Friday, June 11, 2010

Economist Sees Greek Debt Default Soon, Urges Investors to Carry Cell Phones On Vacation

Greece will eventually default on its debt because the country is highly indebted and the euro zone's approach towards saving it is the wrong one, Carl Weinberg, chief economist at High Frequency Economics, told CNBC Friday.

A restructuring of Greek debt could happen as soon as August, when the Balkan country is due to receive another tranche of funds from its lending agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the European Union, according to Weinberg.
"You can't take a country that's over-borrowed and make it more creditworthy by lending it more money," he said. "They're throwing Greece further and further and further in the hole by not addressing the problem directly and properly."Asked when a Greek default could happen, Weinberg answered: "at High-Frequency, we are advising people to take their cell phones on their August vacation." He said a Greek default would be "harsh" for the euro.