Sovereign Debt

Vee Haf Vays Uf Making You Pay!

01/28/12

Anna Gelpern's Gunboat Diplomacy post pretty much sums out the leaked German term sheet on Greece. I would only note one other thing--the highly idiosyncratic use of "absolute priority." The Germans seem to have taken the language of Chapter 11 and repurposed it, with absolute priority meaning foreign unsecured creditors get paid in full before anyone else sees a cent.

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Greek Gunboat Diplomacy Eupdate and More ECB/EFSF

01/28/12

Someone who wanted to be very mean to the Germans just leaked this document, where they manage to come off as both desperate and inept. The proposal purports to address Greek failure to meet program targets by installing an EU overlord, whose job it would be among other things to pay off the foreign bondholders before funding public services in Greece.

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The Crisis of Fake Constraints: Greek Denouement Eupdate

01/27/12

Unless Greece and its creditors reach a deal in the next few days, Greece has no money to pay €15 Billion or so due to its bondholders in March.

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Bankruptcy, Backwards

01/16/12

Credit Slips Own Anna Gelpern has a great new article in the Yale Law Journal that very much deserves a plug. It's called "Bankruptcy, Backwards:  The Problem of Quasi-Sovereign Debt." The article deals with the problems of financial distress for quasi-sovereigns, like US states or even to some degree EU member states.

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Greek VoluntaryInvolutary DealNoDealDeal: Convolution Eupdate

01/06/12

Will Greece reach a voluntary deal with its creditors to write down its debt by 50% in the coming weeks? Will it default? ... or will its official patrons blink, pay up, and let the creditors off the hook? I hear at least two uber-expert Euro-watchers have taken opposite sides of the bet on that one. I bet nobody wins.

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This-Is-It EU Summit Eupdate

12/08/11

A few quick thoughts as the Make-or-Break, Life-or-Death, Now-or-Never EU Summit gets going.

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Never Mind Eupdate, Greek Referendum Edition

11/03/11

No more referendum. Still my candidate for the most important moment in this crisis. The possibility of a referendum, and of exiting the Euro, stays on the table -- as well it should. The persistent fog in Europe's Plan A, and the palpable absence of anything resembling Plan B, are chilling.

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Eupdate Game-Changer: The Greek Referendum

11/01/11

The Greek authorities' decision to hold a referendum on the new Eurozone rescue package strikes me as the most interesting and potentially consequential development in the crisis in a very long time. It is potentially more consequential than last summer's breakthrough and 

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Really?

10/12/11

Harrisburg filed its chapter 9 petition via fax?

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Some Wild Idea in a Big White Bed

09/28/11

Over at Dealbook, I take a look at the obvious solution to the Greek situation and the chatter regarding a sovereign bankruptcy procedure.

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