Soros says Europe has 'three months' to save euro
George Soros, Chairman of Soros Fund Management, speaks to the media on in January 2012 at the Swiss resort of Davos. Europe has three months to save the euro, billionaire investor George Soros said amid global pressure to end eurozone turmoil rocking financial markets and creating deep economic uncertainty.
AFP - Europe has three months to save the euro, billionaire investor George Soros said this weekend amid global pressure to end eurozone turmoil rocking financial markets and creating deep economic uncertainty.
"In my judgment, the authorities have a three months' window during which they could correct their mistakes and reverse the current trends," Soros said Saturday at an economics festival in Trento, Italy, naming those authorities as Germany and the Bundesbank.
"In a crisis, the creditors are in the driver's seat and nothing can be done without German support," he said, noting that public opposition to austerity in the eurozone "is likely to grow until the policy is reversed."
The remarks were posted on his website.
Greece is heading to the polls for a second time in six weeks after an inconclusive vote on May 6. And with the radical leftist Syriza party, chief opponent of a massive EU-IMF bailout accord, tipped to win this time, the election could lead to Greece quitting the single currency.
"I expect that the Greek public will be sufficiently frightened by the prospect of expulsion from the European Union that it will give a narrow majority of seats to a coalition that is ready to abide by the current agreement," Soros said, referring to June 17 polls in the debt-stricken state.
The "crisis is liable to come to a climax in the fall" of the year, he said.
"By that time the German economy will also be weakening so that Chancellor (Angela) Merkel will find it even more difficult than today to persuade the German public to accept any additional European responsibilities," said Soros.
"That is what creates a three months' window."
Soros, a Hungarian-American investor and philanthropist, said austerity measures were having a disastrous effect on the global economy.
"The authorities didn't understand the nature of the euro crisis; they thought it is a fiscal problem while it is more of a banking problem and a problem of competitiveness," he added.
"And they applied the wrong remedy: you cannot reduce the debt burden by shrinking the economy, (but) only by growing your way out of it."
http://www.france24.com/en/20120603-soros-says-europe-has-three-months-save-euro
[h=1]George Soros says three months to save the euro[/h]
Mr Soros believe the German public will soon tire of bailing out the Greeks
Continue reading the main story [h=2]Eurozone crisis[/h]
Billionaire investor George Soros has warned European leaders they have a "three-month window" to save the euro.
He said he believed Greece would elect a government willing to abide by loan conditions imposed by the EU in this month's elections.
But he said the German economy would begin to weaken in the autumn, making it much harder for Chancellor Angela Merkel to provide further support.
He said leaders did not understand "the nature of the crisis".
He said that while European leaders were focusing on debt levels, the crisis was "more of a banking problem and a problem of competitiveness".
For this reason, he said, they had "applied the wrong remedy".
"You cannot reduce the debt burden by shrinking the economy, only by growing your way out of it," he added.
Mr Soros, speaking at a conference in Italy, was referring to the drastic austerity measures that have been implemented across Europe, measures that are now being questioned by a growing number of politicians and commentators.
Weaker Germany Without policies to boost growth, which would enable governments to raise revenue to pay down debt, Mr Soros said time was running out for the euro.
"I expect the Greek public will be sufficiently frightened by the prospect of expulsion from the EU that it will give a narrow majority of seats to a coalition that is ready to abide by the current [bailout] agreement," he said.
However, this would provide only temporary respite, he warned, as the German public becomes less willing to continue bailing out its weaker European neighbours.
"The crisis is likely to come to a climax in the [autumn]. By that time, the German economy will also be weakening, so that Chancellor Merkel will find it even more difficult than today to persuade the German public to accept any additional European responsibilities.
"That is what creates a three-month window."
'Economic hardships' Later in the day, a report from the credit ratings agency Standard & Poor's said there was "at least a one-in-three chance of Greece exiting the euro in the coming months".
But the report added that other countries would be "unlikely" to follow Greece's lead, "having witnessed the resulting economic hardships and long delay in harnessing benefits from national currency devaluation".
It also said that in the event of a Greek exit, eurozone policymakers would be keen to stress that it was a one-off and hence more likely to provide support to other countries.
But it warned that without that support "the likelihood of a lasting restoration of confidence in major eurozone financial institutions over the near term is doubtful".
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-18320881
video
http://amanpour.blogs.cnn.com/2012/06/11/lagarde-less-than-three-months-to-save-the-euro/
George Soros, Chairman of Soros Fund Management, speaks to the media on in January 2012 at the Swiss resort of Davos. Europe has three months to save the euro, billionaire investor George Soros said amid global pressure to end eurozone turmoil rocking financial markets and creating deep economic uncertainty. AFP - Europe has three months to save the euro, billionaire investor George Soros said this weekend amid global pressure to end eurozone turmoil rocking financial markets and creating deep economic uncertainty.
"In my judgment, the authorities have a three months' window during which they could correct their mistakes and reverse the current trends," Soros said Saturday at an economics festival in Trento, Italy, naming those authorities as Germany and the Bundesbank.
"In a crisis, the creditors are in the driver's seat and nothing can be done without German support," he said, noting that public opposition to austerity in the eurozone "is likely to grow until the policy is reversed."
The remarks were posted on his website.
Greece is heading to the polls for a second time in six weeks after an inconclusive vote on May 6. And with the radical leftist Syriza party, chief opponent of a massive EU-IMF bailout accord, tipped to win this time, the election could lead to Greece quitting the single currency.
"I expect that the Greek public will be sufficiently frightened by the prospect of expulsion from the European Union that it will give a narrow majority of seats to a coalition that is ready to abide by the current agreement," Soros said, referring to June 17 polls in the debt-stricken state.
The "crisis is liable to come to a climax in the fall" of the year, he said.
"By that time the German economy will also be weakening so that Chancellor (Angela) Merkel will find it even more difficult than today to persuade the German public to accept any additional European responsibilities," said Soros.
"That is what creates a three months' window."
Soros, a Hungarian-American investor and philanthropist, said austerity measures were having a disastrous effect on the global economy.
"The authorities didn't understand the nature of the euro crisis; they thought it is a fiscal problem while it is more of a banking problem and a problem of competitiveness," he added.
"And they applied the wrong remedy: you cannot reduce the debt burden by shrinking the economy, (but) only by growing your way out of it."
http://www.france24.com/en/20120603-soros-says-europe-has-three-months-save-euro
[h=1]George Soros says three months to save the euro[/h]
Continue reading the main story [h=2]Eurozone crisis[/h]
- How eurozone crisis affects you
- Key questions: Spain bank deal
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Billionaire investor George Soros has warned European leaders they have a "three-month window" to save the euro.
He said he believed Greece would elect a government willing to abide by loan conditions imposed by the EU in this month's elections.
But he said the German economy would begin to weaken in the autumn, making it much harder for Chancellor Angela Merkel to provide further support.
He said leaders did not understand "the nature of the crisis".
He said that while European leaders were focusing on debt levels, the crisis was "more of a banking problem and a problem of competitiveness".
For this reason, he said, they had "applied the wrong remedy".
"You cannot reduce the debt burden by shrinking the economy, only by growing your way out of it," he added.
Mr Soros, speaking at a conference in Italy, was referring to the drastic austerity measures that have been implemented across Europe, measures that are now being questioned by a growing number of politicians and commentators.
Weaker Germany Without policies to boost growth, which would enable governments to raise revenue to pay down debt, Mr Soros said time was running out for the euro.
"I expect the Greek public will be sufficiently frightened by the prospect of expulsion from the EU that it will give a narrow majority of seats to a coalition that is ready to abide by the current [bailout] agreement," he said.
However, this would provide only temporary respite, he warned, as the German public becomes less willing to continue bailing out its weaker European neighbours.
"The crisis is likely to come to a climax in the [autumn]. By that time, the German economy will also be weakening, so that Chancellor Merkel will find it even more difficult than today to persuade the German public to accept any additional European responsibilities.
"That is what creates a three-month window."
'Economic hardships' Later in the day, a report from the credit ratings agency Standard & Poor's said there was "at least a one-in-three chance of Greece exiting the euro in the coming months".
But the report added that other countries would be "unlikely" to follow Greece's lead, "having witnessed the resulting economic hardships and long delay in harnessing benefits from national currency devaluation".
It also said that in the event of a Greek exit, eurozone policymakers would be keen to stress that it was a one-off and hence more likely to provide support to other countries.
But it warned that without that support "the likelihood of a lasting restoration of confidence in major eurozone financial institutions over the near term is doubtful".
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-18320881
video
http://amanpour.blogs.cnn.com/2012/06/11/lagarde-less-than-three-months-to-save-the-euro/
