Any predictions for Greece?
 

Looks like the election there might force a big change.

I don't think it's wise

i don't think it will effect the gold market one way or the other.

It looks like Syriza will form a government,first time ever that a real left wing party will govern.
It remains to be seen what kind of effect that will have on Greece and the rest of the southern EU members.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel will cool off support to Greece big time.

If the markets are down today and this week because of the Greek elections, it should be viewed as a buying opportunity.

The markets always overreacts, but truth-be-told, Greece is such a very small part of the European Union economic equation. To knock down the market cap of some of the best multinational companies on earth by 2-3 per cent is folly.

But, in fact, future historians and economists will include that this election, along with the Swiss Bank action, and next year's Marine La Pen election as President of France as some of the catalysts that brought about the dissolution of both the Euro and the European Union.

The future is unfolding right in front of our very eyes, right here and right now.

the US dollar has been making some unprecedented moves to the upside in the last few weeks. its probably setting up now for a major fall. my thinking is that the Swiss made their move because they are more afraid of all paper currencies and they are in the business of secure banking.

you rob a bank in Switzerland, you get the death penalty. kill someone, you just get time.

I would predict that Greece will receive extensions on the debt it owes at lower interest rates. They will not write down any of the debt.

The chances of a Greek exit from the Euro remain low but the more often these kind of crisis occur the better the possibility that one side or the other will miscalculate.

The Greeks will hold another election within 18 months because the 35% that voted for Syriza will find out that throwing a hissy fit doesn't actually resolve the deeply entrenched and long standing issues which have led Greece to require repeated infusions of cash.

Germany, on the other hand, has been forced to see the error of its focus on inflation as a threat and will moderate it's dedication to Austrian school economics going forward.

In this once great country, lambo, if you do the same then you become the Treasury Secretary or head of the Federal Reserve. . . or you go back working for Goldman Sachs or Citicorp.

In my opinion, I believe the strength of the US dollar is due more to the weakening world-wide currencies and failing economies than to any strength here. Yes, it is much 'worse' around the world than it is here and that also helped the US dollar rise. Plus there's the whisper on Wall Street of an interest rate hike this summer. Personally, I think that is a ruse, but time will tell.

If there was any real growth here, and not what the phony data and press releases belched by our government and CNBC tell us, interest rates would have risen, QE would have ended and there wouldn't be 94 or so million people not working or not looking for work.

Eventually, and for whatever the reason, a stronger US dollar is still basically and generally very good for the US economy as is lower and steady oil prices.

I also believe that the Swiss Bank's action last week will prove to be the single most important decision ever made by a central bank in a generation.

Time will tell, of course, but I say this year and next will be the most interesting, the most historical, the most important and the most exciting in a very, very, very long time.

(I just wish I was 20 years younger, but then again, don't we all :) )

This once great country, is accused for closing its borders during the World War II and not allowing thousands of refugees to escape the Nazis, causing their death in concentration camps...

Meanwhile Greece, who has become the pariah of Europe, lost one tenth of its population in the war against Axis. It took 219 days for the combined army of Italy and Germany to occupy Greece (for comparison France lasted 43 days, Holland 4 and Yugoslavia 3) while the Greek Army and Partisans continued the war until its last day, following the orders of the Allies...

By the way, do you remember the following photo of an AMERICAN SOLDIER from WWII?

Have you ever thought about its nationality? Take a guess...

RESPECT!
 

Just in case some people here are not aware of some of Greece's "more recent" contributions...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1ApWHtaS2I

Thanks for the link,Thaskale!!!

Quite right! And after the war the US and the Brits threw out the heroic fighters because they leaned too for left for their taste and the cowards who collaborated with the Nazis were put into power.

The name of the soldier is ANGELO KLONIS and was a Greek American immigrant, read more here:

http://www.warhistoryonline.com/war-...wwii-icon.html