FT, NYTimes, Greenspan and Buffett — All on the ‘Greek issue’

From guarded optimism to pending doom and gloom — Forecasts over Greek deal, Grexit

For FT’s Wolfgang Münchau’s the “fate of Greece” lies with leftist PM Alexis Tsipras, whereas for freelance columnist Hugh Dixon, the “Greek Deal” lies with the “people”, obviously the Greek people, in this case.
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“It is all up to Alexis Tsipras now. The Greek prime minister will decide soon whether or not he wants a deal with his creditors that would allow Athens to service its debt. If he says ‘no’, Greece will default. At that point, it is possible the country will have to leave the Eurozone,” writes Münchau, who adds:
“What should he do? He will know his own political constraints. I will focus on the economics. The short answer is: if the deal is reasonable, he should accept…”
Dixon, a keen Tsipras and SYRIZA watcher for some time now, stresses that “…most scenarios facing Greece are bleak. The country could default, introduce capital controls, forcibly convert savers’ deposits into bank capital, quit the euro and so forth.”
That’s awfully bleak, in the way written by Dixon. He nevertheless adds:
“But there is still a chance that things will end up relatively O.K. All those who care about Greece, starting with Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, need to work hard on the least bad path forward … This will require Mr. Tsipras not only to eat his words, but also to call a new election. The timing is tough, given a series of payments Athens needs to make to the International Monetary Fund and the European Central Bank in the next three months — but just doable.
Meanwhile, two international “Titans” of monetary policy and business, former FED chief Alan Greenspan and billionaire investor Warren Buffett, respectively, also commented on the “Greek issue” – with statements that should may send shivers down the spine of rational policy makers in Athens.
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For Greenspan, Greece’s exit from the euro is just a matter of time and “wouldn’t lead to the breakup of monetary union”. As a kicker, Buffett is quoted as saying that an “…exit could make the euro stronger.”