a Stalin like strong man will be required to keep the corrupt mess from falling apart. A bloc is a bloc is a bloc.

No one believed Porter Stansberry seven years ago.  As head of one of America’s largest independent financial research firms, Mr. Stansberry’s work back in 2008 led him to a bold, but worrisome, conclusion:  That the world’s largest mortgage bankers–Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which at the time were responsible for nearly 50% of all the mortgages in America–would soon go bankrupt.

In fact, in June of 2008, while their stock prices were still trading at well over $20 per share, Stansberry published a report to his customers titled: “Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Are Going to Zero.”Inside this report, Stansberry explained:  “For those of you who don’t work in the financial industry, it might be hard for you to immediately grasp what’s so dangerous about the extreme amount of leverage employed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Let me explain exactly what Fannie and Freddie do and why they’re in so much jeopardy…” We all know what happened next.

Both agencies went bust—and if not for a bailout from the Federal Government, both would have declared bankruptcy.  Barron’s—America’s second biggest financial newspaper—even wrote a story about Mr. Stansberry’s accurate prediction short, and called it “remarkably prescient.”

Over the years, Mr. Stansberry has made a name for himself by accurately predicting the biggest and most important collapses in America.  A few of the others he’s accurately identified well in advance include: General Motors, General Growth Property (America’s biggest mall owner), D.R. Horton (a homebuilder), and Gannett newspapers, to name just a few.  Stansberry also predicted the recent collapse of oil and natural gas prices as early as 2010, when he wrote a report titled: “Peak Oil is a Flat Lie.”  Well, now Mr. Stansberry has issued another fascinating warning, about a new and looming bankruptcy.

Congratulations to the Greek people on making the right decision and rejecting the threats and blackmail of their pro austerity enemies. While there may well be difficult days ahead for Greece, it marks the beginning of the end of the nightmare that has gripped their country for the past several years... The EU is essentially a German superstate that has threatened and bullied little Greece into submission, cutting off the money supply a disgusting spectacle of arrogance but the people of Greece have said No and so too will the rest of Europe. The EU has divided and weakened Europe at a time when Europe faces up to the real threat of Islamic fundamentalism. The EU  should be  finished...

This will be interesting... the EZ promised Armageddon for Greece... but really it amounts to a disaster for the creditors. Greece under the Drachma will be back on its feet in 2 years time minus 300 billion they have managed to sucker the EZ for... but where will the EZ be having had to pay the losses, lost credibility at the IMF, as well as investors worldwide, still in deflation and having sustained the other countries on the edge of which there is a fair number beginning with more than half of European GDP (France, Italy and Spain) and a fair number of small ones?

I am looking forward to Monday's statements from Merkel et al. after the markets tank and people start thinking about the losses and the forced haircuts... plus the ones coming for Portugal for instance... not to mention Spain which has the highest added sovereign/company/private debt at 300%... or the fact that Greece is still in the EZ and EU and can make them struggle through the Courts and meetings using their veto... fun, fun fun... serves you right EUSSR commissars!

Nowhere do expressions of solidarity with Syriza resonate as much as in Spain, where Podemos is seen as a credible threat to the ruling conservative government. While Spain’s austerity policies have won it plaudits from eurozone leaders, they have proven less popular at home. Podemos has taken advantage of dissatisfaction with the country’s high unemployment rate to win mayoral races in Barcelona and Madrid, Spain’s two largest cities. The two wins could portend a victory in general elections later this year. Analysts believe Spain’s ruling conservatives have taken a hardline approach in negotiations with Greece at least in part out of fears that a bailout deal that is too accommodating for Greece will be a boon to Podemos at the polls. Podemos’ leader Pablo Iglesias told the Wall Street Journal in an interview earlier this month that consequently, Podemos’ rise has hurt Syriza in negotiations. “Since Podemos has existed, defeating the government of Greece has been converted into another instrument for trying to pressure us,” Iglesias said.

On Saturday, Greece’s Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras called for a July 5 referendum on Greece’s creditors’ latest bailout proposal, after dismissing the offer as an “ultimatum that insults the Greek people.” The support from fellow left-wing groups in other countries comes amid mounting pressure on Greece from eurozone officials and financial institutions after the announcement of the referendum. The European Central Bank halted its emergency lending to Greek banks, prompting the Greek government to limit bank withdrawals to prevent banks from running out of cash -- a procedure known as imposing “capital controls.”

Greeks will vote their country out the EU and that's goooddd

Greek prime minister Alexis Tsipras has called a referendum on the country's bailout deal with its European creditors.  The vote, which will take place on July 5, and will ask Greece's citizens whether they want to accept tough measures put forward by the International Monetary Fund, European Union and European Central Bank. A "no" vote would see Greece default on its debts and force the country out of the euro. It came as Greek rejected a €15bn rescue plan, lashing out at attempts to blackmail the country into submission. Greece's fate is due to be decided at a last-ditch meeting of eurozone finance ministers in Brussels on Saturday, as differences over tax rises and spending cuts continue to hold back an eleventh hour agreement. The meeting has been billed as the last possible opportunity for Greece to cede to creditor demands and stave off a default. In the absence of a deal, creditors are planning for a series of emergency default scenarios, as the banking system would likely face ruin. Capital controls in the form of enforced bank holidays and deposit withdrawal limits could come as early as Monday, according to analysts at Credit Suisse...