Crisis

But what is safe? Is it the AAA or AA rating provided by rating agencies such as S&P and Moody’s? Does “safe” equal goodwill bonds issued by sovereign countries such as France, Japan, the United Kingdom or the United States? Perhaps…

The history of crises on financial markets and their amplification during the past 15 years cannot be understood at all if we stick to pure fundamentals. It is necessary to integrate the contagion factor among financial assets and forced selling for commercial, prudential, regulatory or accounting reasons.

If the existence of the euro is not challenged, it is the case of the euro zone in its current configuration. In the same way that cohabitation between countries with maintaining parity exchange had become impossible in the EMS, cohabitation has become impossible within EMU

The American case during August 2011 and that of France in January shows that the loss of an AAA rating does not necessarily lead to a higher interest rate adjustment.

The number of funds on sale in Europe is in free fall because the owners have no choice other than mergers, even liquidation, because of rapidly declining performance which makes it impossible to sell at a good price.