Would you pay $11 million for $10 million worth of junky Greek bonds? Yes, you would: The cost of insuring a $10 million purchase of Greek government bonds (official junk!) for five years is now more than $1 million.
Apparently, the markets are paying attention to today’s debt conference, organized by Bloomberg. Petros Christodoulou, head of the Greek public-debt agency, boasts that his country now enjoys a certain “luxury” when it comes to restructuring its debt, reports Business Week: “The package we received gives us the luxury not to think about it at this stage,” Christodoulou said at ‘The Sovereign Debt Briefing’ in London hosted by Bloomberg Link, referring to potential future debt sales. “No one at the moment is looking at a restructuring in Greece, no one in Greece, no one outside Greece.”
And the Europeans stand firmly behind him: “You’ll be surprised how determined the European politicians are,” he said. Determined to do nothing.